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Aytenew Atnaf,1 Abtie Abebaw Shiferaw,1 Workineh Tamir,1 Yibeltal Akelew,1 Milkiyas Toru,1 Daniel Tarekegn,2 Bekalu Bewket,3 Alemayehu Reta1 1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia; 2Department of Public health, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia; 3Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Aytenew Atnaf, Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, P.O.Box 269, Debre Markos, Ethiopia, Tel +251 924474452, Email atnafnew5@gmail.comBackground: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is coronavirus isolated from SARS patients. As far as the researchers’ knowledge, there was paucity of studies conducted in Ethiopia, particularly in the study area. As immune protection is arisen from our blood cells, assessing their level will provide a clue for controlling the disease and monitoring the prognosis. This study will also provide additional information for clinical intervention and patient management.Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the hematological profile and clinical outcome of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) among patients admitted to the Debre Markos Isolation and Treatment Center (DMITC).Material and Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among 136 COVID-19 adult patients at DMITC from January 1, 2020 to March 30, 2021. Data related to clinical, hematological profiles and socio-demographic factors were collected, entered into Epi data, and analyzed using STATA 14.2 software. Multivariable logistic regression was applied to determine the predictor variable and a p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Of 136 COVID-19 patients, 28.68% had died. The mean age of patients was 47.21± 1.29 years. The hematological profile of the patients revealed that 28% had abnormal leukocyte, 23% abnormal lymphocyte, 44.85% abnormal granulocyte, 22.06% abnormal monocyte, 30.15% abnormal RBC and 87% abnormal platelet counts. The prevalence of anemia was 13.24%.Conclusion: Leukocytosis (mainly granulocytosis and monocytosis) and lymphopenia, were the predominant abnormal findings of complete blood cell count (CBC) analysis of the patient’s blood. Most of the patients had abnormally low platelet counts. RBC count and hematocrit determination were the only significant predictors of death. The clinician could manage cases according to the hematological findings of the patients. Further experimental studies should be conducted to determine hematological parameter changes and the clinical outcome of the disease.Keywords: leukocytosis, hematological profile, COVID-19, clinical outcome, Debre Markos

Biruk Legese,1 Mikru Shiferaw,2 Workineh Tamir,3 Tahir Eyayu,1 Shewaneh Damtie,1 Ayenew Berhan,1 Birhanu Getie,1 Aynework Abebaw,1 Yenealem Solomon1 1Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia; 2Bahir Dar Blood Bank Service, Amhara Regional State Health Bureau, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 3Department of Medical Laboratory, College of Health Sciences, Injibara University, Injibara, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Biruk Legese, Email birukab1979@gmail.comBackground: Besides their clinical significance in blood transfusion medicine, ABO and Rh blood group antigens were found to be associated with many non-infectious and infectious diseases. This investigation aimed to assess the association of ABO and Rh blood group antigens with transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs).Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional retrospective investigation was conducted on 27,027 blood donors at Bahir Dar blood bank, from March 24/2019 to October 21/2021. The blood sample was collected from each blood donor and tested for TTI markers (HBV, HCV, HIV, and syphilis), with ELISA, and ABO and Rh blood grouping was performed. Descriptive analysis was done for sociodemographic data, and a chi-square test was used to show the association between the ABO and Rh blood groups with TTI markers, and a P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: From 27,027 study participants, 18,911 (70%) were males, with a mean age of 25.2 years, and 49.4% of the blood donors were students. The overall TTI prevalence was 5.43%, of which 2.8% was HBV, 1.5% was syphilis, 0.8% was HIV, and 0.3% was HCV. Blood group O (41.4%) was the most common blood group followed by, A (29.6%), B (23.6%), and AB (5.4%). Ninety-one point seven percent of the blood donors were Rh (D) positive. All TTI markers (HBV: p = 0.62, HIV: p = 0.77, HCV: p = 0.52, and syphilis: p = 0. 0.94) showed no significant association with ABO blood group. Rh blood type also showed no association with all TTI markers.Conclusion: The prevalence of TTI markers was not significantly associated with ABO and Rh blood groups.Keywords: ABO and Rh blood groups, blood donors, transfusion transmissible infections

