Search

Background and Aims: A growing number of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients suffer from opportunistic intestinal coccidian infections. Instead of human immuno deficiency virus (HIV) infection itself, opportunistic infections like intestinal coccidian parasites cause death of over 80% AIDS patients. Factors like exposed drinking water sources and poverty aid the prevalence of opportunistic intestinal coccidian parasitic infections in HIV/AIDS patients. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal coccidian parasites and associated factors in HIV/AIDS patients. Methods: A health facility based cross sectional study was conducted from 140 HIV/AIDS patients attending ART clinic in Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia from September to December 2023. The sociodemographic characteristics were collected through face‐to‐face interviews. Stool samples were processed with Modified Acid Fast staining technique. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 20 was used to analyze the data. Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with dependent variable and p < 0.05 was considered significantly associated. Results: The total prevalence of opportunistic intestinal coccidian parasites (OICPs) in HIV/AIDS patients was 16.4% (23/140). Drinking surface water [p = 0.015, COR = 3.4] compared to tape water, drinking alcohol [p = 0.001, COR = 18] compared to not drinking alcohol, diarrhea [p = 0.005, COR = 1] compared to non‐diarrheic, drug dropout [p = 0.01, COR = 11] compared to regular drug intake and low CD4 count [p = 0.042, COR = 9] compared to CD4 > 500/µL showed significant association with increased prevalence of OICPs in HIV/AIDS patients. Conclusions: OICPs are still the common causes of morbidity and mortality in HIV/AIDS patients. Surface water consumption, alcoholism, interruption of treatment drugs, diarrhea, and reduced CD4+ T‐cells significantly contribute to acquisition and prevalence of OICPs in HIV/AIDS patients. Routine screening of OICPs with sensitive diagnostic techniques in HIV/AIDS patients regardless of symptoms is crucial and has to be practiced in health settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: intestinal parasitic infections are global public health problems. It causes clinical morbidity and mortality largely in developing countries. About 25% of the world's population are chronically infected with intestinal parasites and 1.5 to 2.7 million deaths annually. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasites and associated factors among Dawudo elementary school children. Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted at Dawudo elementary school children from March to April 2017 from 236 study participants. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Sociodemographic data and associated factors were collected by face-to-face interview. A stool specimen was collected and examined using both wet mount and formal ether concentration technique. Data analyses were done by using SPSS version 16 software. Binary logistic regression was done to assess the strength of association between dependent and independent variables. A p-value less than or equal to 0.05 was considered as a statistically significant association. Results: the overall prevalence of intestinal parasite was 66.5% (95% CI: 60.4%, 72.6%). The prevalence of single, double, and triple parasites was 84.1%, 13.4%, and 2.5%, respectively. Ascaris lumbricoides were the most common 56.8%, followed by E. histolytica/dispar 9.7%. Open field defecation, untrimmed finger, and eating of uncooked vegetables were statistically significantly with intestinal parasites. Conclusion: intestinal parasitic infections in the study area were highly prevalent and a major public health problem. Therefore, an intervention strategy that focuses on periodic deworming and health education should be designed and implemented in the area to reduce the prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and treatable disease leading to the second death globally. The evolution of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), particularly rifampicin resistance (RR), has hampered TB control efforts. Thus, this study aimed to provide information regarding the magnitude of MTB and rifampicin resistance among patients tested using the GeneXpert method., Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out at DTCSH. The study included TB registration logbook data from all patients who visited the hospital and were tested for MTB with the Xpert MTB/RIF assay from 2017 to 2024. The laboratory-based data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS version 26 software. Multilogistic regression analysis was employed, and a p value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: A total of 12,981 patient results were included, of which 8.9% (1160/12,981) were MTB-positive and 7.1% (82/1160) were RR. Individuals aged 15-29 years (AOR = 2.13; 95% CI = 1.55-2.93, p < 0.001), living in rural areas (AOR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.08-1.41, p = 0.003), and HIV+ (AOR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.48-2.33, p < 0.001) had a higher risk of developing tuberculosis. While RR was identified in 63.4% (52/82) of new, 24.4% (20/82) of re-treated, and 12.2% (10/82) of failed presumptive TB patients., Conclusion: In this study, MTB and RR trends were high. Productive age groups, rural populations, and HIV patients were at risk. To lessen the burden of this contagious and fatal disease, it is recommended to increase early diagnosis of drug-resistant TB and enhance infection control., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Hematological abnormalities have been associated with an increased risk of disease progression and death in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The use of antiretroviral medications can have a positive or negative effect on the hematological disorder. However, little is known about its impact on hematological parameters in antiretroviral-treated patients in Ethiopia, especially in the study area., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital from September to November 2020. A total of 334 HIV-infected patients taking highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) at least for 6 months were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the study subjects were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Hematological and immunological parameters were determined using Sysmex kx-21 hematology analyzer and BD FACS count CD4 analyzer, respectively. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20 statistical software. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: A total of 334 HIV patients were included in this study. The prevalence of anemia, leucopenia, neutropenia, lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia were 37.1%, 22.8%, 8.4%, 10.5% and 17.1% before initiation of HAART and 17.4%, 34.2%, 18.8%, 13.1% and 8.3% after initiation of HAART, respectively. There was a significant difference in total white blood cell (WBC) count, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), red blood cell (RBC) count, hemoglobin value, mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red cell distribution width (RDW), platelet and CD4+ T cell counts in HIV patients before and after initiation of HAART (P<0.05)., Conclusion: The most common hematological abnormalities observed in this study before and after HAART initiation were anemia, leucopenia, neutropenia, lymphopenia, and thrombocytopenia. However, after beginning HAART, the prevalence of anemia and thrombocytopenia decreased dramatically., Competing Interests: All authors reported no conflicts of interest for this work and declared that they have no competing interest related to the publication of this manuscript., (© 2021 Damtie et al.)

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) has remained as a top global public health concern of the 21st century. It is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide., Objective: The study aimed to investigate the magnitude of pulmonary tuberculosis and its associated factors among HIV-positive patients attending antiretroviral treatment (ART) clinic in Debre Tabor specialized hospital, Northwest, Ethiopia., Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 362 HIV-positive adult participants attending the ART clinic from October 1st to December 30th 2019. Socio-demographic data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Sputum was collected aseptically into a sterile and leak-proof container. Following aseptic techniques, each sample was processed using the GeneXpert assay based on the manufacturer's instructions. Similarly, about 3-5 mL of whole blood was drawn for CD4+ T-cell count and plasma viral load tests following standard blood collection procedures. CD4+ T-cell count was performed using the BD FACS caliber flow cytometry while the plasma viral load was performed by using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Then, collected data were double-checked, cleaned and entered into Epi-Info version 7.2.0.1 and exported to SPSS version 20.0 for further statistical analysis. The bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to address risk factor analysis. The 95%confidence interval with its corresponding cure and adjusted odds ratio was computed. Finally, p-value ≤0.05 was considered as a statistically significant association., Results: In this study, the overall prevalence of tuberculosis among HIV-positive patients was 18 [(5%), 95% CI: 2.8-7.5]. A high viral load (≥1000 copies/mL) was positively associated [AOR (95% CI: 6.4 (1.6-25.7)), p < 0.001] with developing tuberculosis among HIV-positive patients., Conclusion: The prevalence of TB is low among ART-receiving patients in our study site., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (© 2020 Kiros et al.)