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Bantayehu Addis Tegegne,1 Agumas Alemu Alehegn,2 Mengistie Kassahun3 1Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pharmacy, Lumame Primary Hospital, Lumame, Ethiopia; Health Supplies and Laboratory Equipments Management Directorate Director, Amhara National Regional State Public Health Institute, Bahirdar, Ethiopia; 3Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Bantayehu Addis Tegegne, Email bantayehuaddis.90@gmail.comBackground: A key strategy for quality improvement is drug use evaluation, which looks at the safe, appropriate use of medication principles. Tenofovir/Lamivudine/Dolutegravir (TLD-FDC) usage has not yet been sufficiently examined in published literature. The purpose of this study was to assess how TLD were used by HIV-positive patients Using WHO drug use evaluation standards in Lumame Primary Hospital, North West Ethiopia.Methods: Using WHO drug use evaluation standards, a retrospective study design was used to evaluate the appropriateness of TLD use. Systematic random sampling was utilized to gather patient medical records containing TLD. Accordingly, 100 records that met the inclusion criteria were selected and reviewed between April 1 and 15, 2021. Five criteria, namely, indication, dose, contraindication, drug interaction, and TLD safety monitoring were used to evaluate the appropriateness of TLD utilization.Results: 80% of patients were transited to TLD from other regimens. The median time on TLD was found to be 13 months with 9 months to 18 months IQR. The latest CD4 count as well as CD4 count at the initiation or transition of TLD was not done for 75% and 89% of the patients, respectively. 3/4 (75%) of the patients were found to have a scheduled medication refill history. TLD dosing, indications, and contraindications were found to be 100% appropriate. No, TLD safety monitoring tests were done for 21% of the patients in this study. However, viral load, liver/kidney function, and serum creatinine tests were done for 77% (95% CI: 74%– 79%), 5% (95% CI: 2%– 8%), and 14% (95% CI: 11%– 17%) of the patients, respectively. More over, In 93% (95% CI: 91%– 95%) of the patients, the TLD interaction was appropriate; in 7%, it was not. All recording, documenting, and reporting technologies were available and used efficiently, except for the Electronic Dispensing Tool.Conclusion: Generally, good adherence to national and WHO guidelines was obtained regarding dose, indication, and contraindications. However, improvement in safety monitoring tests and CPT utilization is recommended. Drug interactions satisfied the majority of the criteria’s threshold, while certain standards were not followed.Keywords: drug use evaluation, lumame primary hospital, Ethiopia, fixed dose combination: tenofovir/lamivudine/dolutegravir

IntroductionFood insecurity has remained a serious public health problem in developing countries, such as Ethiopia, over the past two decades. Vulnerable populations, such as pensioners, have been affected by this problem because of emerging socio-demographic changes, a global financial crisis, and climate change, all of which have contributed to the high food prices. Hence, this study aimed to assess household food security status and associated factors among pensioners in Arba Minch town, South Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from September to October 2023. Two hundred forty-four pensioners were chosen using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected, cleaned, and entered into EPI-Data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Variables with a p-value of ≤0.25 in the bivariate analyses were candidates for the multivariable regression analysis. In the multivariable logistic regression, variables with a p-value of 0.05 were considered to have a significant association with the dependent variable.ResultsA total of 238 retired people were interviewed, with a response rate of 97.5%. Among the interviewed pensioners, 223 (91.4%) households were food insecure. Having more than one dependent member [AOR = 2.4, 95% C.I: 1.30, 6.64], being jobless after retirement [AOR = 3, 95% C.I:1.17, 5.61], and being in the lowest tertile of wealth status [AOR = 2, 95% C.I:1.36, 4.99] were identified as predictors of food insecurity.ConclusionThe magnitude of household food insecurity was higher compared to the national average, and factors such as the current occupational status of the household head, dependency ratio, and wealth status of the household were significantly associated with household food insecurity. Therefore, policymakers and programmers should provide new strategies focusing on additional income-generating activities and salary increments and consider free services such as school fees and healthcare.

