Oxygen therapy for children: A key tool in reducing deaths from pneumonia

Improving Hospital Oxygen Systems for COVID-19 in Low-Resource Settings: Lessons From the Field

“…However, achieving reliable supply and appropriate use is challenging, with major barriers due to equipment that is low quality and poorly maintained, lack of clinical and technical training and protocols, and deficiencies in local infrastructure and sociopolitical context. 6 For example, surveys in Nigeria have found that although half of hospitals had oxygen cylinders or concentrators on inpatient wards, the cylinders and concentrators were frequently empty or nonfunctional. 2,7 Detailed testing in a selection of these hospitals found that only 5% of concentrators tested were producing medical grade oxygen.…”

“…However, achieving reliable supply and appropriate use is challenging, with major barriers due to equipment that is low quality and poorly maintained, lack of clinical and technical training and protocols, and deficiencies in local infrastructure and sociopolitical context. 6 …”

COVID-19 and global health: Influences and implications for education and training support in low- and middle-income countries

“…17 HCWs' skills in using oxygen may also be low, and oxygen-related patient fees may be unaffordable in some LMICs. 18 'Hypoxia packages' consisting of pulse oximetry (e.g. Lifebox TM , Acare Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan), oxygen concentrators, oxygen masks or nasal prongs and clinical bedside guidelines will be extremely useful.…”

Leveraging the COVID-19 response to end preventable child deaths from pneumonia

“…Distribution of pulse oximeters and oxygen equipment, together with additional support to front-line health-care services, offers an opportunity to close the gap in access to these essential diagnostic and treatment tools for hypoxaemia, which is often associated with childhood pneumonia deaths. 8 , 9 The COVID-19 response is also an opportunity to invest in training of health-care staff to operate and maintain such equipment and safely administer oxygen to patients. The potential impact of these measures on child survival could be considerable, especially for the estimated 4·2 million children every year in low-income and middle-income countries who have pneumonia-related hypoxaemia and require oxygen therapy (UNICEF, Save the Children, and Clinton Health Access Initiative, unpublished).…”