Severe Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in Eastern Ethiopia: Comparing the Original WHO and Adapted sub-Saharan African Maternal Near-Miss Criteria

Development of a new definition of maternal near miss based on organ dysfunction in Latin America and the Caribbean: A prospective multicenter cohort study

BACKGROUND

There has been debate over whether the existing World Health Organization (WHO) criteria accurately represent the severity of maternal near misses.

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of two WHO clinical and laboratory organ dysfunction markers for determining the best cutoff values in a Latin American setting.

METHODS

A prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in five Latin American countries. Patients with severe maternal complications were followed up from admission to discharge. Organ dysfunction was determined using clinical and laboratory data, and participants were classified according to severe maternal outcomes. This study compares the diagnostic criteria of Latin American Centre for Perinatology, Network for Adverse Maternal Outcomes (CLAP/NAMO) to WHO standards.

RESULTS

Of the 698 women studied, 15.2% had severe maternal outcomes. Most measured variables showed significant differences between individuals with and without severe outcomes (all P-values <0.05). Alternative cutoff values suggested by CLAP/NAMOs include pH ≤7.40, lactate ≥2.3 mmol/L, respiratory rate ≥ 24 bpm, oxygen saturation ≤ 96%, PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 342 mmHg, platelet count ≤189 × 109 × mm3, serum creatinine ≥0.8 mg/dL, and total bilirubin ≥0.67 mg/dL. No significant differences were found when comparing the diagnostic performance of the CLAP/NAMO criteria to that of the WHO standards.

CONCLUSION

The CLAP/NAMO values were comparable to the WHO maternal near-miss criteria, indicating that the WHO standards might not be superior in this population. These findings suggest that maternal near-miss thresholds can be adapted regionally, improving the identification and management of severe maternal complications in Latin America.

Maternal Near-Miss and Maternal Mortality in a Tertiary Care Center of Western Uttar Pradesh: A Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION

Maternal mortality is an important indicator to assess the quality of services provided by the health care system. However, maternal near-misses as well as maternal mortality are also indicators of how well the health care system serves pregnant women. To improve our healthcare system in terms of investigative capacity, infrastructure, and personnel, a near-miss registry can provide important information on gaps in pregnancy facilities. This will help us to identify the requirements for referral facility improvements and the need for various health awareness programs. We, therefore, designed this study to analyze the various near-miss events in mothers and compare them with maternal mortality.

METHODS

Present study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial (L.L.R.M.) Medical College associated with Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel (S.V.B.P.) Hospital Meerut, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India for a period of one year and data were collected retrospectively from January 2022 to January 2023. All patients with life-threatening conditions such as excessive bleeding during pregnancy, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), and septicemia that occurred during pregnancy or childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy and required ICU admissions, were included in the study. The total number of deliveries during the study period was 4,360 with 4,333 live births (LB). The total number of eligible cases was 79, out of which 52 were identified as maternal near misses and 27 were maternal mortality. Various maternal mortality and near-miss indices were analysed and statistical analysis was done using the SPSS version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

RESULTS

Our hospital's maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was 623/1lakh (0.623%), which is higher than the probability due to the deficiency of appropriate medical services in the nearby areas of western UP. The number of maternal near misses per 1000 LB (maternal near-miss ratio [MNMR]) was 12/1000 LB and the severe maternal outcome rate (SMOR) was 18/1000 LB (1.82%). In our study, hemorrhage and hypertensive disorder in pregnancy were the leading cause of morbidity and mortality followed by sepsis and severe anemia. Among organ dysfunction cardiac illness followed by respiratory dysfunction was the leading cause of morbidity and mortality.

CONCLUSION

It is clear that there is a high burden of maternal near-miss in developing countries. There should be the establishment of well-equipped referral units at the periphery with trained manpower. The establishment of obstetrical high-dependence units (HDUs), rapid availability of blood and blood products, training of staff, and availability of multidisciplinary teams can minimize maternal mortality and morbidity.

Incidence and causes of severe maternal outcomes in Somaliland using the sub-Saharan Africa maternal near-miss criteria: A prospective cross-sectional study in a national referral hospital

OBJECTIVE

To describe the incidence and causes of severe maternal outcomes and the unmet need for life-saving obstetric interventions among women admitted for delivery in a referral hospital in Somaliland.

METHODS

A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from April 15, 2019 to March 31, 2020, with women admitted during pregnancy or childbirth or within 42 days after delivery. Data were collected using the World Health Organization (WHO) and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) maternal near-miss (MNM) tools. Descriptive analysis was performed by computing frequencies, proportions, and ratios.

