Diagnostic accuracy of a simplified minimally invasive tissue sampling protocol for stillbirths in low-resource settings.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Stillbirth rates remain unacceptably high in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Understanding the causes of death (CoD) is mandatory to develop effective strategies to reduce this high mortality. Minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) is a promising alternative to conventional autopsy (CA) but its validation in stillbirths remains limited. Existing evidence indicates that most samples of conventional MITS (c-MITS) lack diagnostic relevance in stillbirths. This study aimed to validate c-MITS against CA in stillbirths and design and assess a cost-efficient, simplified MITS (s-MITS) protocol.

Methods

The study comprised two subsets of stillbirths occurring at Maputo Central Hospital, Mozambique. The CaDMIA-Plus cohort (Cause of Death investigation using

SUBMITTER: Penuelas N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12570908 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature