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. 2023 Dec 5:10:2333794X231212819.
doi: 10.1177/2333794X231212819. eCollection 2023.

Prevalence and Missed Cases of Respiratory Distress Syndrome Disease Amongst Neonatal Deaths Enrolled in the Kenya Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network (CHAMPS) Program Between 2017 and 2021

Harun O Owuor  1 , Victor Akelo  2 , Florence Murila  3 , Dickens Onyango  4 , Magdalene Kuria  4 , Emily Rogena  5 , Gunturu Revathi  6 , Paul Mitei  4 , Solomon Sava  4 , Joyce Were  1 , Aggrey Igunza  1 , Sammy Khagayi  1 , Emily Zielinski-Gutierrez  2 , Sarah Hawi  1 , Dickson Gethi  1 , Jennifer R Verani  2 , Clayton Onyango  2 , Dianna M Blau  2 , Beth A Tippett Barr  7
Affiliations

Prevalence and Missed Cases of Respiratory Distress Syndrome Disease Amongst Neonatal Deaths Enrolled in the Kenya Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network (CHAMPS) Program Between 2017 and 2021

Harun O Owuor et al. Glob Pediatr Health. .

Abstract

Objectives. To describe RDS in neonatal deaths at the CHAMPS-Kenya site between 2017 and 2021. Methods. We included 165 neonatal deaths whose their Causes of death (COD) were determined by a panel of experts using data from post-mortem conducted through minimally invasive tissue specimen testing, clinical records, and verbal autopsy. Results. Twenty-six percent (43/165) of neonatal deaths were attributable to RDS. Most cases occurred in low birthweight and preterm neonates. From these cases, less than half of the hospitalizations were diagnosed with RDS before death, and essential diagnostic tests were not performed in most cases. Most cases received suboptimal levels of supplemental oxygen, and critical interventions like surfactant replacement therapy and mechanical ventilation were not adequately utilized when available. Conclusion. The study highlights the urgent need for improved diagnosis and management of RDS, emphasizing the importance of increasing clinical suspicion and enhancing training in its clinical management to reduce mortality rates.

Keywords: histopathological presentation; low and middle-income countries; neonatal mortality; respiratory distress syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Total number of RDS cases among neonatal deaths enrolled in Kenya CHAMPS.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Post-mortem histopathological findings among neonatal deaths enrolled in Kenya CHAMPS.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Pictorial presentation of the lung: Arrows indicate hyaline membranes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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