Antenatal assessment of fetal infection utilising MRI
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Antenatal assessment of fetal infection utilising advanced MRI protocols
IRAS ID
253500
Contact name
Reza Rezavi
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
na, na
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Preterm prolonged rupture of membranes (PPROM) occurs in 3% of pregnancies. This is where the water around the baby breaks too soon. In this situation labour often begins with a few days of this happening. However in cases where this does not occur and there are no obvious signs of infection in the mother, delivery is deferred until 37 weeks. Although this may reduce complications associated with being born extremely premature for the baby, if infection is present in the uterus without signs in the mother and the pregnancy is prolonged, this can create greater health problems for the child both immediately after birth and in later life such as cerebral palsy.
Currently, there are no tests used in clinical practice to assess for infection in the womb/baby prior to birth. The decision for delivery is made entirely on whether infection is suspected in the mother. This project will use MRI scanning to assess whether signs of infection can be detected in the baby and placenta prior to delivery. This may provide a future clinical test for such pregnancies and improve outcomes for babies where the pregnancies have been complicated by PPROM.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
19/SS/0032
Date of REC Opinion
7 Mar 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion