SynthesisReproductive health2017
Towards a consensus definition of maternal sepsis: results of a systematic review and expert consultation.
Synthesis in Reproductive health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT07068022 (Development and Validation of an Obstetric Organ Dysfunction Score to Predict Mortality in Intensive Care Unit), which is not on this map. Cited by 59 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Development and Validation of an Obstetric Organ Dysfunction Score to Predict Mortality in Intensive Care Unit: A Multicenter, Prospective, Cohort Study
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The aetiology and antimicrobial resistance of bacterial maternal infections in Sub-Saharan Africa-a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Pooled it
- Incidence of maternal peripartum infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Effectiveness of intrapartum azithromycin to prevent infections in planned vaginal births in low-income and middle-income countries: a post-hoc analysis of data from a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.The Lancet. Global health · 2025Trial
- Secondary analysis of the WOMAN trial to explore the risk of sepsis after invasive treatments for postpartum hemorrhage.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2019Trial
- Incidence and risk factors for postpartum infections: A Norwegian cohort study, 2012-2020.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Infectious diseases in pregnancy in Sri Lanka: gaps in surveillance, diagnosis, and policy: a scoping review.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- A Comprehensive Strategy to Mitigate Institutional Maternal Mortality: Lessons From a Quality Improvement Initiative in Brazilian Maternity Hospitals.Global health, science and practice · 2025Article
- Using maternal sepsis patient journeys to map and prioritise barriers to quality maternal healthcare in Malawi: a multidisciplinary stakeholder consultation workshop.Global health action · 2025Article
- Maternal deaths from sepsis in the Nordic countries during 2005-2021: A descriptive study.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Assessing patient-level risk factors for evidence-based early diagnosis of maternal sepsis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Special Statement: Tools for patient safety and quality case review and response: Obstetric sepsis.Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Early warning systems for identifying severe maternal outcomes: findings from the WHO global maternal sepsis study.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Sepsis in obstetrics score: Predicting morbidity among antenatal and postnatal women.Bioinformation · 2025Article
- Maternal sepsis: background, diagnosis and management.BJA education · 2024Review
- Sepsis in obstetric care for the emergency clinician: A review.Seminars in perinatology · 2024Review
- Article
- Analysis of the impact of maternal sepsis on pregnancy outcomes: a population-based retrospective study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- The Global Burden of Sepsis and Septic Shock.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Article
- Infective Endocarditis in Pregnancy: A Contemporary Cohort.American journal of perinatology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is a need for a clear and actionable definition of maternal sepsis, in order to better assess the burden of this condition, trigger timely and effective treatment and allow comparisons across facilities and countries. The objective of this study was to review maternal sepsis definitions and identification criteria and to report on the results of an expert consultation to develop a new international definition of maternal sepsis.
methodsAll original and review articles and WHO documents, as well as clinical guidelines providing definitions and/or identification criteria of maternal sepsis were included. A multidisciplinary international panel of experts was surveyed through an online consultation in March-April 2016 on their opinion on the existing sepsis definitions, including new definition of sepsis proposed for the adult population (2016 Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock) and importance of different criteria for identification of maternal sepsis. The definition was agreed using an iterative process in an expert face-to-face consensus development meeting convened by WHO and Jhpiego.
resultsStandardizing the definition of maternal sepsis and aligning it with the current understanding of sepsis in the adult population was considered a mandatory step to improve the assessment of the burden of maternal sepsis by the expert panel. The literature review and expert consultation resulted in a new WHO consensus definition "Maternal sepsis is a life-threatening condition defined as organ dysfunction resulting from infection during pregnancy, child-birth, post-abortion, or post-partum period". Plans are in progress to validate the new WHO definition of maternal sepsis in a large international population.
conclusionThe operationalization of the new maternal sepsis definition requires generation of a set of practical criteria to identify women with sepsis. These criteria should enable clinicians to focus on the timely initiation of actionable elements of care (administration of antimicrobials and fluids, support of vital organ functions, and referral) and improve maternal outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.