Newborn Kit to Save Lives in Pakistan

NCT ID: NCT02130856

Last Updated: 2017-04-25

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE3

Total Enrollment

8518 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2014-04-30

Study Completion Date

2017-02-26

Brief Summary

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There are over 3 million annual neonatal deaths. Approximately 2/3 of neonatal deaths are due to infection, low birth weight (LBW), and prematurity. Low tech but high impact interventions and commodities used in unconventional ways could save hundreds of thousands of newborn lives. We propose an integrated evidence-based toolkit usable by community health workers (CHW) to reduce neonatal deaths. The kit will include: Chlorhexidine to be applied to the umbilical stump, sunflower oil emollient to be applied to the skin, ThermoSpot to identify hypo/hyperthermia, and a Mylar infant sleeve with non-electric warmer.

Detailed Description

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Over 3 million global neonatal deaths are reported annually. While significant progress has been made over the past decade towards reducing overall under 5 mortality, very little progress has been made towards the reduction of neonatal deaths, which represent about 40% of all deaths in children under the age of 5. The majority of neonatal deaths occur in rural areas of low-income countries and approximately two thirds are due to infection and complications relating to low birth weight (LBW) and prematurity.

In Pakistan, it is estimated that over 200,000 newborns die each year before they reach the end of their first month of life, representing nearly 58% of all deaths among children under the age of five. The risk of neonatal death in Pakistan is higher in rural areas than in urban areas; the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) in rural areas is 55 per 1,000 live births compared to 48 per 1,000 live births in urban areas. NMR in Pakistan is also associated with poverty; the NMR in highest wealth quintile is 38 compared to 63 per 1000 live births in lowest wealth quintile.

In resource poor settings, newborns are most often delivered at home and receive minimal specific medical care, measurement, or monitoring. In these areas, geography, infrastructure, and poverty often effectively prevent access to health centers and care. Home outreach with trained Community health workers (CHWs) is increasingly recognized as the mainstay for provision of maternal and newborn care in these settings. Many proven, cost-effective ways to save the lives of newborns exist, however, they are not always available to those who need them most nor have they been packaged into a single portable kit that can be easily used in the home-setting. Such a portable kit consisting of low cost, evidence-based interventions for use in the home has tremendous potential to improve health status and decrease NMR.

In this study, the investigators hypothesize that the implementation of an integrated evidence-based toolkit by CHWs will reduce neonatal deaths by at least 40% through a reduction in both infectious causes of death and those associated with prematurity and LBW. Furthermore, the investigators propose that there will be an additive effect from the mortality benefit of specific kit components. The portable kit will contain a clean birth kit to be used at the time of delivery either at home or in a facility, 4% chlorhexidine (CHX) lotion, sunflower oil emollient, ThermoSpot, a Mylar infant sleeve, and a reusable, non-electric, heating device. CHWs will be equipped with a hand held electric scale to identify LBW newborns.

Conditions

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Neonatal Mortality

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Neonatal Kit

The neonatal kit will contain a clean birth kit to be used at the time of delivery either at home or in a facility, 4% chlorhexidine (CHX) lotion, sunflower oil emollient, ThermoSpot, a Mylar infant sleeve, and a reusable, non-electric, heating device. Lady Health Workers will be equipped with a hand held electric scale to identify low birth weight newborns.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Neonatal kit

Intervention Type DEVICE

Contents of the neonatal kit:

1. Clean birth kit: sterile blade, a clean plastic square, plastic gloves, hand soap, and cord ties/clamp.
2. 4% Chlorhexidine (CHX) lotion (15 mL) and a bag of cotton balls.
3. Sunflower oil emollient (50 mL)
4. ThermoSpot
5. Mylar infant sleeve
6. Click to heat warmer (http://www.heatinaclick.ca/products/pocket\_size.html) in a fitted cloth pouch.
7. Handheld electric scale with suspended cloth sling. The scale will not be included with the kit but rather one will be issued to each Lady Health Worker.

