Oxygen is life saving for many children with pneumonia or other respiratory problems, and it is a tool that ideally should be available in all small hospitals worldwide. This is rarely the case. Ensuring the availability and proper use of oxygen therapy is part of the technical assistance package offered by The Union's Child Lung Health Programme.

 

For example, The Union purchased and supplied oxygen concentrators for district hospitals throughout Malawi, where high-dependency areas for severely ill children have been set up. The introduction of this equipment was supported by training workshops and information tools.

 

Oxygen concentrators and the accompanying training/information package were also supplied to hospitals in Benin and Sudan that participated in the Comprehensive Approach to Lung Health Project.

 

In addition to the provision of oxygen therapy, it is important to be able to accurately identify those patients who require oxygen therapy and are most likely to benefit, especially when resources are limited. The combination of introducing oximetry and oxygen therapy in the management of children with severe pneumonia in high-burden setting shows clear benefit in improving outcome and cost-effectiveness.

 

Adult oxygen guidelines British Thoracic Society Thorax 2008 (PDF 3 Mo)

Cochrane Review Oxygen therapy for acute lower respiratory infection Rojas-Reyes MX 2009 (PDF 459 Ko)

Concentrator use limited-resource countries Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2011 (PDF 279 Ko)

Mwaniki Kenya Hypoxaemia Bull WHO (PDF 591 Ko)

Oxygen advocacy article 2010 (PDF 305 Ko)

Oxygen concentrator market survey Dr David Peel 2009 JCE (PDF 82 Ko)

Oxygen concentrators Duke ATP 2010 (PDF 285 Ko)

Oxygen Program in PNG Ann Trop Paeds 2008 (PDF 74 Ko)

PNG Oxygen Lancet August 2008 (PDF 92 Ko)

Review of Oxygen Supplies in PNG August 13th 2010 (PDF 246 Ko)

Revisions to Oxygen Resources April 2011 (PDF 74 Ko)

The Clinical Use of Oxygen April 2011 (PDF 3 Mo)