Biruk Legese,1,&ast; Mikru Shiferaw,2,&ast; Workineh Tamir,3 Tegenaw Tiruneh1 1Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia; 2Bahir Dar Blood Bank Service, Amhara Regional State Health Bureau, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 3Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Biruk Legese; Mikru Shiferaw Tel +251943592686; +251913257134Email birukab1979@gmail.com; mikshif123@gmail.comBackground: Among the blood group antigens identified, ABO and Rhesus are the most important in transfusion medicine. ABO blood group antigens are the most immunogenic followed by Rhesus (D antigen). These blood groups’ frequency distribution varies among different regions and races of the world. This study aimed to identifying the frequency distribution of ABO blood group and rhesus factors among blood donors in Ethiopia.Methods and Materials: Aretrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from September 12/2019 to March 18/2021 at Bahir Dar blood bank service. After getting a permission letter from the blood bank, data were collected from the blood bank donor data registration system, and descriptive statistical results were presented in number (frequency) and percentage. A Chi-square test was used to show the difference in the frequency distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups among sex and blood donation site.Results: From 40,053 blood donors, 67.7% were males and younger donors (within the age range of 18– 24 years) account for 63.7%. All donations were from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors. The most common blood group was blood group O (41.5%) followed by A (29.8), B (23.2%), and AB (5.5%). Considering ABO and Rh blood group altogether blood group O positive with 37.9% was the predominant blood group followed by A positive (27.2%), B positive (21.4%), AB positive (5%), O negative (3.6%), A negative (2.6%), B negative (1.8%), and AB negative (0.4%). The majority of study participants were 91.5% Rh (D) positive.Conclusion: This study showed that blood group O was the predominant followed by A, B, and AB and most of the blood donors’ blood groups were Rh-positive (91.5%). About 68.9% of the total donations were from the first time donor.Keywords: ABO blood group, rhesus factor, frequency distribution

Introduction: Coats disease is a rare vasculature pathology that usually presents as retinal telangiectasia with possible progression to exudative retinal detachment (RD). Intravitreal anti-VEGF injections, cryotherapy, laser photocoagulation, and surgery are commonly used to control the disease and prevent its progression. Although iatrogenic tractional RDs secondary to anti-VEGF injections have been reported in patients with Coats disease, RDs in Coats disease are exudative, secondary to retinal exudation and vascular abnormalities. In this article, we present the first reported case of a severe exudative RD accompanied by retinal traction and two retinal holes in a patient with Coats disease. Case Presentation: A 32-year-old male initially presented with Coats disease stage 2A, which then progressed to 3A1 within a month of close follow-ups, finally leading to exudative RD. Following cryotherapy and bevacizumab injections, the exudative RD progressed, with the emergence of retinal traction and two retinal holes. This complex case was successfully treated with a scleral buckle vitrectomy accompanied by radial elements to support the RD, pars plana vitrectomy, silicon oil tamponade, and post-surgical bevacizumab injections. Six months following the surgical intervention, the patient’s vision is restored at 20/30, and retinal imaging shows a totally flattened retina. Conclusion: We present the first reported case of a severe exudative RD accompanied by retinal traction and two retinal holes in a patient with Coats disease. The combination of surgical treatment and bevacizumab injections is thought to have collectively contributed to our patient’s favorable outcome.

ObjectiveAutomated surgical step recognition (SSR) using AI has been a catalyst in the “digitization” of surgery. However, progress has been limited to laparoscopy, with relatively few SSR tools in endoscopic surgery. This study aimed to create a SSR model for transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT), leveraging a novel application of transfer learning to reduce video dataset requirements.Materials and methodsRetrospective surgical videos of TURBT were manually annotated with the following steps of surgery: primary endoscopic evaluation, resection of bladder tumor, and surface coagulation. Manually annotated videos were then utilized to train a novel AI computer vision algorithm to perform automated video annotation of TURBT surgical video, utilizing a transfer-learning technique to pre-train on laparoscopic procedures. Accuracy of AI SSR was determined by comparison to human annotations as the reference standard.ResultsA total of 300 full-length TURBT videos (median 23.96 min; IQR 14.13–41.31 min) were manually annotated with sequential steps of surgery. One hundred and seventy-nine videos served as a training dataset for algorithm development, 44 for internal validation, and 77 as a separate test cohort for evaluating algorithm accuracy. Overall accuracy of AI video analysis was 89.6%. Model accuracy was highest for the primary endoscopic evaluation step (98.2%) and lowest for the surface coagulation step (82.7%).ConclusionWe developed a fully automated computer vision algorithm for high-accuracy annotation of TURBT surgical videos. This represents the first application of transfer-learning from laparoscopy-based computer vision models into surgical endoscopy, demonstrating the promise of this approach in adapting to new procedure types.