Control (Standard care)

In the control arm, Lady Health Workers will visit the home according to the regular schedule (same as in the intervention clusters) and will deliver the standard post-natal care consisting of:

1. be present at delivery (though not conduct the delivery) and thorough examination of newborn and mother post delivery
2. check mother for vaginal bleeding and abnormal blood pressure and make referral to nearest health facility as appropriate
3. refer any newborn with congenital anomaly or evidence of asphyxia
4. if unable to attend delivery for any reason, visit within first 24 hours post delivery
5. assess newborn in first month of life during visits and provide basic treatment for acute respiratory infections, pneumonia, and diarrhea in the home
6. encourage breastfeeding

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Neonatal kit

Contents of the neonatal kit:

1. Clean birth kit: sterile blade, a clean plastic square, plastic gloves, hand soap, and cord ties/clamp.
2. 4% Chlorhexidine (CHX) lotion (15 mL) and a bag of cotton balls.
3. Sunflower oil emollient (50 mL)
4. ThermoSpot
5. Mylar infant sleeve
6. Click to heat warmer (http://www.heatinaclick.ca/products/pocket\_size.html) in a fitted cloth pouch.
7. Handheld electric scale with suspended cloth sling. The scale will not be included with the kit but rather one will be issued to each Lady Health Worker.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* All pregnant women in parts of study clusters covered by Lady Health Worker program and their home- or facility-born live newborns
* Mother intending to maintain residence in study area for first month of newborn's life

Exclusion Criteria

* Failure to provide consent to enroll in study (intervention or control clusters)
Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Grand Challenges Canada

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

UBS Optimus Foundation

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Mother and Child Care Trust (MCCT), Pakistan

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Aga Khan University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

March of Dimes

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

The Hospital for Sick Children

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Shaun Morris

Associate Staff Physician

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Shaun K. Morris, MD, MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, PhD, MBBS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Aga Khan University

Locations

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Aga Khan University

Karachi, , Pakistan

Site Status

Countries

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Pakistan

References

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Liu L, Johnson HL, Cousens S, Perin J, Scott S, Lawn JE, Rudan I, Campbell H, Cibulskis R, Li M, Mathers C, Black RE; Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group of WHO and UNICEF. Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality: an updated systematic analysis for 2010 with time trends since 2000. Lancet. 2012 Jun 9;379(9832):2151-61. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60560-1. Epub 2012 May 11.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22579125 (View on PubMed)

Khan A, Kinney MV, Hazir T, Hafeez A, Wall SN, Ali N, Lawn JE, Badar A, Khan AA, Uzma Q, Bhutta ZA; Pakistan Newborn Change and Future Analysis Group. Newborn survival in Pakistan: a decade of change and future implications. Health Policy Plan. 2012 Jul;27 Suppl 3:iii72-87. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czs047.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22692418 (View on PubMed)

Bhutta ZA, Rehman S. Perinatal care in Pakistan: a situational analysis. J Perinatol. 1997 Jan-Feb;17(1):54-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9069067 (View on PubMed)

Mullany LC, Darmstadt GL, Khatry SK, Katz J, LeClerq SC, Shrestha S, Adhikari R, Tielsch JM. Topical applications of chlorhexidine to the umbilical cord for prevention of omphalitis and neonatal mortality in southern Nepal: a community-based, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet. 2006 Mar 18;367(9514):910-8. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68381-5.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16546539 (View on PubMed)

Soofi S, Cousens S, Imdad A, Bhutto N, Ali N, Bhutta ZA. Topical application of chlorhexidine to neonatal umbilical cords for prevention of omphalitis and neonatal mortality in a rural district of Pakistan: a community-based, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet. 2012 Mar 17;379(9820):1029-36. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61877-1. Epub 2012 Feb 8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22322126 (View on PubMed)

