Classification system for causes of perinatal deaths

Objectives

To test the recently developed classification system for causes of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in data-rich settings (high-income and upper-middle income countries). This system combines key features of best performing HIC (high income countries) classification systems into a single system that reflects recent research:

• Ensuring alignment with the principles of the newly developed International Classification of Diseases for Perinatal Mortality (ICD-PM).
• Reflecting expert-consensus characteristics of an effective global system
• Reflecting our analysis of systems currently in use and their alignment with the critical characteristics
• Incorporating recent findings on placental contributors to death
• Incorporating a minimum data set for perinatal deaths

Phase 1: Case selection

This will occur through a purposive sample of 20 cases each from the Netherlands and Australia (40 total) to ensure review of the system functionality in terms of instructions for use and definitions across a range of case scenarios and to pilot test the data collection system.

Phase 2: Case selection

Part A) Applying the systems – The International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA), ICD- PM, Causes of Death and Associated Conditions (CODAC) and Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) – to perinatal deaths across each participating site (Australia, United Kingdom, United States and Brazil): This will involve each participating team to identify 100 consecutive cases of perinatal deaths from the most recent time period which fall into the case inclusion criteria.

Part B) Agreement study: Australia, United States and Brazil teams will be classifying the same 250 Mater cases. Research Team: Vicki Flenady, Susannah Leisher, Fleurisca Korteweg, Jan Jaap Erwich, Sanne Gordijn, Hannah Blencowe, Keelin O’Donoghue, Claire Storey, Bob Silver, Yee Khong, Liz Draper, Frederik Froen, Chrissie Astell, Jessica Sexton, Glenn Gardener, Adrienne Gordon, Admire Matsika, Richard Mausling, Michael Coory, Jeremy Oats, Jens Odendahl, Guilherme de Jesús, Emma Porter, Mu Cheng, Tania Marsden.