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 : [the study has not yet started]
For more information on the study, please watch the video below.
[Video]
For other languages, please see below:
- Polish – watch the video here: Obejrzyj wideo tutaj
- Arabic – ‘watch the video here’ :شاهد الفيديو هنا
- Romanian – watch the video here: Urmăriți videoclipul aici
- Bengali – watch the video here: এখানে ভিডিও দেখুন
- Urdu – ‘watch the video here’: ویڈیو یہاں دیکھیں
- Panjabi – watch the video here ਇੱਥੇ ਵੀਡੀਓ ਦੇਖੋ
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). It causes high blood pressure and strain on pregnant women's/peoples’ 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 ‘preterm birth’).
Pre-eclampsia is a leading cause of preterm birth (babies born before 37 weeks gestation). Being born early can lead to serious health challenges for the baby in the days and weeks after birth, but also life-long health challenges. Pre-eclampsia can be life-threatening: 1 in every 100,000 UK pregnant people, and 1 in every 1,000 UK babies, die due to pre-eclampsia.
There is no treatment for pre-eclampsia, but aspirin can be recommended to help prevent pre-eclampsia from developing. This is safe for use in pregnancy and is recommended to be started by the 16th week of pregnancy for people at risk of pre-eclampsia.
The NHS website for pre-eclampsia can be found <here>.
Study Summary
This STARshiP study (Screen and Treat with Aspirin to Reduce Pre-eclampsia) is looking at whether using a new pre-eclampsia screening test from the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) reduces preterm births compared to the current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) screening strategy in place in the UK.
We are comparing two different screening strategies:
- NICE: The pre-eclampsia risk assessment test currently in use in the UK. This uses information about the current and previous pregnancies, family members’ previous pregnancies and health conditions to understand pre-eclampsia risk.
- FMF: A relatively new test developed by researchers in London. This uses extra measurements of how the placenta is working to personalise the pre-eclampsia risk assessment to the current pregnancy.
This study is taking place in 16 NHS Trusts in England. Over the course of the study, all hospitals within those trusts will switch from using the NICE test to the new FMF test as their usual care. The timing of when your hospital switched their screening test was determined randomly using a computer program at the beginning of the study. Your NHS Trust has already switched over and has started using the FMF screening test. What this means for you is described in the next section.
Data will be collected about your health, the birth, and health of your baby/babies to answer the study questions.
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 being sponsored by the University of Manchester, in collaboration with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and the University of Nottingham.
The study will be managed by the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit (NCTU), as a part of the University of Nottingham.
The study is funded by the research arm of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research NIHR (Project reference: NIHR152762) and supported by the UK’s Action on Pre-Eclampsia Charity (APEC).
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
Kousthubha Janaki Ramaiah, Trial Manager
Benjamin Harvey, Trial Coordinator
Kerry Barker-Williams, Coordinating Midwife
Follow us:
X: @STARshiPStudy