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Bakare AA, Salako J, King C, Olojede OE, Bakare D, Olasupo O, Burgess R, McCollum ED, Colbourn T, Falade AG, Molsted-Alvesson H, Graham HR. 'Let him die in peace': understanding caregiver's refusal of medical oxygen treatment for children in Nigeria. BMJ Glob Health 2024; 9:e014902. [PMID: 38760025 PMCID: PMC11103205 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Efforts to improve oxygen access have focused mainly on the supply side, but it is important to understand demand barriers, such as oxygen refusal among caregivers. We therefore aimed to understand caregiver, community and healthcare provider (HCP) perspectives and experiences of medical oxygen treatments and how these shape oxygen acceptance among caregivers of sick children in Lagos and Jigawa states, which are two contrasting settings in Nigeria. METHODS Between April 2022 and January 2023, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study using reflexive thematic analysis, involving semistructured interviews with caregivers (Jigawa=18 and Lagos=7), HCPs (Jigawa=7 and Lagos=6) and community group discussions (Jigawa=4 and Lagos=5). We used an inductive-deductive approach to identify codes and themes through an iterative process using the theoretical framework of acceptability and the normalisation process theory as the analytic lens. RESULTS Medical oxygen prescription was associated with tension, characterised by fear of death, hopelessness about a child's survival and financial distress. These were driven by community narratives around oxygen, past negative experiences and contextual differences between both settings. Caregiver acceptance of medical oxygen was a sense-making process from apprehension and scepticism about their child's survival chances to positioning prescribed oxygen as an 'appropriate' or 'needed' intervention. Achieving this transition occurred through various means, such as trust in HCPs, a perceived sense of urgency for care, previous positive experience of oxygen use and a symbolic perception of oxygen as a technology. Misconceptions and pervasive negative narratives were acknowledged in Jigawa, while in Lagos, the cost was a major reason for oxygen refusal. CONCLUSION Non-acceptance of medical oxygen treatment for sick children is modifiable in the Nigerian context, with the root causes of refusal being contextually specific. Therefore, a one-size-fits-all policy is unlikely to work. Financial constraints and community attitudes should be addressed in addition to improving client-provider interactions.
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McCollum ED, Mvalo T. Bubble continuous positive airway pressure for children with pneumonia and hypoxaemia in Ethiopia. Lancet Glob Health 2024; 12:e721-e722. [PMID: 38522444 DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(24)00099-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
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Checkley W, Thompson LM, Hossen S, Nicolaou L, Williams KN, Hartinger SM, Chiang M, Balakrishnan K, Garg SS, Thangavel G, Aravindalochanan V, Rosa G, Mukeshimana A, Ndagijimana F, McCracken JP, Diaz-Artiga A, Sinharoy SS, Waller L, Wang J, Jabbarzadeh S, Chen Y, Steenland K, Kirby MA, Ramakrishnan U, Johnson M, Pillarisetti A, McCollum ED, Craik R, Ohuma EO, Dávila-Román VG, de Las Fuentes L, Simkovich SM, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Papageorghiou AT. Cooking with liquefied petroleum gas or biomass and fetal growth outcomes: a multi-country randomised controlled trial. Lancet Glob Health 2024; 12:e815-e825. [PMID: 38614630 PMCID: PMC11027158 DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(24)00033-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Household air pollution might lead to fetal growth restriction during pregnancy. We aimed to investigate whether a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) intervention to reduce personal exposures to household air pollution during pregnancy would alter fetal growth. METHODS The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial was an open-label randomised controlled trial conducted in ten resource-limited settings across Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. Pregnant women aged 18-34 years (9-19 weeks of gestation) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive an LPG stove, continuous fuel delivery, and behavioural messaging or to continue usual cooking with biomass for 18 months. We conducted ultrasound assessments at baseline, 24-28 weeks of gestation (the first pregnancy visit), and 32-36 weeks of gestation (the second pregnancy visit), to measure fetal size; we monitored 24 h personal exposures to household air pollutants during these visits; and we weighed children at birth. We conducted intention-to-treat analyses to estimate differences in fetal size between the intervention and control group, and exposure-response analyses to identify associations between household air pollutants and fetal size. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02944682). FINDINGS Between May 7, 2018, and Feb 29, 2020, we randomly assigned 3200 pregnant women (1593 to the intervention group and 1607 to the control group). The mean gestational age was 14·5 (SD 3·0) weeks and mean maternal age was 25·6 (4·5) years. We obtained ultrasound assessments in 3147 (98·3%) women at baseline, 3052 (95·4%) women at the first pregnancy visit, and 2962 (92·6%) at the second pregnancy visit, through to Aug 25, 2020. Intervention adherence was high (the median proportion of days with biomass stove use was 0·0%, IQR 0·0-1·6) and pregnant women in the intervention group had lower mean exposures to particulate matter with a diameter less than 2·5 μm (PM2·5; 35·0 [SD 37·2] μg/m3vs 103·3 [97·9] μg/m3) than did women in the control group. We did not find differences in averaged post-randomisation Z scores for head circumference (0·30 vs 0·39; p=0·04), abdominal circumference (0·38 vs 0·39; p=0·99), femur length (0·44 vs 0·45; p=0·73), and estimated fetal weight or birthweight (-0·13 vs -0·12; p=0·70) between the intervention and control groups. Personal exposures to household air pollutants were not associated with fetal size. INTERPRETATION Although an LPG cooking intervention successfully reduced personal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, it did not affect fetal size. Our findings do not support the use of unvented liquefied petroleum gas stoves as a strategy to increase fetal growth in settings were biomass fuels are used predominantly for cooking. FUNDING US National Institutes of Health and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. TRANSLATIONS For the Kinyarwanda, Spanish and Tamil translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.
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McCollum ED, Checkley W, Balakrishnan K, Clasen TF, Peel JL. Fetal and Early-Life Stove and Fuel Interventions and Respiratory Oscillometry Lung Function Measures in Preschool-Aged Children from Ghana. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2024; 209:625-626. [PMID: 38290112 PMCID: PMC10945070 DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202311-2197ed] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
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Vonasek BJ, Kumwenda T, Gumulira J, Nyirongo M, Heller T, Palmer M, McCollum ED, Chiunda M, Garcia-Prats AJ, Bélard S, Mvalo T. Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Tuberculosis in Young Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2024; 43:e65-e67. [PMID: 37963311 PMCID: PMC11061262 DOI: 10.1097/inf.0000000000004158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) was assessed in 131 children under 5 years old hospitalized with severe acute malnutrition. Of these, 23% had confirmed or unconfirmed TB and 5% were HIV-infected. There were no POCUS findings associated with TB diagnosis. POCUS visualization quality was satisfactory for 65% and examination acceptability was "good" for 52%.
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McCollum ED, McCracken JP, Kirby MA, Grajeda LM, Hossen S, Moulton LH, Simkovich SM, Goodman-Palmer D, Rosa G, Mukeshimana A, Balakrishnan K, Thangavel G, Garg SS, Castañaza A, Thompson LM, Diaz-Artiga A, Papageorghiou AT, Davila-Roman VG, Underhill LJ, Hartinger SM, Williams KN, Nicolaou L, Chang HH, Lovvorn AE, Rosenthal JP, Pillarisetti A, Ye W, Naeher LP, Johnson MA, Waller LA, Jabbarzadeh S, Wang J, Chen Y, Steenland K, Clasen TF, Peel JL, Checkley W. Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass Cooking and Severe Infant Pneumonia. N Engl J Med 2024; 390:32-43. [PMID: 38169488 PMCID: PMC10768798 DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2305681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exposure to household air pollution is a risk factor for severe pneumonia. The effect of replacing biomass cookstoves with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookstoves on the incidence of severe infant pneumonia is uncertain. METHODS We conducted a randomized, controlled trial involving pregnant women 18 to 34 years of age and between 9 to less than 20 weeks' gestation in India, Guatemala, Peru, and Rwanda from May 2018 through September 2021. The women were assigned to cook with unvented LPG stoves and fuel (intervention group) or to continue cooking with biomass fuel (control group). In each trial group, we monitored adherence to the use of the assigned cookstove and measured 24-hour personal exposure to fine particulate matter (particles with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm [PM2.5]) in the women and their offspring. The trial had four primary outcomes; the primary outcome for which data are presented in the current report was severe pneumonia in the first year of life, as identified through facility surveillance or on verbal autopsy. RESULTS Among 3200 pregnant women who had undergone randomization, 3195 remained eligible and gave birth to 3061 infants (1536 in the intervention group and 1525 in the control group). High uptake of the intervention led to a reduction in personal exposure to PM2.5 among the children, with a median exposure of 24.2 μg per cubic meter (interquartile range, 17.8 to 36.4) in the intervention group and 66.0 μg per cubic meter (interquartile range, 35.2 to 132.0) in the control group. A total of 175 episodes of severe pneumonia were identified during the first year of life, with an incidence of 5.67 cases per 100 child-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.55 to 7.07) in the intervention group and 6.06 cases per 100 child-years (95% CI, 4.81 to 7.62) in the control group (incidence rate ratio, 0.96; 98.75% CI, 0.64 to 1.44; P = 0.81). No severe adverse events were reported to be associated with the intervention, as determined by the trial investigators. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of severe pneumonia among infants did not differ significantly between those whose mothers were assigned to cook with LPG stoves and fuel and those whose mothers were assigned to continue cooking with biomass stoves. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; HAPIN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02944682.).
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Checkley W, Thompson LM, Sinharoy SS, Hossen S, Moulton LH, Chang HH, Waller L, Steenland K, Rosa G, Mukeshimana A, Ndagijimana F, McCracken JP, Díaz-Artiga A, Balakrishnan K, Garg SS, Thangavel G, Aravindalochanan V, Hartinger SM, Chiang M, Kirby MA, Papageorghiou AT, Ramakrishnan U, Williams KN, Nicolaou L, Johnson M, Pillarisetti A, Rosenthal J, Underhill LJ, Wang J, Jabbarzadeh S, Chen Y, Dávila-Román VG, Naeher LP, McCollum ED, Peel JL, Clasen TF. Effects of Cooking with Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass on Stunting in Infants. N Engl J Med 2024; 390:44-54. [PMID: 38169489 DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2302687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Household air pollution is associated with stunted growth in infants. Whether the replacement of biomass fuel (e.g., wood, dung, or agricultural crop waste) with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking can reduce the risk of stunting is unknown. METHODS We conducted a randomized trial involving 3200 pregnant women 18 to 34 years of age in four low- and middle-income countries. Women at 9 to less than 20 weeks' gestation were randomly assigned to use a free LPG cookstove with continuous free fuel delivery for 18 months (intervention group) or to continue using a biomass cookstove (control group). The length of each infant was measured at 12 months of age, and personal exposures to fine particulate matter (particles with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm) were monitored starting at pregnancy and continuing until the infants were 1 year of age. The primary outcome for which data are presented in the current report - stunting (defined as a length-for-age z score that was more than two standard deviations below the median of a growth standard) at 12 months of age - was one of four primary outcomes of the trial. Intention-to-treat analyses were performed to estimate the relative risk of stunting. RESULTS Adherence to the intervention was high, and the intervention resulted in lower prenatal and postnatal 24-hour personal exposures to fine particulate matter than the control (mean prenatal exposure, 35.0 μg per cubic meter vs. 103.3 μg per cubic meter; mean postnatal exposure, 37.9 μg per cubic meter vs. 109.2 μg per cubic meter). Among 3061 live births, 1171 (76.2%) of the 1536 infants born to women in the intervention group and 1186 (77.8%) of the 1525 infants born to women in the control group had a valid length measurement at 12 months of age. Stunting occurred in 321 of the 1171 infants included in the analysis (27.4%) of the infants born to women in the intervention group and in 299 of the 1186 infants included in the analysis (25.2%) of those born to women in the control group (relative risk, 1.10; 98.75% confidence interval, 0.94 to 1.29; P = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS An intervention strategy starting in pregnancy and aimed at mitigating household air pollution by replacing biomass fuel with LPG for cooking did not reduce the risk of stunting in infants. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; HAPIN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02944682.).
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Ginsburg AS, McCollum ED. Artificial intelligence and pneumonia: a rapidly evolving frontier. Lancet Glob Health 2023; 11:e1849-e1850. [PMID: 37956684 DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(23)00463-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
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Hoekstra NE, Vonasek B, Mvalo T, Nyondo Y, McCollum ED. A hidden pandemic: the danger of donated respiratory devices to children in LMICs. Lancet Glob Health 2023; 11:e1851-e1852. [PMID: 37956683 DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(23)00497-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
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Iuliano A, Shittu F, Colbourn T, Salako J, Bakare D, Bakare AAA, King C, Graham H, McCollum ED, Falade AG, Uchendu O, Haruna I, Valentine P, Burgess R. Community perceptions matter: a mixed-methods study using local knowledge to define features of success for a community intervention to improve quality of care for children under-5 in Jigawa, Nigeria. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e069213. [PMID: 37973546 PMCID: PMC10660644 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In this study, we used the information generated by community members during an intervention design process to understand the features needed for a successful community participatory intervention to improve child health. DESIGN We conducted a concurrent mixed-methods study (November 2019-March 2020) to inform the design and evaluation of a community-facility linkage participatory intervention. SETTING Kiyawa Local Government Area (Jigawa State, Nigeria)-population of 230 000 (n=425 villages). PARTICIPANTS Qualitative data included 12 community conversations with caregivers of children under-5 (men, older and younger women; n=9 per group), 3 focus group discussions (n=10) with ward development committee members and interviews with facility heads (n=3). Quantitative data comprised household surveys (n=3464) with compound heads (n=1803) and women (n=1661). RESULTS We analysed qualitative data with thematic network analysis and the surveys with linear regression-results were triangulated in the interpretation phase. Participants identified the following areas of focus: community health education; facility infrastructure, equipment and staff improvements; raising funds to make these changes. Community involvement, cooperation and empowerment were recognised as a strategy to improve child health, and the presence of intermediate bodies (development committees) was deemed important to improve communication and solve problems between community and facility members. The survey showed functional community relations' dynamics, with high levels of internal cohesion (78%), efficacy in solving problems together (79%) and fairness of the local leaders (82%). CONCLUSIONS Combining the results from this study and critical theories on successful participation identified community-informed features for a contextually tailored community-facility link intervention. The need to promote a more inclusive approach to future child health interventions was highlighted. In addition to health education campaigns, the relationship between community and healthcare providers needs strengthening, and development committees were identified as an essential feature for successfully linking communities and facilities for child health. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ISRCTN39213655.
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Hooli S, Makwenda C, Lufesi N, Colbourn T, Mvalo T, McCollum ED, King C. Implication of the 2014 World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Pneumonia Guidelines with and without pulse oximetry use in Malawi: A retrospective cohort study. Gates Open Res 2023; 7:71. [PMID: 37974907 PMCID: PMC10651692 DOI: 10.12688/gatesopenres.13963.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Under-5 pneumonia mortality remains high in low-income countries. In 2014 the World Health Organization (WHO) advised that children with chest indrawing pneumonia, but without danger signs or peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO 2) < 90% be treated in the community, rather than hospitalized. In Malawi there is limited pulse oximetry availability. Methods Secondary analysis of 13,413 under-5 pneumonia cases in Malawi. Pneumonia associated case fatality ratios (CFR) were calculated by disease severity under the assumptions of the 2005 and 2014 WHO Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines, with and without pulse oximetry. We investigated if pulse oximetry readings were missing not at random (MNAR). Results The CFR of patients classified as having non-severe pneumonia per the 2014 IMCI guidelines doubled under the assumption that pulse oximetry was not available (1.5% without pulse oximetry vs 0.7% with pulse oximetry, P<0.001). When 2014 IMCI guidelines were applied with pulse oximetry and a SpO 2 < 90% as the threshold for referral and/or admission, the number of cases meeting hospitalization criteria decreased by 70.3%. Unrecorded pulse oximetry readings were MNAR with an adjusted odds for mortality of 4.9 (3.8, 6.3), similar to that of a SpO 2 < 90%. Although fewer girls were hospitalized, female sex was an independent mortality risk factor. Conclusions In Malawi, implementation of the 2014 WHO IMCI pneumonia guidelines, without pulse oximetry, will miss high risk cases. Alternatively, implementation of pulse oximetry may result in a large reduction in hospitalization rates without significantly increasing non-severe pneumonia associated CFR if the inability to obtain a pulse oximetry reading is considered a WHO danger sign.
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Zar HJ, McCollum ED. Pulse oximetry to detect paediatric hypoxaemia-the fifth vital sign. Lancet Glob Health 2023; 11:e1684-e1685. [PMID: 37793415 DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(23)00380-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
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Schuh HB, Hooli S, Ahmed S, King C, Roy AD, Lufesi N, Islam ASMDA, Mvalo T, Chowdhury NH, Ginsburg AS, Colbourn T, Checkley W, Baqui AH, McCollum ED. Clinical hypoxemia score for outpatient child pneumonia care lacking pulse oximetry in Africa and South Asia. Front Pediatr 2023; 11:1233532. [PMID: 37859772 PMCID: PMC10582699 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2023.1233532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Pulse oximeters are not routinely available in outpatient clinics in low- and middle-income countries. We derived clinical scores to identify hypoxemic child pneumonia. Methods This was a retrospective pooled analysis of two outpatient datasets of 3-35 month olds with World Health Organization (WHO)-defined pneumonia in Bangladesh and Malawi. We constructed, internally validated, and compared fit & discrimination of four models predicting SpO2 < 93% and <90%: (1) Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines, (2) WHO-composite guidelines, (3) Independent variable least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO); (4) Composite variable LASSO. Results 12,712 observations were included. The independent and composite LASSO models discriminated moderately (both C-statistic 0.77) between children with a SpO2 < 93% and ≥94%; model predictive capacities remained moderate after adjusting for potential overfitting (C-statistic 0.74 and 0.75). The IMCI and WHO-composite models had poorer discrimination (C-statistic 0.56 and 0.68) and identified 20.6% and 56.8% of SpO2 < 93% cases. The highest score stratum of the independent and composite LASSO models identified 46.7% and 49.0% of SpO2 < 93% cases. Both LASSO models had similar performance for a SpO2 < 90%. Conclusions In the absence of pulse oximeters, both LASSO models better identified outpatient hypoxemic pneumonia cases than the WHO guidelines. Score external validation and implementation are needed.
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McCollum ED, Ahmed S, Roy AD, Islam AA, Schuh HB, King C, Hooli S, Quaiyum MA, Ginsburg AS, Checkley W, Baqui AH, Colbourn T. Risk and accuracy of outpatient-identified hypoxaemia for death among suspected child pneumonia cases in rural Bangladesh: a multifacility prospective cohort study. THE LANCET. RESPIRATORY MEDICINE 2023; 11:769-781. [PMID: 37037207 PMCID: PMC10469265 DOI: 10.1016/s2213-2600(23)00098-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hypoxaemic pneumonia mortality risk in low-income and middle-income countries is high in children who have been hospitalised, but unknown among outpatient children. We sought to establish the outpatient burden, mortality risk, and prognostic accuracy of death from hypoxaemia in children with suspected pneumonia in Bangladesh. METHODS We conducted a prospective community-based cohort study encompassing three upazila (subdistrict) health complex catchment areas in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Children aged 3-35 months participating in a community surveillance programme and presenting to one of three upazila health complex Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) outpatient clinics with an acute illness and signs of difficult breathing (defined as suspected pneumonia) were enrolled in the study; because lower respiratory tract infection mortality mainly occurs in children younger than 1 year, the primary study population comprised children aged 3-11 months. Study physicians recorded WHO IMCI pneumonia guideline clinical signs and peripheral arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturations (SpO2) in room air. They treated children with pneumonia with antibiotics (oral amoxicillin [40 mg/kg per dose twice per day for 5-7 days, as per local practice]), and recommended oxygen, parenteral antibiotics, and hospitalisation for those with an SpO2 of less than 90%, WHO IMCI danger signs, or severe malnutrition. Community health workers documented the children's vital status and the date of any vital status changes during routine household surveillance (one visit to each household every 2 months). The primary outcome was death at 2 weeks after enrolment in children aged 3-11 months (primary study population) and 12-35 months (secondary study population). Primary analyses included estimating the outpatient prevalence, mortality risk, and prognostic accuracy of hypoxaemia for death in children aged 3-11 months with suspected pneumonia. Risk ratios were produced by fitting a multivariable model that regressed predefined SpO2 ranges (<90%, 90-93%, and 94-100%) on the primary 2-week mortality outcome (binary outcome) using Poisson models with robust variance estimation. We established the prognostic accuracy of WHO IMCI guidelines for death with and without varying SpO2 thresholds. FINDINGS Participants were recruited between Sept 1, 2015, to Aug 31, 2017. During the study period, a total of 7440 children aged 3-35 months with the first suspected pneumonia episode were enrolled, of whom 3848 (54·3%) with an attempted pulse oximeter measurement and 2-week outcome were included in our primary study population of children aged 3-11-months. Among children aged 3-11 months, an SpO2 of less than 90% occurred in 102 (2·7%) of 3848 children, an SpO2 of 90-93% occurred in 306 (8·0%) children, a failed SpO2 measurement occurred in 67 (1·7%) children, and 24 (0·6%) children with suspected pneumonia died. Compared with an SpO2 of 94-100% (3373 [87·7%] of 3848), the adjusted risk ratio for death was 10·3 (95% CI 3·2-32·3; p<0·001) for an SpO2 of less than 90%, 4·3 (1·5-11·8; p=0·005) for an SpO2 of 90-93%, and 11·4 (3·1-41·4; p<0·001) for a failed measurement. When not considering pulse oximetry, of the children who died, WHO IMCI guidelines identified only 25·0% (95% CI 9·7-46·7; six of 24 children) as eligible for referral to hospital. For identifying deaths, in children with an SpO2 of less than 90% WHO IMCI guidelines had a 41·7% sensitivity (95% CI 22·1-63·4) and 89·7% specificity (88·7-90·7); for children with an SpO2 of less than 90% or measurement failure the guidelines had a 54·2% sensitivity (32·8-74·4) and 88·3% specificity (87·2-89·3); and for children with an SpO2 of less than 94% or measurement failure the guidelines had a 62·5% sensitivity (40·6-81·2) and 81·3% specificity (80·0-82·5). INTERPRETATION These findings support pulse oximeter use during the outpatient care of young children with suspected pneumonia in Bangladesh as well as the re-evaluation of the WHO IMCI currently recommended threshold of an SpO2 less than 90% for hospital referral. FUNDING Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (K01TW009988), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1084286 and OPP1117483), and GlaxoSmithKline (90063241).
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Kala A, McCollum ED, Elhilali M. Reference free auscultation quality metric and its trends. Biomed Signal Process Control 2023; 85:104852. [PMID: 38274002 PMCID: PMC10809975 DOI: 10.1016/j.bspc.2023.104852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Stethoscopes are used ubiquitously in clinical settings to 'listen' to lung sounds. The use of these systems in a variety of healthcare environments (hospitals, urgent care rooms, private offices, community sites, mobile clinics, etc.) presents a range of challenges in terms of ambient noise and distortions that mask lung signals from being heard clearly or processed accurately using auscultation devices. With advances in technology, computerized techniques have been developed to automate analysis or access a digital rendering of lung sounds. However, most approaches are developed and tested in controlled environments and do not reflect real-world conditions where auscultation signals are typically acquired. Without a priori access to a recording of the ambient noise (for signal-to-noise estimation) or a reference signal that reflects the true undistorted lung sound, it is difficult to evaluate the quality of the lung signal and its potential clinical interpretability. The current study proposes an objective reference-free Auscultation Quality Metric (AQM) which incorporates low-level signal attributes with high-level representational embeddings mapped to a nonlinear quality space to provide an independent evaluation of the auscultation quality. This metric is carefully designed to solely judge the signal based on its integrity relative to external distortions and masking effects and not confuse an adventitious breathing pattern as low-quality auscultation. The current study explores the robustness of the proposed AQM method across multiple clinical categorizations and different distortion types. It also evaluates the temporal sensitivity of this approach and its translational impact for deployment in digital auscultation devices.
