Hellp Syndrome Research at USC

Hi everyone! We're reposting this to reach all of our followers. We apologize for the hiatus we had recently, facebook had shut down our page but we've regained temporary access for now. Due to this, we've made a new website for us to continue providing research findings, recruiting for new studies, and continue communicating with you all.

The website is: preeclampsiaresearch.usc.edu

Also please comment on any new features or information you would like to see in the future, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you guys for your continued support!

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Hi everyone! So sorry about the lack of communication lately, facebook had shut down our page. We've only regained temporary access for now. Due to this, we've made a new website for us to continue providing research findings, recruiting for new studies, and continue communicating with you all. The website is: preeclampsiaresearch.usc.edu

Thank you guys for your continued support!

A recent study examined the risk factors for birth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as evidence suggests it is increased in mothers. However, it is less clear whether fathers are similarly impacted by adverse birth experiences. Kress et al. studied both mothers and fathers to determine the risk of birth-related risk of PTSD and factors associated with increased risk. 1,146 mothers and 828 fathers were studied. PTSD symptoms were found in 2.3% of mothers and 0.7% in fathers. Symptoms of depression and anxiety, pregnancy complications, and poor birth experience increase the risk of PTSD in both mothers and fathers. Among mothers, risk of birth-related PTSD was higher among women with lower support during childbirth and unplanned c-sections. For fathers, PTSD symptoms were associated with lower job satisfaction, higher job burden, being a first-time father, lower education, and reduced maternal support during birth. Overall, the study suggests that, in the case of fathers, work factors may be important to contributing to birth-related PTSD. These results should be interpreted with caution as the study population was self-selected and thus, results may apply only to similar populations.

Kress V, von Soest T, Kopp M, Wimberger P, Garthus-Niegel S. Differential predictors of birth-related posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in mothers and fathers – A longitudinal cohort study. Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 292, 2021, Pages 121-130.

Recent Research

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders cause higher mortality in lower to middle income countries (LMIC). Models developed in higher income countries may not work in LMICs due to difference/lack of testing and resources. The aim of the study was to test a model to predict adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes using an algorithm developed for LMIC.

Methods: The study was conducted in Zimbabwe. PE cases included in the study had severe-spectrum preeclampsia (PE). Both maternal and neonatal outcomes were a combination of various possible outcomes (e.g., preterm birth, low birth weight, organ dysfunction, dialysis, etc.).

Sample size: The study analyzed 40,000 deliveries and the incidence of severe preeclampsia/eclampsia was 1.3%, therefore, approximately 520 affected women were included.

Results: The predictive model for composite adverse maternal outcome included maternal age, gestational age on admission, epigastric pain, vaginal bleeding with abdominal pain, hemoglobin concentration, and platelets. The predictive ability of the model was good, few false positives and false negatives resulted. However, when the model was used in a different population, it was unable to accurately predict adverse maternal outcomes. The model for composite adverse neonatal outcome included: gestational age, platelets, alanine transaminase and birth weight and produced an even better model, and thus had good predictive ability for adverse neonatal outcomes. They did not test this model in a different population.

Conclusion: The predictive model developed for LMIC performed well in the study population but was not able to be used in other populations, thus limiting its utility. Other limitations include patients were collected from the only one medical center (limits the ability to generalize to different populations) and it relied on data collected for clinical but not research purposes, therefore, some important variables may not have been available. The study only included women with severe PE and excluded mild PE, hence, it may not be accurate when predicting mild disease.

Ngwenya S, Jones B, Mwembe D, Nare H, Heazell AEP. Development and validation of risk prediction models for adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in severe preeclampsia in a low-resource setting, Mpilo Central Hospital, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Pregnancy Hypertens. 2021 Mar;23:18-26. doi: 10.1016/j.preghy.2020.10.011. Epub 2020 Nov 2. PMID: 33161225.

Hi everyone! My name is Kevin Gill, I am one of Dr. Wilson's students. To make this page more interactive, we will be starting a monthly “Survivor Story” post for survivors to share their story with the community and to connect with each other. If anyone is interested in sharing their story, please use this link to fill out the google form. Thank you so much for your support! If you have any questions, please message us!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSef2sym6f9QIcarRddjTHLtfuqxY8uzMYnhuqOrgVyna99Aaw/viewform?usp=pp_url

Hi. I'm posting this again as I am about to close recruitment. PLEASE ask your partners and, if possible, share with some fathers who did not father an affected. Please see below.

