View clinical trials related to Pregnancy.
Filter by:Access to highly active antiretroviral therapy can improve maternal health outcomes for the 4000 HIV- infected women who give birth daily and nearly eliminate transmission of HIV to their infants. However, system inefficiencies, particularly CD4 testing to determine treatment eligibility, are barriers. The project aims to study the effectiveness of a programmatic intervention at improving antenatal access to treatment.
Simulation-based training is essential in learning or maintaining skills in high risk industry such as aviation and railway and in the medical field like anaesthesia. Debriefing following simulation is fundamental in order to reduce the emotional impact of the session and to asses the technical and non-technical skills (behavior). Even if the ideal debriefing method is still to be found, individual debriefing is considered as the gold standard but time consuming. The DEBRIEF-SIM study is a prospective, single blinded, multicentric and randomized study that will compare the individual (defined by learning couple resident and nurse) approach to a grouped (several couples) debriefing. The primary end point is to define the noninferiority of this approach compared to the individual one on the educational impact. The learners will be debriefed according to their randomization after the first session, but will all undergo individual debriefing following the second session.
A national survey in Niger found that women and children are at risk of undernutrition and that many pregnant women don't visit health centers during pregnancy as often as is recommended. The aim is to assess the nutritional and health status of pregnant women in the Zinder region and to understand their knowledge, attitudes and practices related to health and nutrition during pregnancy. In collaboration with the Medical District of Zinder the prenatal care services will be optimized and the programmatic impact on gestational weight gain and anemia prevalence will be assessed.
The study includes two study parts in which blood is collected from the patients. Study part A (observational study, already received positive ethics committee vote; Our sign: 12-330): Use of blood samples gathered during routine blood withdrawal Study part B (interventional study in the sense of additional blood samples but without an investigational product): Optional, for further pharmacokinetic questions: blood withdrawal with a maximum of 20 ml ( ten tubes of 2 ml each) within a maximal study length of four weeks. The primary objective of this study is to gain an overview about drug concentrations in plasma and/or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), in order to determine pharmacokinetics of drugs in patients. Any drug may be tested, however the initial focus is on antiinfective, antineoplastic, and antipsychotic drugs. Many published studies show that there is a profound lack of information on pharmacokinetics and interactions of many commonly used drugs in clinical routine, and that drug concentrations, if controlled by therapeutic drug monitoring, are not in the therapeutic range (provided that such ranges are known at all).
Preeclampsia (PE) is a common disorder of pregnancy that complicates 4-7% of all pregnancies. It is a serious condition with acute proteinuria and hypertension and varying degrees of edema after 20 weeks of gestation. PE leads to a severe risk of low birth weight because of prematurity with inherent complications. The pathogenesis is unknown but is assumed to involve placental ischemia.The primary placental disorder results in renal glomerular injury. Established PE is associated with paradoxical suppression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, RAAS. Despite suppressed RAAS, patients with PE retain NaCl(sodium chloride) after an intravenous isotonic NaCl overload compared to healthy pregnant women on a low NaCl diet. The investigators believe to have data that provide a possible explanation for the overall relationship between proteinuria, NaCl retension, suppression of RAAS, hypertension and underdevelopment of placenta. Earlier data, which the investigators have confirmed, shows abnormal glomerular loss of the enzyme plasmin/plasminogen from plasma to the urine in PE. Active plasmin in urine from patients with nephrotic syndrome and PE activates the epithelial sodium channel ( ENaC ) in renal collecting duct cells. The investigators hypothesize that loss of plasmin/plasminogen are shared for the diseases with proteinuria, including PE, and that plasmin- driven ENaC (epithelial sodium channel) activation is a causal factor in the pathophysiology of established PE. Hyperactive ENaC causes primary renal sodium retention with secondary suppression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Aldosterone is recently established as a placental growth factor. Plasma-aldosterone levels are significant higher in normal pregnant women. PE is characterized by low aldosterone levels (a discovery the investigators have also confirmed) and by placental underdevelopment. Study Aim: To test specific hypothesis regarding established PE´s pathophysiological mechanisms. Study Hypothesis: 1. Excretion of urine proteases (plasmin/plasminogen) in PE leads to an activation of ENaC and hence RAAS is less NaCl sensitive while the blood pressure is more NaCl sensitive compared to healthy pregnant women. 2. The degree of aldosterone suppression in PE determines placental development