This study investigated the relationship between land use/land cover (LULC) changes and forested landscape fragmentation in the southwestern region of Ethiopia. Satellite images from 1986, 2002 and 2019 were collected and analyzed using standard procedures in ERDAS 2015 software. Fragstat 4.2.1 software was utilized to assess landscape fragmentation by examining a raster datasets derived from the classified LULC map over the research period. The study identified seven LULC classes in the study area. Findings revealed a substantial reduction in shrubland by 46.3%, dense forest by 23.75%, open forest by 17.3%, and wetland by 32.63%, while cropland increased by 38.06%, agroforestry by 20.29%, and settlements by 163.8% during the study period. These changes varied across different agroecological zones and slope gradients. Landscape metrics results indicated an increase in the number of patches and patch density for all LULC classes, demonstrating significant fragmentation of the landscape. The largest patch index, mean patch areas, and the percentage of landscape occupied by open forest, dense forest, shrubland, and wetland declined as a result of conversion to cropland, agroforestry, and settlement. Conversely, the largest patch index, the mean patch area and the percentage of the landscape occupied by agroforestry, cropland and settlement increased, indicating their increasing dominance in the landscape over the study periods. The findings highlighted the potential deleterious impacts of ongoing land use change and fragmentation on the environment, ecosystem function and local livelihoods. Therefore, it is crucial to implement appropriate conservation efforts and sustainable land management practices to mitigate the rapid change and fragmentation of land use and its negative impacts on sub-watershed ecosystems.

Introduction Postpartum depression (PPD) is a nonpsychotic depressive state that begins after childbirth. In Ethiopia, there was limited evidence about the prevalence and factors associated with PPD in terms of residence. Objective To assess disparities in PPD among urban and rural mothers in the Shashogo district, Hadiya zone southern Ethiopia 2022. Methods Community-based comparative cross-sectional study design was employed from May 3 to July 3, 2022. A sample size of 556 (185 from urban and 371 from rural) was calculated using a double population proportion approach and mothers in the postpartum period were randomly selected from both urban and rural settings using stratification followed by single stage and the systematic random sampling method. Data were gathered by trained data collectors using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS Version 25. Statistical significance was declared at a P value of < .05 Results One hundred forty-four (26.6%) mothers in the postpartum period with 95%CI [23-30] were depressed, of which 37 (19.8%) with 95% CI [14-26] in urban and 107 (30%) with 95% CI [25-35] found in a rural setting. Unplanned pregnancy, low maternal social support, assisted delivery, no antenatal care (ANC) follow-up, no postnatal care (PNC) follow-up, and low household income were independent predictors of PPD in rural residence whereas unplanned pregnancy, low maternal social support, assisted delivery, and antenatal depression were independent predictor of PPD in urban. Conclusion PPD was found to be high in the study area as compared to national/global burden. Unplanned pregnancy, low maternal social support, and assisted delivery were predictors for both urban and rural. Low income, no ANC, and PNC follow-up were associated with PPD in rural settings only whereas antenatal depression is a predictor of PPD in urban settings.

Abstract The study examined the relationship between child labour participation and household wealth (in terms of livestock and cropland) considering representative sample smallholders from four (Kurfa Chelie, Kersa, Fedis, and Melka Bello) districts in eastern Hararghe Zone of Oromia regional state of Ethiopia. The descriptive statics showed that average family size was 5.45 individuals per household, which was larger than the national average (4.9) in 2016. In the study area, children with age interval of 4–14 years, that were the subject matter of this study, constituted 43.3% of the total population. Around 23% of sampled households spent less than 2471.22 Birr per annum per adult equivalent for home consumption, which is an amount based on the inflation adjusted poverty line. Households in Fedis district experienced the worst poverty head count score, wherein 44% of them could not satisfy the minimum living standard requirement. Double-hurdle model result revealed that livestock and cropland holding of smallholders significantly affect child labour participation in domestic work. This finding implies that household’s asset ownership (possession of larger livestock and cropland) would not initiate children to budget more time for their education. The model result also showed that household head’s education level significantly reduced children’s domestic labour participation in the study area. Thus, this research recommended that there should be improvement in households’ education and awareness level in the study area to improve child school enrolment. Finally, it is easy to say that the Wealth Paradox about child labour holds true for smallholders in eastern Ethiopia.

