Assefa Desalew: RhD-Negative Status and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in Eastern Ethiopia
Assefa Desalew, PHD Fellow at Leiden University Medical Center, shared on LinkedIn about a recent article he and his colleagues co-authored, published in AJOG Global Reports, adding:
“As part of the baseline findings from the AFRICARhE–Ethiopia project and my PhD work, we assessed adverse perinatal outcomes associated with RhD status in a multicenter cohort (~7,000 births).
Key findings:
- RhD-negative women had 2-fold higher odds of adverse perinatal outcomes
- Clinical signs highly suggestive of HDFN were observed in 5.8% of RhD-negative vs 0.2% of RhD-positive women (P<.0001)
These findings indicate a substantial and preventable burden of RhD-mediated HDFN, reflecting persistent inequities in access to standard preventive care.
Strengthening anti-RhD immunoprophylaxis and antenatal antibody screening remains critical.
I am deeply grateful to my promotors (Ellen van der Schoot, Thomas van den Akker) and co-promotors (Joanne Verweij, Abera Kenay Tura, Tadesse Gure) for their mentorship and guidance throughout this work.”
Title: Adverse perinatal outcomes indicative of RhD-mediated hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn in Eastern Ethiopia: evidence of maternal health inequity in a multicenter cohort study
Authors: Assefa Desalew, C. Ellen van der Schoot, Rafiki N. Mjema, Thomas van den Akker, Tienke Vermeiden, Henk Schonewille, Jeremia J. Pyuza, Tadesse Gure , E.J.T. (Joanne) Verweij, Abera Kenay Tura
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