Neonatal mortality and topical application of chlorhexidine on umbilical cord stump: a meta-analysis of randomized control trials

Effect of Maternal and Newborn Care Service Package on Perinatal and Newborn Mortality: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance

In resource-constrained settings where the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) is high due to preventable causes and health systems are underused, community-based interventions can increase newborn survival by improving health care practices.

Objectives

To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based maternal and newborn care services package to reduce perinatal and neonatal mortality in rural Pakistan.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cluster randomized clinical trial was conducted between November 1, 2012, and December 31, 2013, in district Rahim Yar Khan in the province of Punjab. A cluster was defined as an administrative union council. Any consenting pregnant resident of the study area, regardless of gestational age, was enrolled. An ongoing pregnancy surveillance system identified 12 529 and 12 333 pregnancies in the intervention and control clusters, respectively; 9410 pregnancies were excluded from analysis due to continuation of pregnancy at the end of the study, loss to follow-up, or miscarriage. Participants were followed up until the 40th postpartum day. Statistical analysis was performed from January to May 2014.

Intervention

A maternal and newborn health pack, training for community- and facility-based health care professionals, and community mobilization through counseling and education sessions.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was perinatal mortality, defined as stillbirths per 1000 births and neonatal death within 7 days per 1000 live births. The secondary outcome was neonatal mortality, defined as death within 28 days of life per 1000 live births. Systematic random sampling was used to allocate 10 clusters each to intervention and control groups. Analysis was conducted on a modified intention-to-treat basis.

Results

For the control group vs the intervention group, the total number of households was 33 188 vs 34 315, the median number of households per cluster was 3092 (IQR, 3018-3467) vs 3469 (IQR, 3019-4075), the total population was 229 155 vs 234 674, the mean (SD) number of residents per household was 6.9 (9.5) vs 6.8 (9.6), the number of males per 100 females (ie, the sex ratio) was 104.2 vs 103.7, and the mean (SD) number of children younger than 5 years per household was 1.0 (4.2) vs 1.0 (4.3). Altogether, 7598 births from conrol clusters and 8017 births from intervention clusters were analyzed. There was no significant difference in perinatal mortality between the intervention and control clusters (rate ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.69-1.08; P = .19). The NMR was lower among the intervention than the control clusters (39.2/1000 live births vs 52.2/1000 live births; rate ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58-0.95; P = .02). The frequencies of antenatal visits and facility births were similar between the 2 groups. However, clean delivery practices were higher among intervention clusters than control clusters (63.2% [2284 of 3616] vs 13.2% [455 of 3458]; P < .001). Chlorhexidine use was also more common among intervention clusters than control clusters (55.9% [4271 of 7642] vs 0.3% [19 of 7203]; P < .001).

Conclusions and Relevance

This pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial demonstrated a reduction in NMR that occurred in the background of improved household intrapartum and newborn care practices. However, the effect of the intervention on antenatal visits, facility births, and perinatal mortality rates was inconclusive, highlighting areas requiring further research. Nevertheless, the improvement in NMR underscores the effectiveness of community-based programs in low-resource settings.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01751945.

Management of Filamentous Fungal Keratitis: A Pragmatic Approach

Filamentous fungal infections of the cornea known as filamentous fungal keratitis (FK) are challenging to treat. Topical natamycin 5% is usually first-line treatment following the results of several landmark clinical trials. However, even when treated intensively, infections may progress to corneal perforation. Current topical antifungals are not always effective and are often unavailable. Alternatives topical therapies to natamycin include voriconazole, chlorhexidine, amphotericin B and econazole. Surgical therapy, typically in the form of therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty, may be required for severe cases or following corneal perforation. Alternative treatment strategies such as intrastromal or intracameral injections of antifungals may be used. However, there is often no clear treatment strategy and the evidence to guide therapy is often lacking. This review describes the different treatment options and their evidence and provides a pragmatic approach to the management of fungal keratitis, particularly for clinicians working in tropical, low-resource settings where fungal keratitis is most prevalent.

Chlorhexidine gluconate 0.2% as a treatment for recalcitrant fungal keratitis in Uganda: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE

Fungal keratitis is a major ophthalmic public health problem, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. The options for treating fungal keratitis are limited. Our study aimed to describe the outcomes of using chlorhexidine 0.2% eye-drops as additional treatment in the management of patients with recalcitrant fungal keratitis.

METHODS

This study was nested within a large cohort study of people presenting with microbial keratitis in Uganda. We enrolled patients with recalcitrant fungal keratitis not improving with topical natamycin 5% and commenced chlorhexidine 0.2%. Follow-up was scheduled for 3 months and 1 year. The main outcome measures were healing, visual acuity and scar size at final follow-up.