Background: Systematic monitoring of health programs and on-site mentoring of health workers are essential for the success of health care. This operations research was designed to measure the effectiveness of a new mentorship and supervisory tool for supervisors. Methods: In 2011 the Help Ethiopia Address the Low TB Performance (HEAL TB) Project used WHO or national TB indicators as standards of care (SOC) for baseline assessment, progress monitoring, gap identification, assessment of health workers’ capacity-building needs, and data quality assurance. Cut-off points were selected for poor, average, and best performers for each indicator. In this analysis we present results from 10 zones (of 28) in which 1,165 health facilities were supported from 2011 through 2015. Other zones were excluded from the analysis because they entered the project later. The data were collected by trained mentors/supervisors and entered into Microsoft Excel. We used rates and ratios to show the impact of the intervention. Results: The improvement in the median composite score of 13 selected major indicators (out of 22) over four years was significant (p = 0.000). The proportion of health facilities with 100% data accuracy for all forms of TB was 55.1% at baseline and reached 96.5%. In terms of program performance, the TB cure rate improved from 71% to 91.1%, while the treatment success rate increased from 88% to 95.3%. In the laboratory area, where there was previously no external quality assurance (EQA) for sputum microscopy, 1,165 health facilities now have quarterly EQA, and 96.1% of the facilities achieved a ≥ 95% concordance rate in blinded rechecking. Conclusion: The SOC approach for supervision was effective for measuring progress, enhancing quality of services, identifying capacity needs, and serving as a mentorship and an operational research tool.

Abstract The gap between demand for and supply of food in Ethiopia can be reduced by improving farm productivity through the introduction of productivity-enhancing technologies. Conversely, in Ethiopia, the adoption rates of agricultural technologies remain below the expected levels. Hence, by using multivariate probit model, this study identifies factors that motivate the adoption of a combination of inorganic fertilizer, improved seed, manure and cropping system diversification in eastern Ethiopia using multiple plot-level observations. The analysis shows that the probabilities of adoption of agricultural technologies are influenced by household, socioeconomic, institutional and plot-level characteristics. Alongside this, the paper also shows that there is a significant correlation between the selected technologies, suggesting that adoptions of technologies are interrelated. Specifically, the result indicates that there is complementarity between inorganic fertilizer and improved seed; and substitutability between inorganic fertilizer and manure. The result also indicates there is complementarity between adoption of improved seed and manure; and adoption of improved seed and crop diversification.

Abstract Background Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that increases the immunity against tuberculosis (TB), decreases the re-activation of latent TB and reduces the severity of active TB disease. Epidemiological studies on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, and its association with TB showed inconsistent results in different countries. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its association with TB in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A case–control study was conducted among smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients and their household contacts without symptoms suggestive of TB. Study participants were recruited at 11 TB diagnostic health facilities in North and South Gondar zones of Amhara region between May 2013 and April 2015. The spot-morning-spot sputum samples and 5 ml blood sample were collected prior to commencing TB treatment for the diagnosis of TB and serum vitamin D assay, respectively. The diagnosis of TB was performed using smear microscopy and GeneXpert. Serum vitamin D level was analyzed using VIDAS 25 OH Vitamin D Total testing kits (Biomerieux, Marcy I’Etoile, France) on mini VIDAS automated immunoassay platform. Vitamin D status was interpreted as deficient (100 ng/ml). Results Of the total study participants, 134 (46.2%) were vitamin D deficient, and only 56 (19.3%) had sufficient vitamin D level. A total of 59 (61.5%) TB patients and 75 (38.7%) non TB controls were vitamin D deficient. Results of multivariate logistic regression analyses showed a significantly higher vitamin D deficiency among tuberculosis cases (p

Background. Wound infection is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections. Different bacteria cause infection, of which Staphylococcus aureus is one of the known bacteria in causing infection with increased drug-resistant isolates. Objective. To assess the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of methicillin and inducible clindamycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among patients with wound infections attending Arba Minch Hospital. Methods. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2017. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and clinical characteristics. Wound swabs were cultured and identified by standard techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed by the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. Methicillin resistance was detected using the cefoxitin (30 μg) antibiotic disc while inducible clindamycin resistance was detected by the D-zone test. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science, version 20. p value

A survey was conducted in 2012 to assess the impact of dairy technologies on the livelihood of dairying households in Ada’a and Lume districts of central Ethiopia. A total of 108 dairy farms were interviewed using structured questionnaire. Dairying has significant contribution as a sustainable source of income to the dairy producing households. It contributed about 62% and 66% of the total monthly income in Ada’a and Lume districts, respectively. Dairying was the first income source for about 80% and 62% of the dairy producing households in Ada’a and Lume districts, respectively. On the other hand, 92.9 % and 88.9 % of the respondents in Ada’a and Lume districts respectively explained that dairy technology adoption has significantly increased their household income. About 56% and 32% of households in Ada’a and Lume districts were found to save money from dairying in a traditional form of saving. Adoption of dairy technologies has also an impact on the consumption of milk and milk products as all family members in about 77.5% and 87.1% of households in Ada’a and Lume districts, respectively could consume more milk.

