Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29338012›Full record

ArticlePloS one2018

Using geospatial techniques to develop an emergency referral transport system for suspected sepsis patients in Bangladesh.

Atique Iqbal Chowdhury, Rafiqul Haider, Abu Yousuf Md Abdullah, Aliki Christou, Nabeel Ashraf Ali, Ahmed Ehsnaur Rahman, Afrin Iqbal, Sanwarul Bari, D M Emdadul Hoque, Shams El Arifeen and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
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

12 authors.

Atique Iqbal ChowdhuryMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.ORCID 0000-0001-9140-5983
Rafiqul HaiderMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Abu Yousuf Md AbdullahMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Aliki ChristouSchool of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Nabeel Ashraf AliMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Ahmed Ehsnaur RahmanMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Afrin IqbalMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Sanwarul BariMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
D M Emdadul HoqueMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Shams El ArifeenMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Niranjan KissoonDepartment of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Charles P LarsonDepartment of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA geographic information system (GIS)-based transport network within an emergency referral system can be the key to reducing health system delays and increasing the chances of survival, especially during an emergency. We employed a GIS to design an emergency transport system for the rapid transfer of pregnant or early post-partum women, newborns, and children under 5 years of age with suspected sepsis under the Interrupting Pathways to Sepsis Initiative (IPSI) project.

methodsA GIS database was developed by mapping the villages, roads, and relevant physical features of the study area. A travel-time algorithm was developed to incorporate the time taken by different modes of local transport to reach the health complexes. These were used in a network analysis to identify the shortest routes to the hospitals from the villages, which were categorized into green, yellow, and red zones based on their proximity to the nearest hospitals to provide transport facilities. An emergency call-in centre established for the project managed the transport system, and its data was used to assess the uptake of this transport system amongst distant communities.

resultsFifteen pre-existing and two new routes were identified as the shortest routes to the health complexes. The call-in centre personnel used this route information to direct both patients and transport drivers to the nearest transport hubs or pick-up points. Adherence with referral advice was high in areas where the IPSI transport operated. Over the study period, the utilisation of the project's transport doubled and referral compliance from distant zones similarly increased.

conclusionsThe GIS system created for this study facilitated rapid referral of patients in emergency from distant zones, using locally available transport and resources. The methodology described in this study to develop and implement an emergency transport system can be applied in similar, rural, low-income country settings.

Indexed as

Referral and ConsultationTransportation of PatientsBangladeshEmergency Medical ServicesGeographic Information SystemsHumansSepsis

Identifiers

PMID29338012
PMCPMC5770043

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.