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Bakare AA, King C, Salako J, Bakare D, Uchendu OC, Burgess RA, Shittu F, Iuliano A, Isah A, Ahmed T, Ahmar S, Valentine P, Olowookere TF, McCollum ED, Colbourn T, Falade AG, Graham HR. Pneumonia knowledge and care seeking behavior for children under-five years in Jigawa, Northwest Nigeria: a cross-sectional study. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1198225. [PMID: 37533532 PMCID: PMC10393027 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1198225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Between 2013 and 2022, Nigeria did not meet globally defined targets for pneumonia control, despite some scale-up of vaccinations, oxygen and antibiotics. A deliberate focus on community-based programs is needed to improve coverage of protective, preventive and treatment interventions. We therefore aimed to describe caregiver knowledge and care seeking behaviour for childhood pneumonia, in a high child mortality setting in Nigeria, to inform the development of effective community-based interventions for pneumonia control. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional household survey in Kiyawa Local Government Area, Jigawa State, Nigeria between December 2019 and March 2020. We asked caregivers about their knowledge of pneumonia symptoms, prevention, risks, and treatment. A score of 1 was assigned for each correct response. We showed them videos of pneumonia specific symptoms and asked (1) if their child had any respiratory symptoms in the 2-weeks prior; (2) their subsequent care-seeking behaviour. Multivariate regressions explored socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with care seeking. Results We surveyed 1,661 eligible women, with 2,828 children under-five. Only 4.9% of women could name both cough and difficulty/fast breathing as pneumonia symptoms, and the composite knowledge scores for pneumonia prevention, risks and treatment were low. Overall, 19.0% (536/2828) of children had a report of pneumonia specific symptoms in the prior two-weeks, and of these 32.3% (176/536) were taken for care. The odds of care seeking was higher among children: with fever (AOR:2:45 [95% CI: 1.38-4.34]); from wealthiest homes (AOR: 2:13 [95% CI: 1.03-4.38]) and whose mother first married at 20-26 years compared to 15-19 years (AOR: 5.15 [95% CI: 1.38-19.26]). Notably, the caregiver's knowledge of pneumonia was not associated with care seeking. Conclusion While some socio-demographic factors were associated with care seeking for children with symptoms of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), caregiver's knowledge of the disease was not. Therefore, when designing public health interventions to address child mortality, information-giving alone is likely to be insufficient.
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Burgess RA, Shittu F, Iuliano A, Haruna I, Valentine P, Bakare AA, Colbourn T, Graham HR, McCollum ED, Falade AG, King C. Whose knowledge counts? Involving communities in intervention and trial design using community conversations. Trials 2023; 24:385. [PMID: 37287035 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-023-07320-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current debates in Global Health call for expanding methodologies to allow typically silenced voices to contribute to processes of knowledge production and intervention design. Within trial research, this has typically involved small-scale qualitative work, with limited opportunities for citizens to contribute to the structure and nature of the trial. This paper reports on efforts to move past typical formative trial work, through adaptation of community conversations (CCs) methodology, an action-oriented approach that engages large numbers of community members in dialogue. We applied the CC method to explore community perspectives about pneumonia and managing the health of children under-5 in Northern Nigeria to inform our pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating a complex intervention to reduce under-5 mortality in Nigeria. METHODS We conducted 12 rounds of community conversations with a total of 320 participants, in six administrative wards in Kiyawa Local Government Area, Jigawa state, our intervention site. Participants were male and female caregivers of children under five. Conversations were structured around participatory learning and action activities, using drawings and discussion to reduce barriers to entry. During activities participants were placed in subgroups: younger women (18-30 years of age), older women (31-49 years) and men (18 years above). Discussions were conducted over three 2-h sessions, facilitated by community researchers. Following an initial analysis to extract priority issues and perspectives on intervention structure, smaller focus group discussions were completed with participants in five new sites to ensure all 11 administrative wards in our study site contributed to the design. RESULTS We identified enabling and limiting factors which could shape the future trial implementation, including complex power relationships within households and wider communities shaping women's health decision-making, and the gendered use of space. We also noted the positive engagement of participants during the CC process, with many participants valuing the opportunity to express themselves in ways they have not been able to in the past. CONCLUSIONS CCs provide a structured approach to deep meaningful engagement of everyday citizens in intervention and trial designs, but require appropriate resources, and commitment to qualitative research in trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION ISRCTN39213655. Registered on 11 December 2019.
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Simkovich SM, Hossen S, McCollum ED, Toenjes AK, McCracken JP, Thompson LM, Castañaza A, Diaz A, Rosa G, Kirby MA, Mukeshimana A, Myers R, Lenzen PM, Craik R, Jabbarzadeh S, Elon L, Garg SS, Balakrishnan K, Thangavel G, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Dávila-Román VG, Papageorghiou AT, de Las Fuentes L, Checkley W. Lung Ultrasound Protocol and Quality Control of Image Interpretation Using an Adjudication Panel in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Trial. ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE & BIOLOGY 2023; 49:1194-1201. [PMID: 36801180 PMCID: PMC10631486 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Lung ultrasound (LUS) is an alternative to chest radiography to confirm a diagnosis of pneumonia. For research and disease surveillance, methods to use LUS to diagnose pneumonia are needed. METHODS In the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial, LUS was used to confirm a clinical diagnosis of severe pneumonia in infants. We developed a standardized definition of pneumonia, protocols for recruitment and training of sonographers, along with LUS image acquisition and interpretation. We use a blinded panel approach to interpretation with LUS cine-loops randomized to non-scanning sonographers with expert review. DISCUSSION We obtained 357 lung ultrasound scans: 159, 8 and 190 scans were collected in Guatemala, Peru and Rwanda, respectively. The diagnosis of primary endpoint pneumonia (PEP) required an expert tie breaker in 181 scans (39%). PEP was diagnosed in 141 scans (40%), not diagnosed in 213 (60%), with 3 scans (<1%) deemed uninterpretable. Agreement among the two blinded sonographers and the expert reader in Guatemala, Peru and Rwanda was 65%, 62% and 67%, with a prevalence-and-bias-corrected kappa of 0.30, 0.24 and 0.33, respectively. CONCLUSION Use of standardized imaging protocols, training and an adjudication panel resulted in high confidence for the diagnosis of pneumonia using LUS.
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Hooli S, King C, McCollum ED, Colbourn T, Lufesi N, Mwansambo C, Gregory CJ, Thamthitiwat S, Cutland C, Madhi SA, Nunes MC, Gessner BD, Hazir T, Mathew JL, Addo-Yobo E, Chisaka N, Hassan M, Hibberd PL, Jeena P, Lozano JM, MacLeod WB, Patel A, Thea DM, Nguyen NTV, Zaman SM, Ruvinsky RO, Lucero M, Kartasasmita CB, Turner C, Asghar R, Banajeh S, Iqbal I, Maulen-Radovan I, Mino-Leon G, Saha SK, Santosham M, Singhi S, Awasthi S, Bavdekar A, Chou M, Nymadawa P, Pape JW, Paranhos-Baccala G, Picot VS, Rakoto-Andrianarivelo M, Rouzier V, Russomando G, Sylla M, Vanhems P, Wang J, Basnet S, Strand TA, Neuman MI, Arroyo LM, Echavarria M, Bhatnagar S, Wadhwa N, Lodha R, Aneja S, Gentile A, Chadha M, Hirve S, O'Grady KAF, Clara AW, Rees CA, Campbell H, Nair H, Falconer J, Williams LJ, Horne M, Qazi SA, Nisar YB. In-hospital mortality risk stratification in children aged under 5 years with pneumonia with or without pulse oximetry: A secondary analysis of the Pneumonia REsearch Partnership to Assess WHO REcommendations (PREPARE) dataset. Int J Infect Dis 2023; 129:240-250. [PMID: 36805325 PMCID: PMC10017350 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We determined the pulse oximetry benefit in pediatric pneumonia mortality risk stratification and chest-indrawing pneumonia in-hospital mortality risk factors. METHODS We report the characteristics and in-hospital pneumonia-related mortality of children aged 2-59 months who were included in the Pneumonia Research Partnership to Assess WHO Recommendations dataset. We developed multivariable logistic regression models of chest-indrawing pneumonia to identify mortality risk factors. RESULTS Among 285,839 children, 164,244 (57.5%) from hospital-based studies were included. Pneumonia case fatality risk (CFR) without pulse oximetry measurement was higher than with measurement (5.8%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.6-5.9% vs 2.1%, 95% CI 1.9-2.4%). One in five children with chest-indrawing pneumonia was hypoxemic (19.7%, 95% CI 19.0-20.4%), and the hypoxemic CFR was 10.3% (95% CI 9.1-11.5%). Other mortality risk factors were younger age (either 2-5 months [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 9.94, 95% CI 6.67-14.84] or 6-11 months [aOR 2.67, 95% CI 1.71-4.16]), moderate malnutrition (aOR 2.41, 95% CI 1.87-3.09), and female sex (aOR 1.82, 95% CI 1.43-2.32). CONCLUSION Children with a pulse oximetry measurement had a lower CFR. Many children hospitalized with chest-indrawing pneumonia were hypoxemic and one in 10 died. Young age and moderate malnutrition were risk factors for in-hospital chest-indrawing pneumonia-related mortality. Pulse oximetry should be integrated in pneumonia hospital care for children under 5 years.
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Dewandel I, van Niekerk M, Ghimenton-Walters E, Palmer M, Anthony MG, McKenzie C, Croucamp R, Alter G, Demers AM, van Zyl G, Claassen M, Goussard P, Swanepoel R, Hoddinott G, Bosch C, Dunbar R, Allwood B, McCollum ED, Schaaf HS, Hesseling AC, van der Zalm MM. UMOYA: a prospective longitudinal cohort study to evaluate novel diagnostic tools and to assess long-term impact on lung health in South African children with presumptive pulmonary TB-a study protocol. BMC Pulm Med 2023; 23:97. [PMID: 36949477 PMCID: PMC10032249 DOI: 10.1186/s12890-023-02329-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite a high paediatric tuberculosis (TB) burden globally, sensitive and specific diagnostic tools are lacking. In addition, no data exist on the impact of pulmonary TB on long-term child lung health in low- and middle-income countries. The prospective observational UMOYA study aims (1) to build a state-of-the-art clinical, radiological, and biological repository of well-characterised children with presumptive pulmonary TB as a platform for future studies to explore new emerging diagnostic tools and biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment response; and (2) to investigate the short and long-term impact of pulmonary TB on lung health and quality of life in children. METHODS We will recruit up to 600 children (0-13 years) with presumptive pulmonary TB and 100 healthy controls. Recruitment started in November 2017 and is expected to continue until May 2023. Sputum and non-sputum-based samples are collected at enrolment and during follow-up in TB cases and symptomatic controls. TB treatment is started by routine care services. Intensive follow-up for 6 months will allow for TB cases to retrospectively be classified according to international consensus clinical case definitions for TB. Long-term follow-up, including imaging, comprehensive assessment of lung function and quality of life questionnaires, are done yearly up to 4 years after recruitment. DISCUSSION The UMOYA study will provide a unique platform to evaluate new emerging diagnostic tools and biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment response and to investigate long-term outcomes of pulmonary TB and other respiratory events on lung health in children.
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Khan AM, Sultana S, Ahmed S, Shi T, McCollum ED, Baqui AH, Cunningham S, Campbell H. The ability of non-physician health workers to identify chest indrawing to detect pneumonia in children below five years of age in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Glob Health 2023; 13:04016. [PMID: 36730094 PMCID: PMC9894506 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.13.04016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Non-physician health workers play a vital role in diagnosing and treating pneumonia in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Chest indrawing is a key indicator for pneumonia diagnosis, signifying the severity of the disease. We conducted this systematic review to summarize the evidence on non-physician health workers' ability to identify chest indrawing to detect pneumonia in children below five years of age in LMICs. Methods We comprehensively searched four electronic databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus, and reference lists from the identified studies, from January 1, 1990, to January 20, 2022, with no language restrictions. Studies evaluating the performance of non-physician health workers in identifying chest indrawing compared to a reference standard were included. We used the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool to assess the methodological quality of the selected studies and conducted a meta-analysis following a bivariate random effects model to estimate the pooled sensitivity and specificity. Results We identified nine studies covering 4468 children that reported the accuracy of a non-physician health worker in identifying chest indrawing. Most studies were conducted in the 1990s, based at health facility settings, with children aged 2-59 months, and with pediatricians/physicians as the reference standard. Using the QUADAS-2, we evaluated most studies as having a low risk of bias and a low concern regarding applicability in all domains. The median sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 44%, 97%, 55%, and 95%, respectively. We selected five studies for the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity was 46% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 37-56), and the pooled specificity was 95% (95% CI = 91-97). Conclusions We found the ability of non-physician health workers in LMICs in identifying chest indrawing pneumonia is relatively poor. Appropriate measures, such as targeted identification and training, supportive supervision, regular performance assessment, and feedback for those who have a poor ability to recognize chest indrawing, should be taken to improve the diagnosis of pneumonia in children. New studies are needed to assess the new generation of health workers. Registration PROSPERO (CRD42022306954).