Abstract Background Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies gallolyticus is a known pathogen that causes infective endocarditis, and most cases involve the left heart valves. We present the first reported case of prosthetic tricuspid valve endocarditis caused by this microorganism. Relevant literature is reviewed. Case presentation A 67-year-old Jewish female with a history of a prosthetic tricuspid valve replacement was admitted to the emergency department because of nonspecific complaints including effort dyspnea, fatigue, and a single episode of transient visual loss and fever. No significant physical findings were observed. Laboratory examinations revealed microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and a few nonspecific abnormalities. Transesophageal echocardiogram demonstrated a vegetation attached to the prosthetic tricuspid valve. The involved tricuspid valve was replaced by a new tissue valve, and Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies gallolyticus was grown from its culture. Prolonged antibiotic treatment was initiated. Conclusions Based on this report and the reviewed literature, Streptococcus gallolyticus should be considered as a rare but potential causative microorganism in prosthetic right-sided valves endocarditis. The patient’s atypical presentation emphasizes the need for a high index of suspicion for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis.

Abstract AI is becoming ubiquitous, revolutionizing many aspects of our lives. In surgery, it is still a promise. AI has the potential to improve surgeon performance and impact patient care, from post-operative debrief to real-time decision support. But, how much data is needed by an AI-based system to learn surgical context with high fidelity? To answer this question, we leveraged a large-scale, diverse, cholecystectomy video dataset. We assessed surgical workflow recognition and report a deep learning system, that not only detects surgical phases, but does so with high accuracy and is able to generalize to new settings and unseen medical centers. Our findings provide a solid foundation for translating AI applications from research to practice, ushering in a new era of surgical intelligence.

Purpose. This study aimed to investigate the effect of OM-101 on the fibrotic response occurring in proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) in an animal model. Methods. Antifibrotic effect of OM-101 was investigated in vivo. As control, eight weeks old c57black mice underwent intravitreal injection with Hepes (group A) or dispase (0.3 units), to induce retinal detachment (RD) and PVR. The dispase-injected mice were randomly divided into two groups B and C (N=25 mice); in group C, the eyes were treated with intravitreal injection of OM-101 (3 μl), and group B with PBS, as a control. After additional five days, mice were injected with the same initial treatment. Three days later, mice were euthanized, and the eyes were enucleated and processed for histological analysis. Results. Intravitreal injection of dispase caused RD in 64% of the mice in group B, and 93% of those mice had PVR. Only 32% of mice treated with OM-101 and dispase (group C) developed RD, and only 25% of those developed PVR. Conclusions. OM-101 was found effective in reducing the incidence of RD and PVR maintaining the normal architecture of the retina. This study suggests that OM-101 is a potentially effective and safe drug for the treatment of PVR patients.

Background: Irrational use of medicines is a problem globally that soon needs to be addressed. According to estimates from the World Health Organization, almost half of all medications were improperly prescribed. This study aimed to assess the drug prescribing patterns based on World Health Organization drug use indicators in the dermatology outpatient department of Injibara General Hospital., Method: A facility-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from August 15 to August 30, 2024, with 620 patient prescriptions issued at the dermatology outpatient department of Injibara General Hospital. All patient prescriptions dispensed from the dermatology outpatient department from April to July 2024 were included. A structured data collection tool adopted from the World Health Organization core medicine use indicator was used to collect data, and Statistical Package for Social Science version 27.1 was used for data analysis., Results: An average of 1.74 drugs per encounters was prescribed, with 21.6 and 3.1% of prescriptions being antibiotics and injections, respectively. Generics were used in 95.4% of prescriptions, and nearly 84% of drugs were prescribed from the Ethiopian essential-drug list., Conclusion: The World Health Organization's recommended threshold for the average number of prescriptions prescribed per encounter was met, indicating proper prescribing practices that reduce polypharmacy. The percentage of encounters with antibiotics was within the World Health Organization's value, which reflects that dermatologists are less likely engaging in irrational antibiotic prescriptions. Likewise, the World Health Organization's recommendations for the percentage of encounters with injection was met, indicating an effort to minimize unnecessary use of injections by dermatologists, which can reduce complications associated with injection use. However, the World Health Organization's guidelines for generic drug prescriptions were not met, suggesting that dermatologists are less likely to prescribe generic drugs, which can raise patient healthcare expenditures considerably. Prescriptions from the Ethiopian essential medicine list also fell short of World Health Organization's standards, indicating a failure to follow established guidelines., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2025 Tegegnie, Alene, Bogale, Tamir and Sineshaw.)

