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Abel Hailu,1 Amha Mekasha,1 Daniel Hailu,1 Atalay Mulu Fentie,2 David N Korones,3 Abdulkadir Mohammedsaid Gidey1 1Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 3Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester, New York, NY, USACorrespondence: Abel Hailu, Email abelhailuho21@gmail.comIntroduction: More than 85% of childhood malignancies occur in developing countries with less than a 30% cure rate as opposed to more than 80% cure rate in developed countries. This disproportionately significant difference might be due to delays in diagnosis, treatment initiation, lack of adequate supportive care, and treatment abandonment. We aimed to determine the impact of overall treatment delay on induction mortality of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated at Tikur Anbessa specialized hospital (TASH).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among children who were treated from 2016 to 2019. Children with Down syndrome and relapsed leukemia were excluded from this study.Results: A total of 166 children were included; most patients were males (71.7%). The mean age at diagnosis was 5.9 years. The median time interval from the onset of symptoms to the first TASH visit was 30 days and the median period from TASH’s first clinic visit to diagnosis was 11 days. The median time to initiate chemotherapy after diagnosis was 8 days. The total median time from the first onset of symptoms to chemotherapy initiation was 53.5 days. Induction mortality was 31.3%. High-risk ALL and patients with an overall delay between 30 and 90 days were more likely to experience induction mortality.Discussion: Patient and healthcare system delay is high compared to most studies done and a significant association has been noted with induction mortality. Efforts to expand the pediatric oncology service in the country and efficient diagnosti

Atalay Mulu Fentie,1 Anteneh Belete,2 Muluken Nigatu Selam2 1Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pharmaceutics and Social Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Muluken Nigatu Selam, Department of Pharmaceutics and Social Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tel +251912159807, Email muluken.nigatu@aau.edu.etAbstract: Ethiopia registers 77,352 new cases of cancer and 51,865 deaths every year, and the number is showing an increasing trend year to year. Despite the importance of providing palliative care, the country has a long way to go to match the needs of and provide relief for patients with cancer. The promotion and expansion of palliative care services is challenged by a number of problems, among which lack of access to pain-relieving medicine is one of, if not the main, problems raised by health professionals and by various parties involved in health care. Oral morphine is effective and the preferred pain-relieving medicine with tolerable side effects, especially when given by titrating the dose. However, Ethiopia is facing a shortage of oral morphine in health-care facilities and other places where the product is needed. Unless an immediate solution is sought to address the inaccessibility of this medicine, the problem of palliative care will be pronounced and the suffering of patients will continue.Keywords: palliative care, morphine, cancer, Ethiopia

Eskinder Ayalew Sisay,1 Bethlehem Lemma Mengistu,1 Workeabeba Abebe Taye,2 Atalay Mulu Fentie,1 Abdella Birhan Yabeyu3 1Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 3Department of Pharmacy, Ambo University, Ambo, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Eskinder Ayalew Sisay, Email eskinder.ayalew@aau.edu.etIntroduction: Sepsis is common among neonates, and is often fatal. Hospitalization results in severe nosocomial infections which could be resistant to antibiotics. It also incurs higher fees for medical care.Methods: A retrospective follow-up study, which includes 206 neonates, was conducted to assess the length of hospital stay among neonatal sepsis patients from September 2018 to September 2020 at TASH Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data were collected from medical charts. Mean length of hospital stay was compared using independent sample t-tests. Risk factors for length of stay were identified using binary logistic regression analysis.Results: All neonates stayed a total of 325 days, which gives 75,512 neonate-days. Neonates who stayed more than 7 days had low mean birth weight and higher mean age at admission. Mean length of stay was higher among neonates with comorbid illness, neonates with drug therapy problems and male neonates. Even though the mean length of stay is shorter among neonates with maternal PROM and CS delivery, these maternal factors were found to be insignificant in the multivariate logistic regression.Discussion: Similar to other studies, neonates with low birth weight and comorbidity had a longer hospital stay. Neonates with maternal PROM and CS delivery had a shorter stay. But these maternal factors, identified by prior studies as risk factors for neonatal sepsis and its mortality, are not found to be predictors of prolonged hospitalization. Having neurologic features and drug therapy problems among neonates with

Dessale Abate,1 Munir Awol Aman,2 Beshir Bedru Nasir,1 Girma Tekle Gebremariam,1 Atalay Mulu Fentie1 1Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Adult Oncology Center, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Atalay Mulu Fentie PO Box: 1176 Tel +251923295462Email atalay.mulu@aau.edu.etBackground: Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. It results in considerable mental, physical, and emotional stress for patients. Because of the nature and impact of the disease, and its treatment, measurements of patient satisfaction are important to bring to the attention of health-care providers in order to improve care.Objective: To assess patient satisfaction at the adult oncology center of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia using the EORTC PATSAT-C33 tool.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2019 to May 2019. A consecutive sampling technique was employed to recruit a total of 384 study participants. Informed consent was obtained for each participant and data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Ethical clearance and approval of the study protocol were obtained from the institutional ethics review board of the school of pharmacy. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the data, while multivariate linear regression analysis was employed to explore factors affecting patient satisfaction. P< 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Among a total of 384 study participants, the majority were female (65.9%) and the median age was 49 years. In most (65.9%) participants, the health-care service cost was covered by patients themselves; the majority of them were treated for gynecological malignancy (37.2%) and most received chemotherapy + surgery (37.2%). The

Tamrat Assefa Tadesse, Hanan Muzeyin Kedir, Atalay Mulu Fentie, Alfoalem Araba Abiye Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Tamrat Assefa TadesseDepartment of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box: 9086, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaEmail tamrat.assefa@aau.edu.etPurpose: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the most common preventable cause of hospitalization-associated mortality. In the absence of optimal prophylaxis and depending on the type of surgery and patient-related factors, the risk of developing VTE increases by 10% to 50%. We aimed to assess VTE risk and thromboprophylaxis among surgical patients hospitalized at surgical wards of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH). Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019. Data were collected using a pretested observational checklist which is prepared based on the VTE Caprini risk assessment model. Then, the collected data were checked for completeness and finally entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.Results: Out of 155 admitted patients, almost equal numbers of males (49.68%) and females (50.32%) participated in the study with a mean age of 41.87± 16.84 and an age range of 13 to 89 years. Undergoing major surgery, resting in bed for more than 3 days and having acute infections (including pneumonia) were the most frequently seen VTE risk factors. Most of the study participants (135, 87.10%) were at risk of developing VTE (> 1 Caprini risk score), and 47.11% were in the highest risk category (≥ 5 Caprini score). The maximum and minimum total risk scores were 19 and 1, respectively with a mean score of 4.53± 2.31. Among patients who were at risk of devel