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Salako J, Bakare D, Colbourn T, Isah A, Adams O, Shittu F, Uchendu O, Bakare AA, Graham H, McCollum ED, Falade AG, Burgess RA, King C. Maternal mental well-being and recent child illnesses-A cross-sectional survey analysis from Jigawa State, Nigeria. PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 3:e0001462. [PMID: 36962998 PMCID: PMC10121178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
Child health indicators in Northern Nigeria remain low. The bidirectional association between child health and maternal well-being is also poorly understood. We aim to describe the association between recent child illness, socio-demographic factors and maternal mental well-being in Jigawa State, Nigeria. We analysed a cross-sectional household survey conducted in Kiyawa local government area, Jigawa State, from January 2020 to March 2020 amongst women aged 16-49 with at least one child under-5 years. We used two-stage random sampling. First, we used systematic random sampling of compounds, with the number of compounds based on the size of the community. The second stage used simple random sampling to select one eligible woman per compound. Mental well-being was assessed using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Score (SWEMWBS). We used linear regression to estimate associations between recent child illness, care-seeking and socio-demographic factors, and mental well-being. Overall 1,661 eligible women were surveyed, and 8.5% had high mental well-being (metric score of 25.0-35.0) and 29.5% had low mental well-being (metric score of 7.0-17.9). Increasing wealth quintile (adj coeff: 1.53; 95% CI: 0.91-2.15) not being a subsistence farmer (highest adj coeff: 3.23; 95% CI: 2.31-4.15) and having a sick child in the last 2-weeks (adj coeff: 1.25; 95% CI: 0.73-1.77) were significantly associated with higher mental well-being. Higher levels of education and increasing woman's age were significantly associated with lower mental well-being. Findings contradicted our working hypothesis that a recently sick child would be associated with lower mental well-being. We were surprised that education and late marriage, which are commonly attributed to women's empowerment and autonomy, were not linked to better well-being here. Future work could focus on locally defined tools to measure well-being reflecting the norms and values of communities, ensuring solutions that are culturally acceptable and desirable to women with low mental well-being are initiated.
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Martin H, Falconer J, Addo-Yobo E, Aneja S, Arroyo LM, Asghar R, Awasthi S, Banajeh S, Bari A, Basnet S, Bavdekar A, Bhandari N, Bhatnagar S, Bhutta ZA, Brooks A, Chadha M, Chisaka N, Chou M, Clara AW, Colbourn T, Cutland C, D'Acremont V, Echavarria M, Gentile A, Gessner B, Gregory CJ, Hazir T, Hibberd PL, Hirve S, Hooli S, Iqbal I, Jeena P, Kartasasmita CB, King C, Libster R, Lodha R, Lozano JM, Lucero M, Lufesi N, MacLeod WB, Madhi SA, Mathew JL, Maulen-Radovan I, McCollum ED, Mino G, Mwansambo C, Neuman MI, Nguyen NTV, Nunes MC, Nymadawa P, O'Grady KAF, Pape JW, Paranhos-Baccala G, Patel A, Picot VS, Rakoto-Andrianarivelo M, Rasmussen Z, Rouzier V, Russomando G, Ruvinsky RO, Sadruddin S, Saha SK, Santosham M, Singhi S, Soofi S, Strand TA, Sylla M, Thamthitiwat S, Thea DM, Turner C, Vanhems P, Wadhwa N, Wang J, Zaman SMA, Campbell H, Nair H, Qazi SA, Nisar YB. Assembling a global database of child pneumonia studies to inform WHO pneumonia management algorithm: Methodology and applications. J Glob Health 2022; 12:04075. [PMID: 36579417 PMCID: PMC9798037 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.12.04075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The existing World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia case management guidelines rely on clinical symptoms and signs for identifying, classifying, and treating pneumonia in children up to 5 years old. We aimed to collate an individual patient-level data set from large, high-quality pre-existing studies on pneumonia in children to identify a set of signs and symptoms with greater validity in the diagnosis, prognosis, and possible treatment of childhood pneumonia for the improvement of current pneumonia case management guidelines. Methods Using data from a published systematic review and expert knowledge, we identified studies meeting our eligibility criteria and invited investigators to share individual-level patient data. We collected data on demographic information, general medical history, and current illness episode, including history, clinical presentation, chest radiograph findings when available, treatment, and outcome. Data were gathered separately from hospital-based and community-based cases. We performed a narrative synthesis to describe the final data set. Results Forty-one separate data sets were included in the Pneumonia Research Partnership to Assess WHO Recommendations (PREPARE) database, 26 of which were hospital-based and 15 were community-based. The PREPARE database includes 285 839 children with pneumonia (244 323 in the hospital and 41 516 in the community), with detailed descriptions of clinical presentation, clinical progression, and outcome. Of 9185 pneumonia-related deaths, 6836 (74%) occurred in children <1 year of age and 1317 (14%) in children aged 1-2 years. Of the 285 839 episodes, 280 998 occurred in children 0-59 months old, of which 129 584 (46%) were 2-11 months of age and 152 730 (54%) were males. Conclusions This data set could identify an improved specific, sensitive set of criteria for diagnosing clinical pneumonia and help identify sick children in need of referral to a higher level of care or a change of therapy. Field studies could be designed based on insights from PREPARE analyses to validate a potential revised pneumonia algorithm. The PREPARE methodology can also act as a model for disease database assembly.
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Mvalo T, Smith AG, Eckerle M, Hosseinipour MC, Kondowe D, Vaidya D, Liu Y, Corbett K, Nansongole D, Mtimaukanena TA, Lufesi N, McCollum ED. Antibiotic treatment failure in children aged 1 to 59 months with World Health Organization-defined severe pneumonia in Malawi: A CPAP IMPACT trial secondary analysis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0278938. [PMID: 36516197 PMCID: PMC9750006 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pneumonia is a leading cause of mortality in children <5 years globally. Early identification of hospitalized children with pneumonia who may fail antibiotics could improve outcomes. We conducted a secondary analysis from the Malawi CPAP IMPACT trial evaluating risk factors for antibiotic failure among children hospitalized with pneumonia. METHODS Participants were 1-59 months old with World Health Organization-defined severe pneumonia and hypoxemia, severe malnutrition, and/or HIV exposure/infection. All participants received intravenous antibiotics per standard care. First-line antibiotics were benzylpenicillin and gentamicin for five days. Study staff assessed patients for first-line antibiotic failure daily between days 3-6. When identified, patients failing antibiotics were switched to second-line ceftriaxone. Analyses excluded children receiving ceftriaxone and/or deceased by hospital day two. We compared characteristics between patients with and without treatment failure and fit multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate associations between treatment failure and admission characteristics. RESULTS From June 2015-March 2018, 644 children were enrolled and 538 analyzed. Antibiotic failure was identified in 251 (46.7%) participants, and 19/251 (7.6%) died. Treatment failure occurred more frequently with severe malnutrition (50.2% (126/251) vs 28.2% (81/287), p<0.001) and amongst those dwelling ≥10km from a health facility (22.3% (56/251) vs 15.3% (44/287), p = 0.026). Severe malnutrition occurred more frequently among children living ≥10km from a health facility than those living <10km (49.0% (49/100) vs 35.7% (275/428), p = 0.014). Children with severe malnutrition (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.2 (95% CI 1.52, 3.24), p<0.001) and pre-hospital antibiotics ((aOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.01, 2.14), p = 0.043) had an elevated aOR for antibiotic treatment failure. CONCLUSION Severe malnutrition and pre-hospital antibiotic use predicted antibiotic treatment failure in this high-risk severe pneumonia pediatric population in Malawi. Our findings suggest addressing complex sociomedical conditions like severe malnutrition and improving pneumonia etiology diagnostics will be key for better targeting interventions to improve childhood pneumonia outcomes.
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Khan AM, Ahmed S, Chowdhury NH, Islam MS, McCollum ED, King C, Shi T, Nahar K, Simpson R, Ahmed A, Rahman MM, Baqui AH, Cunningham S, Campbell H. Developing a video expert panel as a reference standard to evaluate respiratory rate counting in paediatric pneumonia diagnosis: protocol for a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e067389. [PMID: 36379660 PMCID: PMC9668034 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Manual counting of respiratory rate (RR) in children is challenging for health workers and can result in misdiagnosis of pneumonia. Some novel RR counting devices automate the counting of RR and classification of fast breathing. The absence of an appropriate reference standard to evaluate the performance of these devices is a challenge. If good quality videos could be captured, with RR interpretation from these videos systematically conducted by an expert panel, it could act as a reference standard. This study is designed to develop a video expert panel (VEP) as a reference standard to evaluate RR counting for identifying pneumonia in children. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Using a cross-sectional design, we will enrol children aged 0-59 months presenting with suspected pneumonia at different levels of health facilities in Dhaka and Sylhet, Bangladesh. We will videorecord a physician/health worker counting RR manually and also using an automated RR counter (Children's Automated Respiration Monitor) from each child. We will establish a standard operating procedure for capturing quality videos, make a set of reference videos, and train and standardise the VEP members using the reference videos. After that, we will assess the performance of the VEP as a reference standard to evaluate RR counting. We will calculate the mean difference and proportions of agreement within±2 breaths per minute and create Bland-Altman plots with limits of agreement between VEP members. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION The study protocol was approved by the National Research Ethics Committee of Bangladesh Medical Research Council, Bangladesh (registration number: 39315022021) and Edinburgh Medical School Research Ethics Committee (EMREC), Edinburgh, UK (REC Reference: 21-EMREC-040). Dissemination of the study findings will be through conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
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Clasen TF, Chang HH, Thompson LM, Kirby MA, Balakrishnan K, Díaz-Artiga A, McCracken JP, Rosa G, Steenland K, Younger A, Aravindalochanan V, Barr DB, Castañaza A, Chen Y, Chiang M, Clark ML, Garg S, Hartinger S, Jabbarzadeh S, Johnson MA, Kim DY, Lovvorn AE, McCollum ED, Monroy L, Moulton LH, Mukeshimana A, Mukhopadhyay K, Naeher LP, Ndagijimana F, Papageorghiou A, Piedrahita R, Pillarisetti A, Puttaswamy N, Quinn A, Ramakrishnan U, Sambandam S, Sinharoy SS, Thangavel G, Underhill LJ, Waller LA, Wang J, Williams KN, Rosenthal JP, Checkley W, Peel JL. Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass for Cooking and Effects on Birth Weight. N Engl J Med 2022; 387:1735-1746. [PMID: 36214599 PMCID: PMC9710426 DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2206734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exposure during pregnancy to household air pollution caused by the burning of solid biomass fuel is associated with adverse health outcomes, including low birth weight. Whether the replacement of a biomass cookstove with a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookstove would result in an increase in birth weight is unclear. METHODS We performed a randomized, controlled trial involving pregnant women (18 to <35 years of age and at 9 to <20 weeks' gestation as confirmed on ultrasonography) in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. The women were assigned in a 1:1 ratio to use a free LPG cookstove and fuel (intervention group) or to continue using a biomass cookstove (control group). Birth weight, one of four prespecified primary outcomes, was the primary outcome for this report; data for the other three outcomes are not yet available. Birth weight was measured within 24 hours after birth. In addition, 24-hour personal exposures to fine particulate matter (particles with a diameter of ≤2.5 μm [PM2.5]), black carbon, and carbon monoxide were measured at baseline and twice during pregnancy. RESULTS A total of 3200 women underwent randomization; 1593 were assigned to the intervention group, and 1607 to the control group. Uptake of the intervention was nearly complete, with traditional biomass cookstoves being used at a median rate of less than 1 day per month. After randomization, the median 24-hour personal exposure to fine particulate matter was 23.9 μg per cubic meter in the intervention group and 70.7 μg per cubic meter in the control group. Among 3061 live births, a valid birth weight was available for 94.9% of the infants born to women in the intervention group and for 92.7% of infants born to those in the control group. The mean (±SD) birth weight was 2921±474.3 g in the intervention group and 2898±467.9 g in the control group, for an adjusted mean difference of 19.6 g (95% confidence interval, -10.1 to 49.2). CONCLUSIONS The birth weight of infants did not differ significantly between those born to women who used LPG cookstoves and those born to women who used biomass cookstoves. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; HAPIN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02944682.).
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King C, Siddle M, Adams O, Ahmar S, Ahmed T, Bakare AA, Bakare D, Burgess RA, Colbourn T, McCollum ED, Olowookere T, Salako J, Uchendu O, Graham HR, Falade AG. Prevalence of pneumonia and malnutrition among children in Jigawa state, Nigeria: a community-based clinical screening study. BMJ Paediatr Open 2022; 6:10.1136/bmjpo-2022-001640. [PMID: 36645778 PMCID: PMC9577914 DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2022-001640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To estimate the point prevalence of pneumonia and malnutrition and explore associations with household socioeconomic factors. DESIGN Community-based cross-sectional study conducted in January-June 2021 among a random sample of households across all villages in the study area. SETTING Kiyawa Local Government Area, Jigawa state, Nigeria. PARTICIPANTS Children aged 0-59 months who were permanent residents in Kiyawa and present at home at the time of the survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Pneumonia (non-severe and severe) defined using WHO criteria (2014 revision) in children aged 0-59 months. Malnutrition (moderate and severe) defined using mid-upper arm circumference in children aged 6-59 months. RESULTS 9171 children were assessed, with a mean age of 24.8 months (SD=15.8); 48.7% were girls. Overall pneumonia (severe or non-severe) point prevalence was 1.3% (n=121/9171); 0.6% (n=55/9171) had severe pneumonia. Using an alternate definition that did not rely on caregiver-reported cough/difficult breathing revealed higher pneumonia prevalence (n=258, 2.8%, 0.6% severe, 2.2% non-severe). Access to any toilet facility was associated with lower odds of pneumonia (aOR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.31 to 1.01). The prevalence of malnutrition (moderate or severe) was 15.6% (n=1239/7954) with 4.1% (n=329/7954) were severely malnourished. Being older (aOR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.27), male (aOR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.66 to 0.91) and having head of compound a business owner or professional (vs subsistence farmer, aOR 0.71; 95% CI: 0.56 to 0.90) were associated with lower odds of malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS In this large, representative community-based survey, there was a considerable pneumonia and malnutrition morbidity burden. We noted challenges in the diagnosis of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness-defined pneumonia in this context.
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Dunning H, Zadutsa B, Kainja E, Colbourn T, McCollum ED, Makwenda C, Wells J, Grijalva-Eternod CS, King C. Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis as an indicator of malnutrition in children under five years with and without pneumonia in Mchinji District, Malawi: An exploratory mixed-methods analysis. Gates Open Res 2022. [DOI: 10.12688/gatesopenres.13655.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) is a non-invasive assessment of body composition and cellular health, which may improve the assessment of nutritional status in sick children. We explored the reliability, clinical utility, and acceptability of BIVA, as an indicator of nutritional status for children under five years with and without pneumonia, in Malawi. Methods: We conducted a parallel convergent mixed-methods exploratory study in Mchinji District Hospital, Malawi, in 2017. We planned to recruit a convenience sample of children aged 0-59 months with clinical pneumonia, and without an acute illness. Children had duplicate anthropometric and BIVA measurements taken. BIVA measurements of phase angle (PA) were taken of the whole body, and trunk and arm segments. Reliability was assessed by comparing the variability in the two measures, and clinical utility by estimating the association between anthropometry and PA using linear regression. Focus group discussions with healthcare workers who had not previously used BIVA instrumentation were conducted to explore acceptability. Results: A total of 52 children (24 with pneumonia and 28 healthy) were analysed. The reliability of sequential PA measurements was lower than anthropometric measurements, but trunk and arm segments performed better. The largest associations with PA were a negative relationship with weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) and PA in children with pneumonia in the trunk segment, and a positive association with WAZ in the full body measurement in healthy children. Healthcare workers in focus group discussions expressed trust in BIVA technology and that it would enable more accurate diagnosis of malnutrition; however, they raised concerns about the sustainability and necessary resources to implement BIVA. Conclusions: While healthcare workers were positive towards BIVA as a novel technology, implementation challenges should be expected. The differential direction of association between anthropometry and PA for children with pneumonia warrants further investigation.
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Checkley W, Hossen S, McCollum ED, Pervaiz F, Miele CH, Chavez MA, Moulton LH, Simmons N, Roy AD, Chowdhury NH, Ahmed S, Begum N, Quaiyum A, Santosham M, Baqui AH. Effectiveness of the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on pediatric pneumonia confirmed by ultrasound: a matched case-control study. Respir Res 2022; 23:198. [PMID: 35915495 PMCID: PMC9341060 DOI: 10.1186/s12931-022-02115-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Bangladesh introduced the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) for children aged < 1 year in March 2015. Previous vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies for pneumonia have used invasive pneumococcal disease or chest X-rays. None have used ultrasound. We sought to determine the VE of PCV10 against sonographically-confirmed pneumonia in three subdistrict health complexes in Bangladesh. Methods We conducted a matched case–control study between July 2015 and September 2017 in three subdistricts of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Cases were vaccine-eligible children aged 3–35 months with sonographically-confirmed pneumonia, who were matched with two types of controls by age, sex, week of diagnosis, subdistrict health complex (clinic controls) or distance from subdistrict health complex (community controls) and had an illness unlikely due to Streptococcus pneumoniae (clinic controls) or were healthy (community controls). VE was measured using multivariable conditional logistic regression. Results We evaluated 8926 children (average age 13.3 months, 58% boys) with clinical pneumonia by ultrasound; 2470 had pneumonia with consolidations ≥ 1 cm; 1893 pneumonia cases were matched with 4238 clinic controls; and 1832 were matched with 3636 community controls. VE increased with the threshold used for consolidation size on ultrasound: the adjusted VE of ≥ 2 doses vs. non-recipients of PCV10 against pneumonia increased from 15.8% (95% CI 1.6–28.0%) for consolidations ≥ 1 cm to 29.6% (12.8–43.2%) for consolidations ≥ 1.5 cm using clinic controls and from 2.7% (− 14.2–17.2%) to 23.5% (4.4–38.8%) using community controls, respectively. Conclusions PCV10 was effective at reducing sonographically-confirmed pneumonia in children aged 3–35 months of age when compared to unvaccinated children. VE increased with the threshold used for consolidation size on ultrasound in clinic and community controls alike. This study provides evidence that lung ultrasound is a useful alternative to chest X-ray for case–control studies evaluating the effectiveness of vaccines against pneumonia.
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Khanam R, Islam S, Rahman S, Ahmed S, Islam A, Hasan T, Hasan E, Chowdhury NH, Roy AD, Jaben IA, Nehal AA, Yoshida S, Manu AA, Raqib R, McCollum ED, Shahidullah M, Jehan F, Sazawal S, Bahl R, Baqui AH. Sero-prevalence and risk factors for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 infection in women and children in a rural district of Bangladesh: A cohort study. J Glob Health 2022; 12:05030. [PMID: 35866222 PMCID: PMC9304923 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.12.05030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Bangladesh reported its first COVID-19 case on March 8, 2020. Despite lockdowns and promoting behavioural interventions, as of December 31, 2021, Bangladesh reported 1.5 million confirmed cases and 27 904 COVID-19-related deaths. To understand the course of the pandemic and identify risk factors for SARs-Cov-2 infection, we conducted a cohort study from November 2020 to December 2021 in rural Bangladesh. Methods After obtaining informed consent and collecting baseline data on COVID-19 knowledge, comorbidities, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle, we collected data on COVID-like illness and care-seeking weekly for 54 weeks for women (n = 2683) and their children (n = 2433). Between March and July 2021, we tested all participants for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using ROCHE's Elecsys® test kit. We calculated seropositivity rates and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) separately for women and children. In addition, we calculated unadjusted and adjusted relative risk (RR) and 95% CI of seropositivity for different age and risk groups using log-binomial regression models. Results Overall, about one-third of women (35.8%, 95% CI = 33.7-37.9) and one-fifth of children (21.3%, 95% CI = 19.2-23.6) were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The seroprevalence rate doubled for women and tripled for children between March 2021 and July 2021. Compared to women and children with the highest household wealth (HHW) tertile, both women and children from poorer households had a lower risk of infection (RR, 95% CI for lowest HHW tertile women (0.83 (0.71-0.97)) and children (0.75 (0.57-0.98)). Most infections were asymptomatic or mild. In addition, the risk of infection among women was higher if she reported chewing tobacco (RR = 1.19,95% CI = 1.03-1.38) and if her husband had an occupation requiring him to work indoors (RR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.02-1.32). The risk of infection was higher among children if paternal education was >5 years (RR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.10-1.71) than in children with a paternal education of ≤5 years. Conclusions We provided prospectively collected population-based data, which could contribute to designing feasible strategies against COVID-19 tailored to high-risk groups. The most feasible strategy may be promoting preventive care practices; however, collecting data on reported practices is inadequate. More in-depth understanding of the factors related to adoption and adherence to the practices is essential.
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Kala A, McCollum ED, Elhilali M. Implications of clinical variability on computer-aided lung auscultation classification. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022; 2022:4421-4425. [PMID: 36086501 DOI: 10.1109/embc48229.2022.9871393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Thanks to recent advances in digital stethoscopes and rapid adoption of deep learning techniques, there has been tremendous progress in the field of Computerized Auscultation Analysis (CAA). Despite these promising leaps, the deploy-ment of these technologies in real-world applications remains limited due to inherent challenges with properly interpreting clinical data, particularly auscultations. One of the limiting factors is the inherent ambiguity that comes with variability in clinical opinion, even from highly trained experts. The lack of unanimity in expert opinions is often ignored in developing machine learning techniques to automatically screen normal from abnormal lung signals, with most algorithms being developed and tested on highly curated datasets. To better understand the potential pitfalls this selective analysis could cause in deployment, the current work explores the impact of clinical opinion variability on algorithms to detect adventitious patterns in lung sounds when trained on gold-standard data. The study shows that uncertainty in clinical opinion introduces far more variability and performance drop than dissidence in expert judgments. The study also explores the feasibility of automatically flagging auscultation signals based on their estimated uncertainty, thereby recommending further reassessment as well as improving computer-aided analysis.
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Sessions KL, Smith AG, Holmberg PJ, Wahl B, Mvalo T, Chisti MJ, Carroll RW, McCollum ED. Continuous positive airway pressure for children in resource-limited settings, effect on mortality and adverse events: systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Dis Child 2022; 107:543-552. [PMID: 34880003 PMCID: PMC9125374 DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2021-323041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Determine non-invasive ventilation with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) outcomes for paediatric respiratory distress in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. SETTING LMIC hospitals. PATIENTS One month to 15 year olds with respiratory distress. INTERVENTIONS We searched Medline, Embase, LILACS, Web of Science and Scopus on 7 April 2020. Included studies assessed CPAP safety, efficacy or effectiveness. All study types were included; neonatal only studies were excluded. Data were extracted by two reviewers and bias was assessed. Certainty of evidence was evaluated, and risk ratios (RR) were produced for meta-analyses. (PROSPERO protocol CRD42018084278). RESULTS 2174 papers were screened, 20 were included in the systematic review and 3 were included in two separate meta-analyses of mortality and adverse events. Studies suitable for meta-analysis were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) from Bangladesh, Ghana and Malawi. For meta-analyses comparing death or adverse events between CPAP and low-flow oxygen recipients, we found no clear CPAP effect on mortality (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.33 to 1.72) or adverse events (RR 1.52, CI 0.71 to 3.26). We downgraded the certainty of evidence for both death and adverse events outcomes to 'low' due to design issues and results discrepancies across RCTs. CONCLUSIONS Evidence for CPAP efficacy against mortality and adverse events has low certainty and is context dependent. Hospitals introducing CPAP need to have mechanisms in place to optimise safety in the context it is being used; this includes the location (a high dependency or intensive care area), adequate numbers of staff trained in CPAP use, close monitoring and mechanisms for escalation, daily direct physician supervision, equipment that is age appropriate and user-friendly and continuous monitoring of outcomes and quality of care.
