Solar-Powered Oxygen Delivery in Low-Resource Settings: A Randomized Clinical Noninferiority Trial

Abstract

This randomized clinical noninferiority trial compares solar-powered oxygen delivery vs standard oxygen delivery using compressed oxygen cylinders among children younger than 13 years with hypoxemic illness at 2 resource-constrained hospitals in Uganda.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02100865.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Drs Hawkes and Conroy and Ms Namasopo reported being listed as inventors on a provisional patent for Solar Powered Oxygen Delivery, owned by the Governors of the University of Alberta. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure.. Mortality, Time to Hospital Discharge, Rapid Resolution of Hypoxemia, and Time to Wean Off Oxygen Among Trial Participants

A, Mortality and time to hospital discharge among trial participants. Mortality (orange lines) and hospital discharge (blue lines) in the solar-powered oxygen delivery group (solid lines) and cylinder oxygen comparator group (dashed lines) are modeled as competing risks. Differences between treatment arms were not statistically significantly different for mortality or time to hospital discharge. B, Rapid resolution of hypoxemia among trial participants. Immediate improvements in oxygen saturation were observed in both trial arms after administration of oxygen therapy, with no difference between patients receiving solar-powered oxygen (median change, 15% [interquartile range, 12%-21%]) and cylinder oxygen (median change, 15% [interquartile range, 11%-23%]). C, Time to wean off oxygen among trial participants. The median duration of oxygen therapy was similar in patients receiving solar-powered oxygen (2.6 days [interquartile range, 1.6-4.0 days]) and cylinder oxygen (2.1 days [interquartile range, 1.7-4.9 days]). A standardized protocol for stopping oxygen therapy was observed.