Anaesthesia
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Observational Study
Baseline haemoglobin variability by measurement technique in pregnant people on the day of childbirth.
Point-of-care haemoglobin measurement devices may play an important role in the antenatal detection of anaemia in pregnant people and may be useful in guiding blood transfusion during resuscitation in obstetric haemorrhage. We compared baseline haemoglobin variability of venous and capillary HemoCue® haemoglobin, and Masimo® Rad-67 Pulse CO-Oximeter haemoglobin with laboratory haemoglobin in people on the day of their planned vaginal birth. A total of 180 people undergoing planned vaginal birth were enrolled in this prospective observational study. ⋯ Venous HemoCue, with its acceptable bias and limits of agreement, should be applied more widely in the antenatal setting to detect, manage and risk stratify pregnant people with anaemia. HemoCue capillary measurement under-estimated haemoglobin and Masimo haemoglobin measurement over-estimated, limiting their clinical use. Serial studies are needed to determine if the accuracy of venous HemoCue haemoglobin measurement is sustained in other obstetric settings.