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Park DE, Watson NL, Focht C, Feikin D, Hammitt LL, Brooks WA, Howie SRC, Kotloff KL, Levine OS, Madhi SA, Murdoch DR, O'Brien KL, Scott JAG, Thea DM, Amorninthapichet T, Awori J, Bunthi C, Ebruke B, Elhilali M, Higdon M, Hossain L, Jahan Y, Moore DP, Mulindwa J, Mwananyanda L, Naorat S, Prosperi C, Thamthitiwat S, Verwey C, Jablonski KA, Power MC, Young HA, Deloria Knoll M, McCollum ED. Digitally recorded and remotely classified lung auscultation compared with conventional stethoscope classifications among children aged 1-59 months enrolled in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) case-control study. BMJ Open Respir Res 2022; 9:9/1/e001144. [PMID: 35577452 PMCID: PMC9115042 DOI: 10.1136/bmjresp-2021-001144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Diagnosis of pneumonia remains challenging. Digitally recorded and remote human classified lung sounds may offer benefits beyond conventional auscultation, but it is unclear whether classifications differ between the two approaches. We evaluated concordance between digital and conventional auscultation. METHODS We collected digitally recorded lung sounds, conventional auscultation classifications and clinical measures and samples from children with pneumonia (cases) in low-income and middle-income countries. Physicians remotely classified recordings as crackles, wheeze or uninterpretable. Conventional and digital auscultation concordance was evaluated among 383 pneumonia cases with concurrently (within 2 hours) collected conventional and digital auscultation classifications using prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK). Using an expanded set of 737 cases that also incorporated the non-concurrently collected assessments, we evaluated whether associations between auscultation classifications and clinical or aetiological findings differed between conventional or digital auscultation using χ2 tests and logistic regression adjusted for age, sex and site. RESULTS Conventional and digital auscultation concordance was moderate for classifying crackles and/or wheeze versus neither crackles nor wheeze (PABAK=0.50), and fair for crackles-only versus not crackles-only (PABAK=0.30) and any wheeze versus no wheeze (PABAK=0.27). Crackles were more common on conventional auscultation, whereas wheeze was more frequent on digital auscultation. Compared with neither crackles nor wheeze, crackles-only on both conventional and digital auscultation was associated with abnormal chest radiographs (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.53, 95% CI 0.99 to 2.36; aOR=2.09, 95% CI 1.19 to 3.68, respectively); any wheeze was inversely associated with C-reactive protein >40 mg/L using conventional auscultation (aOR=0.50, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.92) and with very severe pneumonia using digital auscultation (aOR=0.67, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.97). Crackles-only on digital auscultation was associated with mortality compared with any wheeze (aOR=2.70, 95% CI 1.12 to 6.25). CONCLUSIONS Conventional auscultation and remotely-classified digital auscultation displayed moderate concordance for presence/absence of wheeze and crackles among cases. Conventional and digital auscultation may provide different classification patterns, but wheeze was associated with decreased clinical severity on both.
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Graham HR, Olojede OE, Bakare AAA, McCollum ED, Iuliano A, Isah A, Osebi A, Seriki I, Ahmed T, Ahmar S, Cassar C, Valentine P, Olowookere TF, MacCalla M, Uchendu O, Burgess RA, Colbourn T, King C, Falade AG. Pulse oximetry and oxygen services for the care of children with pneumonia attending frontline health facilities in Lagos, Nigeria (INSPIRING-Lagos): study protocol for a mixed-methods evaluation. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e058901. [PMID: 35501079 PMCID: PMC9062461 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The aim of this evaluation is to understand whether introducing stabilisation rooms equipped with pulse oximetry and oxygen systems to frontline health facilities in Ikorodu, Lagos State, alongside healthcare worker (HCW) training improves the quality of care for children with pneumonia aged 0-59 months. We will explore to what extent, how, for whom and in what contexts the intervention works. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Quasi-experimental time-series impact evaluation with embedded mixed-methods process and economic evaluation. SETTING seven government primary care facilities, seven private health facilities, two government secondary care facilities. TARGET POPULATION children aged 0-59 months with clinically diagnosed pneumonia and/or suspected or confirmed COVID-19. INTERVENTION 'stabilisation rooms' within participating primary care facilities in Ikorodu local government area, designed to allow for short-term oxygen delivery for children with hypoxaemia prior to transfer to hospital, alongside HCW training on integrated management of childhood illness, pulse oximetry and oxygen therapy, immunisation and nutrition. Secondary facilities will also receive training and equipment for oxygen and pulse oximetry to ensure minimum standard of care is available for referred children. PRIMARY OUTCOME correct management of hypoxaemic pneumonia including administration of oxygen therapy, referral and presentation to hospital. SECONDARY OUTCOME 14-day pneumonia case fatality rate. Evaluation period: August 2020 to September 2022. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval from University of Ibadan, Lagos State and University College London. Ongoing engagement with government and other key stakeholders during the project. Local dissemination events will be held with the State Ministry of Health at the end of the project (December 2022). We will publish the main impact results, process evaluation and economic evaluation results as open-access academic publications in international journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ACTRN12621001071819; Registered on the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry.
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King C, Zadutsa B, Banda L, Phiri E, McCollum ED, Langton J, Desmond N, Qazi SA, Nisar YB, Makwenda C, Hildenwall H. Prospective cohort study of referred Malawian children and their survival by hypoxaemia and hypoglycaemia status. Bull World Health Organ 2022; 100:302-314B. [PMID: 35521039 PMCID: PMC9047421 DOI: 10.2471/blt.21.287265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective To investigate survival in children referred from primary care in Malawi, with a focus on hypoglycaemia and hypoxaemia progression. Methods The study involved a prospective cohort of children aged 12 years or under referred from primary health-care facilities in Mchinji district, Malawi in 2019 and 2020. Peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and blood glucose were measured at recruitment and on arrival at a subsequent health-care facility (i.e. four hospitals and 14 primary health-care facilities). Children were followed up 2 weeks after discharge or their last clinical visit. The primary study outcome was the case fatality ratio at 2 weeks. Associations between SpO2 and blood glucose levels and death were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models and the treatment effect of hospitalization was assessed using propensity score matching. Findings Of 826 children recruited, 784 (94.9%) completed follow-up. At presentation, hypoxaemia was moderate (SpO2: 90-93%) in 13.1% (108/826) and severe (SpO2: < 90%) in 8.6% (71/826) and hypoglycaemia was moderate (blood glucose: 2.5-4.0 mmol/L) in 9.0% (74/826) and severe (blood glucose: < 2.5 mmol/L) in 2.3% (19/826). The case fatality ratio was 3.7% (29/784) overall but 26.3% (5/19) in severely hypoglycaemic children and 12.7% (9/71) in severely hypoxaemic children. Neither moderate hypoglycaemia nor moderate hypoxaemia was associated with mortality. Conclusion Presumptive pre-referral glucose treatment and better management of hypoglycaemia could reduce the high case fatality ratio observed in children with severe hypoglycaemia. The morbidity and mortality burden of severe hypoxaemia was high; ways of improving hypoxaemia identification and management are needed.
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Osula VO, Sanders JE, Chakare T, Mapota-Masoabi L, Ranyali-Otubanjo M, Hansoti B, McCollum ED. COVID-19 advanced respiratory care educational training programme for healthcare workers in Lesotho: an observational study. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e058643. [PMID: 35487754 PMCID: PMC9058317 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To develop and implement a 'low-dose, high-frequency' (LDHF) advanced respiratory care training programme for COVID-19 care in Lesotho. DESIGN Prospective pretraining-post-training evaluation. SETTING Lesotho has limited capacity in advanced respiratory care. PARTICIPANTS Physicians and nurses. INTERVENTIONS Due to limited participation in May-September 2020, the LDHF approach was modified into a traditional 1-day offsite training in November 2020 that reviewed respiratory anatomy and physiology, clinical principles for conventional oxygen, heated high-flow nasal cannula and non-invasive ventilation management. Basic mechanical ventilation principles were introduced. OUTCOME MEASURES Participants completed a 20-question multiple choice examination immediately before and after the 1-day training. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate the difference in average participant pretraining and post-training examination scores. RESULTS Pretraining and post-training examinations were completed by 46/53 (86.7%) participants, of whom 93.4% (n=43) were nurses. The overall mean pretraining score was 44.8% (SD 12.4%). Mean scores improved by an average of 23.7 percentage points (95% CI 19.7 to 27.6, p<0.001) on the post-training examination to a mean score of 68.5% (SD 13.6%). Performance on basic and advanced respiratory categories also improved by 17.7 (95% CI 11.6 to 23.8) and 25.6 percentage points (95% CI 20.4 to 30.8) (p<0.001). Likewise, mean examination scores increased on the post-training test, compared with pretraining, for questions related to respiratory management (29.6 percentage points, 95% CI 24.1 to 35.0) and physiology (17.4 percentage points, 95% CI 12.0 to 22.8). CONCLUSIONS An LDHF training approach was not feasible during this early emergency period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lesotho. Despite clear knowledge gains, the modest post-training examination scores coupled with limited physician engagement suggest healthcare workers require alternative educational strategies before higher advanced care like mechanical ventilation is implementable. Conventional and high-flow oxygen is better aligned with post-training healthcare worker knowledge levels and rapid implementation.
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Ahmed S, Sultana S, Khan AM, Islam MS, Habib GMM, McLane IM, McCollum ED, Baqui AH, Cunningham S, Nair H. Digital auscultation as a diagnostic aid to detect childhood pneumonia: A systematic review. J Glob Health 2022; 12:04033. [PMID: 35493777 PMCID: PMC9024283 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.12.04033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Frontline health care workers use World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) guidelines for child pneumonia care in low-resource settings. IMCI guideline pneumonia diagnostic criterion performs with low specificity, resulting in antibiotic overtreatment. Digital auscultation with automated lung sound analysis may improve the diagnostic performance of IMCI pneumonia guidelines. This systematic review aims to summarize the evidence on detecting adventitious lung sounds by digital auscultation with automated analysis compared to reference physician acoustic analysis for child pneumonia diagnosis. Methods In this review, articles were searched from MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, Global Health, IEEExplore database, Scopus, and the ClinicalTrial.gov databases from the inception of each database to October 27, 2021, and reference lists of selected studies and relevant review articles were searched manually. Studies reporting diagnostic performance of digital auscultation and/or computerized lung sound analysis compared against physicians’ acoustic analysis for pneumonia diagnosis in children under the age of 5 were eligible for this systematic review. Retrieved citations were screened and eligible studies were included for extraction. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool. All these steps were independently performed by two authors and disagreements between the reviewers were resolved through discussion with an arbiter. Narrative data synthesis was performed. Results A total of 3801 citations were screened and 46 full-text articles were assessed. 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Half of the studies used a publicly available respiratory sound database to evaluate their proposed work. Reported methodologies/approaches and performance metrics for classifying adventitious lung sounds varied widely across the included studies. All included studies except one reported overall diagnostic performance of the digital auscultation/computerised sound analysis to distinguish adventitious lung sounds, irrespective of the disease condition or age of the participants. The reported accuracies for classifying adventitious lung sounds in the included studies varied from 66.3% to 100%. However, it remained unclear to what extent these results would be applicable for classifying adventitious lung sounds in children with pneumonia. Conclusions This systematic review found very limited evidence on the diagnostic performance of digital auscultation to diagnose pneumonia in children. Well-designed studies and robust reporting are required to evaluate the accuracy of digital auscultation in the paediatric population.