A child's risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) can be reduced by nearly 60% with administration of 6 months course of isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT). However, uptake of IPT by national TB programs is low, and IPT delivery is a challenge in many resource-limited high TB-burden settings. Routinely collected program data was analyzed to determine the coverage and outcome of implementation of IPT for eligible under-five year old children in 28 health facilities in two regions of Ethiopia. A total of 504 index smear-positive pulmonary TB (SS+) cases were reported between October 2013 and June 2014 in the 28 health facilities. There were 282 under-five children registered as household contacts of these SS+ TB index cases, accounting for 17.9% of all household contacts. Of these, 237 (84%) were screened for TB symptoms, and presumptive TB was identified in 16 (6.8%) children. TB was confirmed in 5 children, producing an overall yield of 2.11% (95% confidence interval, 0.76-4.08%). Of 221 children eligible for IPT, 64.3% (142) received IPT, 80.3% (114) of whom successfully completed six months of therapy. No child developed active TB while on IPT. Contact screening is a good entry point for delivery of IPT to at risk children and should be routine practice as recommended by the WHO despite the implementation challenges.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections occur in patients under medical care, which is a major public health issue in hospitals worldwide. The prevalence is two to three folds higher in developing countries compared to developed countries. Inanimate objects used by healthcare professionals such as gowns, mobile phones, and stethoscopes are highly prone to bacterial contamination from the healthcare setting. In Ethiopia, there is a paucity of published data on the bacterial profile and susceptibility patterns of an isolates., Objective: To determine the bacterial profile and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns from inanimate objects used by healthcare professionals and associated factors at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital from inanimate objects from April 10, 2023 to June 30, 2023 using simple random sampling technique with lottery method. Socio-demographic data was collected using a structured questionnaire. A swab sample from healthcare professionals' gowns, mobile phones, and stethoscopes were collected and inoculated onto blood agar, chocolate and MacConkey agar. Isolates were identified and characterized by colony morphology, Gram staining and biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed in all isolates by the disk diffusion technique on Muller Hinton agar according to CLSI, 2022 guidelines. Data was entered into EPI-Data and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Logistic regression model was used. Variables with p-value ≤ 0.25 in bivariable logistic regression was fitted to multivariate logistic regression analysis. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 with 95%CI was considered statistically significant., Result: A total of 376 healthcare professionals' inanimate objects were included from 191 study participants. Overall, 60.1% (226/376) (95%CI: 55.1-65) inanimate objects were contaminated. The proportion of bacterial contamination was (65.1%; 82/126), (60.3%; 76/126) and (54.8%; 68/124) for mobile phones, gowns and stethoscopes, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequent isolate accounting (22.1%; 83/376) followed by Staphylococcus epidermidis (17.0%; 64/376), Escherichia coli (8.8%; 33/376) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.9%; 18/376). Working in gynecology/ obstetrics wards (AOR: 8.69; 95%CI: 1.09-69.41, P = 0.041), did not disinfect mobile phones (AOR: 2.69; 95%CI: 1.15-6.25; P = 0.021) and stethoscopes regularly (AOR: 3.06, 95%CI: 1.23-7.59; P = 0.016), carry mobile phones with patient care materials (AOR: 2.72; 95%CI: 1.18-6.29, P = 0.019) and not taken infection prevention training (AOR:3.91; 95%CI:1.71-8.93; P = 0.001) were significantly associated with bacterial contamination.Most Gram-negative bacteria were resistant to ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and amoxacilline-clavunic acid, while Gram-positive isolates showed high level of resistant to penicillin. On the other hand, meropenem, for Gram-negative and clindamycin for Gram-positive bacteria showed lower level of resistance. Multidrug resistance among Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were (62.6%; 92/147) and (75.3%; 64/85), respectively with over all MDR (67.2%, 156/232)., Conclusion: Inanimate objects commonly used by healthcare professionals are important sources of bacterial contamination. S. aureus, S. epidermidis and E. coli were the predominant isolates. Most Gram-negative bacteria were resistant to ampicillin while Gram-positive isolates showed high level of resistant to penicillin. All healthcare professionals should regularly disinfect their inanimate objects to prevent bacterial colonization and potential spread of infection., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Kindie et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Aim: To assess a group of ambulant, untreated children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy, in a resource-poor setting, who had never been assessed by a health care professional or received any treatment, to help establish the natural history of gait patterns in this condition., Method: At CURE Children's Hospital of Ethiopia, 46 children with no prior health care contact were assessed in a cross-sectional cohort study, through a detailed history, clinical examination, and instrumented gait analysis using a motion capture system., Results: There was a large spread in the data reflecting the high natural heterogeneity in this population. The severity of gait pathology did not correlate with age; however, a small but significant reduction in sagittal hip and knee range of motion with increasing age was observed. There was also a trend towards reduced passive knee extension with age., Interpretation: Improved understanding of the aspects of gait that are likely to naturally improve, deteriorate, or remain stable over time helps guide treatment decisions in this population., (© 2024 The Author(s). Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Mac Keith Press.)

