Study title: Development and evaluation of a clinical decision support tool for serious bacterial infection in neonates in Southern Africa (AI for SBI)

Lead Researcher(s)

Felicity Fitzgerald

Funder(s)

The Wellcome Trust

Partner(s)

Imperial College London, University College London, University of Zimbabwe

Background

Neonatal bacterial infections such as sepsis are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in low-resource settings. Accurate identification of those needing treatment while avoiding unnecessary antibiotics in those who do not is crucial. Features used to identify neonates with risk factors for, or clinical features of serious bacterial infections (SBI) in international guidelines merit re-evaluation, due to a massive shift to facility-based deliveries in low-resource settings and a changing spectrum of pathogens. We plan to reassess methods for identifying neonates with, and at risk of serious bacterial infections in low-resource settings, to derive a patient-centred, contextually appropriate decision-support tool.

Study aim(s)

Develop an improved patient-centred clinical decision support tool to identify serious bacterial infection in neonates in low-resource settings, combining contextual information with optimal weighting of clinical features.

Study design

Mixed Methods (i) Focus group discussions and interviews and ii) Development of a prediction model and decision-support tool using one dataset and evaluation of performance on separate data

Setting: Healthcare facilities using Neotree in Mashonaland, Zimbabwe.

Study subjects: All neonates born at, or brought for care in the first week of life to a facility using Neotree; their families; clinicians caring for neonates at those facilities.

Duration

July 2023- June 2028