Background Non-communicable respiratory diseases and exposure to air pollution are thought to be important contributors to morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan African adults. Methods We did a cross-sectional study among adults in communities participating in a randomised controlled trial of a cleaner-burning biomass-fuelled cookstove intervention (CAPS) in rural Malawi. We assessed chronic respiratory symptoms, spirometric abnormalities, personal exposure to air pollution (fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO)). Weighted prevalence estimates were calculated; multivariable and intention-to-treat analyses were done. Results 1481 participants (mean (SD)) age 43·8 (17·8)) 57% female) were recruited. The prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms, spirometric obstruction and restriction were 13·6% (95% CI:11.9-15.4), 8·7% (95% CI:7·0-10·7) and 34·8% (95% CI:31·7-38·0), respectively. Median 48-hour personal PM2.5 and CO exposures were 71·0 μg/m3 (IQR:44·6-119·2) and 1·23 ppm (IQR:0·79-1·93), respectively. Chronic respiratory symptoms were associated with current/ex-smoking (OR=1·59 (95% CI:1·05-2·39)), previous TB (OR=2·50 (95% CI:1·04-15·58)) and CO exposure (OR=1·46 (95% CI:1·04-2·05)). Exposure to PM2.5 was not associated with any demographic, clinical or spirometric characteristics. There was no effect of the CAPS intervention on any of the secondary trial outcomes. Conclusion The burden of chronic respiratory symptoms, abnormal spirometry and air pollution exposures in adults in rural Malawi is of considerable potential public health importance. We found little evidence that air pollution exposures were associated with chronic respiratory symptoms or spirometric abnormalities and no evidence that the CAPS intervention had effects on the secondary trial outcomes. More effective prevention and control strategies for non-communicable respiratory disease in sub-Saharan Africa are needed.

The aim of this case series is to describe and evaluate our experience of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to treat type 1 respiratory failure in patients with COVID-19. CPAP was delivered in negative pressure rooms in the newly repurposed infectious disease unit. We report a cohort of 24 patients with type 1 respiratory failure and COVID-19 admitted to the Royal Liverpool Hospital between 1 April and 30 April 2020. Overall, our results were positive; we were able to safely administer CPAP outside the walls of a critical care or high dependency unit environment and over half of patients (58%) avoided mechanical ventilation and a total of 19 out of 24 (79%) have survived and been discharged from our care.

RationaleThere are no population-based studies from sub-Saharan Africa describing longitudinal lung function in adults.ObjectivesTo explore the lung function trajectories and their determinants, including the effects of air pollution exposures and the cleaner-burning biomass-fuelled cookstove intervention of the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS), in adults living in rural Malawi.MethodsWe assessed respiratory symptoms and exposures, spirometry and measured 48-hour personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO), on three occasions over 3 years. Longitudinal data were analysed using mixed-effects modelling by maximum likelihood estimation.Measurements and main resultsWe recruited 1481 adults, mean (SD) age 43.8 (17.8) years, including 523 participants from CAPS households (271 intervention; 252 controls), and collected multiple spirometry and air pollution measurements for 654 (44%) and 929 (63%), respectively. Compared with Global Lung Function Initiative African-American reference ranges, mean (SD) FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 s) and FVC (forced vital capacity) z-scores were −0.38 (1.14) and −0.19 (1.09). FEV1 and FVC were determined by age, sex, height, previous TB and body mass index, with FEV1 declining by 30.9 mL/year (95% CI: 21.6 to 40.1) and FVC by 38.3 mL/year (95% CI: 28.5 to 48.1). There was decreased exposure to PM2.5 in those with access to a cookstove but no effect on lung function.ConclusionsWe did not observe accelerated lung function decline in this cohort of Malawian adults, compared with that reported in healthy, non-smoking populations from high-income countries; this suggests that the lung function deficits we measured in adulthood may have origins in early life.