Table 3. Comparison of U5 hypoxaemia prevalence findings with other studies in primary care settings.
| Study population | N | Severe hypoxaemia SpO2<90% | Moderate hypoxaemia SpO2 90–93% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children U5 –all comers | |||
| Uganda HCIII | 1551 | 1.3% (0.9–2.1) | 4.9% (3.9–6.1) |
| Malawi (2020) [35]–Mchinji district | ~3000 | 0.6% | 5.4% |
| Papua New Guinea (2019) [27]—rural | 1663 | 1.4%* | 2.4%* |
| Children U5 –pneumonia / respiratory illness | |||
| Uganda HCIII–“respiratory complaints” | 1151 | 1.6% (1.0–2.5) | 5.8% (4.6–7.3) |
| Uganda HCIII–“pneumonia diagnosis” | 133 | 5.3% (2.5–10.7) | 13.5% (8.7–20.5) |
| Nigeria (2021) [35]–“pneumonia or severe pneumonia”, urban. | 870 | 7.5% | 10.2% |
| Bangladesh (2021) [35]–“pneumonia or severe pneumonia” | 9619 | 1.9% | 7.0% |
| Ethiopia (2020) [11]–“pneumonia or severe pneumonia” | 928 | 14.5% | - |
| Malawi (2016) [14]–“pneumonia”, rural. | 13266 | 4.9% | 8.8% |
| The Gambia (1991) [26]–“pneumonia”, rural. | 1033 | 10.2% | - |
95% confidence intervals only available from this current Uganda HCIII study. Data presented at Child Health Taskforce meeting [35] was confirmed by personal correspondence with Helena Hildenwall (Malawi), Carina King (Nigeria), Eric McCollum (Bangladesh), August/September 2021.
*The 2019 Papua New Guinea study reported SpO2≤90%.