Evaluating the Effects of SMS Text Messaging Support System Among Frontline Health Workers in Ghana...
Maternal DeathNeonatal Death8 moreIntroduction Maternal and neonatal mortality continue to be to be prominent public health issues in sub Saharan Africa including Ghana, with slow progress made towards attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 & 5. Studies have identified poor quality of maternal and child healthcare as a major challenge to the prevention of neonatal and maternal deaths. Effective interventions are required to make significant inroads in these areas. Objective To evaluate the effect of a SMS text messaging intervention to support clinical decision making by frontline health care professionals on neonatal and maternal mortality. Methods We propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial in the Eastern region of Ghana, involving 8 intervention and 8 control districts. The intervention consists of text messaging of standard protocols for maternal and neonatal care to front line health care providers in the region. A total of 17,040 pregnant women who are receiving care (including antenatal, delivery and post-natal) at any of the hospitals in the selected districts in the region will be monitored through monthly aggregate data on outcome measures such as neonatal and maternal deaths from eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage, puerperal sepsis, birth asphyxia, low birth weight and neonatal sepsis. Cord sepsis will also be included as neonatal sepsis for this study. Also, a quality of care assessment in four sampled districts to measure adherence to the safe motherhood protocol will be conducted. Stata software package.55 and MLwiN software version 2.2456 will be employed in data analysis. Descriptive analysis will be carried out to explore baseline characteristics of study groups while logistic regression will be applied to evaluate the effect of the intervention. A two-tailed statistical significant level of 0.05 will be used. Expected outcome We hypothesize that the intervention will improve both maternal and neonatal service delivery and health outcomes in the intervention areas.
Augmented Infant Resuscitator to Enhance Newborn Ventilation
Asphyxia NeonatorumBirth Asphyxia1 moreAugmented Infant Resuscitator (AIR) is an inexpensive add-on, compatible with nearly every existing bag-valve mask and many types of ventilation equipment. AIR monitors ventilation quality and provides real-time objective feedback and actionable cues to clinicians to both shorten training times and improve resuscitation quality, adoption, retention, and confidence.
Resident Training Enhanced by New Innovations: Teleintubation
Asphyxia NeonatorumThe overall goal of this study was to create a simulation environment with repeated practice for residents and intense, immediate feedback. Repeated simulations for neonatal resuscitation when coupled with clinical experience have been shown to improve resident confidence.The investigators sought to determine if resident exposure to individual training and video laryngoscopy using the C-MAC video laryngoscope would improve cognitive skills and decrease intubation times in a neonatal manikin. The primary outcome was time to intubation after one year. The secondary outcome was the ability to retain cognitive instruction related to intubation
Randomized Cluster Trial on Innovative and Standard Strategies for Neonatal Resuscitation Training...
Neonatal AsphyxiaBackground: About 10% of all newborns may have difficulty breathing and require support by trained personnel. In Peru, 90% of deliveries occur in health facilities; however there is not a national neonatal resuscitation and certification program for the public health sector. In addition, the Andes and the Amazon regions concentrate large rural remote areas, which further limit the implementation of training programs and the accomplishment of continuous certification. Neonatal resuscitation training through the use of information, communication and technology (ICT) tools running on a computer, tablet or mobile phone may overcome such limitations. This strategy allows online and offline access to educational resources, paving the way to more frequent and efficient training and certification processes. Objective: To evaluate the effects of a neonatal resuscitation training and certification program that uses a multi-platform ICT (MP-ICT) strategy on neonatal health care in remote areas. Methods: The investigators propose to conduct the study through a cluster-randomized trial, where the study and analysis units are the health care facility. Eligible facilities will include primary and secondary health care level facilities that are located in provinces with neonatal mortality rates higher than 15 per 1,000 live births. The investigators will compare the proportion of newborns with a heart rate ≥100 beats per minute at 2 minutes after birth in health care facilities that receive MP-ICT training and certification implementation, with those that receive conventional training and certification. Discussion: The investigators expect that the intervention show to be more effective than the current standard of care. The investigators are prepared to include it within a national neonatal resuscitation training and certification program to be implemented at national scale together with policymakers and other key stakeholders.
