A scoping review of severe maternal morbidity: describing risk factors and methodological approaches to inform population-based surveillance

BACKGROUND: Current interest in using severe maternal morbidity (SMM) as a quality indicator for maternal healthcare will require the development of a standardized method for estimating hospital or regional SMM rates that includes adjustment and/or stratification for risk factors. OBJECTIVE: To perform a scoping review to identify methodological considerations and potential covariates for risk adjustment for delivery-associated SMM. SEARCH METHODS: Following the guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews, systematic searches were conducted with the entire PubMed and EMBASE electronic databases to identify publications using the key term “severe maternal morbidity.” SELECTION CRITERIA: Included studies required population-based cohort data and testing or adjustment of risk factors for SMM occurring during the delivery admission. Descriptive studies and those using surveillance-based data collection methods were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Information was extracted into a pre-defined database. Study design and eligibility, overall quality and results, SMM definitions, and patient-, hospital-, and community-level risk factors and their definitions were assessed. MAIN RESULTS: Eligibility criteria were met by 81 studies. Methodological approaches were heterogeneous and study results could not be combined quantitatively because of wide variability in data sources, study designs, eligibility criteria, definitions of SMM, and risk-factor selection and definitions. Of the 180 potential risk factors identified, 41 were categorized as pre-existing conditions (e.g., chronic hypertension), 22 as obstetrical conditions (e.g., multiple gestation), 22 as intrapartum conditions (e.g., delivery route), 15 as non-clinical variables (e.g., insurance type), 58 as hospital-level variables (e.g., delivery volume), and 22 as community-level variables (e.g., neighborhood poverty). CONCLUSIONS: The development of a risk adjustment strategy that will allow for SMM comparisons across hospitals or regions will require harmonization regarding: a) the standardization of the SMM definition; b) the data sources and population used; and c) the selection and definition of risk factors of interest. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40748-020-00123-1.