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The Epidemiology of Hypoxemic Pneumonia among Young Infants in Malawi

Hooli, S; King, C; Zadutsa, B; Nambiar, B; Makwenda, C; Masache, G; Lufesi, N; ... McCollum, ED; + view all (2020) The Epidemiology of Hypoxemic Pneumonia among Young Infants in Malawi. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene , 102 (3) pp. 676-683. 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0516. Green open access

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Abstract

We describe hypoxemic pneumonia prevalence in outpatient and inpatient settings, in-hospital mortality, and clinical guideline performance for identifying hypoxemia in young infants in Malawi. In this retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort study, we investigate infants younger than 2 months participating in pneumonia surveillance at seven hospitals and 18 outpatient health centers in Malawi between 2011 and 2014. Logistic regression, multiple imputations with chained equations, and pattern mixture modeling were used to determine the association between peripheral oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2) levels and hospital mortality. We describe referral recommendations based on clinical characteristics and SpO2 distributions. Among 1,879 analyzed cases, SpO2 < 90% was more prevalent among outpatient health center cases than that among hospitalized cases (22.6% versus 13.5%, 95% CI: 17.6–28.4% and 12.0–15.3%, respectively). A larger proportion of hospitalized infants had signs of respiratory distress than infants at health centers (67.7% versus 56.6%, P < 0.001) and the signs were higher in male versus female infants (56.7% versus 40.6%, P < 0.001). An SpO2 of 90–92% and < 90% was associated with similarly increased odds of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 4.3 and 4.4, 95% CI: 1.7–11.1 and 1.8–10.5, respectively). Unrecorded, or unobtainable, SpO2 was highly associated with mortality (n = 127, aOR: 18.1; 95% CI: 7.6–42.8). Four of 22 (18%) infants at health centers who did not meet clinical referral criteria had an SpO2 ≤ 92%. Clinicians should consider hospital referral in young infants with SpO2 ≤ 92%. Infants with unobtainable SpO2 readings should be considered a high-risk group, and hospital referral of these cases may be appropriate.

Type: Article
Title: The Epidemiology of Hypoxemic Pneumonia among Young Infants in Malawi
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0516
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.19-0516
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10091581
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