Infant Special Program for In Hospital Resuscitation Education in the Delivery Room
Hypoxiain Liveborn Infant2 moreThe overall objective is to determine whether a bundled In-hospital Newborn Resuscitation Edu-cation intervention (INSPIRE-D) improves process of care associated with improved newborn survival and neurologic outcomes.
Amikacin Pharmacokinetics to Optimize Dosing Recommendations in Neonates With Perinatal Asphyxia...
Asphyxia NeonatorumAs a part of a project on perinatal clinical pharmacology, the primary aim of the present project is to study amikacin pharmacokinetics (PK) and physiology in asphyxiated neonates treated with therapeutic hypothermia and to provide amikacin dosing recommendations, which will be validated prospectively. For this purpose, we aim to first collect retrospective data on amikacin available in neonates treated with hypothermia in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)s in Leuven and Amsterdam, and consequently to propose the dosing regimen to be used in the prospective amikacin PK study at our NICU in University Clinical Center (UCC) Sarajevo. At our NICU we aim to collect amikacin PK observations and other covariates in at least 40 neonates while treated with hypothermia and after re-warming period (a paired analysis), and in asphyxiated neonates not treated with hypothermia (control group). We hereby will use a stepwise approach, as initially used to develop and to validate an amikacin dosing regimen in preterm and term neonates (De Cock RFW et al., 2012, Smits A et al, 2015). A 3-step approach will be used, of which different parts will be conducted in different contributing hospitals: Retrospective evaluation of amikacin therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in asphyxiated neonates treated with hypothermia (University hospital Leuven, VUmc Amsterdam) Development of population PK model derived amikacin dosing recommendation Prospective PK study with validation of the new dosing regimen (UCC Sarajevo, UCC Tuzla)
Erythropoietin for Infants With Brain Injuries Due to Oxygen Deprivation at Birth
AsphyxiaErythropoietin (Epo) is a hormone normally found in the body that may protect brain cells from damage due to lack of oxygen. This study will evaluate the safety of high-dose Epo in infants who did not get enough oxygen during birth.
Heart Rate Assessment at Birth Comparing Stethoscope Versus Tap-based Application
Asphyxia NeonatorumBirth AsphyxiaSome newborn babies have difficulty breathing at birth and need help. When babies need help with breathing the clinical team, the team measures heart rate using a stethoscope to check its heart rate and figure out what kind of help they will need. If the heart rate is too low, the clinical team will begin to inflate the baby's lung. Knowing the baby's heart rate quickly is important but the stethoscope is inaccurate, and might delay start of resuscitation. Using a smartphone app that uses screen tapping with a stethoscope could allow heart rate to be measured much faster compared to the stethoscope and allow the clinical team to support the baby's needs better immediately after birth.
Use of Melatonin for Neuroprotection in Asphyxiated Newborns
Hypoxic-Ischemic EncephalopathyCell Damage1 moreProtection of brain development is a major aim in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) occurs in 3-5 per 1000 births. Only 47% of neonates have normal outcomes. The neurodevelopmental consequences of brain injury for asphyxiated term infants include cerebral palsy, severe intellectual disabilities and also a number of minor behavioural and cognitive deficits. However, there are very few therapeutic strategies for the prevention or treatment of brain damage. The gold standard is hypothermic treatment but, according to the literature, melatonin potentially acts in synergy with hypothermia for neuroprotection and to improve neurologic outcomes. Melatonin appears to be a good candidate because of its different protective effects including reactive oxygen species scavenging, excitotoxic cascade blockade, modulation of neuroinflammatory pathways. The research study will evaluate the neuroprotective properties and the effects of Melatonin in association with therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
The Baby-Saver Kit: Clinical Testing of a Device for Neonatal Resuscitation With Intact Cord in...
Birth AsphyxiaNeonatal Resuscitation1 moreTo examine the usability, safety and acceptability of the BabySaver kit: a novel device for neonatal resuscitation in a low-income region in Africa