Congratulations Thorkild Tylleskär
The CIH Professor’s recent New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) article was awarded the Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care’s Publication of the Year for 2020. Two of Tylleskär’s PhD Candidates, Nicolas Pejovic and Susanna Myrnerts Höök, shared first author in the article.
Main content
The article, "A Randomized Trial of Laryngeal Mask Airway in Neonatal Resuscitation", was a large randomized phase III clinical trial that compared using a supraglottic device versus standard face-mask ventilation in the resuscitation of newborn infants in a large referral hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Over 1100 newborns were included. Neonates who had breathing difficulties (needed positive pressure ventilation) at birth were divided into two groups. One received the standard face-mask ventilation, the other, ventilation using a laryngeal mask airway (LMA).
Adding to the toolkit
Levels of neonatal mortality have not kept pace with the general reduction in child mortality globally over the last 25 years. Most newborn deaths today occur in resource-limited settings. Pejovic, Höök and Tylleskär, together with their Ugandan colleagues from the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, undertook this trial to test the usability of a potential alternative resuscitation tool, suitable for use in low-resource settings.
The results showed that LMA could safely be used by midwifes but there was no difference in the survival rates between the two treatment groups – both treatments were equally effective. That the NEJM decided to publish the paper anyway attests to the rigour of this clinical trial. LMA was shown to be a valuable addition to the midwifery toolkit, globally.
- Read more about the publication, including a short video explainer.
- Read more about the Clinical Trial (NEOSUPRA)
- Read more about Nicolas Pejovic’s PhD work
- Read more about Susanna Höök’s PhD work
