Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and maternal and neonatal outcomes in Haiti: the importance of surveillance and data collection.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to determine reported prevalence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP) and maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with these disorders among women delivering at selected hospitals across Haiti. METHODS: A retrospective review of 8822 singleton deliveries between January 2012 and December 2014 was conducted at four hospitals in separate Departments across Haiti. Researchers examined the proportion of women with reported HDP (hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia) and the association between women with HDP and three neonatal outcomes: low birth weight, preterm birth, and stillbirths; and two maternal outcomes: placental abruption and maternal death in Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS). Odds ratios for associations between HDP and perinatal outcomes at HAS were assessed using logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: Of the 8822 singleton births included in the study, 510 (5.8%) had a reported HDP (including 285 (55.9%) preeclampsia, 119 (23.3%) eclampsia, and 106 (20.8%) hypertension). Prevalence of HDP among each hospital was: HAS (13.5%), Hôpital Immaculée Conception des Cayes (HIC) (3.2%), Fort Liberté (4.3%), and Hôpital Sacré Coeur de Milot (HSC) (3.0%). Among women at HAS with HDP, the adjusted odds of having a low birth weight baby was four times that of women without HDP (aOR 4.17, 95% CI 3.19-5.45), more than three times that for stillbirths (aOR 3.51, 95% CI 2.43-5.06), and five times as likely to result in maternal death (aOR 5.13, 95% CI 1.53-17.25). Among the three types of HDP, eclampsia was associated with the greatest odds of adverse events with five times the odds of having a low birth weight baby (aOR 5.00, 95% CI 2.84-8.79), six times the odds for stillbirths (aOR 6.34, 95% CI 3.40-11.82), and more than twelve times as likely to result in maternal death (aOR 12.70, 95% CI 2.33-69.31). CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of HDP was found among a cohort of Haitian mothers. HDP was associated with higher rates of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in HAS, which is comparable to studies of HDP conducted in high-income countries.

Use of Rapid Ascertainment Process for Institutional Deaths (RAPID) to identify pregnancy-related deaths in tertiary-care obstetric hospitals in three departments in Haiti.

BACKGROUND: Accurate assessment of maternal deaths is difficult in countries lacking standardized data sources for their review. As a first step to investigate suspected maternal deaths, WHO suggests surveillance of "pregnancy-related deaths", defined as deaths of women while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of cause. Rapid Ascertainment Process for Institutional Deaths (RAPID), a surveillance tool, retrospectively identifies pregnancy-related deaths occurring in health facilities that may be missed by routine surveillance to assess gaps in reporting these deaths. METHODS: We used RAPID to review pregnancy-related deaths in six tertiary obstetric care facilities in three departments in Haiti. We reviewed registers and medical dossiers of deaths among women of reproductive age occurring in 2014 and 2015 from all wards, along with any additional available dossiers of deaths not appearing in registers, to capture pregnancy status, suspected cause of death, and timing of death in relation to the pregnancy. We used capture-recapture analyses to estimate the true number of in-hospital pregnancy-related deaths in these facilities. RESULTS: Among 373 deaths of women of reproductive age, we found 111 pregnancy-related deaths, 25.2% more than were reported through routine surveillance, and 22.5% of which were misclassified as non-pregnancy-related. Hemorrhage (27.0%) and hypertensive disorders (18.0%) were the most common categories of suspected causes of death, and deaths after termination of pregnancy were statistically significantly more common than deaths during pregnancy or delivery. Data were missing at multiple levels: 210 deaths had an undetermined pregnancy status, 48.7% of pregnancy-related deaths lacked specific information about timing of death in relation to the pregnancy, and capture-recapture analyses in three hospitals suggested that approximately one-quarter of pregnancy-related deaths were not captured by RAPID or routine surveillance. CONCLUSIONS: Across six tertiary obstetric care facilities in Haiti, RAPID identified unreported pregnancy-related deaths, and showed that missing data was a widespread problem. RAPID is a useful tool to more completely identify facility-based pregnancy-related deaths, but its repeated use would require a concomitant effort to systematically improve documentation of clinical findings in medical records. Limitations of RAPID demonstrate the need to use it alongside other tools to more accurately measure and address maternal mortality.

Quality and uptake of antenatal and postnatal care in Haiti.

BACKGROUND: Despite improvement, maternal mortality in Haiti remains high at 359/100,000 live births. Improving access to high quality antenatal and postnatal care has been shown to reduce maternal mortality and improve newborn outcomes. Little is known regarding the quality and uptake of antenatal and postnatal care among Haitian women. METHODS: Exit interviews were conducted with all pregnant and postpartum women seeking care from large health facilities (n = 10) in the Nord and Nord-Est department and communes of St. Marc, Verrettes, and Petite Rivière in Haiti over the study period (March-April 2015; 3-4 days/facility). Standard questions related to demographics, previous pregnancies, current pregnancy, and services/satisfaction during the visit were asked. Total number of antenatal visits were abstracted from charts of recently delivered women (n = 1141). Provider knowledge assessments were completed by antenatal and postnatal care providers (n = 39). Frequencies were calculated for descriptive variables and multivariable logistic regression was used to explore predictors of receiving 5 out of 10 counseling messages among pregnant women. RESULTS: Among 894 pregnant women seeking antenatal care, most reported receiving standard clinical service components during their visit (97% were weighed, 80% had fetal heart tones checked), however fewer reported receiving recommended counseling messages (44% counselled on danger signs, 33% on postpartum family planning). Far fewer women were seeking postnatal care (n = 63) and similar service patterns were reported. Forty-three percent of pregnant women report receiving at least 5 out of 10 counseling messages. Pregnant women on a repeat visit and women with greater educational attainment had greater odds of reporting having received 5 out of 10 counseling messages (2nd visit: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] =1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09-2.66; 5+ visit: aOR = 5.44, 95% CI: 2.91-10.16; elementary school certificate: aOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.17-3.63; finished secondary school or more aOR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.05-3.02). Chart reviews indicate 27% of women completed a single antenatal visit and 36% completed the recommended 4 visits. CONCLUSIONS: Antenatal and postnatal care uptake in Haiti is sub-optimal. Despite frequent reports of provision of standard service components, counseling messages are low. Consistent provision of standardized counseling messages with regular provider trainings is recommended to improve quality and uptake of care in Haiti.

Risk factors early in the 2010 cholera epidemic, Haiti.

During the early weeks of the cholera outbreak that began in Haiti in October 2010, we conducted a case-control study to identify risk factors. Drinking treated water was strongly protective against illness. Our results highlight the effectiveness of safe water in cholera control.

High Levels of HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Children Who Acquired HIV Infection Through Mother to Child Transmission in the Era of Option B+, Haiti, 2013 to 2014.

BACKGROUND: The main objective of this study was to determine the frequency and patterns of HIV drug resistance-associated mutations among children under 18 months of age born to HIV-1-positive mothers enrolled in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission services in Haiti. METHODS: Between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014, HIV-positive remnant dried blood spots collected from children under 18 months of age for Early Infant Diagnosis at the National Public Health Laboratory were used for HIV-1 genotyping. HIV drug resistance mutations were analyzed using the Stanford Drug Resistance HIVdb program. RESULTS: Of the 3555 dried blood spots collected for Early Infant Diagnosis, 360 (10.1%) were HIV-positive and 355 were available for genotyping. Of these, 304 (85.6%) were successfully genotyped and 217 (71.4%) had ≥1 drug resistance mutation. Mutations conferring resistance to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTIs) and non-NRTIs were present in 40.5% (123) and 69.1% (210), respectively. The most frequent mutations were K103N/S (48.0%), M184V (37.5%), G190A/S (15.1%), and Y181C/G/V (14.1%). Predicted drug resistance analysis revealed that 68.8% of the children had high-level resistance to non-NRTIs and 11.5% had intermediate to high-level resistance to abacavir. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed high rates of resistance to NRTIs and non-NRTIs among newly HIV-diagnosed children in Haiti, suggesting that in the era of "Option B+" (initiation of lifelong combination antiretroviral therapy to pregnant women with HIV), the majority of children who acquire HIV infection through mother-to-child transmission of HIV have resistant HIV. These results have led the National HIV Program to revise the pediatric guidelines to include protease inhibitors in first-line regimens for all HIV-positive newborns.