Background: Corticosteroids are among the most frequently prescribed drugs in the world because they are extremely effective for the relief of symptoms of many inflammatory and immune disorders and other conditions. Corticosteroids have been a mainstay of pharmacotherapy in dermatological practice., Objective: This study aimed to assess prescribing practices of corticosteroids in outpatient dermatology department of Injibara General Hospital, North-West Ethiopia, 2024., Method: A facility-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1 to September 10, 2024, with 422 patient prescriptions issued at the dermatology outpatient department of Injibara General Hospital containing at least one corticosteroid medicine. All patient prescriptions dispensed from the dermatology outpatient department from April to August 2024 containing at least one corticosteroid medicine were included. A structured data collection tool was used to collect data, and Statistical Package for Social Science version 27.1 was used for data analysis. The study population was characterized through descriptive analysis., Results: Female patients accounted 54.2% of the cases recorded, and the most common age group was between 21 and 30 years (26.5%). Atopic dermatitis (15.4%) was the most common skin disorder, followed by papular urticaria (9.97%) and seborrheic dermatitis (8.9%) for which corticosteroids were prescribed. Topical corticosteroids were the most commonly prescribed medications, accounting for 94.1%. The percentage of corticosteroids prescribed by generic name was 82.4%. We found that the percentage of topical corticosteroid prescriptions in fixed drug combinations and extemporaneous prescription was 4.4 and 1.2%, respectively. Mometasone furoate was the most commonly prescribed (34.6%), followed by clobetasol propionate (26.7%). Ointments (53%) followed by creams (40.6%) were the most common formulations of topical corticosteroids issued. In the present study, moderate potency TCS were most commonly prescribed (32.3%), followed by high potency (28.3%), and super high potency (27.6%), respectively., Conclusion: From this study, it can be concluded that atopic dermatitis is the most common skin disease observed in the studied dermatology outpatient where the corticosteroid was indicated. Mometasone furoate and clobetasol propionate were the two most commonly prescribed agents. Prescribing practice of high potent and very high potent topical corticosteroids was found to be considerably high., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2025 Tegegnie, Alene, Tamir and Sineshaw.)

Background: Dyslipidemia is a common condition in type two diabetic patients, and it is thought to have a significant role in moderating the cardiovascular risk associated with diabetes. Data on serum lipid profiles in type 2 diabetes patients from Bahir Dar, Ethiopia is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of dyslipidemia among adult type 2 diabetes patients and to explore potential contributing factors., Method and Materials: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 354 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients from April 3 to June 4, 2023. Data were collected through the use of structured questionnaires and checklists. The data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Logistic regression was employed to identify variables significantly associated with the outcomes, with a p -value ≤ 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval., Results: A total of 369 individuals with diabetes were approached in this study, resulting in a response rate of 96%. The overall prevalence of dyslipidemia was 61.3% (95% CI: 56.2-66.7). Of those with dyslipidemia, 11% had a single serum lipid abnormality, while 50.3% had a combined serum lipid abnormality. Significant factors associated with dyslipidemia included being over 60 years old (AOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.2-5.0), poor fasting blood glucose control (AOR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.2-5.1), being overweight (AOR: 5.8, 95% CI: 3.2-11), physical inactivity (AOR: 3.4, 95% CI: 1.7-7.0), and being a past alcohol drinker (AOR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.3-7.4)., Conclusion: In the study area, a high prevalence of dyslipidemia was found among diabetic patients. Independent factors associated with dyslipidemia included older age, poor fasting blood glucose control, physical inactivity, a history of alcohol consumption, and being overweight. To address this issue, it is essential to implement preventive measures such as early detection, patient education, dietary monitoring, regular clinical visits, physical exercise, and weight management. These strategies represent the most effective approach to combating dyslipidemia., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Addis, Nega, Tebeje, Asmare, Tegegnie, Tamir and Alene.)

