Development and validation of a novel clinical risk score to predict hypoxaemia in children with pneumonia using the WHO PREPARE dataset

Development and validation of a novel clinical risk score to predict hypoxaemia in children with pneumonia using the WHO PREPARE dataset

Background Hypoxaemia predicts mortality at all levels of care, and appropriate management can reduce preventable deaths. However, pulse oximetry and oxygen therapy remain inaccessible in many primary care health facilities. We aimed to develop and validate a simple risk score comprising commonly ev...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shamim Qazi, Arjun Chandna, Norman Lufesi, Philippe Vanhems, Tim Colbourn, Charles Mwansambo, Eric D McCollum, Mathuram Santosham, Shally Awasthi, Archana Patel, Joseph L Mathew, Tor A Strand, Carina King, Rakesh Lodha, Shubhada Hooli, Mark I Neuman, Vanessa Rouzier, Ashish Bavdekar, Nitya Wadhwa, Donald M Thea, Rainer Tan, Emmanuel Addo-Yobo, Chris A Rees, Shinjini Bhatnagar, Shabir A Madhi, Kerry-Ann F O’Grady, Sudha Basnet, Patricia Hibberd, Valentina S Picot, Pagbajabyn Nymadawa, Marilla Lucero, Glaucia Paranhos-Baccalà, Juan M Lozano, Yasir Bin Nisar, Prakash M Jeena, Marta Nunes, Noel Chisaka, Ngoc Tuong Vy Nguyen, Monidarin Chou, Mala Rakoto-Andrianarivelo, Graciela Russomando, Mariam Sylla, Jianwei Wang, Satinder Aneja, Alexey W Clara, Fenella Beynon, Romina Libster, Jean William Pape, Clare L Cutland, Brad Gessner, William B MaLeod, Syed Mohammad Akram uz Zaman, Gillian Levine
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2025-07-01
Series:BMJ Global Health
Online Access:https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/7/e017256.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Hypoxaemia predicts mortality at all levels of care, and appropriate management can reduce preventable deaths. However, pulse oximetry and oxygen therapy remain inaccessible in many primary care health facilities. We aimed to develop and validate a simple risk score comprising commonly evaluated clinical features to predict hypoxaemia in 2–59-month-old children with pneumonia.Methods Data from seven studies conducted in five countries from the Pneumonia Research Partnership to Assess WHO Recommendations (PREPARE) dataset were included. Readily available clinical features and demographic variables were used to develop a multivariable logistic regression model to predict hypoxemia (oxygen saturation <90%) at presentation to care. The adjusted log coefficients were transformed to derive the PREPARE hypoxemia risk score and its diagnostic value was assessed in a held-out, temporal validation dataset. The model and risk score were analysed by evaluating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity.Results We included 14 509 children in the analysis; 9.8% (n=2515) were hypoxemic at presentation. The multivariable regression model to predict hypoxemia included age, sex, respiratory distress (nasal flaring, grunting and/or head nodding), lower chest indrawing, respiratory rate, body temperature and weight-for-age z-score. The model showed fair discrimination (AUC 0.70, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.73) and calibration in the validation dataset. The simplified PREPARE hypoxaemia risk score includes five variables: age, respiratory distress, lower chest indrawing, respiratory rate and weight-for-age z-score.Conclusion The PREPARE hypoxemia risk score, comprising five easily available characteristics, has the potential to be used to identify hypoxemia in children with pneumonia with a fair degree of certainty for use in health facilities without pulse oximetry. Its implementation would require careful consideration to limit the burden of inappropriate referrals on patients and the health system. Further external validation in community settings in low- and middle-income countries is required.
ISSN:2059-7908

Similar Items