Objectives: We analyzed retrospectively all obstetric admission to determine the causes and outcomes of intensive care unit.

Materials and Methods: In this study; 18 obstetric patient referred to ICU from 1999 to 2005 in pregnancy and/or postpartum period, were evaluated by observing demographic data, admittance reasons, interventions in ICU and clinical outcomes.

Results: Incidence of obstetric cases in ICU was obtained as 2.7%. 13 cases (72.2%) were delivered from other hospitals. ICU requirement rate is 1 per 421 deliveries. Mean age of 18 patients is 27.4±5.4 years. ICU stay is 4.6 days and median APACHE II score is 7. There were differences APACHE II score between survivors and non-survivors (p<0.05). Most common reasons of ICU admittance were hypertension related to eclampsia/preeclampsia (%38.7) and hypovolemic shock related to postpartum hemorrhage (%27.8). 5 of patients died and mortality rate was found as 27.7%.

Conclusion: ICU requirement for obstetric cases was seen mostly because of obstetric hemorrhage and uncontrolled hypertension. Strategies improved for solving these problems and regular antenatal care would significantly decrease major maternal morbidity and mortality. ©2006, Fırat Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi