Technical inputs, enhancements and applications of the Lives Saved Tool (LiST)

Assumptions and methods in the Lives Saved Tool (LiST)

Authors: Monica J Fox, Reynaldo Martorell, Nynke van den Broek and Neff Walker

Screening and triage of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in general population and high risk pregnancies: a systematic review with a focus on reduction of IUGR related stillbirths

There is a strong association between stillbirth and fetal growth restriction. Early detection and management of IUGR can lead to reduce related morbidity and mortality. In this paper we have reviewed effectiv...

Authors: Aamer Imdad, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob, Saad Siddiqui and Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Effect of screening and management of diabetes during pregnancy on stillbirths

Diabetes during pregnancy is associated with significant risk of complications to the mother, fetus and newborn. We reviewed the potential impact of early detection and control of diabetes mellitus during preg...

Authors: Madiha Syed, Hasan Javed, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Effectiveness of interventions to screen and manage infections during pregnancy on reducing stillbirths: a review

Infection is a well acknowledged cause of stillbirths and may account for about half of all perinatal deaths today, especially in developing countries. This review presents the impact of interventions targetin...

Authors: Sidra Ishaque, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob, Aamer Imdad, Robert L Goldenberg, Thomas P Eisele and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

The effect of folic acid, protein energy and multiple micronutrient supplements in pregnancy on stillbirths

Pregnancy is a state of increased requirement of macro- and micronutrients, and malnourishment or inadequate dietary intake before and during pregnancy, can lead to adverse perinatal outcomes including stillbi...

Authors: Aamer Imdad, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Elective induction for pregnancies at or beyond 41 weeks of gestation and its impact on stillbirths: a systematic review with meta-analysis

An important determinant of pregnancy outcome is the timely onset of labor and birth. Prolonged gestation complicates 5% to 10% of all pregnancies and confers increased risk to both the fetus and mother. The p...

Authors: Arwa Abbas Hussain, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob, Aamer Imdad and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Impact of interventions to prevent and manage preeclampsia and eclampsia on stillbirths

Pre-eclampsia and Eclampsia are relatively common complications of pregnancy, leading to considerable maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. We sought to review the effect of aspirin, calcium supplementat...

Authors: Mehnaz Jabeen, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob, Aamer Imdad and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

The effect of providing skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care in preventing stillbirths

Of the global burden of 2.6 million stillbirths, around 1.2 million occur during labour i.e. are intrapartum deaths. In low-/middle-income countries, a significant proportion of women give birth at home, usual...

Authors: Mohammad Yawar Yakoob, Mahrukh Ayesha Ali, Mohammad Usman Ali, Aamer Imdad, Joy E Lawn, Nynke Van Den Broek and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Quantifying the fall in mortality associated with interventions related to hypertensive diseases of pregnancy

In this paper we review the evidence of the effect of health interventions on mortality reduction from hypertensive diseases in pregnancy (HDP). We chose HDP because they represent a major cause of death in lo...

Authors: Carine Ronsmans and Oona Campbell

Lives Saved Tool supplement detection and treatment of syphilis in pregnancy to reduce syphilis related stillbirths and neonatal mortality

Globally syphilis is an important yet preventable cause of stillbirth, neonatal mortality and morbidity.

Authors: Hannah Blencowe, Simon Cousens, Mary Kamb, Stuart Berman and Joy E Lawn

Care during labor and birth for the prevention of intrapartum-related neonatal deaths: a systematic review and Delphi estimation of mortality effect

Our objective was to estimate the effect of various childbirth care packages on neonatal mortality due to intrapartum-related events (“birth asphyxia”) in term babies for use in the Lives Saved Tool (LiST).

Authors: Anne CC Lee, Simon Cousens, Gary L Darmstadt, Hannah Blencowe, Robert Pattinson, Neil F Moran, G Justus Hofmeyr, Rachel A Haws, Shereen Zulfiqar Bhutta and Joy E Lawn

Clean birth and postnatal care practices to reduce neonatal deaths from sepsis and tetanus: a systematic review and Delphi estimation of mortality effect

Annually over 520,000 newborns die from neonatal sepsis, and 60,000 more from tetanus. Estimates of the effect of clean birth and postnatal care practices are required for evidence-based program planning.

Authors: Hannah Blencowe, Simon Cousens, Luke C Mullany, Anne CC Lee, Kate Kerber, Steve Wall, Gary L Darmstadt and Joy E Lawn

Neonatal resuscitation and immediate newborn assessment and stimulation for the prevention of neonatal deaths: a systematic review, meta-analysis and Delphi estimation of mortality effect

Of 136 million babies born annually, around 10 million require assistance to breathe. Each year 814,000 neonatal deaths result from intrapartum-related events in term babies (previously “birth asphyxia”) and 1...

Authors: Anne CC Lee, Simon Cousens, Stephen N Wall, Susan Niermeyer, Gary L Darmstadt, Waldemar A Carlo, William J Keenan, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Christopher Gill and Joy E Lawn

Effect of case management on neonatal mortality due to sepsis and pneumonia

Each year almost one million newborns die from infections, mostly in low-income countries. Timely case management would save many lives but the relative mortality effect of varying strategies is unknown. We ha...

Authors: Anita K M Zaidi, Hammad A Ganatra, Sana Syed, Simon Cousens, Anne CC Lee, Robert Black, Zulfiqar A Bhutta and Joy E Lawn

Protective efficacy of malaria case management for preventing malaria mortality in children: a systematic review for the Lives Saved Tool

The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) model was developed to estimate the impact of the scale-up of child survival interventions on child mortality. New advances in antimalarials have improved their efficacy of treating...

Authors: Julie Thwing, Thomas P Eisele and Richard W Steketee

Breastfeeding and the risk for diarrhea morbidity and mortality

Lack of exclusive breastfeeding among infants 0-5 months of age and no breastfeeding among children 6-23 months of age are associated with increased diarrhea morbidity and mortality in developing countries. We...

Authors: Laura M Lamberti, Christa L Fischer Walker, Adi Noiman, Cesar Victora and Robert E Black

Rotavirus vaccine and diarrhea mortality: quantifying regional variation in effect size

Diarrhea mortality remains a leading cause of child death and rotavirus vaccine an effective tool for preventing severe rotavirus diarrhea. New data suggest vaccine efficacy may vary by region.

Authors: Christa L Fischer Walker and Robert E Black

Effect of balanced protein energy supplementation during pregnancy on birth outcomes

The nutritional status of the mother prior to and during pregnancy plays a vital role in fetal growth and development, and maternal undernourishment may lead to adverse perinatal outcomes including intrauterin...

Authors: Aamer Imdad and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Role of calcium supplementation during pregnancy in reducing risk of developing gestational hypertensive disorders: a meta-analysis of studies from developing countries

Hypertension in pregnancy stand alone or with proteinuria is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity in the world. Epidemiological and clinical studies have shown that an inverse relation...

Authors: Aamer Imdad, Afshan Jabeen and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Effect of multiple micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy on maternal and birth outcomes

Given the widespread prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries, supplementation with multiple micronutrients rather than iron-folate alone, could be of potential benefit to the mother an...

Authors: Batool Azra Haider, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Impact of vitamin A supplementation on infant and childhood mortality

Vitamin A is important for the integrity and regeneration of respiratory and gastrointestinal epithelia and is involved in regulating human immune function. It has been shown previously that vitamin A has a pr...

Authors: Aamer Imdad, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob, Christopher Sudfeld, Batool A Haider, Robert E Black and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Effect of routine iron supplementation with or without folic acid on anemia during pregnancy

Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutrient deficiency in the world, particularly during pregnancy. According to the literature, anemia, particularly severe anemia, is associated with increased risk of mate...

Authors: Mohammad Yawar Yakoob and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Effect of preventive zinc supplementation on linear growth in children under 5 years of age in developing countries: a meta-analysis of studies for input to the lives saved tool

Zinc plays an important role in cellular growth, cellular differentiation and metabolism. The results of previous meta-analyses evaluating effect of zinc supplementation on linear growth are inconsistent. We h...

Authors: Aamer Imdad and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Preventive zinc supplementation in developing countries: impact on mortality and morbidity due to diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria

Zinc deficiency is commonly prevalent in children in developing countries and plays a role in decreased immunity and increased risk of infection. Preventive zinc supplementation in healthy children can reduce ...

Authors: Mohammad Yawar Yakoob, Evropi Theodoratou, Afshan Jabeen, Aamer Imdad, Thomas P Eisele, Joy Ferguson, Arnoupe Jhass, Igor Rudan, Harry Campbell, Robert E Black and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Effect of breastfeeding promotion interventions on breastfeeding rates, with special focus on developing countries

Given the recognized benefits of breastfeeding for the health of the mother and infants, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first six months of life. However, ...

Authors: Aamer Imdad, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Impact of maternal education about complementary feeding and provision of complementary foods on child growth in developing countries

Childhood undernutrition is prevalent in low and middle income countries. It is an important indirect cause of child mortality in these countries. According to an estimate, stunting (height for age Z score < -...

Authors: Aamer Imdad, Mohammad Yawar Yakoob and Zulfiqar A Bhutta

An evaluation of emerging vaccines for childhood pneumococcal pneumonia

Pneumonia is the leading cause of child mortality worldwide. Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) or pneumococcus is estimated to cause 821,000 child deaths each year. It has over 90 serotypes, of which 7 to 13 serotype...

Authors: Julia Webster, Evropi Theodoratou, Harish Nair, Ang Choon Seong, Lina Zgaga, Tanvir Huda, Hope L Johnson, Shabir Madhi, Craig Rubens, Jian Shayne F Zhang, Shams El Arifeen, Ryoko Krause, Troy A Jacobs, Abdullah W Brooks, Harry Campbell and Igor Rudan

An evaluation of the emerging vaccines and immunotherapy against staphylococcal pneumonia in children

Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal of human skin and nares. It is also one of the leading nosocomial pathogens in both developed and developing countries and is responsible for a wide range of life threateni...

Authors: Tanvir Huda, Harish Nair, Evropi Theodoratou, Lina Zgaga, Ali Fattom, Shams El Arifeen, Craig Rubens, Harry Campbell and Igor Rudan

An evaluation of oxygen systems for treatment of childhood pneumonia

Oxygen therapy is recommended for all of the 1.5 – 2.7 million young children who consult health services with hypoxemic pneumonia each year, and the many more with other serious conditions. However, oxygen su...

Authors: Alastair G Catto, Lina Zgaga, Evropi Theodoratou, Tanvir Huda, Harish Nair, Shams El Arifeen, Igor Rudan, Trevor Duke and Harry Campbell

An evaluation of emerging vaccines for childhood meningococcal disease

Meningococcal meningitis is a major cause of disease worldwide, with frequent epidemics particularly affecting an area of sub-Saharan Africa known as the “meningitis belt”. Neisseria meningitidis group A (MenA) i...

Authors: Debajeet Choudhuri, Tanvir Huda, Evropi Theodoratou, Harish Nair, Lina Zgaga, Rachel Falconer, Ivana Luksic, Hope L Johnson, Jian Shayne F Zhang, Shams El Arifeen, Christopher B Nelson, Ray Borrow, Harry Campbell and Igor Rudan

An evaluation of the emerging interventions against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)-associated acute lower respiratory infections in children

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in children. It is estimated to cause approximately 33.8 million new episodes of ALRI in children annually, 9...

Authors: Harish Nair, Vasundhara R Verma, Evropi Theodoratou, Lina Zgaga, Tanvir Huda, Eric AF Simões, Peter F Wright, Igor Rudan and Harry Campbell

An evaluation of respiratory administration of measles vaccine for prevention of acute lower respiratory infections in children

Measles was responsible for an estimated 100,000 deaths worldwide in 2008. Despite being a vaccine-preventable disease, measles remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in young children. Although a sa...

Authors: Daisy Higginson, Evropi Theodoratou, Harish Nair, Tanvir Huda, Lina Zgaga, Suresh S Jadhav, Saad B Omer, Igor Rudan and Harry Campbell

Methods used in the Lives Saved Tool (LiST)

Choosing an optimum set of child health interventions for maximum mortality impact is important within resource poor policy environments. The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) is a computer model that estimates the mort...

Authors: William Winfrey, Robert McKinnon and John Stover

Comparison of LiSTmeasles mortality model and WHO/IVB measles model

The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) has been developed to estimate the impact of health interventions and can consider multiple interventions simultaneously. Given its increasing usage by donor organizations and national...

Authors: Wei-Ju Chen

Comparison of Lives Saved Tool model child mortality estimates against measured data from vector control studies in sub-Saharan Africa

Insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) and indoor-residual spraying have been scaled-up across sub-Saharan Africa as part of international efforts to control malaria. These interventions have the potential t...

Authors: David A Larsen, Ingrid K Friberg and Thomas P Eisele

Comparing estimates of child mortality reduction modelled in LiST with pregnancy history survey data for a community-based NGO project in Mozambique

There is a growing body of evidence that integrated packages of community-based interventions, a form of programming often implemented by NGOs, can have substantial child mortality impact. More countries may b...

Authors: Jim Ricca, Debra Prosnitz, Henry Perry, Anbrasi Edward, Melanie Morrow, Pieter Ernst and Leo Ryan