Skinner, S., Davies-Tuck, M., Wallace, E., & Hodges, R. (2017). Perinatal and Maternal Outcomes After Training Residents in Forceps Before Vacuum Instrumental Birth. Obstetrics and gynecology, 130(1), 151–158. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000002097
Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): HEALTH_CARE_PROVIDER_PRACTICE, Provider Training/Education, HOSPITAL, Collaboratives, Residents/Medical Students
Intervention Description: In accordance with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Training Program guidelines, residents were required to develop competency in outlet, low, midcavity, and rotational instrumental birth. In 2010, the Monash Health Centre in Victoria Australia implemented a formalized lecture series and mannequin simulation training preceding mandatory instrumental credentialing for all obstetric residents. Credentialing required residents to be directly supervised by senior obstetricians in human instrumental birth until assessed as competent for unsupervised practice (remote supervision). Residents could only be credentialed in vacuum birth after being first credentialed in forceps birth. All residents were required to meet with training supervisors at 3-monthly intervals to review credentialing documents and implement remedial pathways if credentialing was not achieved in an appropriate timeframe.
Intervention Results: There were 72,490 births from 2005 to 2014 at Monash Health, of which 8,789 (12%) were attempted instrumental vaginal births. After the intervention, rates of forceps births increased [autoregressive integrated moving average coefficient (β) 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.96; P<.001], and vacuum births decreased (β -1.43, 95% CI -2.5 to -0.37; P<.01). Rates of postpartum hemorrhage decreased (β -1.3, 95% CI -2.07 to -0.49; P=.002) and epidural use increased (β 0.03, 95% CI 0.02-0.05; P<.001). There was no change in rates of unsuccessful instrumental births (β -0.39, 95% CI -3.03 to 2.43; P=.83), intrapartum cesarean delivery (β -0.29, 95% CI -0.55 to 0.14; P=.24), third- and fourth-degree tears (β -1.04, 95% CI -3.1 to 1.00; P=.32), or composite neonatal morbidity (β -0.18, 95% CI -0.38 to 0.02, P=.08). Unsuccessful instrumental births were more likely to be in nulliparous women (P<.001), less likely to have a senior obstetrician present (P<.001), be at later gestation (P<.001), and involved larger birth weight neonates (P<.001).
Conclusion: A policy of ensuring obstetric forceps competency before beginning vacuum training results in more forceps births, fewer postpartum hemorrhages, and no increase in third- and fourth-degree perineal injuries or episiotomies.
Setting: Monash Health, an academic health science center in Melbourne, Australia
Population of Focus: All patients with attempted instrumental births
Access Abstract