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Background. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonizes the rectovaginal area of women and vertically transmitted to neonates. This bacterium has been linked to severe neonatal complications including pneumonia, septicemia, and meningitis. GBS shows an increased resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Thus, we assessed the vertical transmission, contributing factors, and antimicrobial resistance patterns of GBS among newborns delivered at selected Hospitals in Jigjiga City. Methods. Hospital‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted from 1st June 2022 to 30th April 2023. A total of 849 pregnant women admitted to delivery wards from two hospitals were screened for GBS colonization. Subsequently, 162 GBS‐colonized pregnant women and their newborn babies were included. A semistructured questionnaire and a review of medical records were used to collect the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants. Trained nurses collected swab samples from the vaginal‐rectal area of pregnant women and the nasal, ear canal, and umbilical areas of newborn babies. Samples were inoculated on Todd Hewitt broth media supplemented with gentamycin and nalidixic acid and then subcultured on blood agar. Colony characteristics, Gram stain, and catalase test were used for identification. All gram‐positive cocci, B‐hemolytic, and catalase‐negative isolates were further identified using Christie–Atkins–Munch–Petersen and a bacitracin test. The modified Kirby‐Bauer disk diffusion method was used for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with vertical transmission of GBS, and statistical significance was set at p values <0.05. Result. The overall vertical transmission rate was 41.4% (67/162). History of preterm labor (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.11, 4.59), history of urinary tract infection (UTI) at current pregnancy (AOR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.11, 4.59), and prolonged rupture of membranes greater than 18 hours (AOR = 2.23; 95% CI: 1.13, 4.4) were significantly associated with vertical transmission of GBS from previously colonized mothers to their newborn babies. Regarding GBS antibiotic susceptibility profile, a significant degree of resistance was observed to penicillin (29.9%), tetracycline (22.4%), ampicillin (20.9%), and clindamycin (19.4%). Conclusion. Our study documented a high prevalence of vertical transmission rate of GBS from pregnant women to their babies, with an overall transmission rate of 41.4%. The study identified the presence of antimicrobial‐resistant GBS to penicillin, ampicillin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and chloramphenicol. The organism was susceptible to vancomycin, followed by azithromycin, ceftriaxone, and erythromycin. Our study also reported MDR at 13.4%. Based on our findings, there is a need for antenatal culture‐based GBS screening, maternal vaccination, and large‐scale epidemiological and serotype identification studies to be put into practice in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thrombocytopenia is defined as a decreased number of platelets in the circulating blood as a result of hypo-proliferation in marrow or peripheral destruction of platelets. Several diagnostic methods have been proposed to discriminate the underline cause of thrombocytopenia. Recent studies showed that mean platelet volume (MPV) could be used for differential diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Thus, we aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of MPV for differential diagnosis of ITP from hypo-productive thrombocytopenia. Methods: This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines (PRISMA). The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO with the reference number CRD42023447789. Relevant published studies that were published up to April 10, 2023, in peer-reviewed journals were searched on electronic different databases. The methodological quality of the included studies was appraised using the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies 2 (QADAS-2) tool. The pooled weight mean difference (WMD) of MPV between the ITP group and hypo-productive group was analyzed using a random-effects model meta-analysis. Relevant data were extracted using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using STATA 11.0 and Meta-disc 1.4 software. Publication bias was evaluated using Deek's funnel plot asymmetry test. Results: A total of 14 articles were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The comparison of MPV between groups revealed that the pooled mean value of MPV increased significantly in ITP patients compared to patients with hypo-productive thrombocytopenia (WMD = 2.03; 95% CI, 1.38–2.69). The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MPV in differentiating ITP from hypo-productive thrombocytopenia were 76.0% (95% CI: 71.0%, 80.0%) and 79.0% (95% CI: 75.0%, 83.0%), respectively. The summary positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR)using the random effects model were 3.89 (95% CI: 2.49, 6.10) and 0.29 (95% CI: 0.18, 0.46), respectively. Conclusion: MPV can be used to discriminate ITP from hypo-productive thrombocytopenia. It can possess large advantages as it is noninvasive, simple, quick, inexpensive, easy to perform, reliable, and routinely generated by automated cell counters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine prevalence, antimicrobial drug resistance and associated factors of S. pneumoniae infection among under-five children with acute lower respiratory tract infection attending Sheck Hassan Yebere Referral Hospital from March 1 to April 30, 2021 Jig-Jiga, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 374 study participants selected by convenience sampling method. A structured questionnaire was used to collect child data. Nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs were collected and diagnosed to isolate S. pneumoniae by using culture then identified by biochemical examination. Later antimicrobial drug resistance testing was performed by Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method. All data were entered on epi-data 3.1 then exported to SPSS version 22 to calculate analysis. Statistically significant value was found by calculating an adjusted odds ratio with p-value ≤ 0.05 in a multivariate logistic regression model. Results: Among 374 under-five children, 180 (48.1%) were males and 109 (29.2%) were from low income families. The overall prevalence of S. pneumoniae infection in the study was 18% (95% CI 14.4– 22.2). No window (AOR=2.8 CI 1.1– 7.6), no/non-exclusive breast-feeding (AOR= 2.1 CI 1.1– 4.1), and previous URTI (AOR= 3.2 CI 1.7– 6.1) were significantly associated with S. pneumoniae infection. The isolated organism showed drug resistance for Cotrimoxazole (35%), and Tetracycline (34%). Conclusion: The prevalence and antimicrobial resistance in this study were comparatively high. No window, non-exclusive breast-feeding and previous URTI were associated with S. pneumoniae infection. The isolated S. pneumoniae showed high drug resistance to cotrimoxazole and tetracycline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of the zeros of SISO continuous-time systems, which are discretized via a zero-order hold and expressed in the Euler operator, is studied. In particular, it will be shown that when state-space descriptions of linear SISO continuous-time systems with relative degree [greater than or equal to] 2 are discretized, then the zero dynamics of the resulting discrete system is singularly perturbed and shows a separation of time scale. The part of the zero dynamics associated with the fast time scale is shown to correspond to the zeros introduced by the sampling process (sampling zeros). An asymptotic formula for this part of the zero dynamics is given, and implications of the result to control design based on pole zero cancellation is discussed.