Introduction: Peripartal hysterectomy (PPH) is a life saving surgical procedure that is performed when conservative measures fail to control bleeding. According to literature data there is an increase in incidence among developed countries.
Aim: To define the rate of PPH during two eight-year periods in five Croatian hospitals in respect to mode of delivery.
Methods: Patients data were collected retrospectively from the medical records of the five Croatian hospitals. We analyzed data from 1998 to 2013, and divided them in two eight-year periods.
Results: In 70 cases out of 153,302 deliveries urgent PPH was performed. PPH after vaginal deliveries was found in 0.21%o and 0.16%o and PPH after caesarean section was 1.91 %o and 2.04%o in the first and second period, respectively.
Discussion and conclusion: There is no increase of PPH rate in the two analyzed periods, although there is a statistically significant increase of caesarean section rate. Caesarean section presents higher risk for PPH.