Outcome reporting in studies on critically ill obstetric patients: A systematic review

Introduction: This systematic review is the first step in the process of standardizing outcome reporting through the development of a core outcome set for research on critically ill obstetric patients (COSCO). Methods: A five-database search was performed to identify randomized and non-randomized studies published before November 2017, on patients admitted to intensive care or high-dependency units during or immediately after pregnancy. Reported outcomes were categorized into domains and definitions were documented. Results: Of the 12,581 citations reviewed, 136 studies were included. The most reported outcome domains were maternal all-cause mortality (n = 128, 94.5%), resource use (n = 116, 85.6%), and clinical/physiological outcomes (n = 111, 82.8%). Outcomes related to functioning/life impact and adverse effects of treatment were only reported in four (2.9%) studies. There was inconsistency in outcome definitions. Conclusions: This review identified considerable variation in outcome reporting and definitions and generated an outcome list to consider in COSCO development.