Preterm Rupture of Membranes Optimising Antibiotics Trial

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn which antibiotic regimen works best to prevent infection in pregnant women whose waters break early (preterm, pre-labour rupture of membranes, or PPROM) and assess the health outcomes of babies born to pregnant women who have received these antibiotics. PROMOAT aims to answer the question: Which antibiotic or combined antibiotic regimen most effectively prevents infection in pregnant women with PPROM \< 37+0 weeks' gestation. Researchers will compare three antibiotic regimens already used in clinical practice to prevent infection in pregnant women with PPROM. Participants will be randomly allocated to the antibiotic regimen they will follow for seven days, or until birth (whichever is earlier). All antibiotics will be taken orally. Neonatal health outcomes will be collected at 42 weeks postmenstrual age and maternal birth and postpartum care outcomes assessed at 42 days postpartum. Questionnaires will capture maternal mood at time of consent and at 42 days postpartum. Antibiotic tolerance will be assessed at the time antibiotic treatment is ceased. This trial will be undertaken as part of the PLATIPUS trial (NCT06461429).

PROMOAT aims to determine which of the most common antibiotic regimens are most effective in preventing infection in pregnant people with PPROM to improve health outcomes for their infants. PROMOAT is a pregnancy domain within the PLATIPUS adaptive platform trial (NCT06461429). Preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) precedes 30-40% of spontaneous preterm births and is an important cause of maternal and neonatal infection. Membrane rupture provides an entry point for microbes from the vagina to ascend into the uterine cavity, exposing the mother and the fetus to infectious pathogens leading to poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. Mothers with PPROM are at increased risk of haemorrhage, hysterectomy, sepsis, intensive care admission and death. Preterm infants exposed to in-utero infection are at higher risk of poor short- and long-term outcomes, including neonatal sepsis, neurodevelopmental delay, cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease and death. Neonatal sepsis is the third most common cause of newborn deaths (\~340,000 per year) and prevention is a major research priority, Neonatal sepsis due to pathogens acquired after PPROM may present in the first days of life and result in bacteraemia, pneumonia and meningitis. The most common pathogens associated with early-onset neonatal sepsis are Streptococcus agalactiae (aka Group B Streptococcus: GBS), Escherichia coli and Ureaplasma sp. Mortality is highest in the most immature infants, with a 54% case fatality rate in infants born before 24 weeks' gestation. The goal in managing pregnancies complicated by PPROM is to prolong the pregnancy to enable fetal maturity without an increased risk of infection (acquired while the fetus remains in utero). Antibiotic prophylaxis has been shown to increase latency to birth but there is limited evidence to guide antibiotic choice to prevent infection in PPROM. In PROMOAT, pregnant women with PPROM will be randomly assigned to receive one of the three intervention arms: * Erythromycin * Azithromycin, or * Erythromycin and Amoxicillin. Health outcomes will be assessed using the PLATIPUS Ordinal Outcome Scale, at 42 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge home, whichever is earliest. A short questionnaire at Day 7 (or birth, whichever is earlier) will measure compliance and antibiotic tolerance. A maternal and family health questionnaire will be collected at Day 42 postpartum.