Azithromycin can reduce risk of maternal sepsis by 33pc: Study

Staff Reporter :
A new study found that a single oral dose of azithromycin, a common antibiotic, reduced the risk of maternal sepsis or death by 33 percent in women who delivered baby normally.
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) conducted the study.
ICDDR,B, conducted the multi-country study titled ‘Use of Azithromycin Prophylaxis During Delivery (A-PLUS)’ under Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research.
The findings of the study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
An ICDDR,B press release said it on Thursday. It said that the Azithromycin Prevention in Labor Use Study, or A-PLUS trial found that azithromycin given to patients planning normal delivery reduced maternal infections and deaths.
It said that the maternal infections and sepsis, which is a serious complication of infections, are among the top five causes of maternal mortality worldwide.
Maternal infection also increases the risk of neonatal sepsis, which accounts for 16 percent of newborn deaths.
From September 2020 to August 2022, more than 29,000 women were randomized to either an active or placebo group. Those in the active group were given a single 2-gram dose of azithromycin. Maternal sepsis or death, the study’s primary outcome, occurred in 1.6 percent of women in the active group versus 2.4 percent in the placebo group.
Additionally, rates of several secondary outcomes including specific maternal infections such as endometritis, wound infections and urine infections were lower in the azithromycin group.
While findings showed azithromycin reduced the risk of maternal sepsis or death, the intervention did not reduce the risk of sepsis or death in newborns. However, there were no adverse newborn effects, the press release said.