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Background: The safety and efficacy of antenatal glucocorticoids in women in low-resource countries who are at risk for preterm birth are uncertain., Methods: We conducted a multicountry, randomized trial involving pregnant women between 26 weeks 0 days and 33 weeks 6 days of gestation who were at risk for preterm birth. The participants were assigned to intramuscular dexamethasone or identical placebo. The primary outcomes were neonatal death alone, stillbirth or neonatal death, and possible maternal bacterial infection; neonatal death alone and stillbirth or neonatal death were evaluated with superiority analyses, and possible maternal bacterial infection was evaluated with a noninferiority analysis with the use of a prespecified margin of 1.25 on the relative scale., Results: A total of 2852 women (and their 3070 fetuses) from 29 secondary- and tertiary-level hospitals across Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Pakistan underwent randomization. The trial was stopped for benefit at the second interim analysis. Neonatal death occurred in 278 of 1417 infants (19.6%) in the dexamethasone group and in 331 of 1406 infants (23.5%) in the placebo group (relative risk, 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 0.97; P = 0.03). Stillbirth or neonatal death occurred in 393 of 1532 fetuses and infants (25.7%) and in 444 of 1519 fetuses and infants (29.2%), respectively (relative risk, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.99; P = 0.04); the incidence of possible maternal bacterial infection was 4.8% and 6.3%, respectively (relative risk, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.56 to 1.03). There was no significant between-group difference in the incidence of adverse events., Conclusions: Among women in low-resource countries who were at risk for early preterm birth, the use of dexamethasone resulted in significantly lower risks of neonatal death alone and stillbirth or neonatal death than the use of placebo, without an increase in the incidence of possible maternal bacterial infection. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization; Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12617000476336; Clinical Trials Registry-India number, CTRI/2017/04/008326.)., (Copyright © 2020 Massachusetts Medical Society.)

The main objective of this secondary analysis was to describe the nutritional status of the Better Outcomes in Labour Difficulty (BOLD) project study population and determine possible associations between maternal nutritional status (as reflected by maternal BMI at the time of birth) and severe neonatal outcomes (SNO). We also analysed previous and index maternal pathologies to determine associations with neonatal outcomes. We used the classification designed by Atalah for maternal BMI and compared with the Hyperglycaemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study one. To describe the nutritional status of this population, figures of distribution and test of normality related to weight and BMI were presented for the women and their babies. To explore the association between maternal BMI data and SNO, the χ2 test was performed. To identify a maternal characteristic or a group of characteristics that could predict SNO, we used Fisher's exact test using previous maternal pathology collected in the BOLD project as well as that in the index pregnancy. In this study, BMI at the time of birth was not associated with neonatal near miss or death. We found that previous maternal obesity, diabetes and chronic hypertension were associated with SNO. Maternal pathology in the index pregnancy such as other obstetric haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, anaemia and gestational diabetes was associated with SNO.

Objective: To examine the association between the use of invasive treatments for postpartum hemorrhage and the risk of sepsis and severe sepsis., Methods: Secondary data analysis of the WOMAN randomized controlled trial, including 20 060 women with postpartum hemorrhage in 21 countries. Logistic regression with random effects was used., Results: The cumulative incidence was 1.8% for sepsis and 0.5% for severe sepsis. All-cause mortality was 40.4% in women with severe sepsis versus 2.2% for women without. After adjusting for bleeding severity and other confounders, intrauterine tamponade, hysterectomy, and laparotomy increased the risk of sepsis (aOR 1.77 [95% CI 1.21-2.59], P=0.004; aOR 1.97 [95% CI 1.49-2.65], P<0.001; and aOR 6.63 [95% CI 4.29-10.24], P<0.001, respectively) and severe sepsis (aOR 2.60 [95% CI 1.47-4.59], P=0.002; aOR 1.97 [95% CI 0.83-2.46], P=0.033; and aOR 5.35 [95% CI 2.61-10.98], P<0.001, respectively)., Conclusion: In this secondary data analysis, certain invasive treatments for postpartum hemorrhage appear to increase the risk of sepsis. Further research is needed to confirm this finding and investigate the role of prophylactic antibiotics during these procedures. The harms and benefits of such interventions must be carefully weighed, both in treatment guidelines and during individual patient management., Trial Registration: ISRCTN76912190., (© 2019 The Authors. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

Objectives: To determine the accuracy of the 50-g glucose challenge test (GCT) in detecting hyperglycemia in pregnancy (HIP) across a range of glucose thresholds relative to the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups diagnostic criteria, and to determine the accuracy of the 50-g GCT among patients with different risk status., Methods: The present prospective cohort study included women aged 18-45 years at 24-31 +6  weeks of pregnancy who presented at the Mother and Child Hospital, Akure, Nigeria, between September 1, 2015, and February 29, 2016. Patients underwent the 50-g GCT followed by the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The accuracy of different 50-g GCT thresholds in diagnosing HIP was assessed based on International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups diagnostic criteria, with the 75-g OGTT used as a clinical reference standard., Results: Of 280 patients enrolled, 46 (16.4%) had HIP. The sensitivity of the 50-g GCT to detect HIP decreased from 47.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 32.9-63.1) at a 7.2-mmol/L threshold to 32.6% (95% CI, 19.5-48.0) at a 8.0-mmol/L threshold; the specificity improved from 84.2% (95% CI, 78.9-88.6) to 95.3% (95% CI, 91.7-97.6), respectively., Conclusion: The 50-g GCT performed poorly compared with the 75-g OGTT for detecting HIP. It appears to be an unsuitable replacement for the 75-g OGTT., (© 2017 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

Objective: To determine the outcomes and factors associated with postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) treatment with condom-catheter uterine balloon tamponade (C-UBT)., Design: Prospective observational study., Setting: A secondary healthcare facility in Nigeria., Population: Women with PPH refractory to first-line treatment., Methods: Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared in women with successful and unsuccessful treatment. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association of these characteristics with successful treatment., Main Outcome Measures: The success rate of C-UBT, factors associated with success, and maternal morbidity rates in both successful and unsuccessful treatment groups., Results: Overall, 203/229 (88.6%) women had successful treatment. Women with successful treatment had lower mean blood loss (1248.8 ± 701.3 ml versus 3434.6 ± 906.6 ml; P < 0.0001), lower occurrence of blood transfusion [139 (68.5%) versus 26 (100%); P < 0.0001], lower intensive care unit admission rates [5 (2.5%) versus 20 (76.9%); P < 0.0001], and lower occurrence of infectious morbidities [3 (1.5%) versus 7 (26.9%); P < 0.0001]. In the regression model with two factors, caesarean section (adjusted odds ratio, aOR 0.17; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI 0.07-0.40) was associated with lower success rates compared with vaginal delivery. In the regression model with three factors, advanced maternal age (aOR 0.31; 95% CI 0.11-0.90) and caesarean section (aOR 0.17; 95% CI 0.07-0.41) were associated with lower success rates in comparison with younger maternal age and vaginal delivery, respectively., Conclusions: Second-line PPH treatment with C-UBT is effective, and is associated with low maternal morbidity rates. Advanced maternal age and caesarean section are associated with lower success rates., Tweetable Abstract: Condom-catheter tamponade is a useful second-line treatment modality for intractable postpartum haemorrhage., (© 2016 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.)