scholarly journals The Size of Anterior Fontanelle and Its Determinants at Birth Among Neonates in Northern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

2020 ◽  
Vol Volume 11 ◽  
pp. 477-483
Author(s):  
Dawit Habte Woldeyes ◽  
Mengstu Desalegn Kiros ◽  
Belta Asnakew Abegaz ◽  
Ashenafi Abate Woya
BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e037913
Author(s):  
Mala George ◽  
Geert-Jan Dinant ◽  
Efrem Kentiba ◽  
Teklu Teshome ◽  
Abinet Teshome ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo evaluate the performance of the predictors in estimating the probability of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) when all versus only significant variables are combined into a decision model (1) among all clinical suspects and (2) among smear-negative cases based on the results of culture tests.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingTwo public referral hospitals in Tigray, Ethiopia.ParticipantsA total of 426 consecutive adult patients admitted to the hospitals with clinical suspicion of PTB were screened by sputum smear microscopy and chest radiograph (chest X-ray (CXR)) in accordance with the Ethiopian guidelines of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program. Discontinuation of antituberculosis therapy in the past 3 months, unproductive cough, HIV positivity and unwillingness to give written informed consent were the basis of exclusion from the study.Primary and secondary outcome measuresA total of 354 patients were included in the final analysis, while 72 patients were excluded because culture tests were not done.ResultsThe strongest predictive variables of culture-positive PTB among patients with clinical suspicion were a positive smear test (OR 172; 95% CI 23.23 to 1273.54) and having CXR lesions compatible with PTB (OR 10.401; 95% CI 5.862 to 18.454). The regression model had a good predictive performance for identifying culture-positive PTB among patients with clinical suspicion (area under the curve (AUC) 0.84), but it was rather poor in patients with a negative smear result (AUC 0.64). Combining all the predictors in the model compared with only the independent significant variables did not really improve its performance to identify culture-positive (AUC 0.84–0.87) and culture-negative (AUC 0.64–0.69) PTB.ConclusionsOur finding suggests that predictive models based on clinical variables will not be useful to discriminate patients with culture-negative PTB from patients with culture-positive PTB among patients with smear-negative cases.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ermias Alemayehu ◽  
Alemu Gedefie ◽  
Aderaw Adamu ◽  
Jemal Mohammed ◽  
Brhanu Kassanew ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Parasitic infections are known causes of morbidity among HIV infected patients with low CD4+ counts who are on antiretroviral therapy; mainly as a result of immune suppression. Thus, this study aimed to assess the extent of intestinal parasitic infection and its related risk factors among HIV infected patients attending ART clinic of Debretabor General Hospital, Northern Ethiopia.Patients and methods: A health facility based cross sectional study was conducted on a total of 383 HIV infected patients attending ART clinic of Debretabor General Hospital, Northern Ethiopia from December 2018 to March 2019. An interview based structured questionnaire were used to gather socio-demographic and risk factor data. About 5 grams of fresh stool specimen and 4 ml of venous blood sample were collected, then transported and tested in accordance with the laboratory standard operating procedures. The obtained data was entered into SPSS version 22.0; and analyzed. P-value <0.05 with 95% confidence interval was considered statistically significant.Result: The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 25.3%; with 18% and 23.8% by direct wet mount and formol-ether concentration technique respectively. 8 (2.1%) patients were infected by multiple parasites in concentration technique. Ascaris lumbricoides, 23(25.3%) was the most frequently identified parasite. Parasitic infection was significantly higher among illiterates (P=0.011); patients with a CD4 count of <200 cells/mm3 (P<0.001) and among patients who did not have latrine (P=0.049) than their counter parts.Conclusion: Relatively higher prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was found among HIV/AIDS patients. The distribution of intestinal parasites is greatly affected by illiteracy, reduced CD4+ counts and absence of toilet. Thus, HIV/AIDS patients with low CD4+ counts should be diagnosed consistently for intestinal parasites and routine stool examination and awareness creation should be advocated to be included as an essential component of the ART monitoring strategy for improved patient care.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. e0234106
Author(s):  
Hagos Haileslasie ◽  
Aster Tsegaye ◽  
Gebreyohanes Teklehaymanot ◽  
Getachew Belay ◽  
Gebreslassie Gebremariam ◽  
...  

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