Background: The educational environment refers to the "climate" that influences all aspects of learning in an educational context and the experience in the operating room is particularly crucial in surgical residents learning. Hence, this study aimed to assess surgical residents' perceptions of the operating theatre educational environment and associated factors in the surgical department at St. Paul's Hospital., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2022 among surgical residents at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College to assess their perceptions of the operating room educational environment using the OREEM questionnaire. Descriptive statistics (mean, median, SD) were used to summarize demographic data and OREEM scores. The student t -test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing followed by posthoc tests were used for comparison of quantitative data, with p -values < 0.05 considered significant., Results: Of the participants, 103 (79.8%) were male and 26 (20.2%) were female with a mean age of 28 years. The overall mean score was 69% with subscale scores for teaching and training at 47.9/65.0 (73.7%), learning opportunities at 34.5/55.0 (62.7%), the atmosphere at 28.9/40.00 (72.4%) and workload/supervision/ support at 27.5/40.0 (68.7%). Male and female residents differed significantly in perceptions of "atmosphere" (t 127 = 3.35, p < 0.001) and in junior versus senior residents' perceptions of the "learning opportunities" and "atmosphere" at p -values of 0.023 and 0.028 respectively. However, age, marital status, and specific surgical training programs did not have a significant effect on the scores., Conclusion: Overall, residents had positive perceptions of their training and teaching, learning opportunities, the atmosphere in the operation theatre, and the supervision they received in the operation theatre. The operating room's "teaching and training" component received the highest score, while the operating room's "learning opportunities" component received the lowest. This indicates the importance of establishing a positive learning environment with sufficient "hands-on" experience, especially during emergencies. In addition, preoperative planning, case discussions, and feedback after the surgery should be routine., Competing Interests: There is nothing to declare., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Objectives: Despite safe and effective multiple vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to cause morbidity, mortality, and healthcare burden. Pregnant women are among the high-risk population for COVID-19 infection and bad outcomes. Vaccination is one of the most critical public health interventions to halt the devastating impact of a pandemic. However, hesitancy, unwillingness, and refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccines are global health challenges to vaccination roll-out, especially in Africa, including Ethiopia. Country-specific evidence is essential to take appropriate context-specific actions. Some single studies with inconsistent findings are available in Ethiopia. Therefore, this meta-analysis aims to determine pooled COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women in Ethiopia., Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis study design was used to synthesize evidence and overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and predictors among pregnant women., Methods: A search of literature from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar was conducted until January 30, 2023. All studies that met eligibility criteria were screened, and eight primary studies with 4419 total subjects were included in the meta-analysis. Two authors (DT and MK) independently extracted all the required data using a standardized form. We analyzed the data using STATA version 17 software. Heterogeneity was checked using Chocrane (Q-test) and I 2 tests. Finally, the overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and predictors were computed using a random-effect model., Result: The meta-analysis revealed that a pooled COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women in Ethiopia is 42.46% (95%CI: 28.75-56.18). Further subgroup analysis stratified by region of the primary studies showed that the pooled level of COVID-19 Acceptance among pregnant women in the Amhara region is 35.16% (95% CI: 20.49-49.82), South Nation Nationality and People 50.95% (95%C:12.24-89.67) and Oromia region 62.02% (95%CI: 58.27-65.76). Predictors for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women in Ethiopia were awareness/knowledge of pregnant women to COVID-19 vaccine (OR 3.33, 95%CI:2.13-4.14), maternal education (OR 3.09, 95%CI: 1.67-4.51 and chronic disease (OR 2.81, 95%CI: 1.82-3.79. The lowest level of vaccine acceptance was reported in the Amhara region, while the relatively highest was observed in the Oromia region., Conclusion: The study found a low level of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women in Ethiopia and emphasized the significance of improving awareness and education to increase vaccine uptake. It is crucial to provide interventions that create awareness about the COVID-19 vaccine and promote the importance of vaccination during antenatal care follow-up., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.The authors declare that we have no competing interests., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: Sacrococcygeal teratomas are tumors originating from pluripotent embryonic germ cell layers located in the fetal coccyx. These tumors are highly vascular if they undergo malignant transformation. Typically, they are found in infants and children and occasionally can be diagnosed prenatally. Adult cases are very rare, and represent tumors present since birth with delayed detection., Case Presentation: We describe a case of a giant sacrococcygeal teratoma in a 25 years old female college student presenting with right gluteal swelling of 4 months' duration. In addition to the huge disfiguring mass on the perineal area, she also had lower abdominal pain, urinary complaints, and difficulty with ambulation., Discussion: Pre-operative impression was of a sacrococcygeal mass and histopathology following complete surgical excision revealed a sacrococcygeal teratoma. She recovered well after surgery with no radiologic evidence of recurrence at six months., Conclusion: Although rare, sacrococcygeal teratoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis for female adults presenting with perineal and/or pelvic masses. Complete surgical excision remains the mainstay of treatment.