It is estimated that around 50 000 women die every year due to consequences of unsafe abortion (Singh et al, 2009). A majority of these deaths occur in low-income countries where access to safe abortion care is limited. Unplanned pregnancy and unsafe abortion thus place a huge burden on scarce medical resources. Any improvement in Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) would mean important improvements for the concerned women and their families (Singh, 2006) as well as for the societies at large. Recommended improvements concern increased access to the safest and most cost-effective methods such as medical abortion provided at primary level facilities (Singh et al, 2009). A Cochrane Review concludes that most randomised controlled trials within the field of medical abortion are conducted in high-income settings with good access to emergency health care services (Kulier et al, 2004). A simplified regime for medical abortion, which could be used at primary level facilities, would contribute to the reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity related to unsafe abortions globally. However, there is a knowledge gap in order to determine if a simplified follow up of medical abortion is equally effective as the standard procedure in a low-income setting. The results will provide evidence-based information to be used in revising training and service delivery guidelines' in order to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in both low and high-income setting.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the Alexis O C-section retractor in obese patients (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) who undergo Cesarean sections. Patients will be randomized to the use of the Alexis retractor during Cesarean section (treatment group) or the use of traditional hand-held retractors (control group). We will determine if there is any difference in surgical site infection or wound disruption rates. We will also determine if there is a difference in the duration of surgery or length of time from skin incision to delivery of the infant, change in hemoglobin, estimated blood loss, and postoperative length of stay, intra-operative or postoperative anti-emetic requirements, need for hospital readmission or emergency room visits, or other complication rate between the two groups.
Investigate differences in practice patterns in providers who may care for pregnant women with asthma exacerbations. The investigators believe that practitioners of different specialties will practice differently.
Reducing maternal and newborn mortality remains a global challenge. Because obstetric complications cannot be predicted, skilled attendance at the time of delivery and access to emergency obstetric care remain the most effective strategies to reduce mortality. Antenatal care has the potential to reduce maternal morbidity and improve newborns survival but this benefit may not be realized in sub-Saharan Africa where the attendance and quality of care is declining. There is a rapidly expanding number of mobile phone users in developing countries and due to the potential to strengthen health system the use of mobile phones is health care is emerging. The investigators assessed a mobile phone intervention named "wired mothers" aimed to improve maternal and newborn health. The hypothesis of the study was that the wired mothers mobile phone intervention would increase attendance to essential reproductive health services such as antenatal care and skilled delivery attendance and reduce severe adverse pregnancy outcomes for women and newborn. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of the wired mothers intervention on antenatal care, skilled delivery attendance, access to emergency obstetric care and perinatal mortality. The study was a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial with the primary health care facility as the unit of randomization. The study took place in 2009-2010 on the island of Unguja in Zanzibar. 2550 pregnant women who attended antenatal care at one of 24 selected facilities were included at their first visit and followed until 42 days after delivery. Facilities were allocated by simple randomization to either mobile phone intervention (n=12) or standard care (n=12). The intervention consisted of a SMS and mobile phone voucher component. The perspectives of the study are that mobile phones may contribute to saving the lives of women and their newborns and achievement of MDGs 4 and 5. Evidence is needed to guide maternal and child health policy makers in developing countries.
This is a randomized prospective clinical trial designed to determine the wound complication rates for stainless steel staples versus subcuticular suture for skin closure in the obese parturient (BMI≥ 30kg/m2) undergoing cesarean delivery.