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Massive postpartum hemorrhage is a major cause of pregnancy-related death in the United States. To date there is no diagnostic test to identify those women with intractable hemorrhage who will need surgery. Delay in making this decision can be catastrophic. The successful use of the inflated stomach balloon of a Sengstaken–Blakemore tube as a therapy for obstetric hemorrhage has been reported previously. Using the insertion of the Sengstaken–Blakemore tube as a diagnostic test has not been reported. An inflated Sengstaken–Blakemore balloon catheter creates tamponade and identifies those who will or will not need surgery. This is the basis for the “tamponade test.” We evaluated the tamponade test in the management of women with massive postpartum hemorrhage.

In this prospective study, 16 cases of intractable postpartum hemorrhage were managed by the tamponade test …