Obstetric emergencies

This chapter focuses on the role of high‐performing team‐based care and the use of standardized protocols, particularly in the setting of obstetrical emergencies. There are two clinical scenarios used to illustrate the utility of multidisciplinary team care, one involving the evaluation and management of pulmonary embolism, and the second involving cardiac arrest during pregnancy. The goal is to explore the role of high‐reliability, team‐oriented care specifically in the setting of obstetrical emergencies. The chapter examines whether normal physiologic and hematologic changes in the pregnant patient alter the evaluation in working up a patient for pulmonary embolism. It explores whether the Wells' criteria of assessment of pretest probability of pulmonary embolism is useful. The chapter also inquires whether healthcare teams perform better during obstetrical emergencies, such as cardiopulmonary arrest if they undergo simulation training compared to controls.