RESULTS

The MNM ratios were 56 (SSA criteria) and 13 (WHO criteria) per 1000 live births. The mortality index was highest among women with medical complications (63%), followed by obstetric hemorrhage (13%), pregnancy-related infection (10%), and hypertensive disorders (7.9%) according to the SSA MNM criteria. Most women giving birth received prophylactic oxytocin for postpartum hemorrhage prevention (97%), and most laparotomies (60%) for ruptured uterus were conducted after 3 h.

CONCLUSION

There is a need to improve the quality of maternal health services through implementation of evidence-based obstetric interventions and continuous in-service training for healthcare providers. Using the SSA MNM criteria could facilitate such preventive measures in this setting as well as similar low-resource contexts.

The effect of preeclampsia on adverse maternal outcomes in Sidama region, Ethiopia: a prospective open cohort study

Ethiopia has made improvements in the reduction of maternal mortality; the high burden of preeclampsia remains a concern in the Sidama region. This study aimed to measure the effect of preeclampsia on adverse maternal outcomes and identify risk factors among women with preeclampsia in Sidama region. A prospective open cohort study was conducted from August 8, 2019, to October 1, 2020. We enrolled a total of 1015 the pregnant women who had preeclampsia and normotensive women at ≥ 20 weeks of gestation and followed them until 42 days after delivery. A log-binomial logistic regression model was used to estimate the incidence of adverse maternal outcomes and its risk factors. There were 276 adverse maternal outcomes observed in the preeclampsia group compared to 154 adverse maternal outcomes in the normotensive group (P < 0.001). Women with severe features of preeclampsia had a 43% (aRR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.3-1.58) higher risk for adverse maternal outcomes compared to women without severe features of preeclampsia. Women without severe features of preeclampsia had a 39% (aRR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.2-1.76) higher risk for adverse maternal outcomes compared to women in the normotensive group. More adverse maternal outcomes occurred among women with preeclampsia after controlling for confounders.

Calcium supplementation for the prevention of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: current evidence and programmatic considerations

Most low‐ and middle‐income countries present suboptimal intakes of calcium during pregnancy and high rates of mortality due to maternal hypertensive disorders. Calcium supplementation during pregnancy is known to reduce the risk of these disorders and associated complications, including preeclampsia, maternal morbidity, and preterm birth, and is, therefore, a recommended intervention for pregnant women in populations with low dietary calcium intake (e.g., where ≥25% of individuals in the population have intakes less than 800 mg calcium/day). However, this intervention is not widely implemented in part due to cost and logistical issues related to the large dose and burdensome dosing schedule (three to four 500‐mg doses/day). WHO recommends 1.5–2 g/day but limited evidence suggests that less than 1 g/day may be sufficient and ongoing trials with low‐dose calcium supplementation (500 mg/day) may point a path toward simplifying supplementation regimens. Calcium carbonate is likely to be the most cost‐effective choice, and it is not necessary to counsel women to take calcium supplements separately from iron‐containing supplements. In populations at highest risk for preeclampsia, a combination of calcium supplementation and food‐based approaches, such as food fortification with calcium, may be required to improve calcium intakes before pregnancy and in early gestation.

Introduction of Criterion-Based Audit of Postpartum Hemorrhage in a University Hospital in Eastern Ethiopia: Implementation and Considerations

With postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) continuing to be the leading cause of maternal mortality in most low-resource settings, an audit of the quality of care in health facilities is essential. The purpose of this study was to identify areas of substandard care and establish recommendations for the management of PPH in Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, eastern Ethiopia. Using standard criteria (n = 8) adapted to the local hospital setting, we audited 45 women with PPH admitted from August 2018 to March 2019. Four criteria were agreed as being low: IV line-setup (32 women, 71.1%), accurate postpartum vital sign monitoring (23 women, 51.1%), performing typing and cross-matching (22 women, 48.9%), and fluid intake/output chart maintenance (6 women, 13.3%). In only 3 out of 45 women (6.7%), all eight standard criteria were met. Deficiencies in the case of note documentation and clinical monitoring, non-availability of medical resources and blood for transfusion, as well as delays in clinical management were identified. The audit created awareness, resulting in self-reflection of current practice and promoted a sense of responsibility to improve care among hospital staff. Locally appropriate recommendations and an intervention plan based on available resources were formulated.