STARshiP - Screen and Treat with Aspirin to Reduce Pre-eclampsia
The STARshiP study (Screen and Treat with Aspirin to Reduce Pre-eclampsia) is looking at whether implementing a new pre-eclampsia screening test (FMF) is better at identifying whether pregnant women/people are at risk of pre-eclampsia compared to the current National Institure for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) screening strategy in place in the UK.
Number of pregnancies screened : insert counter (or change format with manual number change)
For more information on the study, please watch the video below.
Video
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About STARshiP
What is the STARshiP Study?
The STARshiP study (Screen and Treat with Aspirin to Reduce Pre-eclampsia) is looking at whether implementing a new pre-eclampsia (PE) screening test from the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) reduces the risk of preterm birth.
What is Pre-eclampsia?
Pre-eclampsia is a condition which can develop in some pregnancies, usually during the second half of pregnancy (from 20 weeks). Pre-eclampsia causes high blood pressure and strain on the kidneys, liver and other body systems. It can cause the baby to be too small and the baby’s placenta to not work properly. Because there is no treatment for pre-eclampsia, once it develops the baby is often delivered, even if the baby is “too early” (known as pre-term birth).
Pre-eclampsia can also affect baby’s growth and in a small number of people can cause serious health problems for pregnant women/people and their babies. Sometimes this can mean that a baby has to spend a long time in an incubator when they are born. Pregnant women/people may need to be admitted to hospital for high-level specialist care and require caesarean birth. Across the world, pre-eclampsia is a leading cause of death among pregnant women/people, though this is very rare in the UK; 1 in every 100,000 UK pregnant women/people and 1 in every 1,000 UK babies die due to pre-eclampsia. Preterm birth is a leading cause of baby death and long-term disability in the UK and worldwide.
Screening for pre-eclampsia is part of usual pregnancy care. There is currently no treatment for pre-eclampsia once it develops. However, a small daily dose of the medicine aspirin is regularly prescribed from early pregnancy to help prevent pre-eclampsia. This is safe for use in pregnancy for both you and your baby.
The NHS website for pre-eclampsia can be found <here>.
Study Summary
The STARshiP study will be looking at whether using a new screening test for pre-eclampsia reduces preterm birth compared to the current NICE screening strategy in place in the UK.
We are comparing two different screening strategies:
1. Current screening strategy: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) strategy.
Midwives ask questions about the pregnant woman/person’s health, their previous pregnancies and their family members' previous pregnancies to understand the risk of pre-eclampsia.
2. New screening test: Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) screening test.
Midwives use the same information as NICE, with an extra blood test and may also use an extra measurement taken during the first ultrasound to understand the risk of pre-eclampsia.
With both tests, each pregnant woman/person is told if their chance of developing pre-eclampsia later in pregnancy is either “high” or “low”. People with a high risk of pre-eclampsia are usually advised to take a small daily dose of the medicine aspirin during their pregnancy; this would be advised based on the hospital’s own policies. The medicine aspirin is regularly prescribed in the UK and is safe for use in pregnancies for both the pregnant women/people and babies.
At first all hospitals will use the current NICE test. Then each hospital in the study will switch to providing the new FMF test to everyone. The switchover date for each hospital is set by a computer program. By the end of the study all participating hospitals will be using the new FMF test.
Routine data (the data collected as part of your usual medical care), and pre-eclampsia risk data will be collected and used to support this research. More information can be found in the [information for women/people] tab.
Where is STARshiP happening?
The study is taking place in 16 maternity Trusts in England. Together, the data of over 235,000 pregnant women/people and their babies will be used to support the research. This is one of the largest ever pregnancy screening studies in England.
You can find a list of all participating sites by clicking on the [information for women/birthing people] page.
Who is organising and funding STARshiP?
The STARshiP Study is sponsored by the University of Manchester, in collaboration with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Nottingham.
The study is funded by a part of the NHS, the National Institute for Health and Care Research NIHR (Project reference: NIHR152762) and supported by the UK’s Action on Pre-Eclampsia Charity (APEC).
The study is managed by the University of Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit.
Please see full details of the STARshiP team, please see the [Meet the Team] page.
Contact us:
If you would like to speak to a one of the STARshiP Study members about the study, please use the details below:
starship@nottingham.ac.uk
Lilly Collins, Trial Manager
Benjamin Harvey, Trial Coordinator
Kari Swettenham, Regional Coordinating Midwife
Follow us:
X: @STARshiPStudy