About me
I have been a registered PhD student in Global Pediatric Health since January 2020 and part of a research group focusing on neonatal resuscitation in low- and middle-income countries. The projects that I am involved in are mainly based in Hanoi, Vietnam. I did my pediatric clinical training at Karolinska University Hospital. Since November 2022 I practice as a pediatrician at SUS, Skånes University Hospital.
Research description
Of the 136 million babies born in the world annually, 5-8 million are estimated to need resuscitation at birth. Globally, birth asphyxia is responsible for close to 1 million deaths per year, of which almost all (98%) take place in low and middle-income countries. An even greater number suffer from moderate to severe multi-organ injuries. The main objective of neonatal resuscitation is to maintain a patent airway and provide effective positive-pressure ventilation, which is usually achieved by using a face-mask. However, neonatal resuscitation with face-mask ventilation requires adequate operator skills. To maintain adequate operator skills around the clock most obstetric and pediatric departments in high-resource settings require annual retraining sessions for all staff members involved. For a long time, the only alternative, if face-mask ventilation fails, has been to intubate with an endotracheal tube, requiring advanced operator skills and also the use of a laryngoscope. Endotracheal intubations are performed in the neonate only by skilled anesthesiologists or neonatologists.
The laryngeal mask airway was invented in the 1980s. It is inserted into the upper respiratory tract with the purpose of more easily and quickly ensuring a free airway. We want to answer the question of whether a laryngeal mask airway should replace intubation as the first choice when face mask ventilation is insufficient.
Education
2022 Pediatric Specialist, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden.
2016 MD Medical degree, University College Dublin, Ireland.
2012 BSc Biomedical Science, University of Ireland, Galway.