Matthew O Wiens

• PharmD, PhD
• University of British Columbia

Objectives: Acute infectious diseases are the most common cause of under-5 mortality. However, the hospital burden of nonneonatal pediatric sepsis has not previously been described in the resource poor setting. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of sepsis among children 6 months to 5 years old admitted with proven or suspe...

Background: Pediatric hospital mortality from infectious diseases in resource constrained countries remains unacceptably high. Improved methods of risk-stratification can assist in referral decision making and resource allocation. The purpose of this study was to create prediction models for in-hospital mortality among children admitted with suspe...

Background: Postdischarge death in children is increasingly being recognized as a major contributor to overall child mortality. The PAediatric Risk Assessment (PARA) app is an mHealth tool developed to aid health care workers in resource-limited settings such as Sub-Saharan Africa to identify pediatric patients at high risk of both in-hospital and...

Objectives To derive a model of paediatric postdischarge mortality following acute infectious illness. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting 2 hospitals in South-western Uganda. Participants 1307 children of 6 months to 5 years of age were admitted with a proven or suspected infection. 1242 children were discharged alive and followed up 6 months...

Mortality following hospital discharge is an important and under-recognized contributor to overall child mortality in developing countries. The primary objective of this systematic review was to identify all studies reporting post-discharge mortality in children, estimate likelihood of death, and determine the most important risk factors for death....

Infectious diseases in neonates account for half of the under-five mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Data-driven algorithms such as clinical prediction models can be used to efficiently detect critically ill children in order to optimize care and reduce mortality. Thus far, only a handful of prediction models have been externally valid...

The aim of this “Technical Note” is to inform the pediatric critical care data research community about the “2024 Pediatric Sepsis Data Challenge.” This competition aims to facilitate the development of open-source algorithms to predict in-hospital mortality in Ugandan children with sepsis. The challenge is to first develop an algorithm using a syn...

In 2019, 80% of the 7.4 million global child deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Global and regional estimates of cause of hospital death and admission in LMIC children are needed to guide global and local priority setting and resource allocation but are currently lacking. The study objective was to estimate global and regi...

In many low-income countries, over five percent of hospitalized children die following hospital discharge. The lack of available tools to identify those at risk of post-discharge mortality has limited the ability to make progress towards improving outcomes. We aimed to develop algorithms designed to predict post-discharge mortality among children a...

Background Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children globally. In low- and middle-income countries the diagnosis of pneumonia relies heavily on an accurate assessment of respiratory rate, which can be unreliable in nurses and clinicians with less advanced training. In order to inform more accurate measurements, we investigate the repeatab...

Aim Family Integrated Care (FICare) was developed in high‐income countries and has not been tested in resource‐poor settings. We aimed to identify the facilitators and constraints that informed the adaptation of FICare to a neonatal hospital unit in Uganda. Methods Maternal focus groups and healthcare provider interviews were conducted at Uganda's...

PLOS DH (298/300 word limit) Sepsis occurs predominantly in low-middle-income countries. Sub-optimal triage contributes to poor early case recognition and outcomes from sepsis. We evaluated the impact of Smart Triage using improved time to intravenous antimicrobial administration in a multisite interventional study. Smart Triage was implemented (wi...

Background Palivizumab is recommended for prevention of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease in immunocompromised children, despite a lack of strong supporting evidence. The recent approval of substitute RSV-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against RSV, offers an opportunity to synthesize the most current evidence supporting the paliv...

Importance Sepsis is a leading cause of death among children worldwide. Current pediatric-specific criteria for sepsis were published in 2005 based on expert opinion. In 2016, the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3) defined sepsis as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host respon...

Importance The Society of Critical Care Medicine Pediatric Sepsis Definition Task Force sought to develop and validate new clinical criteria for pediatric sepsis and septic shock using measures of organ dysfunction through a data-driven approach. Objective To derive and validate novel criteria for pediatric sepsis and septic shock across different...

Background Under-five mortality remains concentrated in resource-poor countries. Post-discharge mortality is becoming increasingly recognized as a significant contributor to overall child mortality. With a substantial recent expansion of research and novel data synthesis methods, this study aims to update the current evidence base by providing a mo...

Introduction In low-income country settings, the first six weeks after birth remain a critical period of vulnerability for both mother and newborn. Despite recommendations for routine follow-up after delivery and facility discharge, few mothers and newborns receive guideline recommended care during this period. Prediction modelling of post-delivery...

Bacterial sepsis is generally a major concern in ill infants. To help triaging decisions by front-line health workers in these situations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed danger signs (DS). The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent to which nine DS predict bacterial sepsis in young infants presenting with suspected se...

Objective New paediatric sepsis criteria are being developed by an international task force. However, it remains unknown what type of clinical decision support (CDS) tools will be most useful for dissemination of those criteria in resource-poor settings. We sought to design effective CDS tools by identifying the paediatric sepsis-related decisional...

The World Health Organization (WHO) Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines recognize the importance of discharge planning to ensure continuation of care at home and appropriate follow-up. However, insufficient attention has been paid to post discharge planning in many hospitals contributing to poor implementation. To understan...