Background: Quality of work-life issues significantly impact the economic, physical, and psychological well-being of health professionals and their families. Enhancing QWL aims to foster a conducive environment and improve work performance. This study evaluated the quality of work life of health professionals in government and private health institutions in the Awi zone, Ethiopia., Methods: A comparative cross-sectional approach was employed, with study participants selected via the lottery method in 2022. Socio-demographic and organizational-related data were collected, coded, cleaned, and entered into Epi-Data version 3.1, then analyzed using SPSS version 27. Candidate variables were selected using bivariable logistic regression ( p < 0.20). We used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with quality of work life, presenting AOR with a 95% CI at a 5% significance level., Results: The study included 385 private health professionals and 395 government health professionals, with response rates of 90.38 and 92.72%, respectively. Overall quality of work-life satisfaction was 53.08% (95% CI: 49.2-57.0), with private health institution workers reporting satisfaction at 42.3% (95% CI: 37.4-47.30) and government health professionals at 63.54% (95% CI: 58.78-68.31). The difference between the two groups was 21.2% (95% CI: 14.3, 27.9). Factors significantly associated with quality of work life included type of health institutions (AOR = 2.272; 1.684, 3.065), family size (AOR = 1.536; 1.122, 2.103), personnel protective equipment (AOR = 1.369; 1.006, 1.863), eye protection (AOR = 2.090; 1.514, 2.885), engineering control (AOR = 1.563; 1.140, 2.143), and accessibility of alcohol (AOR = 1.714; 1.219, 2.410)., Conclusion: Health professionals in private health institutions exhibited lower quality of work-life satisfaction than government health institutions. Quality of work life was significantly associated with the type of health institutions, family size, availability of personal protective equipment, eye protection, engineering control, and accessibility of alcohol. Regular monitoring and evaluation of the quality of work life, ensuring the availability of appropriate personal protective equipment, and providing sufficient materials and equipment for both groups were recommended based on the findings., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ayalew, Ma, Tamir and Mitiku.)

