Learn about trial objectives and outcomes
PLATIPUS is a PLatform for Adaptive Trials In Perinatal UnitS, that will explore which medicines or therapies are best for improving the current and future health and wellbeing of pregnant women and their babies who are born preterm.
PLATIPUS is an ‘adaptive platform trial’ – a new type of clinical trial that allows several studies (called ‘domains’) to simultaneously compare therapies or medicines that are being used to care for pregnant women and preterm babies.
Treatments in all domains are measured against the same health scale, which includes a range of possible outcomes for babies born preterm. Many of these outcomes are linked to health in later childhood and adulthood.
PLATIPUS periodically reviews each treatment on the health scale and adapts to what the information tells us. A set of trial rules will decide whether enough information has been gathered to be sure that this treatment is performing more favourably than the others we compared it with.
To further improve access to pregnancy and preterm baby health research, the results of this trial will be shared with healthcare professionals, the families who take part, the wider community, and in journal publications.
By providing better access to the research evidence, we can help to improve the health care provided during pregnancy and to babies born preterm.
Preterm birth (birth before 37 weeks' gestation) is the leading cause of death and disability in children under five years of age. Despite decades of research, the rates of preterm birth are increasing.