Background: In low- and middle-income countries, health workers use pulse oximeters for intermittent spot measurements of oxygen saturation (SpO2). However, the accuracy and reliability of pulse oximeters for spot measurements have not been determined. We evaluated the repeatability of spot measurements and the ideal observation time to guide reco...

Sepsis arises when the body’s response to infection results in organ dysfunction. Among children hospitalized with suspected sepsis in low-income country settings, mortality rates following discharge are similar to mortality rates in hospital. The Smart Discharges Program uses a mobile health (mHealth) platform to identify children at high risk of...

Age is an important risk factor among critically ill children with neonates being the most vulnerable. Clinical prediction models need to account for age differences and must be externally validated and updated, if necessary, to enhance reliability, reproducibility, and generalizability. We externally validated the Smart Triage model using a combin...

Background: In many low-income countries, more than five percent of hospitalized children die following hospital discharge. The identification of those at risk has limited progress to improve outcomes. We aimed to develop algorithms to predict post-discharge mortality among children admitted with suspected sepsis. Methods: Four prospective cohort s...

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed danger signs (DS) to help front-line health workers triage interventions in children with severe illnesses. Our objective was to evaluate the extent to which DS predict bacterial sepsis in young infants presenting with acute illness. Methodology/Principal Findings: This prospective study...

Background: Family Integrated Care (FICare) is a model of care developed in a Canadian Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that engages parents to be active participants in their infant’s care team. FICare has the potential to have the greatest impact in low-income countries, where the neonatal mortality rate is disproportionately high and the health work...

Background: Substantial mortality occurs after hospital discharge in children younger than 5 years with suspected sepsis, especially in low-income countries. A better understanding of its epidemiology is needed for effective interventions to reduce child mortality in these countries. We evaluated risk factors for death after discharge in children...

Background In low- and middle-income countries, approximately two thirds of maternal deaths occur in the postpartum period. Yet, care for women beyond 24 h after discharge is limited. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize current evidence on socio-demographic and clinical risk factors for (1) postpartum mortality and (2) postpartu...

Background: Expanding electrification and access to other clean and affordable energy, such as solar energy, is a critical component of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where 70% of people are energy insecure. Intervention trials related to access or less polluting household energy alternatives have typically f...

Background More than 50 countries, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, are not on course to meet the neonatal and under-five mortality target set by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030. One important, yet neglected, aspect of child mortality rates is deaths occurring during the post-discharge period. For children liv...

Background: Substantial mortality occurs after hospital discharge in children under 5 years old with suspected sepsis. A better understanding of its epidemiology is needed for effective interventions aimed at reducing child mortality in resource limited settings. Methods: In this prospective observational cohort study, we recruited 0 to 60 month ol...

Background: In low- and middle-income countries, health workers use pulse oximeters for intermittent spot measurements of SpO2. However, the accuracy and reliability when used for spot measurements has not been determined. We evaluated the repeatability of spot measurements, and the ideal observation time of measurement to guide recommendations dur...

Objective To determine the feasibility of adapting Family Integrated Care to a neonatal hospital unit in a low-income country. Design Single-centre, pre/post-pilot study of an adapted Family Integrated Care programme in Uganda (UFICare). Setting Special Care Nursery at a Ugandan hospital. Patients Singleton, inborn neonates with birth weight ≥2...

Introduction Early and accurate recognition of children at risk of progressing to critical illness could contribute to improved patient outcomes and resource allocation. In resource limited settings digital triage tools can support decision making and improve healthcare delivery. We developed a model for rapid identification of critically ill child...

IntroductionTo determine the effect of parental participation in hospital care on neonatal and parental outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to identify the range of parental duties in the care of hospitalized neonates in LMICs.Methods We searched CINAHL, CENTRAL, LILACs, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science from inception to Febr...

Data sharing has enormous potential to accelerate and improve the accuracy of research, strengthen collaborations, and restore trust in the clinical research enterprise. Nevertheless, there remains reluctancy to openly share raw data sets, in part due to concerns regarding research participant confidentiality and privacy. Statistical data de-identi...

Data sharing has enormous potential to accelerate and improve the accuracy of research, strengthen collaborations, and restore trust in the clinical research enterprise. Nevertheless, there remains reluctancy to openly share raw datasets, in part due to concerns regarding research participant confidentiality and privacy. Statistical data de-identif...

Background The majority of childhood deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Many of these deaths are avoidable with basic critical care interventions. Quantifying the burden of pediatric critical illness in LMICs is essential for targeting interventions to reduce childhood mortality. Objective To determine the burden of hospital...

Background: The majority of childhood deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Many of these deaths are avoidable with basic critical care interventions. Quantifying the burden of pediatric critical illness in LMICs is essential for targeting interventions to reduce childhood mortality. Objective: To determine the burden of hospit...

Background The burden of pediatric critical illness and resource utilization by children with critical illness in resource limited settings (RLS) are largely unknown. Without specific data that captures key aspects of critical illness, disease presentation, and resource utilization for pediatric populations in RLS, development of a contextual frame...

