Browsing by Author "Gest, Alfred"
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Item A High-Value, Low-Cost Bubble Continuous Positive Airway Pressure System for Low-Resource Settings: Technical Assessment and Initial Case Reports(Public Library of Science, 2013) Brown, Jocelyn; Machen, Heather; Kawaza, Kondwani; Mwanza, Zondiwe; Iniguez, Suzanne; Lang, Hans; Gest, Alfred; Kennedy, Neil; Miros, Robert; Richards-Kortum, Rebecca; Molyneux, Elizabeth; Oden, MariaAcute respiratory infections are the leading cause of global child mortality. In the developing world, nasal oxygen therapy is often the only treatment option for babies who are suffering from respiratory distress. Without the added pressure of bubble Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (bCPAP) which helps maintain alveoli open, babies struggle to breathe and can suffer serious complications, and frequently death. A stand-alone bCPAP device can cost $6,000, too expensive for most developing world hospitals. Here, we describe the design and technical evaluation of a new, rugged bCPAP system that can be made in small volume for a cost-of-goods of approximately $350. Moreover, because of its simple designラconsumergrade pumps, medical tubing, and regulators—it requires only the simple replacement of a ,$1 diaphragm approximately every 2 years for maintenance. The low-cost bCPAP device delivers pressure and flow equivalent to those of a reference bCPAP system used in the developed world. We describe the initial clinical cases of a child with bronchiolitis and a neonate with respiratory distress who were treated successfully with the new bCPAP device.Item Development and validation of a simple algorithm for initiation of CPAP in neonates with respiratory distress in Malawi(BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2015) Hundalani, Shilpa G.; Richards-Kortum, Rebecca; Oden, Maria; Kawaza, Kondwani; Gest, Alfred; Molyneux, ElizabethBackground:Low-cost bubble continuous positive airway pressure (bCPAP) systems have been shown to improve survival in neonates with respiratory distress, in developing countries including Malawi. District hospitals in Malawi implementing CPAP requested simple and reliable guidelines to enable healthcare workers with basic skills and minimal training to determine when treatment with CPAP is necessary. We developed and validated TRY (T: Tone is good, R: Respiratory Distress and Y=Yes) CPAP, a simple algorithm to identify neonates with respiratory distress who would benefit from CPAP. Objective:To validate the TRY CPAP algorithm for neonates with respiratory distress in a low-resource setting. Methods: We constructed an algorithm using a combination of vital signs, tone and birth weight to determine the need for CPAP in neonates with respiratory distress. Neonates admitted to the neonatal ward of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, in Blantyre, Malawi, were assessed in a prospective, cross-sectional study. Nurses and paediatricians-in-training assessed neonates to determine whether they required CPAP using the TRY CPAP algorithm. To establish the accuracy of the TRY CPAP algorithm in evaluating the need for CPAP, their assessment was compared with the decision of a neonatologist blinded to the TRY CPAP algorithm findings. Results: 325 neonates were evaluated over a 2-month period; 13% were deemed to require CPAP by the neonatologist. The inter-rater reliability with the algorithm was 0.90 for nurses and 0.97 for paediatricians-in-training using the neonatologist's assessment as the reference standard. Conclusions:The TRY CPAP algorithm has the potential to be a simple and reliable tool to assist nurses and clinicians in identifying neonates who require treatment with CPAP in low-resource settings.