According to the Globe Health Organization, sepsis is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality throughout the world. This life-threatening condition is caused by a severe infection in the body that may result in death as well as damage to tissues and organs (WHO). It is a life-threatening crisis that is mostly avoidable with early identification and treatment. Pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries may be disproportionately affected by the condition. A primary objective for the World Health Organization (WHO) in terms of global health is the reduction of maternal fatalities, especially deaths caused by sepsis.
In a recent study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), titled The Pregnancy Meeting, and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers found that women who had a history of preterm birth were more likely to have low birth weight babies. A single dosage of azithromycin given to women who planned to give birth vaginally was shown to considerably minimize the risk of maternal mortality or sepsis, according to the results that were recently released by researchers.
Participants were 29,278 across eight locations for the randomized control experiment that was conducted by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either azithromycin, a common and reasonably priced antibiotic that is used to treat a broad range of bacterial infections, or a placebo. Azithromycin is included on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Everyone who took part in the study was at least 28 weeks pregnant and had a scheduled delivery by vaginal birth at a medical center.
In all, 14,590 individuals were prescribed azithromycin, whereas 14,688 individuals were given a placebo. All of the participants were monitored for a period of 42 days after delivery to ensure conformity with the definition of maternal mortality provided by the WHO. According to this definition, maternal mortality encompasses not only deaths that occur during pregnancy but also deaths that occur within 42 days of delivery.
In women who gave birth vaginally, researchers discovered that a single dosage of azithromycin, taken by mouth, lowered the risk of maternal mortality or sepsis by 33 percent. In addition, the researchers found a number of secondary results, one of which was that patients who were given azithromycin had fewer hospital readmissions and less trips to the emergency room.