Background: Neonatal seizure is a common medical emergency that signals severe insult to the neonatal brain. It is a major risk factor for neonatal morbidity and mortality. It has a wide worldwide variation, ranging from 5 per 1000 live births in the United States of America to 39.5 per 1000 live births in Kenya. To decrease this significant figure, it is better to investigate its causes further. Therefore, this study aimed to assess its determinants since there was no prior evidence about it in the context of study area., Objective: Aim to assess the determinants of neonatal seizures among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units in the Awi Zone Hospitals, 2023., Methods: An institution based unmatched case-control study was conducted on 531 admitted eligible neonates from January 1, 2023, to May 30, 2023. A pretested tool was employed to collect data. The collected data were coded, edited, and entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS 26. Chi-square and odds ratios were used to assess the relationship between factors associated with the occurrence of neonatal seizure. Model goodness of fit was tested by Hosmer and Lemeshow. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was declared at P < 0.25 and P < 0.05 respectively to show a significant association with neonatal seizure at a 95 % level of significance., Results: A total of 506 (130 cases and 376 controls) of admitted neonates were used in the final analysis model. Neonates admitted within 24 h of birth [AOR; 5.98 (95 %, CI: 2.18-16.43)], gestational age <32 weeks [AOR; 2.89 (95 %, CI: 1.29-6.53)], body temperature >37.5 °C [AOR; 4.82 (95 %, CI: 1.82-12.76)], blood glucose level <40 g/dl [AOR; 4.95 (95 %, CI: 2.06,11.88)], neonatal sepsis [AOR; 2.79 (95 %, CI: 1.46-5.35)] and perinatal asphyxia [AOR; 8.25 (95 %, CI: 4.23, 16.12)] were found to be determinants of neonatal seizure., Conclusion: and recommendations: In this study, neonatal seizure was determined by the factors of neonatal age, gestational age<32 weeks, body temperature >37.5 °C, blood glucose level <40 g/dl, neonatal sepsis, and perinatal asphyxia. Therefore, the presence of such factors requires prompt recognition and treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Septicemia is potentially fatal infection caused by pathogenic bacteria infiltrating the bloodstream, resulting in morbidity and mortality among Ethiopian hospital patients. Multidrug resistance is a therapeutic challenge in this patient population. There is an insufficiency data among hospitals in Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to assess the phenotypic bacterial isolates, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, and associated factors among septicemia suspected patients., Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 214 septicemia suspected patients from February to June 2021 at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized hospital in northwest, Ethiopia. Blood samples were collected aseptically and processed to identify bacterial isolates by using different standard microbiological procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern was performed using the modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion on Mueller Hinton agar. Epi-data V4.2 was used to enter data and SPSS V25 for analysis. The variables were assessed using a bivariate logistic regression model with a 95% confidence interval, and declared statistically significant; P-value was < 0.05., Results: The overall bacterial isolates was found 45/214 (21%) in this study. Gram-negative and positive bacteria were 25/45(55.6%), 20/45(44.4%) respectively. The most common bacterial isolates were Staphylococcus aureus12/45 (26.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae 8/45(17.8%), Escherichia coli 6/45 (13.3%). Gram-negative bacteria showed susceptibility to amikacin (88%), meropenem, imipenem (76%) but, (92%) resistance to ampicillin, (85.7%) amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. S.aureus (91.7%) was resistance to Penicillin, (58.3%) cefoxitin and (75%) susceptible to ciprofloxacillin. S.pyogenes and S.agalactia were (100%) susceptible to Vancomacin. Multidrug resistance was found in 27/45(60%) of the bacterial isolates. The main predictors related to patients suspected of septicemia were prolonged hospitalization (AOR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.18, 7.22), fever (AOR = 0.39, 95%CI: 0.18, 0.85) and length of hospital stay (AOR = 0.13, 95%CI: 0.02, 0.82)., Conclusions: Incidence of bacterial isolates among septicemia suspected patients were high. The majority of the bacterial isolates were multidrug-resistant. To prevent antimicrobial resistance, specific antibiotic utilization strategy should be applied., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Prisoners in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are at a high risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection due to overcrowding and poor ventilation. Consequently, TB is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in prison, and many inmates face a number of barriers to TB control and had limited information in the region. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the overall pooled prevalence of pulmonary TB and predictors among prison inmates in SSA., Methods: From 2006 to 2019, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted using various databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. The data were extracted in Microsoft Excel using a standardized data extraction format, and the analysis was carried out with STATA version 14. To detect heterogeneity across studies, the I 2 and the Cochrane Q test statistics were computed. To determine the overall prevalence of TB and predictors among prison populations, a random effect meta-analysis model was used., Results: Of the 3,479 retrieved articles, 37studies comprising 72,844 inmates met the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of pulmonary TB among prison inmates in SSA was 7.74% (95% CI: 6.46-8.47). In the subgroup analysis, the highest prevalence was found in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) (19.72%) followed by Zambia (11.68%) and then Ethiopia (9.22%). TB/HIV coinfection (OR 4.99 (95% CI: 2.60-9.58)), Body mass index (BMI < 18.5) (OR 3.62 (95% CI: 2.65-6.49)), incarceration (OR 4.52 (95% CI: 2.31-5.68)), and previous TB exposure (OR 2.43 (95% CI: 1.61-3.56)) had higher odds of pulmonary TB among inmates., Conclusion: The prevalence of pulmonary TB among SSA prison inmates was found to be high as compared to total population. TB/HIV coinfection, BMI, incarceration duration, and TB exposure were all predictors with pulmonary tuberculosis in prison inmates. As a result, emphasizing early screening for prisoners at risk of pulmonary TB is an important point to achieving global TB commitments in resource-limited settings., Competing Interests: The authors declared that they have no any form of conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Habtamu Belew Mera et al.)

