Publications by authors named "Karen Edmond"
Context: Accurate identification of possible sepsis in young infants is needed to effectively manage and reduce sepsis-related morbidity and mortality.
Objective: Synthesize evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of clinical sign algorithms to identify young infants (aged 0-59 days) with suspected sepsis.
Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Global Index Medicus, and Cochrane CENTRAL Registry of Trials.
Background: To inform World Health Organization guidelines for the management of serious bacterial infection (SBI) (suspected or confirmed sepsis, pneumonia, or meningitis) in infants aged 0-59 days.
Objective: To conduct an "overview of systematic reviews" to: (1) understand which systematic reviews have examined diagnosis and management of SBI in infants aged 0-59 days in the last 5 years; and (2) assess if the reviews examined PICOs (population, intervention, comparator, outcomes) and regimens currently being recommended in low and middle income countries (LMICs) by the World Health Organization.
Data Sources: MEDLINE; Embase; Cochrane Library; Epistemonikos; PROSPERO.
Context: Meningitis is associated with high mortality risk in young infants, yet the optimal treatment regimen is unclear.
Objectives: To systematically evaluate the efficacy of antibiotic regimens to treat meningitis in young infants aged 0 to 59 days on critical clinical outcomes.
Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, WHO Global Index Medicus, and Cochrane Central Registry of Trials.
Context: Pneumonia is a leading cause of death in young infants.
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of different antibiotic regimens to treat young infant pneumonia on critical clinical outcomes.
Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, World Health Organization (WHO) Global Index Medicus, Cochrane Central Registry of Trials.
Context: Clinical sign algorithms are a key strategy to identify young infants at risk of mortality.
Objective: Synthesize the evidence on the accuracy of clinical sign algorithms to predict all-cause mortality in young infants 0-59 days.
Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Global Index Medicus, and Cochrane CENTRAL Registry of Trials.
Context: Sepsis is a leading cause of young infant mortality.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of different antibiotic regimens to treat young infant sepsis or possible serious bacterial infection (PSBI) on clinical outcomes.
Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, World Health Organization Global Index Medicus, Cochrane Central Registry of Trials.
Target product profile: aerosolized surfactant for neonatal respiratory distress.
Bull World Health Organ
May 2023
Treatment with surfactant has been found to improve the survival rate of neonates with respiratory distress syndrome, particularly preterm infants. However, surfactant is usually administered by endotracheal intubation and generally only in level-3 neonatal intensive care units. Recent improvements in aerosolization technology have raised the possibility that aerosolized surfactant could now be given in wider range of settings, including resource-poor settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Micronutrient deficiencies remain common worldwide, but the consequences to growth and development in early infancy (under six months of age) are not fully understood. We present a systematic review of micronutrient interventions in term infants under six months of age, with a specific focus on iron supplementation. : We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (Ovid) and Embase (Ovid) from January 1980 through December 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the effect of early childhood development interventions delivered by healthcare providers (HCP-ECD) on child cognition and maternal mental health.
Design: Systematic review, meta-analysis.
Setting: Healthcare setting or home.
Background: Evidence suggests that Aboriginal babies in Western Australia are not receiving adequate primary health care in their first 3 months of life, leading to questions about enablers and constraints to delivering such care. This paper presents findings from a qualitative research project investigating health providers' perceptions and experiences of best and current practice in discharge planning, postnatal care and health education for Aboriginal mothers and their newborn babies.
Methods: Constructivist grounded theory guided this research involving 58 semi-structured interviews conducted with health providers who deliver care to Aboriginal mothers and infants.
Background: Primary healthcare, particularly Indigenous-led services, are well placed to deliver services that reflect the needs of Indigenous children and their families. Important characteristics identified by families for primary health care include services that support families, accommodate sociocultural needs, recognise extended family child-rearing practices, and Indigenous ways of knowing and doing business. Indigenous family-centred care interventions have been developed and implemented within primary healthcare services to plan, implement, and support the care of children, immediate and extended family and the home environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Permanent bilateral hearing loss (PBHL) is a serious condition in newborns, with a prevalence of at least one per 1000 live births. However, there has been no recent systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of universal newborn hearing screening programs (UNHS).
Methods: We registered our study protocol on PROSPERO CRD42020175451.
Context: Twenty-four research questions (framed as population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes) for global health care interventions for preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants were identified at a World Health Organization guideline development group expert meeting in December 2020.
Objective: To describe which systematic reviews had addressed these research questions in the last 3 years.
Data Sources: Medline (Ovid); the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review Protocols; and the PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews databases from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021 were used.
Objectives: We assessed the effect of feeding preterm or low birth weight infants with infant formula compared with mother's own milk on mortality, morbidity, growth, neurodevelopment, and disability.
Methods: We searched Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Studies to October 1, 2021.
Results: Forty-two studies enrolling 89 638 infants fulfilled the inclusion criteria.
Context: Early enteral feeding has been associated with adverse outcomes such as necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm and low birth weight infants.
Objectives: To assess effects of early enteral feeding initiation within the first days after birth compared to delayed initiation.
Data Sources: Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL from inception to June 30, 2021.
Background And Objectives: Preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants are often separated from parents during hospitalization. Our objective was to assess effects of interventions to increase family involvement in the routine newborn care of preterm or LBW infants compared with standard NICU care on infant and parental outcomes.
Methods: Data sources include Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and World Health Organization Global Index Medicus to August 2021.
Objectives: To assess effects of supplementation with 3 or more micronutrients (multiple micronutrients; MMN) compared to no MMN in human milk-fed preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants.
Results: Data on a subgroup of 414 preterm or LBW infants from 2 randomized controlled trials (4 reports) were included. The certainty of evidence ranged from low to very low.
Background: Vaccines may induce non-specific effects on survival and health outcomes, in addition to protection against targeted pathogens or disease. Observational evidence suggests that infant Baccillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination may provide non-specific survival benefits, while diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccination may increase the risk of mortality. Non-specific vaccine effects have been hypothesized to modify the effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation (NVAS) on mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Globally adopted health and development milestones have not only encouraged improvements in the health and wellbeing of women and infants worldwide, but also a better understanding of the epidemiology of key outcomes and the development of effective interventions in these vulnerable groups. Monitoring of maternal and child health outcomes for milestone tracking requires the collection of good quality data over the long term, which can be particularly challenging in poorly-resourced settings. Despite the wealth of general advice on conducting field trials, there is a lack of specific guidance on designing and implementing studies on mothers and infants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To understand the reach of the community health worker (CHW) programme in remote and non-remote districts of Afghanistan.
Methods: Using data collected from the Ministry of Public Health's National Health Management Information System, we conducted a population-based study from 2018 to 2019 in 401 districts across 34 provinces of Afghanistan. We assessed the availability of CHWs, antenatal visits (ANV) and postnatal visits (PNV) conducted by the CHWs, and the availability of CHW supplies.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates maternal morbidity rates in low- and middle-income countries, specifically South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting that morbidity occurs more often than mortality but is under-researched.
- Conducted from 2012 to 2015, the research involved monitoring 133,238 pregnancies in nine sites across eight countries, focusing on antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal periods to collect extensive data on maternal health.
- The study found that factors like hypertensive disorders, obstetric hemorrhage, and infections had significant associations with maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes, providing crucial insights for improving maternal health in these regions.