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Khan AM, O’Donald A, Shi T, Ahmed S, McCollum ED, King C, Baqui AH, Cunningham S, Campbell H. Accuracy of non-physician health workers in respiratory rate measurement to identify paediatric pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Glob Health 2022. [PMCID: PMC9037577 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.12.04037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Methods Results Conclusions
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Rees CA, Colbourn T, Hooli S, King C, Lufesi N, McCollum ED, Mwansambo C, Cutland C, Madhi SA, Nunes M, Matthew JL, Addo-Yobo E, Chisaka N, Hassan M, Hibberd PL, Jeena PM, Lozano JM, MacLeod WB, Patel A, Thea DM, Nguyen NTV, Kartasasmita CB, Lucero M, Awasthi S, Bavdekar A, Chou M, Nymadawa P, Pape JW, Paranhos-Baccala G, Picot VS, Rakoto-Andrianarivelo M, Rouzier V, Russomando G, Sylla M, Vanhems P, Wang J, Asghar R, Banajeh S, Iqbal I, Maulen-Radovan I, Mino-Leon G, Saha SK, Santosham M, Singhi S, Basnet S, Strand TA, Bhatnagar S, Wadhwa N, Lodha R, Aneja S, Clara AW, Campbell H, Nair H, Falconer J, Qazi SA, Nisar YB, Neuman MI. Derivation and validation of a novel risk assessment tool to identify children aged 2–59 months at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality in 20 countries. BMJ Glob Health 2022; 7:bmjgh-2021-008143. [PMID: 35428680 PMCID: PMC9014031 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-008143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Existing risk assessment tools to identify children at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality have shown suboptimal discriminatory value during external validation. Our objective was to derive and validate a novel risk assessment tool to identify children aged 2–59 months at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality across various settings. Methods We used primary, baseline, patient-level data from 11 studies, including children evaluated for pneumonia in 20 low-income and middle-income countries. Patients with complete data were included in a logistic regression model to assess the association of candidate variables with the outcome hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality. Adjusted log coefficients were calculated for each candidate variable and assigned weighted points to derive the Pneumonia Research Partnership to Assess WHO Recommendations (PREPARE) risk assessment tool. We used bootstrapped selection with 200 repetitions to internally validate the PREPARE risk assessment tool. Results A total of 27 388 children were included in the analysis (mean age 14.0 months, pneumonia-related case fatality ratio 3.1%). The PREPARE risk assessment tool included patient age, sex, weight-for-age z-score, body temperature, respiratory rate, unconsciousness or decreased level of consciousness, convulsions, cyanosis and hypoxaemia at baseline. The PREPARE risk assessment tool had good discriminatory value when internally validated (area under the curve 0.83, 95% CI 0.81 to 0.84). Conclusions The PREPARE risk assessment tool had good discriminatory ability for identifying children at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality in a large, geographically diverse dataset. After external validation, this tool may be implemented in various settings to identify children at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality.
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Eckerle M, Mvalo T, Smith AG, Kondowe D, Makonokaya D, Vaidya D, Hosseinipour MC, McCollum ED. Identifying modifiable risk factors for mortality in children aged 1-59 months admitted with WHO-defined severe pneumonia: a single-centre observational cohort study from rural Malawi. BMJ Paediatr Open 2022; 6:10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001330. [PMID: 36053605 PMCID: PMC9020281 DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Although HIV infection, severe malnutrition and hypoxaemia are associated with high mortality in children with WHO-defined severe pneumonia in sub-Saharan Africa, many do not have these conditions and yet mortality remains elevated compared with high-resource settings. Further stratifying mortality risk for children without these conditions could permit more strategic resource utilisation and improved outcomes. We therefore evaluated associations between mortality and clinical characteristics not currently recognised by the WHO as high risk among children in Malawi with severe pneumonia but without HIV (including exposure), severe malnutrition and hypoxaemia. METHODS Between May 2016 and March 2018, we conducted a prospective observational study alongside a randomised controlled trial (CPAP IMPACT) at Salima District Hospital in Malawi. Children aged 1-59 months hospitalised with WHO-defined severe pneumonia without severe malnutrition, HIV and hypoxaemia were enrolled. Study staff assessed children at admission and ascertained hospital outcomes. We compared group characteristics using Student's t-test, rank-sum test, χ2 test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. RESULTS Among 884 participants, grunting (10/112 (8.9%) vs 11/771 (1.4%)), stridor (2/14 (14.2%) vs 19/870 (2.1%)), haemoglobin <50 g/L (3/27 (11.1%) vs 18/857 (2.1%)) and malaria (11/204 (5.3%) vs 10/673 (1.4%)) were associated with mortality compared with children without these characteristics. Children who survived had a 22 g/L higher mean haemoglobin and 0.7 cm higher mean mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) than those who died. CONCLUSION In this single-centre study, our analysis identifies potentially modifiable risk factors for mortality among hospitalised Malawian children with severe pneumonia: specific signs of respiratory distress (grunting, stridor), haemoglobin <50 g/L and malaria infection. Significant differences in mean haemoglobin and MUAC were observed between those who survived and those who died. These factors could further stratify mortality risk among hospitalised Malawian children with severe pneumonia lacking recognised high-risk conditions.
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Vonasek BJ, Radtke KK, Vaz P, Buck WC, Chabala C, McCollum ED, Marcy O, Fitzgerald E, Kondwani A, Garcia-Prats AJ. Tuberculosis in children with severe acute malnutrition. Expert Rev Respir Med 2022; 16:273-284. [PMID: 35175880 PMCID: PMC9280657 DOI: 10.1080/17476348.2022.2043747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION With growing attention globally to the childhood tuberculosis epidemic after decades of neglect, and with the burden of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) remaining unacceptably high worldwide, the collision of these two diseases is an important focus for improving child health. AREAS COVERED This review describes the clinical and public health implications of the interplay between tuberculosis and SAM, particularly for children under the age of five, and identifies priority areas for improved programmatic implementation and future research. We reviewed the literature on PubMed and other evidence known to the authors published until August 2021 relevant to this topic. EXPERT OPINION To achieve the World Health Organization's goal of eliminating deaths from childhood tuberculosis and to improve the abysmal outcomes for children with SAM, further research is needed to 1) better understand the epidemiologic connections between child tuberculosis and SAM, 2) improve case finding of tuberculosis in children with SAM, 3) assess unique treatment considerations for tuberculosis when children also have SAM, and 4) ensure tuberculosis and SAM are strongly addressed in decentralized, integrated models of providing primary healthcare to children.
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Ahmed S, Mitra DK, Nair H, Cunningham S, Khan AM, Islam AA, McLane IM, Chowdhury NH, Begum N, Shahidullah M, Islam MS, Norrie J, Campbell H, Sheikh A, Baqui AH, McCollum ED. Digital auscultation as a novel childhood pneumonia diagnostic tool for community clinics in Sylhet, Bangladesh: protocol for a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e059630. [PMID: 35140164 PMCID: PMC8830242 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The WHO's Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) algorithm for diagnosis of child pneumonia relies on counting respiratory rate and observing respiratory distress to diagnose childhood pneumonia. IMCI case defination for pneumonia performs with high sensitivity but low specificity, leading to overdiagnosis of child pneumonia and unnecessary antibiotic use. Including lung auscultation in IMCI could improve specificity of pneumonia diagnosis. Our objectives are: (1) assess lung sound recording quality by primary healthcare workers (HCWs) from under-5 children with the Feelix Smart Stethoscope and (2) determine the reliability and performance of recorded lung sound interpretations by an automated algorithm compared with reference paediatrician interpretations. METHODS AND ANALYSIS In a cross-sectional design, community HCWs will record lung sounds of ~1000 under-5-year-old children with suspected pneumonia at first-level facilities in Zakiganj subdistrict, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Enrolled children will be evaluated for pneumonia, including oxygen saturation, and have their lung sounds recorded by the Feelix Smart stethoscope at four sequential chest locations: two back and two front positions. A novel sound-filtering algorithm will be applied to recordings to address ambient noise and optimise recording quality. Recorded sounds will be assessed against a predefined quality threshold. A trained paediatric listening panel will classify recordings into one of the following categories: normal, crackles, wheeze, crackles and wheeze or uninterpretable. All sound files will be classified into the same categories by the automated algorithm and compared with panel classifications. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values, of the automated algorithm will be assessed considering the panel's final interpretation as gold standard. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION The study protocol was approved by the National Research Ethics Committee of Bangladesh Medical Research Council, Bangladesh (registration number: 09630012018) and Academic and Clinical Central Office for Research and Development Medical Research Ethics Committee, Edinburgh, UK (REC Reference: 18-HV-051). Dissemination will be through conference presentations, peer-reviewed journals and stakeholder engagement meetings in Bangladesh. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT03959956.
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King C, Burgess RA, Bakare AA, Shittu F, Salako J, Bakare D, Uchendu OC, Iuliano A, Isah A, Adams O, Haruna I, Magama A, Ahmed T, Ahmar S, Cassar C, Valentine P, Olowookere TF, MacCalla M, Graham HR, McCollum ED, Falade AG, Colbourn T. Integrated Sustainable childhood Pneumonia and Infectious disease Reduction in Nigeria (INSPIRING) through whole system strengthening in Jigawa, Nigeria: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials 2022; 23:95. [PMID: 35101109 PMCID: PMC8802253 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-021-05859-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Child mortality remains unacceptably high, with Northern Nigeria reporting some of the highest rates globally (e.g. 192/1000 live births in Jigawa State). Coverage of key protect and prevent interventions, such as vaccination and clean cooking fuel use, is low. Additionally, knowledge, care-seeking and health system factors are poor. Therefore, a whole systems approach is needed for sustainable reductions in child mortality. METHODS This is a cluster randomised controlled trial, with integrated process and economic evaluations, conducted from January 2021 to September 2022. The trial will be conducted in Kiyawa Local Government Area, Jigawa State, Nigeria, with an estimated population of 230,000. Clusters are defined as primary government health facility catchment areas (n = 33). The 33 clusters will be randomly allocated (1:1) in a public ceremony, and 32 clusters included in the impact evaluation. The trial will evaluate a locally adapted 'whole systems strengthening' package of three evidence-based methods: community men's and women's groups, Partnership Defined Quality Scorecard and healthcare worker training, mentorship and provision of basic essential equipment and commodities. The primary outcome is mortality of children aged 7 days to 59 months. Mortality will be recorded prospectively using a cohort design, and secondary outcomes measured through baseline and endline cross-sectional surveys. Assuming the following, we will have a minimum detectable effect size of 30%: (a) baseline mortality of 100 per 1000 livebirths, (b) 4480 compounds with 3 eligible children per compound, (c) 80% power, (d) 5% significance, (e) intra-cluster correlation of 0.007 and (f) coefficient of variance of cluster size of 0.74. Analysis will be by intention-to-treat, comparing intervention and control clusters, adjusting for compound and trial clustering. DISCUSSION This study will provide robust evidence of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community-based participatory learning and action, with integrated health system strengthening and accountability mechanisms, to reduce child mortality. The ethnographic process evaluation will allow for a rich understanding of how the intervention works in this context. However, we encountered a key challenge in calculating the sample size, given the lack of timely and reliable mortality data and the uncertain impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. TRIAL REGISTRATION ISRCTN 39213655 . Registered on 11 December 2019.
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Simkovich SM, Underhill LJ, Kirby MA, Crocker ME, Goodman D, McCracken JP, Thompson LM, Diaz-Artiga A, Castañaza-Gonzalez A, Garg SS, Balakrishnan K, Thangavel G, Rosa G, Peel JL, Clasen TF, McCollum ED, Checkley W. Resources and Geographic Access to Care for Severe Pediatric Pneumonia in Four Resource-limited Settings. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2022; 205:183-197. [PMID: 34662531 PMCID: PMC8787246 DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202104-1013oc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Rationale: Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide. Identifying and appropriately managing severe pneumonia in a timely manner improves outcomes. Little is known about the readiness of healthcare facilities to manage severe pediatric pneumonia in low-resource settings. Objectives: As part of the HAPIN (Household Air Pollution Intervention Network) trial, we sought to identify healthcare facilities that were adequately resourced to manage severe pediatric pneumonia in Jalapa, Guatemala (J-GUA); Puno, Peru (P-PER); Kayonza, Rwanda (K-RWA); and Tamil Nadu, India (T-IND). We conducted a facility-based survey of available infrastructure, staff, equipment, and medical consumables. Facilities were georeferenced, and a road network analysis was performed. Measurements and Main Results: Of the 350 healthcare facilities surveyed, 13% had adequate resources to manage severe pneumonia, 37% had pulse oximeters, and 44% had supplemental oxygen. Mean (±SD) travel time to an adequately resourced facility was 41 ± 19 minutes in J-GUA, 99 ± 64 minutes in P-PER, 40 ± 19 minutes in K-RWA, and 31 ± 19 minutes in T-IND. Expanding pulse oximetry coverage to all facilities reduced travel time by 44% in J-GUA, 29% in P-PER, 29% in K-RWA, and 11% in T-IND (all P < 0.001). Conclusions: Most healthcare facilities in low-resource settings of the HAPIN study area were inadequately resourced to care for severe pediatric pneumonia. Early identification of cases and timely referral is paramount. The provision of pulse oximeters to all health facilities may be an effective approach to identify cases earlier and refer them for care and in a timely manner.
