Abstract
Background: Oxygen is listed as an essential drug by the World Health Organisation and has been shown to reduce mortality in the context of hypoxia. In low-re- source settings the provision of oxygen seldom meets the demand. This study aims to explore the predictors and the observed time-course of hypoxaemia, and thus bet- ter rationalize distribution of oxygen therapy in lower- middle income countries.
Design/Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of adults with hypoxaemia that received oxygen therapy and were admitted to medical wards at a teach- ing hospital in Malawi between January and March 2020. Vital signs and oxygen therapy were recorded dai- ly. Study end-points were death, discharge from hospital or continued inpatient at day 14. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis was used for time-to-event analysis. Results: 33 patients were included in the study (median age 45years [interquartile range (IQR) 33-61years]). The median oxygen saturations at initiation of oxygen ther- apy was 84% (IQR
| Original language | English |
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| Pages | S290 |
| Publication status | Published - 23 Oct 2020 |