Systematic review of the acceptability and side effects of thermal ablation for the treatment of precancerous lesions in low- and middle-income countries. Evelyne Piret, Global Control of HPV-Related Diseases and Cancer Team
The WHO recommends thermal ablation as treatment for cervical precancerous lesions in LMICs; however, there is still debate about how to best implement the treatment in HPV and VIA screening programs. Evelyne is conducting a systematic review on side effects associated with thermal ablation for the treatment of women with precancerous lesions in LMIC to minimize unnecessary harms from overtreatment. This review supports efforts to establish effective prevention programs in low-resource settings.
Baseline iron biomarkers as predictors of a hemoglobin response to 12 weeks of daily supplementation in non-pregnant Cambodian women. Lulu Pei, Karakochuk Research Team
Iron supplementation is recommended for all women in countries with high rates of anemia, yet iron deficiency is not always the cause of anemia. Lulu shared the results of a 12-week study in Cambodia, which demonstrated that concurrently measuring 3 clinical variables (hemoglobin, ferritin, and hepcidin) better predicts of a women's hemoglobin response to iron supplementation compared to measurements of individual variables. These findings may allow for more targeted treatment and efficient resource allocation.
Smartphone video-based respiratory rate tracking for infants. Stephanie Quon, Dumont Research Team
Prompt treatment is critical to preventing newborn deaths from severe illness. Video-based tracking tools can help identify the early warning signs of critical illness, but existing tools are not designed for resource-limited settings. Stephanie developed a video-based respiratory rate tracking algorithm which relies on a low-cost smartphone video. In initial tests, the algorithm performed with high accuracy compared to visual breath counts. This algorithm could potentially be integrated into a smartphone-based app for identifying critically ill newborns.
Review on the implementation of patient tracking systems in healthcare. Parnian Hosseini, Smart Triage Project Team
Real-time location systems (RTLS) can be used to track patients, staff, and inventory in healthcare settings, providing robust, high-quality data to drive quality improvement. Parnian conducted a scoping literature review on RTLS implemented in clinical studies and found that while these systems have apparent benefits, no studies report using RTLS in LMICs. These findings highlight the need for further development of RTLS before widespread use in LMICs, and will inform the design of a pilot study to implement RTLS in hospitals in Kenya and Uganda.
