Oxygen supplies for hospitals in Papua New Guinea: a comparison of the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of methods for different settings.

Oxygen therapy is essential in all wards, emergency departments and operating theatres of hospitals at all levels, and oxygen is life-saving. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), an effective oxygen system that improved the detection and treatment of hypoxaemia in provincial and district hospitals reduced death rates from pneumonia in children by as much as 35%. The methods for providing oxygen in PNG are reviewed.

Improved oxygen systems for childhood pneumonia: a multihospital effectiveness study in Papua New Guinea.

Background: In rural hospitals of developing countries, oxygen supplies are poor and detection of hypoxaemia is difficult. Oxygen concentrators and pulse oximeters might help to manage the disease; however, use of such technology in developing countries needs comprehensive assessment. We studied the effect of an improved oxygen system on death rate in children with pneumonia in Papua New Guinea.

Implementing an oxygen programme in hospitals in Papua New Guinea.

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the most common cause of death among children under 5 years of age is pneumonia. Children with severe pneumonia need antibiotics and oxygen but oxygen shortages are common owing to the cost and complex logistics of transporting it in cylinders. Detection of hypoxaemia using clinical signs can be difficult, especially in highly pigmented children in whom cyanosis is difficult to recognise.

Hypoxaemia among children in rural hospitals in Papua New Guinea: epidemiology and resource availability--a study to support a national oxygen programme.

Aims: To support a national approach to oxygen systems in Papua New Guinea, we conducted a study to document the incidence of hypoxaemia, its geographical distribution, epidemiological determinants and resource availability in several regions of the country. We also established baseline mortality rate data for all children admitted to five hospitals, for children with a diagnosis of pneumonia and for neonates to evaluate a future intervention.

Methods: Data were collected prospectively from over 1300 hospital admissions in five hospitals in 2004.

Long-term outcome for children with bacterial meningitis in rural Papua New Guinea.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the long-term neurological outcome for survivors of bacterial meningitis in rural Papua New Guinea. Children who were discharged from Nonga Base Hospital in Rabaul with a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis between 1992 and 2000 were evaluated in their home villages or on review at hospital. Neurological and developmental complications were documented.