Background: Puerperal sepsis is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality, particularly in low and middle-income countries where most maternal deaths occur. Women with puerperal sepsis are prone to long-term disabilities, such as chronic pelvic pain, blocked fallopian tubes, and secondary infertility. Besides this, puerperal sepsis has received less attention. For this reason, this study aimed to determine the incidence of puerperal sepsis and its predictors among postpartum women at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital., Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among 330 postpartum women from September 2020 to 2021. A pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire with a data extraction checklist was used to collect the data. Data were entered into Epi data 4.2 and analyzed using STATA 14.0. The incidence rate of puerperal sepsis was calculated, and a Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to estimate the survival probability of developing puerperal sepsis. The cox-proportional hazards regression model was fitted to identify predictors of puerperal sepsis., Results: The study participants were followed for a total of 1685.3 person-week observations. The incidence rate of puerperal sepsis was 14.24 per 1,000 person-weeks. However, the overall incidence of puerperal sepsis was 7.27%. Not attending formal education [AHR: 3.55, 95% CI: (1.09-11.58)], a cesarean delivery [AHR: 4.50; 95% CI: (1.79-11.30)], premature rupture of the membranes [AHR: 3.25; 95% CI: (1.08-9.79)], complicated pregnancy [AHR: 4.80; 95% CI: (1.85-12.43)], being referred [AHR: 2.90; 95% CI: (1.10-7.65)], and not having birth preparedness and complication readiness plan [AHR: 2.95; 95% CI: (1.08-10.50)] were statistically significant predictors of puerperal sepsis., Conclusion: The incidence of puerperal sepsis was 7.27%. Not attending formal education, cesarean delivery, premature rupture of membranes, complicated pregnancy, referral status, and absence of birth preparedness and complication readiness plan were predictors associated with the incidence of puerperal sepsis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Bishaw, Sharew, Beka, Aynalem, Zeleke, Desta, Kassie, Amha, Eshete, Tamir, Bantigen, Mulugeta, Ferede and Bitewa.)

Background: Coronavirus disease has spread worldwide since late 2019. Vaccination is critical in controlling this pandemic. However, vaccine acceptance among pregnant women is not well-studied. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia., Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics at Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia, 2021. About 510 study subjects were selected using a systematic random sampling technique from August 25 to September 10/2021. Data collection was done by using an interviewer-administered, structured questionnaire. Epi-info 7.2 was used to enter data and then exported to SPSS version 25 software for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with the outcome variable. Variables with a p-value < 0.2 in the bivariable analysis were entered into the multivariable analysis to control for possible confounders. Statistical significance is determined using an adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) at a p-value of < 0.05., Results: Of 510 participants, 211 (41.4%) were willing to take COVID-19 vaccines. Maternal age ≥ 35 years (AOR: 5.678, 95% CI: 1.775-18.166), having contact history with COVID-19 diagnosed people (AOR: 7.724, 95% CI: 2.183, 27.329), having a pre-existing chronic disease (AOR: 3.131, 95% CI: 1.700-5.766), good knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine (AOR: 2.391, 95% CI: 1.144, 4.998) and good attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine (AOR: 2.128, 95% CI: 1.348) were significantly associated with the outcome variable., Conclusions: The willingness to take COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant mothers was low. Age, contact history with COVID-19 diagnosed people, chronic disease, knowledge, and attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine were factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine willingness. To enhance the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, the government with different stakeholders should strengthen public education about the importance of getting COVID-19 vaccine., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is an important system in normal physiological functioning of the body. In diabetes mellitus, alterations of IGF-binding protein (IGFBP) levels have been described, mainly in vascular complications., Aim: The aim of this review was to explore the role of the IGF system in reducing diabetes complications and its role as potential therapeutic target., Results: IGF-1 plays a role in neuronal growth and developmental processes. Low concentrations of IGF-1 have been associated with neuropathy and other diabetes complications. Moreover, impaired IGF synthesis and function may result in cellular senescence and impaired vascular endothelial proliferation, adhesion, and integration. Of note, high IGF-1 bioavailability may prevent or delay the inception of diabetes-associated complications in diabetes patients. The mechanism of normal functioning IGF-1 is induced by increasing nitric oxide synthesis and potassium ion channel opening in cardiovascular physiology, which improves impaired small blood vessel function and reduces the occurrence of diabetes complications associated with reduced concentrations of IGF-1., Conclusions: IGF may be considered an alternative therapy for diabetes and diabetes-associated complications. Therefore, future studies should focus on the mechanism of action and therapeutic potential of IGFs in reducing the risk of development and progression of the disease in different clinical settings.