mSEP: Maternal Sepsis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
mSEP: Investigation of maternal immunity and testing of physiological and immune-metabolic blood markers for maternal sepsis
IRAS ID
262062
Contact name
Peter Ghazal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection harms its own tissues and organs. When it happens during pregnancy, during or after giving birth, or after a miscarriage or abortion it is called maternal sepsis. This condition is an important cause of maternal deaths in the UK and around the world. However, there is a lack of useful and accurate blood tests for the identification of pregnant women with maternal sepsis. At present, making the diagnosis of infection, differentiating between infection and inflammation, and predicting the outcome can be very difficult. This research study will help analyse new blood tests, which aim to identify maternal sepsis sooner and more accurately. If successful, these blood tests can potentially reduce the amount of blood needed for diagnosis, be more accurate and limit the exposure of mothers and therefore babies to un-necessary antibiotics. This study should also contribute to a better understanding of how the maternal immune system works and therefore could lead to further advances in our knowledge and treatment.
REC name
Wales REC 2
REC reference
19/WA/0268
Date of REC Opinion
31 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion