The Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology
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Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol · Apr 2012
Ethical issues: the multi-centre low-risk ethics/governance review process and AMOSS.
The Australasian Maternity Outcomes Surveillance System (AMOSS) conducts surveillance and research of rare and serious conditions in pregnancy. This multi-centre population health study is considered low risk with minimal ethical impact. ⋯ The AMOSS research system provides an important resource to enhance knowledge of conditions that cause rare and serious maternal morbidity. Yet the highly variable ethical approval processes required to implement this study have been excessively repetitive and burdensome. This process jeopardises timely, efficient research project implementation, without corresponding benefits to research participants. The resource burden to establish research governance for AMOSS confirms the urgent need for the Harmonisation of Multi-centre Ethical Review (HoMER) to further streamline ethics/governance review processes for multi-centre research.
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Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol · Apr 2012
The accuracy of spot urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio in confirming proteinuria in pre-eclampsia.
The gold standard for diagnosis of proteinuria in pre-eclampsia is traditionally a 24-h urine collection. Current Australian guidelines advocate use of the spot urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (PCR); however, there is controversy in the international literature about its accuracy and little recent Australian data exists. ⋯ The urine PCR is highly accurate in predicting significant proteinuria in women with pre-eclampsia using the recommended cut-off of 30 mg/mmol. Our findings support current guidelines suggesting the use of a 24-h urine collection is now rarely required.