RESULTS

Thirteen patients were followed in this substudy. The patients were aged 27-73 years (median 43 years). Filamentous fungi were identified by microscopy of corneal scrape samples in all cases. Isolated organisms included Aspergillus spp, Fusarium spp, Candida spp, Bipolaris spp and Acremoninum spp. At the final follow-up, nine patients (75%) had healed; three had vision of better than 6/18. Three patients lost their eyes due to infection. In the remaining nine cases, corneal scarring was variable ranging from 4.6 to 9.4 mm (median 6.6 mm, IQR 5.9-8.0 mm); of these five had dense scars, three had moderate scars and one had a mild scar. None of the patients demonstrated signs of chlorhexidine toxicity during the follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Chlorhexidine 0.2% was found to be a useful sequential adjunctive topical antifungal in cases of fungal keratitis not responding to natamycin 5%, which warrants further evaluation.

Topical chlorhexidine 0.2% versus topical natamycin 5% for fungal keratitis in Nepal: rationale and design of a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial

INTRODUCTION

Fungal infections of the cornea, fungal keratitis (FK), are challenging to treat. Current topical antifungals are not always effective and are often unavailable, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries where most cases occur. Topical natamycin 5% is usually first-line treatment, however, even when treated intensively, infections may progress to perforation of the eye in around a quarter of cases. Alternative antifungal medications are needed to treat this blinding disease.Chlorhexidine is an antiseptic agent with antibacterial and antifungal properties. Previous pilot studies suggest that topical chlorhexidine 0.2% compares favourably with topical natamycin. Full-scale randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of topical chlorhexidine 0.2% are warranted to answer this question definitively.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will test the hypothesis that topical chlorhexidine 0.2% is non-inferior to topical natamycin 5% in a two-arm, single-masked RCT. Participants are adults with FK presenting to a tertiary ophthalmic hospital in Nepal. Baseline assessment includes history, examination, photography, in vivo confocal microscopy and cornea scrapes for microbiology. Participants will be randomised to alternative topical antifungal treatments (topical chlorhexidine 0.2% and topical natamycin 5%; 1:1 ratio, 2-6 random block size). Patients are reviewed at day 2, day 7 (with reculture), day 14, day 21, month 2 and month 3. The primary outcome is the best spectacle corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) at 3 months. Primary analysis (intention to treat) will be by linear regression, with treatment arm and baseline BSCVA prespecified covariates. Secondary outcomes include epithelial healing time, scar/infiltrate size, ulcer depth, hypopyon size, perforation and/or therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (corneal transplant), positive reculture rate (day 7) and quality of life (EuroQol-5 dimensions, WHO/PBD-VF20, WHOQOL-BREF).

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The Nepal Health Research Council, the Nepal Department of Drug Administration and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ethics committee have approved the trial. The results will be presented at local and international meetings and submitted to peer-reviewed journals for publication.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN14332621; pre-results.

Determinants of clean birthing practices in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

Background

Infection is a leading cause of maternal and newborn mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Clean birthing practices are fundamental to infection prevention efforts, but these are inadequate in LMIC. This scoping study reviews the literature on studies that describe determinants of clean birthing practices of healthcare workers or mothers during the perinatal period in LMIC.

Methods

We reviewed literature published between January 2000 and February 2018 providing information on behaviour change interventions, behaviours or behavioural determinants during the perinatal period in LMIC. Following a multi-stage screening process, we extracted key data manually from studies. We mapped identified determinants according to the COM-B behavioural framework, which posits that behaviour is shaped by three categories of determinants – capability, opportunity and motivation.

Results

Seventy-eight studies were included in the review: 47 observational studies and 31 studies evaluating an intervention. 51% had a household or community focus, 28% had a healthcare facility focus and 21% focused on both. We identified 31 determinants of clean birthing practices. Determinants related to clean birthing practices as a generalised set of behaviours featured in 50 studies; determinants related specifically to one or more of six predefined behaviours – commonly referred to as “the six cleans” – featured in 31 studies. Determinants of hand hygiene (n = 13) and clean cord care (n = 11) were most commonly reported. Reported determinants across all studies clustered around psychological capability (knowledge) and physical opportunity (access to resources). However, greater heterogeneity in reported behavioural determinants was found across studies investigating specific clean birthing practices compared to those studying clean birthing as a generalised set of behaviours.

Conclusions

Efforts to combine clean birthing practices into a single suite of behaviours – such as the “six cleans”– may simplify policy and advocacy efforts. However, each clean practice has a unique set of determinants and understanding what drives or hinders the adoption of these individual practices is critical to designing more effective interventions to improve hygiene behaviours and neonatal and maternal health outcomes in LMIC. Current understanding in this regard remains limited. More theory-grounded formative research is required to understand motivators and social influences across different contexts.

