The Burden and Contributing Factors of Cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema Among Acute Heart Failure Patients Admitted to Tertiary Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia.

Background: Despite cardiogenic pulmonary edema is the most common phenotype of acute heart failure (AHF), studies on its burden and associated factors are limited. This study aimed to assess the burden and contributing factors of cardiogenic pulmonary edema in patients with acute heart failure admitted to a tertiary hospital in eastern Ethiopia. Patients and Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on the medical records (n = 276) of patients with AHF between February 01, 2018, and January 31, 2023. A simple random sampling technique was used to select participants from the study population. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess factors associated with the development of cardiogenic pulmonary edema. A P-value ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of cardiogenic pulmonary edema was 47.8% in AHF patients. Rural residence (adjusted odds ratio (AOR),9.54), smoking (AOR,3.17), comorbidity (AOR,2.1), and underlying cardiovascular disease (ischemic heart disease, chronic rheumatic valvular heart disease, and hypertensive heart disease with AOR: 6.71, 8.47, and 12.07, respectively) were significantly associated with the development of cardiogenic pulmonary edema in patients with AHF. Conclusion: Nearly half of the patients with AHF had cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Being a rural dweller, cigarette smoking, comorbidities, and underlying cardiac illness were significantly associated with the development of cardiogenic pulmonary edema in patients with AHF.

Expected Impacts of COVID-19: Considering Resource-Limited Countries and Vulnerable Population.

Coronavirus disease in 2019 emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. After a month, it was declared a global threat to public health. The effects of the pandemic could be socio-economic, undermining the health system and risking livelihoods. Vulnerability to this infection has been associated with underlying comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and compromised immune systems. Co-morbidity has been common to the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless. In addition, more severe coronavirus disease outcomes have been reported in older males than females. Nonetheless, multiple variables are related to the concept of cultural gender that should be taken into account as women in more affected sectors are economically disadvantageous and over-represented. Similarly, although children are not the face of this pandemic, calamity has a profound effect on their welfare, especially for those living in poor and inconvenient situations. Moreover, the economic influence could be profound and universal when viewed through a migration lens as it is exacerbating xenophobic and discriminatory treatment. Protection measures to mitigate the outbreak of a pandemic, such as social distancing, may reduce social support for certain categories relied on for their day-to-day activities. The mental health of people would definitely be affected by the additional psychosocial burden of the pandemic, particularly in vulnerable groups. Integrated approaches are therefore mandatory to assist these groups and contain the pandemic.

Ethnobotanical, Ethnopharmacological, and Phytochemical Studies of Myrtus communis Linn: A Popular Herb in Unani System of Medicine.

Myrtus communis L (Myrtaceae) is one of the popular drugs being used in the Unani system of phytomedicine since ancient Greece period. From time immemorial, different parts of this plant and essential oil have been used for a variety of purposes such as cosmetics (hair fall control), flavoring of food and drinks as well as extensive therapeutic purposes. Ethnobotanical information revealed that M communis L has been a folkloric repute for the treatment of several diseases like gastric ulcer, diarrhea, dysentery, cancer, rheumatism, hemorrhage, deep sinuses, leucorrhoea, hemorrhoid, inflammation, dyspepsia, anxiety, insomnia, diabetes, hypertension, pulmonary disorders, and skin diseases. Moreover, ethnopharmacological studies revealed that the plant is endowed with extensive pharmacological activities, including antimicrobial, antidiarrheal, antidiabetic, antispasmodic, vasodilator, antiulcer, antioxidant, anticancer, anxiolytic, sedative-hypnotic, and anti-inflammatory activities, among others. The plant has been known to contain phenolic acids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, and terpenes. The myrtle oil was also found to be rich in a variety of bioactive monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes with their derivatives. Most of these studies validate the aforementioned traditional claims of this medicinal plant. Further studies are needed to unravel other pharmacological activities of this plant in the long run.