Miscarriage hospitalisations: a national population-based study of incidence and outcomes, 2005-2016.

Abstract

Approximately, 1 out of 4 women will experience an early miscarriage in their reproductive life. Despite the burden of early miscarriage, there is a lack of information regarding trends in incidence rates of hospitalisations and type of management of early miscarriage, but also about the morbidities associated to hospitalisations of early miscarriage. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to explore national trends in incidence rates of hospital admissions for early miscarriage in the Republic of Ireland from January of 2005 to December of 2016, and to estimate morbidity associated with blood transfusion and length of stay over 2 days. This is a retrospective population-based study using the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE). The HIPE is a computer-based system designed to collect demographic, clinical and administrative data on discharges and deaths in the Republic of Ireland. However data from the emergency department and outpatient settings are not available.

Over this period of time there were approximately 50,000 hospitalisations for early miscarriage. Early miscarriage hospitalisations became 19% less common during 2005–2016 but the risk of blood transfusion doubled. The risk of an extended length of stay also increased over the same time period. Women who underwent medical management did not have as many blood transfusions compare to those who had surgical management. However, women who underwent medical treatment had a higher risk of a prolonged stay at the hospital. More research is needed to explore the patterns of care and morbidities associated to hospitalisation in order to improve protocols of management and the care provided for women who miscarry.