Dear Survivor:

Please permit me to introduce myself and some research with which I will ask for your assistance. I am a Clinical Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and am conducting an Institutional Review Board-approved anonymous survey (IRB # UP-21-00909) to investigate the risk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in men who fathered a preeclamptic pregnancy within the last 12 months.

To determine if the rate of PTSD is increased in these men, we are also inviting men who fathered healthy pregnancy within the last 12 months. Please consider adding your voice – whether you were personally affected by PTSD/Preeclampsia or not.

Additionally, we request that women who gave birth within the last year and feel their partner may be interested in participating in this anonymous survey please forward this link to them:

https://redcap.link/pe_fathers_ptsd

My interest in this research question derived from previous work we conducted in survivors of preeclampsia. We found an increase in PTSD among survivors compared to normotensive pregnancies, with risk increasing with disease severity.*

*Porcel J, Feigal C, Poye L, Postma IR, Zeeman GG, Olowoyeye A, Tsigas E, Wilson M. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and risk of screening positive for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A cross-sectional study. Pregnancy Hypertens. 2013 Oct;3(4):254-60. doi: 10.1016/j.preghy.2013.07.004. Epub 2013 Aug 6. PMID: 26103805.

Happy Holidays!

I want to apologize for not tending to this page regularly, of late in particular. My immediate aim is to do a better job being available to answer research-oriented questions and provide literature summaries for those of you who want to keep up on the current literature. I'm always happy to take requests as to what you would like me to investigate. I like to include in my summaries the caveats and potential deficits of a particular reported finding. In addition to my role as a researcher, I teach our master's students who earning an MPH degree. I often involve these students with this research, so you may see postings from them as well. Please contact me directly if you have ANY questions. Email: [email protected]

Dear Survivor:

Please permit me to introduce myself and some research with which I will ask for your assistance. I am a Clinical Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and am conducting an Institutional Review Board-approved anonymous survey (IRB # UP-21-00909) to investigate the risk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in men who fathered a preeclamptic pregnancy within the last 12 months.

To determine if the rate of PTSD is increased in these men, we are also inviting men who fathered healthy pregnancy within the last 12 months. Please consider adding your voice – whether you were personally affected by PTSD/Preeclampsia or not.

Additionally, we request that women who gave birth within the last year and feel their partner may be interested in participating in this anonymous survey please forward this link to them:

https://redcap.link/pe_fathers_ptsd

My interest in this research question derived from previous work we conducted in survivors of preeclampsia. We found an increase in PTSD among survivors compared to normotensive pregnancies, with risk increasing with disease severity.*

*Porcel J, Feigal C, Poye L, Postma IR, Zeeman GG, Olowoyeye A, Tsigas E, Wilson M. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and risk of screening positive for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A cross-sectional study. Pregnancy Hypertens. 2013 Oct;3(4):254-60. doi: 10.1016/j.preghy.2013.07.004. Epub 2013 Aug 6. PMID: 26103805.

CALLING ALL SURVIVORS OF PREECLAMPSIA AND THEIR PARTNERS! My name is Dr. Melissa Wilson and I am a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. I am conducting Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved research (IRB # UP-21-00909) on the risk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in men who fathered a preeclamptic pregnancy within the last year. To obtain reliable and valid results, I need as many people as possible to participate. Please consider adding your voice – whether you were personally affected by PTSD/Preeclampsia or not.

If you survived a preeclamptic pregnancy and think your partner may like to participate, please forward the link below to your partner or a friend who fathered a preeclamptic pregnancy.

NOTE: We also need men who fathered a normotensive pregnancy (no high blood pressure), so please also forward the link to fathers who fathered pregnancies NOT affected by preeclampsia as well.

https://redcap.link/pe_fathers_ptsd

My interest in this topic derived from previous work I conducted in survivors of preeclampsia. We found an increase in PTSD among survivors compared to normotensive pregnancies; risk increased with disease severity. *

*Porcel J, Feigal C, Poye L, Postma IR, Zeeman GG, Olowoyeye A, Tsigas E, Wilson M. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and risk of screening positive for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A cross-sectional study. Pregnancy Hypertens. 2013 Oct;3(4):254-60. doi: 10.1016/j.preghy.2013.07.004. Epub 2013 Aug 6. PMID: 26103805.