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Mvalo T, McCollum ED, Fitzgerald E, Kamthunzi P, Schmicker RH, May S, Phiri M, Chirombo C, Phiri A, Ginsburg AS. Chest radiography in children aged 2-59 months enrolled in the Innovative Treatments in Pneumonia (ITIP) project in Lilongwe Malawi: a secondary analysis. BMC Pediatr 2022; 22:31. [PMID: 35012490 PMCID: PMC8744340 DOI: 10.1186/s12887-021-03091-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death in children aged under 5 years in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia diagnosis guidelines rely on non-specific clinical features. We explore chest radiography (CXR) findings among select children in the Innovative Treatments in Pneumonia (ITIP) project in Malawi in relation to clinical outcomes. METHODS When clinically indicated, CXRs were obtained from ITIP-enrolled children aged 2 to 59 months with community-acquired pneumonia hospitalized with treatment failure or relapse. ITIP1 (fast-breathing pneumonia) and ITIP2 (chest-indrawing pneumonia) trials enrolled children with non-severe pneumonia while ITIP3 enrolled children excluded from ITIP1 and ITIP2 with severe pneumonia and/or selected comorbidities. A panel of trained pediatricians classified the CXRs using the standardized WHO CXR research methodology. We analyzed the relationship between CXR classifications, enrollee characteristics, and outcomes. RESULTS Between March 2016 and June 2018, of 114 CXRs obtained, 83 met analysis criteria with 62.7% (52/83) classified as having significant pathology per WHO standardized interpretation. ITIP3 (92.3%; 12/13) children had a higher proportion of CXRs with significant pathology compared to ITIP1 (57.1%, 12/21) and ITIP2 (57.1%, 28/49) (p-value = 0.008). The predominant pathological CXR reading was "other infiltrates only" in ITIP1 (83.3%, 10/12) and ITIP2 (71.4%, 20/28), while in ITIP3 it was "primary endpoint pneumonia"(66.7%, 8/12,; p-value = 0.008). The percent of CXRs with significant pathology among children clinically cured (60.6%, 40/66) vs those not clinically cured (70.6%, 12/17) at Day 14 was not significantly different (p-value = 0.58). CONCLUSIONS In this secondary analysis we observed that ITIP3 children with severe pneumonia and/or selected comorbidities had a higher frequency of CXRs with significant pathology, although these radiographic findings had limited relationship to Day 14 outcomes. The proportion of CXRs with "primary endpoint pneumonia" was low. These findings add to existing data that additional diagnostics and prognostics are important for improving the care of children with pneumonia in LMICs. TRIAL REGISTRATION ITIP1, ITIP2, and ITIP3 were registered with ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT02760420 , NCT02678195 , and NCT02960919 , respectively).
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Sanders JE, Chakare T, Mapota-Masoabi L, Ranyali M, Ramokhele MM, Rozario AM, McCollum ED. National hospital readiness for COVID-19 in Lesotho: evidence for oxygen ecosystem strengthening. Public Health Action 2021; 11:180-185. [PMID: 34956845 DOI: 10.5588/pha.21.0067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
SETTING Sub-Saharan African country, Lesotho, during the SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE To evaluate COVID-19 hospital capacity in Lesotho. DESIGN We conducted a pragmatic assessment of all public hospitals in Lesotho using a WHO COVID-19 hospital assessment tool during July 2020 (baseline), with targeted follow-up in December 2020. We adapted the WHO tool into a questionnaire with a focus on hospital services and included oxygen ecosystem elements (pulse oximeters, oxygen, and advanced respiratory care). We converted qualitative questionnaire answers into quantitative ordinal variables and used standard statistics for analysis. RESULTS At baseline, we found all 12 questionnaire domains demonstrate both hospital preparedness and weakness in infection prevention and control. Key baseline gaps were lack of a dedicated team, and insufficient personal protective equipment and space for donning and doffing. Substantial limitations were noted in hypoxemia diagnosis and treatment; information management and care coordination pathways were also suboptimal. Targeted follow-up after 5 months revealed improvement in the availability of pulse oximetry, oxygen capacity, and heated high-flow nasal cannula devices. CONCLUSION Our baseline findings may reflect uneven early pandemic care quality; targeted follow-up suggests strengthening of the oxygen ecosystem.
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McCollum ED, King C, Ahmed S, Hanif AAM, Roy AD, Islam AA, Colbourn T, Schuh HB, Ginsburg AS, Hooli S, Chowdhury NH, Rizvi SJR, Begum N, Baqui AH, Checkley W. Defining hypoxaemia from pulse oximeter measurements of oxygen saturation in well children at low altitude in Bangladesh: an observational study. BMJ Open Respir Res 2021; 8:8/1/e001023. [PMID: 34728475 PMCID: PMC8565559 DOI: 10.1136/bmjresp-2021-001023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background WHO defines hypoxaemia, a low peripheral arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation (SpO2), as <90%. Although hypoxaemia is an important risk factor for mortality of children with respiratory infections, the optimal SpO2 threshold for defining hypoxaemia is uncertain in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We derived a SpO2 threshold for hypoxaemia from well children in Bangladesh residing at low altitude. Methods We prospectively enrolled well, children aged 3–35 months participating in a pneumococcal vaccine evaluation in Sylhet district, Bangladesh between June and August 2017. Trained health workers conducting community surveillance measured the SpO2 of children using a Masimo Rad-5 pulse oximeter with a wrap sensor. We used standard summary statistics to evaluate the SpO2 distribution, including whether the distribution differed by age or sex. We considered the 2.5th, 5th and 10th percentiles of SpO2 as possible lower thresholds for hypoxaemia. Results Our primary analytical sample included 1470 children (mean age 18.6±9.5 months). Median SpO2 was 98% (IQR 96%–99%), and the 2.5th, 5th and 10th percentile SpO2 was 91%, 92% and 94%. No child had a SpO2 <90%. Children 3–11 months had a lower median SpO2 (97%) than 12–23 months (98%) and 24–35 months (98%) (p=0.039). The SpO2 distribution did not differ by sex (p=0.959). Conclusion A SpO2 threshold for hypoxaemia derived from the 2.5th, 5th or 10th percentile of well children is higher than <90%. If a higher threshold than <90% is adopted into LMIC care algorithms then decision-making using SpO2 must also consider the child’s clinical status to minimise misclassification of well children as hypoxaemic. Younger children in lower altitude LMICs may require a different threshold for hypoxaemia than older children. Evaluating the mortality risk of sick children using higher SpO2 thresholds for hypoxaemia is a key next step.
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Rees CA, Hooli S, King C, McCollum ED, Colbourn T, Lufesi N, Mwansambo C, Lazzerini M, Madhi SA, Cutland C, Nunes M, Gessner BD, Basnet S, Kartasasmita CB, Mathew JL, Zaman SMAU, Paranhos-Baccala G, Bhatnagar S, Wadhwa N, Lodha R, Aneja S, Santosham M, Picot VS, Sylla M, Awasthi S, Bavdekar A, Pape JW, Rouzier V, Chou M, Rakoto-Andrianarivelo M, Wang J, Nymadawa P, Vanhems P, Russomando G, Asghar R, Banajeh S, Iqbal I, MacLeod W, Maulen-Radovan I, Mino G, Saha S, Singhi S, Thea DM, Clara AW, Campbell H, Nair H, Falconer J, Williams LJ, Horne M, Strand T, Qazi SA, Nisar YB, Neuman MI. External validation of the RISC, RISC-Malawi, and PERCH clinical prediction rules to identify risk of death in children hospitalized with pneumonia. J Glob Health 2021; 11:04062. [PMID: 34737862 PMCID: PMC8542381 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.11.04062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Existing scores to identify children at risk of hospitalized pneumonia-related mortality lack broad external validation. Our objective was to externally validate three such risk scores. METHODS We applied the Respiratory Index of Severity in Children (RISC) for HIV-negative children, the RISC-Malawi, and the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) scores to hospitalized children in the Pneumonia REsearch Partnerships to Assess WHO REcommendations (PREPARE) data set. The PREPARE data set includes pooled data from 41 studies on pediatric pneumonia from across the world. We calculated test characteristics and the area under the curve (AUC) for each of these clinical prediction rules. RESULTS The RISC score for HIV-negative children was applied to 3574 children 0-24 months and demonstrated poor discriminatory ability (AUC = 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.58-0.73) in the identification of children at risk of hospitalized pneumonia-related mortality. The RISC-Malawi score had fair discriminatory value (AUC = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.74-0.77) among 17 864 children 2-59 months. The PERCH score was applied to 732 children 1-59 months and also demonstrated poor discriminatory value (AUC = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.37-0.73). CONCLUSIONS In a large external application of the RISC, RISC-Malawi, and PERCH scores, a substantial number of children were misclassified for their risk of hospitalized pneumonia-related mortality. Although pneumonia risk scores have performed well among the cohorts in which they were derived, their performance diminished when externally applied. A generalizable risk assessment tool with higher sensitivity and specificity to identify children at risk of hospitalized pneumonia-related mortality may be needed. Such a generalizable risk assessment tool would need context-specific validation prior to implementation in that setting.
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Baqui AH, Koffi AK, McCollum ED, Roy AD, Chowdhury NH, Rafiqullah I, Ahmed ZB, Mahmud A, Begum N, Ahmed S, Khanam R, Harrison M, Simmons N, Hossen S, Islam M, Quaiyum A, Checkley W, Santosham M, Moulton LH, Saha SK. Impact of national introduction of ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on invasive pneumococcal disease in Bangladesh: Case-control and time-trend studies. Vaccine 2021; 39:5794-5801. [PMID: 34465471 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bangladesh introduced the ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) into its national immunization program in March 2015 creating an opportunity to assess the real-world impact of PCV on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). METHODS Between January 2014 and June 2018, children aged 3-35 months in three rural sub-districts of Sylhet district of Bangladesh were visited every two months to collect morbidity and care-seeking data. Children attending sub-district hospitals with pneumonia, meningitis, or sepsis were assessed for IPD after obtaining informed consent. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid were collected from enrolled children to isolate pneumococcus using culture and molecular test. Children who were age-eligible to receive the PCV and had pneumococcus isolated were enrolled as cases. Four age and sex-matched clinic and community controls were selected for each case within one to two weeks of case identification. Data on immunization status and confounders were collected. PCV coverage was estimated using vaccine coverage surveys. Case-control and incidence trend analyses were conducted to assess the impact of PCV on IPD. RESULTS The community cohort yielded 217,605 child years of observations and 154,773 sick child-visits to study hospitals. Pneumococcus was isolated from 44 children who were age-eligible to receive PCV; these children were enrolled as cases. The cases were matched with 166 community- and 150 clinic-controls. The matched case-control analyses using community-controls showed 83% effectiveness (95% CI: 1.57-97.1%) and clinic controls showed 90% effectiveness (95% CI: -26.0% to 99.1%) of PCV in preventing IPD. Incidence trend analysis estimated vaccine effectiveness at 80.1% (95% CI: 38.4, 93.6). CONCLUSION PCV in this pediatric population in Bangladesh was highly effective in preventing IPD.
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Navuluri N, Srour ML, Kussin PS, Murdoch DM, MacIntyre NR, Que LG, Thielman NM, McCollum ED. Oxygen delivery systems for adults in Sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review. J Glob Health 2021; 11:04018. [PMID: 34026051 PMCID: PMC8109278 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.11.04018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Respiratory diseases are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Oxygen is an essential medicine used to treat hypoxemia from respiratory diseases. However, the availability and utilization of oxygen delivery systems for adults in sub-Saharan Africa is not well-described. We aim to identify and describe existing data around oxygen availability and provision for adults in sub-Saharan Africa, determine knowledge or research gaps, and make recommendations for future research and capacity building. Methods We systematically searched four databases for articles on April 22, 2020, for variations of keywords related to oxygen with a focus on countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Inclusion criteria were studies that included adults and addressed hypoxemia assessment or outcome, oxygen delivery mechanisms, oxygen availability, oxygen provision infrastructure, and oxygen therapy and outcomes. Results 35 studies representing 22 countries met inclusion criteria. Availability of oxygen delivery systems ranged from 42%-94% between facilities, with wide variability in the consistency of availability. There was also wide reported prevalence of hypoxemia, with most studies focusing on specific populations. In facilities where oxygen is available, health care workers are ill-equipped to identify adult patients with hypoxemia, provide oxygen to those who need it, and titrate or discontinue oxygen appropriately. Oxygen concentrators were shown to be the most cost-effective delivery system in areas where power is readily available. Conclusions There is a substantial need for building capacity for oxygen delivery throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Addressing this critical issue will require innovation and a multi-faceted approach of developing infrastructure, better equipping facilities, and health care worker training.
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