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BACKGROUND: Widespread access to medical oxygen would reduce global pneumonia mortality. Oxygen concentrators are one proposed solution, but they have limitations, in particular vulnerability to electricity fluctuations and failure during blackouts. The low-pressure oxygen storage system addresses these limitations in low-resource settings. This study reports testing of the system in Melbourne, Australia, and nonclinical field testing in Mbarara, Uganda. METHODS: The system included a power-conditioning unit, a standard oxygen concentrator, and an oxygen store. In Melbourne, pressure and flows were monitored during cycles of filling/emptying, with forced voltage fluctuations. The bladders were tested by increasing pressure until they ruptured. In Mbarara, the system was tested by accelerated cycles of filling/emptying and then run on grid power for 30 d. RESULTS: The low-pressure oxygen storage system performed well, including sustaining a pressure approximately twice the standard working pressure before rupture of the outer bag. Flow of 1.2 L/min was continuously maintained to a simulated patient during 30 d on grid power, despite power failures totaling 2.9% of the total time, with durations of 1-176 min (mean 36.2, median 18.5). CONCLUSIONS: The low-pressure oxygen storage system was robust and durable, with accelerated testing equivalent to at least 2 y of operation revealing no visible signs of imminent failure. Despite power cuts, the system continuously provided oxygen, equivalent to the treatment of one child, for 30 d under typical power conditions for sub-Saharan Africa. The low-pressure oxygen storage system is ready for clinical field trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reducing child mortality in low-income countries is constrained by a lack of vital statistics. In the absence of such data, verbal autopsies provide an acceptable method to determining attributable causes of death. The objective was to assess potential causes of pediatric postdischarge mortality in children younger than age 5 years (under-5) originally admitted for suspected sepsis using verbal autopsies., Methods: Secondary analysis of verbal autopsy data from children admitted to 6 hospitals across Uganda from July 2017 to March 2020. Structured verbal autopsy interviews were conducted for all deaths within 6 months after discharge. Two physicians independently classified a primary cause of death, up to 4 alternative causes, and up to 5 contributing conditions using the Start-Up Mortality List, with discordance resolved by consensus., Results: Verbal autopsies were completed for 361 (98.6%) of the 366 (5.9%) children who died among 6191 discharges (median admission age: 5.4 months [interquartile range, 1.8-16.7]; median time to mortality: 28 days [interquartile range, 9-74]). Most deaths (62.3%) occurred in the community. Leading primary causes of death, assigned in 356 (98.6%) of cases, were pneumonia (26.2%), sepsis (22.1%), malaria (8.5%), and diarrhea (7.9%). Common contributors to death were malnutrition (50.5%) and anemia (25.7%). Reviewers were less confident in their causes of death for neonates than older children (P < .05)., Conclusions: Postdischarge mortality frequently occurred in the community in children admitted for suspected sepsis in Uganda. Analyses of the probable causes for these deaths using verbal autopsies suggest potential areas for interventions, focused on early detection of infections, as well as prevention and treatment of underlying contributors such as malnutrition and anemia., (Copyright © 2023 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

Increased access to reliable medical oxygen would reduce the global burden of pneumonia. Oxygen concentrators have been shown to be an effective solution, however they have significant drawbacks when used in low-resource environments where pneumonia burden is the heaviest. Low quality grid power can damage oxygen concentrators and blackouts can prevent at-risk patients from receiving continual oxygen therapy. Gaps in prescribed oxygen flow can result in acquired brain injuries, extended hypoxemia and death. The FREO2 Low-Pressure Oxygen Storage (LPOS) system consists of a suite of improvements to a standard oxygen concentrator which address these limitations. This study reports the technical results of a field trial of the system in Mbarara, Uganda. During this trial, oxygen supplied from the LPOS system was distributed to four beds in the paediatric ward of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Over a three-month period, medical-grade oxygen was made available to patients 100% of the time. This period was sufficient to quantify the ability of the LPOS system to deal with blackouts, maintenance, and an unscheduled repair to the LPOS store., Competing Interests: During the period of the trial described in this manuscript, authors KR and JB were employees of FREO2 Foundation Australia Ltd, a not-for-profit company aiming to reduce health inequalities around provision of medical grade oxygen in low-resource environments. Authors DP, BS and RR are directors and co-founders of FREO2 Foundation Australia Ltd. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.