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Background: Thrombocytopenia and platelet indices in COVID-19 patients were important for prompt treatment and management of the disease. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of thrombocytopenia, platelet indices, and its association with disease severity among COVID-19 patients at the Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital, COVID-19 treatment center, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 117 conveniently recruited COVID-19 patients from March to June 2021. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire and checklist, respectively. The platelet parameters were analyzed by the Mindray-BC 5800 automated hematological analyzer. ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare the difference between parametric and non-parametric continuous variables, respectively. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with thrombocytopenia. A P-value < 0.05 was defined as statistically significant for all statistical tests. Results: Among COVID-19 patients, 45, 43 and 29 were mild, moderate and severe, respectively. 65.8% of the patients were males and 34.2% were alcohol drinkers with a mean age of 50.6 ± 15.4. Moreover, 44.4% of the patients had co-morbidity. Thrombocytopenia was presented in 23.9% of the patients. It was 4.57 (95% CI: 1.30– 16.07) and 6.10 (95% CI: 1.54– 24.08) times more likely in the moderate and severe cases compared to mild cases, respectively. Disease severity was also associated with PDW (P-value = 0.001). Conclusion: Even though thrombocytopenia was not presented in most moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, thrombocytopenia and PDW were associated with disease severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem globally. Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HBV is high in endemic countries; however, little is known about pregnant women's knowledge and attitudes regarding MTCT and prevention methods in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and associated factors of pregnant women towards MTCT of HBV and its prevention in three tertiary hospitals in the Amhara region, northwestern Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019. A total of 1121 pregnant women participated in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the sociodemographic, knowledge, and attitudes of pregnant women towards MTCT of HBV and its prevention. Data were analyzed using SPPS version 20. χ 2-test, multivariate logistic regression, Spearman correlation, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for data analysis. Results: The majority of 89.6%; 95% CI (87.9– 91.3%) pregnant women had poor knowledge of MTCT of HBV and its prevention. However, more than half of the study participants had favorable attitudes. Only 141 (12.6%) of the pregnant women knew that HBV transmitted from mother-to-child and 169 (15.1%) knew that HBV had a vaccine. There was a significant difference in attitude between the three hospitals (P< 0.001). In multivariable analysis, education, gravida and vaccination history were independent factors significantly associated with good knowledge and favorable attitudes while income and residence significantly associated only to knowledge and attitude, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women (P< 0.001). Conclusion: The knowledge of pregnant women was found to be poor and their attitude was also limited to MTCT of HBV infection and its prevention. Educational status and vaccination history were predictors of knowledge and attitude, but income and residence only to knowledge and attitude, respectively. This study revealed a lack of knowledge in pregnant women for the prevention and control of MTCT of HBV. This calls for the Amhara Health Bureau and Ministry of Health to promote health education programs for pregnant women attending antenatal care on MTCT of HBV and its prevention methods to improve knowledge and attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Efforts to control the global burden of tuberculosis (TB) have been jeopardized by the rapid evolution of multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin. Previous studies have documented variable prevalences of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and its risk factors in Ethiopia. Therefore, this meta-analysis is aimed, firstly, to determine the pooled prevalence of MDR-TB among newly diagnosed and previously treated TB cases, and secondly, to measure the association between MDR-TB and a history of previous anti-TB drugs treatment.Methods: PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar databases were searched. Studies that reported a prevalence of MDR-TB among new and previously treated TB patients were selected. Studies or surveys conducted at national or sub-national level, with reported MDR-TB prevalence or sufficient data to calculate prevalence were considered for the analysis. Two authors searched and reviewed the studies for eligibility and extracted the data in pre-defined forms. Forest plots of all prevalence estimates were performed and summary estimates were also calculated using random effects models. Associations between previous TB treatment and MDR-MTB infection were examined through subgroup analyses stratified by new and previously treated patients.Results: We identified 16 suitable studies and found an overall prevalence of MDR-TB among newly diagnosed and previously treated TB patients to be 2% (95% CI 1% - 2%) and 15% (95% CI 12% - 17%), respectively. The observed difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001) and there was an odds ratio of 8.1 (95% CI 7.5-8.7) for previously treated TB patients to develop a MDR-MTB infection compared to newly diagnosed cases. For the past 10 years (2006 to 2014) the overall MDR-TB prevalence showed a stable time trend.Conclusions: The burden of MDR-TB remains high in Ethiopian settings, especially in previously treated TB cases. Previous TB treatment was the most powerful predictor for MDR-MTB infection. Strict compliance with anti-TB regimens and improving case detection rate are the necessary steps to tackle the problem in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Background Efforts to control the global burden of tuberculosis (TB) epidemic have now been jeopardized by the rapid evolution of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which are resistant to one or more anti-TB drugs. Multidrug resistant (MDR) TB in Ethiopia may be more prevalent than previously appreciated; thus, up-to-date national drug resistance studies are critically needed. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed, first, to determine pooled prevalence of MDR TB among newly diagnosed and previously treated TB cases, and second, to measure the association between previous anti-TB exposure and acquisition of MDR-MTB infection. Methods PubMed and Embase databases were consulted. Studies that reported the prevalence of MDR TB among newly diagnosed and previously treated TB patients were selected. Studies or surveys conducted at a national or subnational level, with reported MDR-TB prevalence or sufficient data to calculate the prevalence, were considered for the analysis. Two authors searched and reviewed the studies for eligibility and extracted the data in predefined forms. Forest plots of all prevalence estimates were performed, and summary estimates were also calculated using random effect models. Associations between previous TB treatment and MDR-MTB infection were examined through subgroup analyses stratified by new and previously treated patients. Results We identified 16 suitable studies, and found an overall prevalence of MDR TB of 1.7% (95% confidence interval 1.2–2.3%) among newly diagnosed and that of 14.1% (95% confidence interval 10.9–17.2%) among previously treated TB patients, and the observed difference was statistically significant ( p < .01). For the past 10 years, the overall MDR-TB prevalence showed a stable time trend. There was an odds ratio of 8.1 (95% confidence interval 7.5–8.7) for previously treated TB patients to develop an MDR-MTB infection compared with newly diagnosed cases. Conclusion The MDR-TB prevalence remains high, especially in previously treated TB cases. Previous TB treatment was the most powerful predictor for MDR-MTB infection. Hence, strict compliance with anti-TB regimens and improving case detection rate are urgently needed to tackle the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]