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Objective: Group B streptococcus (GBS) has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, but few prospective studies have assessed its prevalence in low‐ and middle‐income country settings. We sought to evaluate the prevalence of GBS by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in internal organ tissues and placentas of deceased neonates and stillbirths. Design: This was a prospective, observational study. Setting: The study was conducted in hospitals in India and Pakistan. Population: Pregnant women with stillbirths or preterm births were recruited at delivery, as was a group of women with term, live births, to serve as a control group. Methods: A rectovaginal culture was collected from the women in Pakistan to assess GBS carriage. Using PCR, we evaluated GBS in various tissues of stillbirths and deceased neonates and their placentas, as well as the placentas of live‐born preterm and term control infants. Main outcome measures: GBS identified by PCR in various tissues and the placentas; rate of stillbirths and 28‐day neonatal deaths. Results: The most obvious finding from this series of analyses from India and Pakistan was that no matter the country, the condition of the subject, the tissue studied or the methodology used, the prevalence of GBS was low, generally ranging between 3% and 6%. Among the risk factors evaluated, only GBS positivity in primigravidae was increased. Conclusions: GBS diagnosed by PCR was identified in <6% of internal organs of stillbirths and neonatal deaths, and their placentas, and control groups in South Asian sites. This is consistent with other reports from South Asia and is lower than the reported GBS rates from the USA, Europe and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate perinatal outcomes in preterm multiple compared with singleton pregnancies in India and Pakistan. Design: Prospective, observational study. Settings: Study hospitals in India and Pakistan. Population: We evaluated 3897 preterm pregnancies. These mothers gave birth to 3615 (92.8%) singleton infants, 267 (6.8%) sets of twins, 14 (0.4%) sets of triplets and one set of quadruplets. Main outcome measures: Neonatal mortality, stillbirth, cause of death. Results: Of the singleton infants, 691 (19.1%) were stillborn and 2924 (80.9%) live born. Of the 534 infants from twin pregnancies, 41 (7.7%) were stillborn and 493 (92.3%) were live born. Of the 267 sets of twins, in 14 cases (5.2%) both were stillborn, in 13 cases (4.8%) one was stillborn and one live born, and in 240 cases (90.0%) both were live born. In both preterm twins and preterm singletons, the three most common causes of death were intrauterine hypoxia, infections acquired prior to birth and infections acquired at or after birth. The preterm twins appeared less likely to have died from intrauterine hypoxia but more likely to have died from infections acquired at or after birth. Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was less likely considered by the panel to be the primary cause of death in either the twins (9.6%) or singletons (9.7%). Congenital anomalies were also not often judged to be the cause of death in either the preterm twins 2 (2.4%) or singletons 27 (5.3%). Conclusion: In the PURPOSe study, neonatal mortality rates in preterm twins compared with singletons when evaluated by sex, GA, birthweight and SGA, were generally similar to rates of preterm singleton neonatal mortality in those groups. Thus, the higher rate of mortality in live‐born twin infants is related to the fact that these infants were more likely to be born earlier rather than to any inherent characteristics of the babies themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine internal organ tissues and placentas of stillbirths for various pathogens. Design: Prospective, observational study. Settings: Three study hospitals in India and a large maternity hospital in Pakistan. Population: Stillborn infants delivered in a study hospital. Methods: A prospective observational study. Main outcome measures: Organisms identified by pathogen polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in internal organs and placental tissues of stillbirths. Results: Of 2437 stillbirth internal tissues, 8.3% (95% CI 7.2–9.4) were positive. Organisms were most commonly detected in brain (12.3%), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (9.5%) and whole blood (8.4%). Ureaplasma urealyticum/parvum was the organism most frequently detected in at least one internal organ (6.4% of stillbirths and 2% of all tissues). Escherichia coli/Shigella was the next most common (4.1% one or more internal organ tissue sample and 1.3% of tissue samples), followed by Staphylococcus aureus in at least one internal organ tissue (1.9% and 0.9% of all tissues). None of the other organisms was found in more than 1.4% of the tissue samples in stillbirths or more than 0.6% of the internal tissues examined. In the placenta tissue, membrane or cord blood combined, 42.8% (95% CI 40.2–45.3) had at least one organism identified, with U. urealyticum/parvum representing the most commonly identified (27.8%). Conclusions: In about 8% of stillbirths, there was evidence of a pathogen in an internal organ. Ureaplasma urealyticum/parvum was the most common organism found in the placenta and in the internal tissues, especially in the fetal brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]