Arifeen SE, Mullany LC, Shah R, Mannan I, Rahman SM, Talukder MR, Begum N, Al-Kabir A, Darmstadt GL, Santosham M, Black RE, Baqui AH. The effect of cord cleansing with chlorhexidine on neonatal mortality in rural Bangladesh: a community-based, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet. 2012 Mar 17;379(9820):1022-8. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61848-5. Epub 2012 Feb 8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22322124 (View on PubMed)

Darmstadt GL, Saha SK, Ahmed AS, Ahmed S, Chowdhury MA, Law PA, Rosenberg RE, Black RE, Santosham M. Effect of skin barrier therapy on neonatal mortality rates in preterm infants in Bangladesh: a randomized, controlled, clinical trial. Pediatrics. 2008 Mar;121(3):522-9. doi: 10.1542/peds.2007-0213.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18310201 (View on PubMed)

Green DA, Kumar A, Khanna R. Neonatal hypothermia detection by ThermoSpot in Indian urban slum dwellings. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2006 Mar;91(2):F96-8. doi: 10.1136/adc.2005.078410. Epub 2005 Sep 13.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16159955 (View on PubMed)

Krautheim AB, Jermann TH, Bircher AJ. Chlorhexidine anaphylaxis: case report and review of the literature. Contact Dermatitis. 2004 Mar;50(3):113-6. doi: 10.1111/j.0105-1873.2004.00308.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15153122 (View on PubMed)

Rosenberg A, Alatary SD, Peterson AF. Safety and efficacy of the antiseptic chlorhexidine gluconate. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1976 Nov;143(5):789-92.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 982260 (View on PubMed)

Garland JS, Alex CP, Mueller CD, Otten D, Shivpuri C, Harris MC, Naples M, Pellegrini J, Buck RK, McAuliffe TL, Goldmann DA, Maki DG. A randomized trial comparing povidone-iodine to a chlorhexidine gluconate-impregnated dressing for prevention of central venous catheter infections in neonates. Pediatrics. 2001 Jun;107(6):1431-6. doi: 10.1542/peds.107.6.1431.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11389271 (View on PubMed)

Darmstadt GL, Mao-Qiang M, Chi E, Saha SK, Ziboh VA, Black RE, Santosham M, Elias PM. Impact of topical oils on the skin barrier: possible implications for neonatal health in developing countries. Acta Paediatr. 2002;91(5):546-54. doi: 10.1080/080352502753711678.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12113324 (View on PubMed)

Darmstadt GL, Saha SK, Ahmed AS, Chowdhury MA, Law PA, Ahmed S, Alam MA, Black RE, Santosham M. Effect of topical treatment with skin barrier-enhancing emollients on nosocomial infections in preterm infants in Bangladesh: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2005 Mar 19-25;365(9464):1039-45. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71140-5.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15781099 (View on PubMed)

Lawn JE, Kinney MV, Black RE, Pitt C, Cousens S, Kerber K, Corbett E, Moran AC, Morrissey CS, Oestergaard MZ. Newborn survival: a multi-country analysis of a decade of change. Health Policy Plan. 2012 Jul;27 Suppl 3:iii6-28. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czs053.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22692417 (View on PubMed)

Duby J, Pell LG, Ariff S, Khan A, Bhutta A, Farrar DS, Bassani DG, Hussain M, Bhutta ZA, Soofi S, Morris SK. Effect of an integrated neonatal care kit on cause-specific neonatal mortality in rural Pakistan. Glob Health Action. 2020 Dec 31;13(1):1802952. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2020.1802952.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 32838701 (View on PubMed)

Turab A, Pell LG, Bassani DG, Soofi S, Ariff S, Bhutta ZA, Morris SK. The community-based delivery of an innovative neonatal kit to save newborn lives in rural Pakistan: design of a cluster randomized trial. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2014 Sep 8;14:315. doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-14-315.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 25201572 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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1000042963

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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