Skip to main content
. 2020 Jul 1;2020(7):CD013663. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013663

Khalil 2011.

Study characteristics
Methods Randomised controlled trial
Setting: security forces hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Participants Women with uncontrolled primary atonic PPH during caesarean section and not responding to standard treatment (standard treatment not described).
PPH was not defined.
Exclusions: < 28 weeks' gestation
Traumatic bleeding or placenta praevia
Interventions Intervention: Bakri balloon inserted intraoperatively through uterine incision, then secured with traction stitch (25 women). "Bakri balloon was fixed with nylon loop stitching through the hole of its proximal shaft, and the needle was then passed through the uterine cavity and the anterior abdominal wall. The thread was fixed to the skin to keep the balloon within the uterine cavity without any additional packing or the insertion of a balloon vaginally" p 198.
Control: Bakri balloon intraoperatively through uterine incision, without traction stitch (25 women)
Both groups of women received intravenous antibiotics for the first 48 hours and oxytocin infusion for the first 8 hours.
It is not clear how much saline was used to inflate the balloons...the trial report states that, "the balloon was inflated until it conformed to the contour of the uterus in order to provide a symmetric tamponade effect" p 198
Outcomes
  • Displacement of Bakri balloon

  • Bleeding after displacement of balloon

  • Blood loss (estimated)

  • Hysterectomy

  • Other surgical intervention needed

  • Bleeding after deflation of the balloon

Notes The study was stopped after 50 cases because there was a high rate of Bakri balloon displacement in the control group.
Trial authors' declarations of interest: "the authors have no conflicts of interest" p 199
Sources of trial funding: not reported
Trial dates: 1 April 2004 and 30 April 2009
Ethical approval? "the hospital ethics committee approved the study" p198
Informed consent? yes, "informed consent was obtained from all participants" p 198
Contacted trial authors?: yes, email to Dr Khalil on 25 Aug 2018 requesting data on dichotomous blood loss outcomes. Data sent to ADW on 06 Sep 2018.
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Low risk "Computer‐based random sampling" p 198
Allocation concealment (selection bias) Unclear risk Methods of allocation concealment not mentioned
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias)
All outcomes High risk Blinding not mentioned. Assume blinding of personnel not possible due to difference in intervention techniques between groups
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias)
All outcomes Unclear risk Blinding not mentioned
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes Low risk No incomplete outcome data
Selective reporting (reporting bias) Unclear risk Protocol not available. Insufficient information to make an assessment of reporting bias
Other bias Low risk No other sources of bias were apparent