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The use of specialised preterm birth clinics for women at high risk of spontaneous preterm birth: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Specialised preterm birth clinics care for women at high risk of spontaneous preterm birth. This systematic review assesses current practice within preterm birth clinics globally. METHODS:A comprehensive search strategy was used to identify all studies on preterm birth clinics on the MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CENTRAL and CINAHL databases. There were no restrictions to study design. Studies were limited to the English language and publications from 1998 onwards. Two reviewers assessed studies for inclusion, performed data extraction and reviewed methodological quality. Primary outcomes were referral criteria, investigations and interventions offered in preterm birth clinics. Secondary outcomes were the timing of planned first and last appointments and frequency of review. RESULTS:Thirty-two records fulfilled eligibility criteria and 20 studies were included in the main analysis following grouping of records describing the same study or clinic. Studies were of mixed study design and methodological quality. A total of 39 clinics were described; outcome data was not available for all clinics. Referral criteria included previous spontaneous preterm birth (38/38, 100%), previous mid-trimester loss (34/38, 89%) and previous cervical surgery (33/38, 87%). All clinics offered transvaginal cervical length scans. Additional investigations varied, including urogenital swabs (16/28, 57%) and fetal fibronectin (8/28, 29%). The primary treatment of choice for a sonographic short cervix was cervical cerclage in 10/33 (30%) clinics and vaginal progesterone in 6/33 (18%), with 10/33 (30%) using multiple first-line options and 6/33 (18%) using a combination of treatments. The majority of clinics planned timing of first review for 12-16?weeks (30/35, 86%) and the frequency of review was usually determined by clinical findings (18/24, 75%). There was a wide variation in gestational age at clinic discharge between 24 and 37?weeks. CONCLUSIONS:There is variation in the referral criteria, investigations and interventions offered in preterm birth clinics and in the timing and frequency of review. Consistency in practice may improve with the introduction of consensus guidelines and national preterm birth prevention programmes. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Systematic review registration number: CRD42019131470.

SUBMITTER: Dawes L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6990596 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The use of specialised preterm birth clinics for women at high risk of spontaneous preterm birth: a systematic review.

Dawes Lisa L Groom Katie K Jordan Vanessa V Waugh Jason J

BMC pregnancy and childbirth 20200129 1

<h4>Background</h4>Specialised preterm birth clinics care for women at high risk of spontaneous preterm birth. This systematic review assesses current practice within preterm birth clinics globally.<h4>Methods</h4>A comprehensive search strategy was used to identify all studies on preterm birth clinics on the MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CENTRAL and CINAHL databases. There were no restrictions to study design. Studies were limited to the English language and publications from 1998 onwards. Two rev ...[more]

PMID: 31996173

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Project description:ObjectivesTo assess the psychological well-being of pregnant women at increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth, and the impact of care from a preterm birth clinic.DesignSingle-centre longitudinal cohort study over 1 year, 2018-2019.SettingTertiary maternity hospital in Auckland, New Zealand.ParticipantsPregnant women at increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth receiving care in a preterm birth clinic.InterventionParticipants completed three sets of questionnaires (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and 36-Item Short Form Survey)-prior to their first, after their second, and after their last clinic appointments. Study-specific questionnaires explored pregnancy-related anxiety and perceptions of care.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the mean State-Anxiety score. Secondary outcomes included depression and quality of life measures.Results73/97 (75.3%) eligible women participated; 41.1% had a previous preterm birth, 31.5% a second trimester loss and 28.8% cervical surgery; 20.6% had a prior mental health condition. 63/73 (86.3%) women completed all questionnaires. The adjusted mean state-anxiety score was 39.0 at baseline, which decreased to 36.5 after the second visit (difference -2.5, 95% CI -5.5 to 0.5, p=0.1) and to 32.6 after the last visit (difference -3.9 from second visit, 95% CI -6.4 to -1.5, p=0.002). Rates of anxiety (state-anxiety score >40) and depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score >12) were 38.4%, 34.8%, 19.0% and 13.7%, 8.7%, 9.5% respectively, at the same time periods. Perceptions of care were favourable; 88.9% stated the preterm birth clinic made them significantly or somewhat less anxious and 87.3% wanted to be seen again in a future pregnancy.ConclusionsWomen at increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth have high levels of anxiety. Psychological well-being improved during the second trimester; women perceived that preterm birth clinic care reduced pregnancy-related anxiety. These findings support the ongoing use and development of preterm birth clinics.

Project description:ObjectivesTo compare the efficacy of bed rest, cervical cerclage (McDonald, Shirodkar, or unspecified type of cerclage), cervical pessary, fish oils or omega fatty acids, nutritional supplements (zinc), progesterone (intramuscular, oral, or vaginal), prophylactic antibiotics, prophylactic tocolytics, combinations of interventions, placebo or no treatment (control) to prevent spontaneous preterm birth in women with a singleton pregnancy and a history of spontaneous preterm birth or short cervical length.DesignSystematic review with bayesian network meta-analysis.Data sourcesThe Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Database of Trials, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, relevant journals, conference proceedings, and registries of ongoing trials.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesRandomised controlled trials of pregnant women who are at high risk of spontaneous preterm birth because of a history of spontaneous preterm birth or short cervical length. No language or date restrictions were applied.OutcomesSeven maternal outcomes and 11 fetal outcomes were analysed in line with published core outcomes for preterm birth research. Relative treatment effects (odds ratios and 95% credible intervals) and certainty of evidence are presented for outcomes of preterm birth <34 weeks and perinatal death.ResultsSixty one trials (17 273 pregnant women) contributed data for the analysis of at least one outcome. For preterm birth <34 weeks (40 trials, 13 310 pregnant women) and with placebo or no treatment as the comparator, vaginal progesterone was associated with fewer women with preterm birth <34 weeks (odds ratio 0.50, 95% credible interval 0.34 to 0.70, high certainty of evidence). Shirodkar cerclage showed the largest effect size (0.06, 0.00 to 0.84), but the certainty of evidence was low. 17OHPC (17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate; 0.68, 0.43 to 1.02, moderate certainty), vaginal pessary (0.65, 0.39 to 1.08, moderate certainty), and fish oil or omega 3 (0.30, 0.06 to 1.23, moderate certainty) might also reduce preterm birth <34 weeks compared with placebo or no treatment. For the fetal outcome of perinatal death (30 trials, 12 119 pregnant women) and with placebo or no treatment as the comparator, vaginal progesterone was the only treatment that showed clear evidence of benefit for this outcome (0.66, 0.44 to 0.97, moderate certainty). 17OHPC (0.78, 0.50 to 1.21, moderate certainty), McDonald cerclage (0.59, 0.33 to 1.03, moderate certainty), and unspecified cerclage (0.77, 0.53 to 1.11, moderate certainty) might reduce perinatal death rates, but credible intervals could not exclude the possibility of harm. Only progesterone treatments are associated with reduction in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, neonatal sepsis, necrotising enterocolitis, and admission to neonatal intensive care unit compared with controls.ConclusionVaginal progesterone should be considered the preventative treatment of choice for women with singleton pregnancy identified to be at risk of spontaneous preterm birth because of a history of spontaneous preterm birth or short cervical length. Future randomised controlled trials should use vaginal progesterone as a comparator to identify better treatments or combination treatments.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42020169006.

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The use of specialised preterm birth clinics for women at high risk of spontaneous preterm birth: a systematic review.

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The use of specialised preterm birth clinics for women at high risk of spontaneous preterm birth: a systematic review.

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