Darine El-Chaar

Contact Information

Darine El-Chaar, MD, FRCSC, Msc

delchaar@toh.ca

501 Smyth Road
Box 804
Ottawa, ON
K1H 8L6

http://omni.ohri.ca



ORCID logo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8266-0242

Research Activities

  • FACT, maternal immunization, breastfeeding outcomes, mode and timing of delivery, Caesarean Deliveries on Maternal-Request, gestational diabetes.

    1. Maternal Immunization
    Dr. El- Chaâr launched the COVID-19 Ontario Pregnancy Event (COPE) Network and then the PLAN-V Study, a longitudinal study set to explore vaccine reactogenicity, associated adverse effects, obstetrical, fetal and newborn outcomes, and infant health and well-being.
    She also served as the TOH lead for Moderna’s CMVictory and RSVoyage clinical trials:
    - CMVictory Trial: Investigates a cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine in non-pregnant individuals to reduce the risk of CMV infection prior to pregnancy, which is a leading cause of congenital hearing loss and neurodevelopmental delay.
    - RSVoyage Trial: Investigates a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine administered during pregnancy to prevent severe RSV disease transfer through passive antibody transfer.

    2. Gestational Diabetes
    As a co-lead of the EAGER Pilot Trial, Dr. El- Chaâr is evaluating whether early induction of labour at 38 weeks improves outcomes for individuals with gestational diabetes mellitus to address ongoing debate about optimal delivery timing in this high-risk group. The study aims to assess clinical feasibility, neonatal morbidity, maternal HbA1c, and resource use.

    3. Breastfeeding outcomes
    Outputs from this research program have identified important knowledge, training and resource gaps that can be targeted to address modifiable barriers and develop tailored breastfeeding supports to improve breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding rates, both locally and abroad.

    More specifically, our results identified modifiable factors contributing to the use of BMS at TOH and potential strategies that can be employed to establish sustainable practice change. The scoping review conducted revealed increasing clinical and academic interest in the safety, efficacy, and acceptability of antenatal breastmilk expression (aBME), but a lack of high-quality evidence on the effects of aBME on maternal and newborn outcomes. We issued key recommendations aimed at improving the study design, selection of outcomes and reporting transparency of future studies in this area. Finally, this work yielded a patient-centred resource designed to teach breastmilk hand expression. The resource was developed in partnership with both lactational experts and patient partners and evaluated among a diverse group of patient users to ensure that the content was informative, the language was accessible, and that the resource met the needs of the target population. This resource is now available for distribution to patients at TOH and is being used by Dr. El-Chaâr’s clinical colleagues at other institutions to support patient education and research.