title: Evaluation of a large-scale donation of Lifebox pulse oximeters to non-physician anaesthetists in Uganda.
abstract: Pulse oximetry is widely accepted as essential monitoring for safe anaesthesia, yet is frequently unavailable in resource-limited settings. The Lifebox pulse oximeter, and associated management training programme, was delivered to 79 non-physician anaesthetists attending the 2011 Uganda Society of Anaesthesia Annual Conference. Using a standardised assessment, recipients were tested for their knowledge of oximetry use and hypoxia management before, immediately following and 3-5 months after the training. Before the course, the median (IQR [range]) test score for the anaesthetists was 36 (34-39 [26-44]) out of a maximum of 50 points. Immediately following the course, the test score increased to 41 (38-43 [25-47]); p < 0.0001 and at the follow-up visit at 3-5 months it was 41 (39-44 [33-49]); p = 0.001 compared with immediate post-training test scores, and 75/79 (95%) oximeters were in routine clinical use. This method of introduction resulted in a high rate of uptake of oximeters into clinical practice and a demonstrable retention of knowledge in a resource-limited setting.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Finch
authors.forename: R Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ttendo
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kiwanuka
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Weiser
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gawande
mesh_terms: D000776:Anesthesiology; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D010092:Oximetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014454:Uganda
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