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- Title
Solar-powered oxygen delivery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
- Authors
Nyende, Saleh; Conroy, Andrea; Opoka, Robert Opika; Namasopo, Sophie; Kain, Kevin C.; Mpimbaza, Arthur; Bhargava, Ravi; Hawkes, Michael
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>Pneumonia is a leading cause of childhood mortality globally. Oxygen therapy improves survival in children with pneumonia, yet its availability remains limited in many resource-constrained settings where most deaths occur. Solar-powered oxygen delivery could be a sustainable method to improve oxygen delivery in remote areas with restricted access to a supply chain of compressed oxygen cylinders and reliable electrical power.<bold>Methods/design: </bold>This study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Solar-powered oxygen delivery systems will be compared to a conventional method (oxygen from cylinders) in patients with hypoxemic respiratory illness. Enrollment will occur at two sites in Uganda: Jinja Regional Referral Hospital and Kambuga District Hospital. The primary outcome will be the length of hospital stay. Secondary study endpoints will be mortality, duration of supplemental oxygen therapy (time to wean oxygen), proportion of patients successfully oxygenated, delivery system failure, cost, system maintenance and convenience.<bold>Discussion: </bold>The RCT will provide useful data on the feasibility and noninferiority of solar-powered oxygen delivery. This technological innovation uses freely available inputs, the sun and the air, to oxygenate children with pneumonia, and can be applied "off the grid" in remote and/or resource-constrained settings where most pneumonia deaths occur. If proven successful, solar-powered oxygen delivery systems could be scaled up and widely implemented for impact on global child mortality.<bold>Trial Registration: </bold>Clinicaltrials.gov registration number NCT0210086 (date of registration: 27 March, 2014).
- Subjects
UGANDA; OXYGEN compounds; OXYGEN; CHALCOGENS; NONMETALS; TETRAOXYGEN; PNEUMONIA diagnosis; PNEUMONIA treatment; PNEUMONIA-related mortality; CHILD mortality; COMPARATIVE studies; HYPOXEMIA; COST effectiveness; DEVELOPING countries; EXPERIMENTAL design; HEALTH services accessibility; LENGTH of stay in hospitals; LONGITUDINAL method; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL care costs; MEDICAL cooperation; RESEARCH protocols; OXYGEN therapy; PNEUMONIA; POWER resources; RESEARCH; TIME; PILOT projects; EVALUATION research; RANDOMIZED controlled trials; TREATMENT effectiveness; HOSPITAL mortality; INHALATION administration; ECONOMICS; DIAGNOSIS; THERAPEUTICS
- Publication
Trials, 2015, Vol 16, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1745-6215
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1186/s13063-015-0814-y