Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24587089›Full record

ArticlePloS one2014

Estimating oxygen needs for childhood pneumonia in developing country health systems: a new model for expecting the unexpected.

Beverly D Bradley, Stephen R C Howie, Timothy C Y Chan, Yu-Ling Cheng

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
5.7field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Beverly D BradleyCentre for Global Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Stephen R C HowieChild Survival Theme, Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia, Banjul, The Gambia.
Timothy C Y ChanCentre for Global Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada ; Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Yu-Ling ChengCentre for Global Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
University of Toronto · CACentre for Global Health Research · CAMRC Unit the Gambia · GM

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_U190081957Medical Research Council MC_UP_A900_1116
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlanning for the reliable and cost-effective supply of a health service commodity such as medical oxygen requires an understanding of the dynamic need or 'demand' for the commodity over time. In developing country health systems, however, collecting longitudinal clinical data for forecasting purposes is very difficult. Furthermore, approaches to estimating demand for supplies based on annual averages can underestimate demand some of the time by missing temporal variability.

methodsA discrete event simulation model was developed to estimate variable demand for a health service commodity using the important example of medical oxygen for childhood pneumonia. The model is based on five key factors affecting oxygen demand: annual pneumonia admission rate, hypoxaemia prevalence, degree of seasonality, treatment duration, and oxygen flow rate. These parameters were varied over a wide range of values to generate simulation results for different settings. Total oxygen volume, peak patient load, and hours spent above average-based demand estimates were computed for both low and high seasons.

findingsOxygen demand estimates based on annual average values of demand factors can often severely underestimate actual demand. For scenarios with high hypoxaemia prevalence and degree of seasonality, demand can exceed average levels up to 68% of the time. Even for typical scenarios, demand may exceed three times the average level for several hours per day. Peak patient load is sensitive to hypoxaemia prevalence, whereas time spent at such peak loads is strongly influenced by degree of seasonality.

conclusionA theoretical study is presented whereby a simulation approach to estimating oxygen demand is used to better capture temporal variability compared to standard average-based approaches. This approach provides better grounds for health service planning, including decision-making around technologies for oxygen delivery. Beyond oxygen, this approach is widely applicable to other areas of resource and technology planning in developing country health systems.

Indexed as

Models, TheoreticalChildDeveloping CountriesGambiaHumansHypoxiaOxygenOxygen Inhalation TherapyPapua New GuineaPneumoniaPrevalenceSeasonsTime FactorsOxygen

Identifiers

PMID24587089
PMCPMC3930752
OpenAlexW1996858718

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.