Oxygen use in low-resource settings: An intervention still triggered by intuition.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although hypoxic patients attending low-resource hospitals have a high mortality, many are not given supplemental oxygen. If oximetry is not available, then the decision to provide oxygen must be based on other factors.

Methods

The variables associated with the decision to provide supplemental oxygen made by an emergency department staff, without access to oximetry, in a low resource Ugandan hospital were determined from data collected within 16 h of admission to the hospital's medical and surgical wards.

Results

Of 2,599 patients, 731 (28.1%) had an oxygen saturation <95%, and 164 (6.3%) an oxygen saturation <90%. Of the 731 patients with oxygen levels below 95% 573 (83%) were not given oxygen; oxygen was only given to 63 (38%) of the 164 patients with oxy

SUBMITTER: Wasingya-Kasereka L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8244453 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature