Abstract
In recent decades anesthesia safety has not been improved in low-income countries. This prospective audit describes the incidence of hypoxia and related events detected among a cohort of patients undergoing surgery in the maternity unit at Sylvanus Olympio University Teaching Hospital, Togo, West Africa, by using pulse oximeters donated by the Lifebox Foundation. The Lifebox oximeter enables early detection of hypoxia for patients undergoing surgery before irreversible damage occurs. Pulse oximetry is cost-effective intervention and should be more accessible in all operating rooms of this type.
References
Bainbridge D, Martin J, Arango M, Cheng D, Evidence-based Peri-operative Clinical Outcomes Research (EPiCOR) Group. Perioperative and anaesthetic-related mortality in developed and developing countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2012;380:1075–81.
WHO. 68th World Health Assembly. World Health Assembly reaches agreement on polio, international health regulations and strengthening surgical care. News release 22 May 2015. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/wha-22-may-2015/en/. Accessed 6 June 2015.
World Bank. Togo http://data.worldbank.org/country/togo. Accessed 6 June 2015.
Tomta K, Ouro-Bang’na Maman AF, Ahouangbévi S, Chobli M. Death associated with anaesthesia in Togo, West Africa. Trop Dr. 2005;35:220–2.
Sama HD, Ouro Bang'na Maman AF, Hemou P, Tomta K, Lokossou T, Chobli M. Safety anesthesia in sub-Saharan Africa: Togo’ experience. Ann Fr Anesth Reanim. 2013; 32:818–9.
Merry AF, Cooper JB, Soyannwo O, Wilson IH, Eichorn JH. International standards for a safe practice of anesthesia 2010. Can J Anaesth. 2010;57:1027–34.
Dubowitz G, Breyer K, Lipnick M, Sall JW, Feiner J, Ikeda K, MacLeod DB, Bickler PE. Accuracy of the Lifebox pulse oximeter during hypoxia in healthy volunteers. Anaesthesia. 2013;68:1220–3.
Ehrenfeld JM, Funk LM, van Schalkwyk J, Merry AF, Sandberg WS, Gawande A. The incidence of hypoxemia during surgery: evidence from two institutions. Can J Anaesth. 2010;57:888–97.
Pedersen T, Nicholson A, Hovhannisyan K, Moller AM, Smith AF, Lewis SR. Pulse oximetry for perioperative monitoring. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;3:CD002013.
Burn SL, Chilton PJ, Gawande A, Lilford RJ. Perioperative pulse oximetry in low-income countries: a cost effective analysis. Bull World Health Organ. 2014;92:858–67.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude to Remy Turc, Project Officer Lifebox Foundation, London United Kingdom for supporting safety of anaesthesia in Togo and to AuthorAID mentor Stephen Gilliver, PhD Science Editor, Center for Primary Health Care Research, Malmö, Sweden for English medical editing of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No external funding. Isabeau Walker is a trustee of Lifebox.
About this article
Cite this article
Sama, H.D., Maman, A.F.O.B. & Walker, I.A. Incidence of hypoxia and related events detected by pulse oximeters provided by the Lifebox Foundation in the maternity unit at Sylvanus Olympio University Teaching Hospital, Togo. J Anesth 29, 971–973 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-015-2048-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-015-2048-2