Oxygen saturations of medical inpatients in a Malawian hospital: cross-sectional study of oxygen supply and demand

Hywel-Gethin Tudur Evans1, Nadia Mahmood1, Duncan G. Fullerton2, Jamie Rylance3, Andrew Gonani1, Stephen B. Gordon2,4, Kevin Mortimer4,2, Theresa J. Allain5
1Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi
2Dept Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, UK
3Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, UK
4Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine UK
5College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi

Tóm tắt

Oxygen is a World Health Organisation listed essential drug yet provision of oxygen in developing countries often fails to meet demand. The aim of this study was to evaluate the need for supplementary oxygen against oxygen delivery capacity at a large teaching hospital in Malawi. A cross-sectional study of all adult medical inpatients and assessment of oxygen provision over a 24-hour period was conducted. 144 patients were included in the study, 14 of whom met local and international criteria for oxygen therapy (oxygen saturations of <90%). Four were receiving oxygen. Of the 8 oxygen concentrators available, only 4 were functional. In conclusion, we identified a need for oxygen that was greater than the supply.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Duke T, Graham SM, Cherian MN, Ginsburg AS, English M. Oxygen is an essential medicine: a call for international action. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2010; 14(11):1362–68. Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children: Guidelines for the Management of Common Illnesses with Limited Resources; World Health Organisation’s Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development; 2005. Clinical management of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus; World Health Organisation; 2007. Laman M, Ripa P, Vince J, Tefuarani NX. Can clinical signs predict hypoxaemia in Papua New Guinean children with moderate and severe pneumonia? Ann Trop Paediatr 2005; 25(1):23–7. T Duke, F Wandi, M Johnson, S Matai. M Kaupa. Improved oxygen systems for childhood pneumonia: a multihospital effectiveness study in Papua New Guinea. The Lancet 2008; 372:1328–33. Duke T, Peel D, Graham S, Howie S, Enarson P, Jacobson R. Oxygen concentrators: a practical guide for clinicians and technicians in developing countries. Annals of Tropical Paediatrics 2010; 30:87–101.