Objectives: To identify the determinants of long-acting contraceptive utilization among married women of reproductive age in Aneded district, northwestern Ethiopia. Unmatched case control study was conducted from May 1, 2018 to June 30, 2018. One hundred forty-five households with married reproductive age women who have used long-acting family planning for more than a year (cases) and 290 households with married reproductive age women who have never used long-acting family planning (controls) were selected by systematic random sampling in each kebele (the smallest administrative units of Ethiopia)., Result: In this study, 145 cases and 290 controls participated. Independent positive predictors of utilization of long-acting family planning among married women reproductive age were: primary education level [AOR = 6.99, 95% CI 3.7-13.7], first discussion with providers [AOR = 2.64, 95% CI 1.6-4.5], told what to do if they experience the side effect [AOR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.7-5.9], know the source of long-acting family planning methods [AOR = 3.4, 95% CI 2.01-5.82] and discussion with health professionals [AOR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.2-3.5]. Encouraging women education at least at primary level and advocating the minimal side effect of long-acting contraceptive are recommended to improve long-acting family planning utilization.

Objective: To verify occurrence of outbreak, describe cases in person, time and place, and identify factors associated with the outbreak. Unmatched case control study was conducted with sample size 175 in Dewachefa woreda from April 24 to May 02/2018. Data were collected with structure questionnaire. Collected data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and exported to statistical package for social science version 23 for analysis. Analyzed data were presented by texts, table and graphs., Result: A total of 35 food poisoning cases with no death were reported. The overall attack rate was 25.58/10,000. Eating raw meat [adjusted odd ratio (AOR) = 11.04; 95% CI 3.03-40.17], drinking raw milk AOR = 4.81; 95% CI 1.42-16.23), sex (AOR = 3.57; 95% CI 1.37-9.32), hand washing before eating (AOR = 13.42; 95% CI 3.63-49.72) and Sources of drinking water (AOR = 11.50; 95 CI 1.96-67.49) were significantly associated with food poisoning. Food poisoning outbreak were occurred in Dewachfa woreda. Sex of study participants, eating raw meat, drinking raw milk, hand washing before eating, materials use to clean food utensils and source of drinking waters were factors of food poisoning. Proper food handling should be recommended.

Objectives: To develop a method for chronic cannulation of the mouse bladder that would enable repeated intravesical drug delivery and measurement of voiding patterns in unrestrained mice under controlled infusion conditions., Methods: Fifteen female mice were anesthetized with halothane and implanted with a 3F polyurethane bladder catheter. The catheter exited from the back through mesh and a polysulfone button into a spring coil that protected the catheter and tethered the mouse. A counterbalanced swivel and infusion pump permitted unencumbered mobility during continuous intravesical perfusion., Results: Patent catheterization was consistently achieved for at least 5 weeks. The voiding patterns produced with an infusion pump were stable not only within a study session but also during the course of several weeks. The catheters remained patent but eventually withdrew from the bladder in 9 mice, at which point the mice were killed. The mesh eventually emerged from the skin in 4 animals without evidence of infection and was associated with catheter leakage at the level of mesh exposure. The subcutaneous placement of the mesh and tether assembly adequately transferred torque to the swivel without catheter obstruction. One mouse died unexpectedly during anesthesia; another was killed 1 week after catheter implantation because of an intraperitoneal leak. No bladder stones were identified. The results of the urine cultures were inconclusive., Conclusions: Continuous, patent catheterization of the murine bladder can be achieved consistently for a period of 5 weeks. When used in combination with counterbalanced swivel assemblies and electronic balance technology, these methods permit prolonged evaluation of micturition patterns in the awake, ambulatory mouse.