Announcing the winner of the John J. Sciarra <scp>IJGO</scp> prize paper award for 2024

The editors of the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (IJGO) are pleased to announce the winner of the prize paper award for the best clinical research paper from a low- or middle-income country published in IJGO during 2024. The winning paper is: Soares FM, da Rocha Carvalho Rosa LO, Cecatti JG, et al. Design, construction, and validation of obstetric risk classification systems to predict intensive care unit admission. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 167: 1243–1254. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15782. It was published in the December 2024 issue of IJGO. This award brings with it a stipend of £800, a certificate of recognition, and complimentary access to IJGO for a period of 1 year from the date the prize is awarded. All clinical research articles submitted to the IJGO from low- and middle-income countries that were published in 2024 were considered for this prize. The paper was chosen from 181 qualifying articles. Selection and review were undertaken by the editors, and the Editorial Board of IJGO endorsed the decision. The winning paper is by Soares et al. The study investigates the development and validation of a machine-learning-based risk classification system to predict intensive care unit (ICU) admission for high-risk pregnant women. Using data from 9550 cases of severe maternal morbidity, machine-learning models were tested on accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. The highest-performing model, XGBoost, estimated ICU admission at 11.6%, lower than the actual 21.5%, suggesting the potential overuse of ICU resources. The findings of this study highlight the potential for AI-driven tools to optimize ICU allocation and improve maternal care. Additional papers that are worthy of special recognition are awarded an honorable mention. While the honorable mention recognition does not include a financial award, each author receives a certificate of recognition and a letter of commendation from the editors of IJGO. The following 11 papers receive an honorable mention: Camas-Castillo MA, Gallardo-Alvarado N, Yánez-Sánchez P, Makuch MY, Osis MJD, Bahamondes L. Menstrual health: Inequities in a cohort of menstruating people in the Brazilian southeastern region. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 164: 1160–1166. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15223 Hou Q, Li X, Li Y, et al. Analysis and suggestions on the complications in 2000 cases of transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery: Can it be a conventional surgery? Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 164: 541–549. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15035 Huang T, Lu F. Prognostic nomogram for predicting the overall survival rate of patients with uterine clear-cell carcinoma: Based on SEER database. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 166: 707–717. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15456 Lu Y, Tian T, Chen L, Yan L, Chang L, Qiao J. Impacts of male chromosomal polymorphisms on semen quality and IVF/ICSI outcomes: A retrospective cohort study. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 166: 1247–1262. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15487 Pan Y, Xu J. Can EPDS and EPDS-3A be used to replace GAD-7 to screen the anxiety of pregnant women during pregnancy examination? Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 164: 902–911. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15053 Sun L, Yu J, Yao J, et al. A novel artificial intelligence model for measuring fetal intracranial markers during the first trimester based on two-dimensional ultrasound image. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 167: 1090–1100. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15762 Yan R, Liu X, Peng Y, Peng X. Preconception underweight and the risk of offspring congenital heart diseases in young pregnant women: Evidence from the China Birth Cohort Study. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 167: 1207–1213. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15795 Keepanasseril A, Maurya DK, Velmurugan B, et al. Impact of near-miss event during pregnancy and childbirth on maternal health at 12 months. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 164: 227–235. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15010 Kumari A, Suri J, Bharti R, Pandey D, Bachani S. Preoperative vaginal cleansing with chlorhexidine and cetrimide solution for reduction of postoperative infectious morbidity at a tertiary care center in North India: A prospective cohort study. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 164: 708–713. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15041 Raj VI, Hassan A, Hanafiah N, et al. Polyethylene glycol compared to lactulose for constipation in pregnancy: A randomized controlled trial. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 166: 828–836. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15431 Kahal F, Alshayeb S, Torbey A, et al. The prevalence of menstrual disorders and their association with psychological stress in Syrian students enrolled at health-related schools: A cross-sectional study. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2024; 164: 1086–1093. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15152 The IJGO Prize Paper Award was established in 1998 for the purpose of encouraging investigators, especially young scientists, from low- and middle-income countries to submit their best clinical research articles for publication in the journal. IJGO is the official publication of FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics), the primary international organization for the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology. FIGO is dedicated to enhancing the health care of women worldwide.