Application of 4% chlorhexidine to the umbilical cord stump of newborn infants in lower income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

There are conflicting results from large randomized controlled trials in different populations regarding the effectiveness of topical application of 4% chlorhexidine to the umbilical stump of newborn infants at reducing neonatal mortality. Meta-analysis and systematic review of trials performed in South Asia and Europe support 4% chlorhexidine application to reduce neonatal mortality, whereas trials performed in Sub-Saharan Africa do not. The aim of this review is to determine the effectiveness of 4% chlorhexidine application to the umbilical stump of newborn infants born in lower income countries in order to reduce neonatal mortality when compared with usual cord care.

Our search strategy included randomized trials published between January1^st 2000 and September 4th, 2018, that compared 4% chlorhexidine with usual cord care (“dry cord care”). The outcome variable of interest was neonatal mortality. Pooled relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a random-effects model were calculated. Nine trials were included, from six countries: Zambia, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan, with a total of 257,153 participants. Five studies (N = 119,833) reported neonatal mortality. There was a 21% reduction in neonatal mortality among with 4% chlorhexidine application: pooled RR (95% CI) 0.79 (0.69–0.90), P = 0.0005. The incidence of omphalitis was decreased by 35% with 4% chlorhexidine (6 studies, N = 108,263): pooled RR (95% CI) 0.65 (0.56–0.75), P = 0.00001. Chlorhexidine application delayed the umbilical cord separation time (4 studies, N = 28,917): mean difference (95% CI) 2.71 (2.63–2.78) days.

In conclusion, this systematic review found that topical application of 4% chlorhexidine to the umbilical cord stump of newborn infants in lower income countries significantly reduces the incidence of neonatal mortality. Chlorhexidine also reduces the incidence of omphalitis, but prolongs umbilical cord separation time.

Trial registration

Systematic Review Registration: CRD42018109280.

The Use of Alcohol versus Dry Care for the Umbilical Cord in Newborns: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized and Non-randomized Studies

Inadequate cord care in neonates is an important modifiable risk factor of cord stump infection, sepsis, and neonatal death, particularly in countries with limited resources. Dry cord care and alcohol 70% are commonly used in multiple developing countries. There is a need to investigate the efficacy and safety of both the cord care to achieve the best outcomes in neonates during this critical period of life. The objective of the study was to compare between dry cord care and topical application of alcohol 70% for cord care in newborn infants in terms of cord separation time (CST) as well as the incidence of omphalitis, sepsis, and neonatal mortality. The analysis was conducted up to April 2019 in MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar to include randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and quasi-experiments which investigated at least two infant groups receiving either dry cord care or alcohol 70%. Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to analyze continuous data, while risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs were used to analyze dichotomous variables. A total of 13 articles were included (4967 infants, 50.35% females, six RCTs). Alcohol application was significantly associated with longer CST (MD = 1.93 days, 95% CI: 0.80, 3.06) with significant heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 97%) while no significant differences were found in the risk of omphalitis. On the other hand, dry cord care was associated with the risk of foul odor at the cord/surrounding tissues (RR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.85) and increased risk of E-coli colonization (RR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57, 0.98). Dry cord care is a simple and effective way to shorten CST, particularly in countries with limited resources. However, in light of the limitations of the included studies, future RCTs with higher methodological quality are warranted. The significant heterogeneity among studies is the limitations of the included studies.

[Recommendations for the care of the umbilical cord in the newborn]

The care of the umbilical cord until its detachment still remains controversial. The latest updated recommendations by the World Health Organisation advocate dry cord care in those countries with adequate obstetric care and low neonatal mortality rate. In recent years, new studies and reviews attribute some benefit to applying chlorhexidine on the umbilical stump. An analysis is presented here of the available evidence and results in the advisability of still recommending the dry cord care in the newborns in our setting.

Dry care versus chlorhexidine cord care for prevention of omphalitis. Systematic review with meta-analysis

Objective:

to compare the effect of dry care and the application of chlorhexidine to the umbilical cord of newborns at risk of developing omphalitis.

Method:

systematic review with meta-analysis. Clinical trials comparing dry care with the application of clorexidine to evaluate omphalitis were selected. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials.

Results:

the joint analysis of the studies shows a significant decrease in the risk of omphalitis in the chlorhexidine group compared to the dry care group (RR=0.58, CI: 0.53-0.64). However, in the analysis by subgroups, chlorhexidine umbilical cord care did not reduce the risk of omphalitis in hospital births (RR=0.82, CI: 0.64-1.05), in countries with a low infant mortality rate (RR=0.8, CI: 0.5-1.28), or at chlorhexidine concentrations below 4% (RR=0.55, CI: 0.31-1). Chlorhexidine acted as a protective factor at a concentration of 4% (RR=0.58, CI: 0.53-0.64), when applied in cases of home births (RR=0.57, CI: 0.51-0.62), in countries with a high infant mortality rate (RR=0.57, CI: 0.52-0.63).

Conclusion:

dry cord care is effective in countries with low infant mortality rate and in hospital births. However, 4% chlorhexidine for umbilical cord care protects against omphalitis in home births, in countries with a high infant mortality rate.