Solar Powered Oxygen Delivery

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

Globally, approximately 2.1 million children die of pneumonia each year. Most deaths occur in resource-poor settings in Africa and Asia. Oxygen (O2) therapy is essential to support life in these patients. Large gaps remain in the case management of children presenting to African hospitals with respiratory distress, including essential supportive therapies such as supplemental oxygen. We hypothesize that a novel strategy for oxygen delivery, solar-powered oxygen, can be implemented in remote locations and will be non-inferior to standard oxygen delivery by compressed gas cylinders.

Clinical Trial Description

Arterial hypoxemia in pneumonia results from several mechanisms: pulmonary arterial blood flow to consolidated lung resulting in an intrapulmonary shunt, intrapulmonary oxygen consumption, and ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Hypoxemia is a risk factor for mortality in pediatric pneumonia, and was associated with a 5-fold increased risk of death in studies from Kenya and Gambia.

In one report from Nepal, the prevalence of hypoxemia (SpO2 < 90%) in 150 children with pneumonia was 39% overall, with increasing rates of hypoxemia across strata of pneumonia severity (100% of very severe, 80% of severe and 17% of pneumonia patients). General features of respiratory distress were associated with hypoxemia in this study, including chest indrawing, lethargy, grunting, nasal flaring, cyanosis, inability to breastfeed or drink.

Few studies have reported on the use of solar powered oxygen (SPO2) delivery. One online report describes the use of a battery-powered oxygenator in the Gambia that could be adapted to use solar power (http://www.dulas.org.uk). Otherwise, our intervention is to our knowledge the first example of SPO2 delivery.

New ways to deliver oxygen for children with pneumonia in Africa could improve outcomes and save numerous lives. If this study documents the non-inferiority of SPO2 relative to standard oxygen delivery, this novel method of providing life-saving oxygen could be rolled out across centres in sub-Saharan Africa where oxygen cylinders are not widely available and electrical power is not reliable. The potential energy efficiency, low cost and ease of use make solar power an attractive avenue of investigation for use in resource-constrained settings. Proof-of-concept that the sun can be used to drive oxygen delivery could stimulate commercial interest in this technology. The SPO2 system could thus achieve rapid penetration into the most remote or rural settings in sub-Saharan Africa. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

Clinical Trial Details

NCT number	NCT02100865
Study type	Interventional
Source	University of Alberta
Contact
Status	Completed
Phase	Phase 2
Start date	February 2014
Completion date	June 2015

View Details

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