Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children globally, yet its prevalence has been difficult to accurately estimate due to unreliable methods of gestational age dating, heterogeneity in counting, and insufficient data. The estimated global PTB rate in 2020 was 9.9% (95% confidence interval: 9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Preterm birth (birth before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy) is the leading cause of neonatal and child under-five mortality globally, both of which are highest regionally in sub-Saharan Africa. The skin barrier plays a critical role in neonatal health and increasing evidence supports the use of topical emollient therapy to promote postnatal growth and reduce hospital-acquired infections in preterm infants. The World Health Organization (WHO) currently recommends emollient therapy in preterm or low birthweight infants globally but calls for further research on impacts of emollient use, especially in Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite an increase in hospital-based deliveries, neonatal mortality remains high in low-resource settings. Due to limited laboratory diagnostics, there is significant reliance on clinical findings to inform diagnoses. Accurate, evidence-based identification and management of neonatal conditions could improve outcomes by standardizing care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIR Mhealth Uhealth
December 2023
Background: Two-thirds of the 2.4 million newborn deaths that occurred in 2020 within the first 28 days of life might have been avoided by implementing existing low-cost evidence-based interventions for all sick and small newborns. An open-source digital quality improvement tool (Neotree) combining data capture with education and clinical decision support is a promising solution for this implementation gap.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To develop a clinical prediction model to diagnose neonatal sepsis in low-resource settings.
Design: Secondary analysis of data collected by the Neotree digital health system from 1 February 2019 to 31 March 2020. We used multivariable logistic regression with candidate predictors identified from expert opinion and literature review.
Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) accounts for ~23% of the 2.4 million annual global neonatal deaths. Approximately 99% of global neonatal deaths occur in low-resource settings, however, accurate data from these low-resource settings are scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Improving peri- and postnatal facility-based care in low-resource settings (LRS) could save over 6000 babies' lives per day. Most of the annual 2.4 million neonatal deaths and 2 million stillbirths occur in healthcare facilities in LRS and are preventable through the implementation of cost-effective, simple, evidence-based interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Every year 2.4 million deaths occur worldwide in babies younger than 28 days. Approximately 70% of these deaths occur in low-resource settings because of failure to implement evidence-based interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Clinically suspected and laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infections are frequent causes of morbidity and mortality during neonatal care. The most effective infection prevention and control interventions for neonates in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are unknown.
Aim: To identify effective interventions in the prevention of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in LMIC neonatal units.
Background: Neonatal sepsis accounts for a large proportion of neonatal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of access to diagnostic testing and excessively long turnaround times to result contributes to delays in sepsis identification and initiation of appropriate treatment. This study aims to evaluate the novel InTrays COLOREX Screen and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase for rapid identification of bacterial pathogens causing sepsis and detection of resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPreterm birth is the leading global cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Reliable gestational age estimates are useful for quantifying population burdens of preterm birth and informing allocation of resources to address the problem. However, evaluating gestational age in low-resource settings can be challenging, particularly in places where access to ultrasound is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere are 2. 4 million annual neonatal deaths worldwide. Simple, evidence-based interventions such as temperature control could prevent approximately two-thirds of these deaths.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMatern Health Neonatol Perinatol
January 2018
Background: Acute Bilirubin Encephalopathy in the neonatal period is a major cause of permanent disability. Effective screening and surveillance are essential in the newborn period to enable timely management. Noninvasive transcutaneous bilirubin devices have been successfully used for screening in many settings.
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