Case of the Month #42 Maternal Collapse

Published 17/08/2023

What are the diagnostic criteria for AFE?

AFE remains a diagnosis of exclusion. The UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS) use the following case definition.
 
“EITHER a clinical diagnosis of AFE (acute hypotension or cardiac arrest, acute hypoxia or coagulopathy in the absence of any other potential explanation for the symptoms and signs observed) 
OR a pathological diagnosis (presence of fetal squames or hair in the lungs)”