Assessment of Maternal Outcomes.
Acute painful episode was defined as acute pain episodes leading to
hospitalization that required oral or intravenous opioid pain
management, distinguished from labour pains by absence of uterine
contraction, labour progression, and delivery. Based on the adjudication
of the multi-disciplinary team (obstetricians, hematologists,
anesthetists, pediatricians, and nurses), ACS was defined as the
presence of at least 2 of the following criteria: fever
>38° Celsius, increased respiratory rate > 20
breaths per minute, presence of chest pain or pulmonary auscultatory
findings, increased oxygen requirement (evidenced by a decrease in
SpO2 > 3% below the baseline) or new radiodensity on chest
roentgenogram or pneumonia. Preeclampsia was defined as 1) systolic
blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90
mmHg on two separate readings taken at least four hours apart after 20
week gestation in a study participant with previously normal blood
pressure; and 2) Proteinuria as ≥ 300 mg of protein in a 24-hour urine
sample or a spot urinary protein to creatinine ratio ≥ 0.3 or a urine
dipstick reading of 1+ or greater 14. Malaria
infection was defined using the World Health Organization definition of
examining stained thick smears under the light microscope15.