Energy poverty is prevalent in resource-limited settings, leading households to use inefficient fuels and appliances that contribute to household air pollution. Randomized controlled trials of household energy interventions in low and middle income countries have largely focused on cooking services. Less is known about the adoption and impact of cl...

Background Sepsis disproportionately affects children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families in low-resource settings, where care seeking may consume scarce family resources and lead to financial hardships. Those financial hardships may, in turn, contribute to late presentation or failure to seek care and result in high mortality during hosp...

Objective: To determine the associations of demographic, clinical, laboratory, organ dysfunction, and illness severity variable values with: 1) sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock in children with infection and 2) multiple organ dysfunction or death in children with sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock. Data sources: MEDLINE, Embase, and th...

Objective: The objective of this narrative review is to outline the current epidemiology and interventional research within the context of sepsis recovery, and to provide a summary of key priorities for future work in this area. Background: Morbidity and mortality secondary to sepsis disproportionately affects children, especially those in low-...

In low-income and middle-income countries, most patients with febrile illnesses present to peripheral levels of the health system where diagnostic capacity is very limited. In these contexts, accurate risk stratification can be particularly impactful, helping to guide allocation of scarce resources to ensure timely and tailored care. However, repor...

Background Standardized collection of predictors of pediatric sepsis has enormous potential to increase data compatibility across research studies. The Pediatric Sepsis Predictor Standardization Working Group collaborated to define common data elements for pediatric sepsis predictors at the point of triage to serve as a standardized framework for d...

Background: Many hospitalized children in developing countries die from infectious diseases. Early recognition of those who are critically ill coupled with timely treatment can prevent many deaths. A data-driven, electronic triage system to assist frontline health workers in categorizing illness severity is lacking. This study aimed to develop a da...

Background: Many hospitalized children in developing countries die from infectious diseases. Early recognition of those who are critically ill coupled with timely treatment can prevent many deaths. A data-driven, electronic triage system to assist frontline health workers in categorizing illness severity is lacking. This study aimed to develop a da...

Conducting collaborative and comprehensive epidemiological research on neonatal sepsis in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is challenging due to a lack of diagnostic tests. This prospective study protocol aims to obtain epidemiological data on bacterial sepsis in newborns and young infants at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. The...

Background Sepsis is the leading cause of death in children under five in low- and middle-income countries. The rapid identification of the sickest children and timely antibiotic administration may improve outcomes. We developed and implemented a digital triage platform to rapidly identify critically ill children to facilitate timely intravenous an...

Conducting collaborative and comprehensive epidemiological research on neonatal sepsis in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is challenging due to a lack of diagnostic tests. This prospective study protocol aims to obtain epidemiological data on bacterial sepsis in newborns and young infants at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. The...

Objectives: Sepsis is responsible for a substantial proportion of global childhood morbidity and mortality. However, evidence demonstrates major inaccuracies in the use of the term "sepsis" in clinical practice, coding, and research. Current and previous definitions of sepsis have been developed using expert consensus but the specific criteria use...

Background: Sepsis is the leading cause of death and disability in children. Every hour of delay in treatment is associated with an escalating risk of morbidity and mortality. The burden of sepsis is greatest in low- and middle-income countries where timely treatment may not occur due to delays in diagnosis and prioritization of critically ill chi...

Introduction The burden of childhood mortality continues to be born largely by low-income and middle-income countries. The critical postdischarge period has been largely neglected despite evidence that mortality rates during this period can exceed inpatient mortality rates. However, there is a paucity of data on the paediatric discharge process fro...

Background: Many hospitalized children in developing countries die from infectious diseases. Early recognition of those who are critically ill coupled with timely treatment can prevent many deaths. A data-driven, electronic triage system to assist frontline health workers in categorizing illness severity is lacking. This study aimed to develop a da...

The relationship between peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) and the inspired oxygen concentration is non-linear. SpO2 is frequently used as a dichotomized predictor, to manage this non-linearity. We propose the saturation virtual shunt (VS) as a transformation of SpO2 to a continuous linear variable to improve interpretation of disease severity wi...

Background Africa has the highest rates of child mortality. Little is known about outcomes after hospitalization for children with very severe anemia. Objective To determine one year mortality and predictors of mortality in Tanzanian children hospitalized with very severe anemia. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study enrolling children...

Background: Africa has the highest rates of child mortality. Little is known about outcomes after hospitalization for children with very severe anemia. Objective: To determine one year mortality and predictors of mortality in Tanzanian children hospitalized with very severe anemia. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study enrolling children...

Background In much of sub-Saharan Africa, health facilities serve as the primary source of routine vital statistics. These passive surveillance systems, however, are plagued by infrequent and unreliable reporting and do not capture events that occur outside of the formal health sector. Verbal autopsies (VA) have been utilized to estimate the burden...

Sepsis is a life-threatening dysfunction of the immune system leading to multiorgan failure that is precipitated by infectious diseases and is a leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age. It is necessary to be able to identify a sick child at risk of developing sepsis at the earliest point of presentation to a healthcare facility so t...

Data dictionary for variables evaluated in Round 1. (DOCX)

Master list of all potential variables from literature review. (XLSX)