Work

A cross-sectional quantitative analysis of production and requirements of medical oxygen during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Medical oxygen supplementation is essential for treating severe illnesses and plays a critical role in managing life-threatening conditions, especially during the period of increased demand, such as the delta wave of COVID-19. The study aims to evaluate oxygen requirements and production to support effective capacity planning for future health crises. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional quantitative study. Data collection was carried out between 15 March and 19 December 2021. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The study used secondary data from Nepal's Health Emergency Operation Centre. Regarding medical oxygen production, calculations included oxygen generated from both hospital-based oxygen plants and private companies, using their highest capacities for comparison. These production capacities were then assessed using three levels of efficiency (100%, 80% and 50%), revealing significant gaps when compared against the oxygen requirements of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, as guided by WHO recommendations. The results were communicated in terms of J-size cylinders, alongside average daily COVID-19 hospitalizations. Data was inputted and analysed using Microsoft Excel and presented in numbers and percentage. RESULTS: The country's oxygen demand relies largely on the production from private enterprises, with meeting approximately 85.2% of the total requirement. Optimal production ensures that national oxygen needs will be met. The analysis highlighted that at 80% operational efficiency, 90.8% of the hospital's requirements could be fulfilled. However, if operational efficiency drops to 50%, the fulfilment rate diminishes to 56.7%. The differences in requirement and production of oxygen are consistent across the provinces; however, a huge disparity was notable in Karnali and Sudurpaschim. CONCLUSION: Continuous assessment of production capacities in both hospital and private enterprises producing oxygen is necessary to plan and address the gaps.

Source: BMJ Open

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-091189