Quality of anesthetist communication with surgical patients in the perioperative setting: a survey at an academic tertiary referral hospital in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Effective communication is a fundamental step in providing best medical care and recognized as vital component of clinical anesthesia practice. Poor communication adversely affects patients' safety and outcome. The objective of this study was to investigate the quality of anesthetist communication from patients' perspectives at University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UoGCSH), Northwest Ethiopia. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 423 surgical patients from April 1, - May 30, 2021. Perioperative patient-anesthetist communication (PPAC) was measured by using 15-items Communication Assessment Tool graded by 5-points Likert scale. Data collection was executed during postoperative time as the patients were optimally recovered from anesthesia. The collected data were cleaned and descriptive analysis was performed. RESULTS: A total of 400 (94.6% response rate) patients included and 226 (56.7%) were female. The median (IQR) age was 30 (25 - 40) years. Three-hundreds and sixty-one (90.3%) patients had reported good PPAC and 39 (9.8%) reported poor PPAC. The median (IQR) of PPAC scores was 53.0 (48.0 - 57.0) and range from 27 to 69. Highest mean score was observed for the item "Talked in terms I could understand" (4.3 ± 0.7). Lowest mean scores were observed for the item "Checked to be sure I understood everything" (1.9 ± 0.9). Patients who had underwent emergency surgery, no previous anesthetic exposure, had significant preoperative anxiety, no history of previous hospital admission, and moderate-severe preoperative pain were found to have poor PPAC compared to their counterparts in the proportions of 82.1%, 79.5%, 69.2%, 64.1%, and 59.0% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was good PPAC in our hospital from patients' perspective. However, there should be improvements in checking the degree of understanding of the delivered information, encouraging to question, disclosing next steps and involving in decision-making. Patients who underwent emergency surgery, had no previous anesthetic exposure, had clinically significant level of preoperative anxiety, had no history of previous hospital admission, and had moderate-severe preoperative pain were found to have poor PPAC.

Outcomes and Predictors of Severe Community-acquired Pneumonia Among Adults Admitted to the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital: A Prospective Follow-up Study.

Background: Severe community-acquired pneumonia is a common life-threatening infection with a high rate of unfavorable outcome. This study aimed to assess the outcomes and predictors of hospitalized severe community-acquired pneumonia patients at University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital. Methods: A prospective follow-up study was conducted at University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital from May 1 to September 31, 2021. The data was collected by reviewing patients' charts and interviewing the patients themselves. Descriptive statistics, binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed accordingly. Variables with p-value <0.2 on binary logistic regression were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression and variables with p<0.05 were considered to have significant association. Results: A total of 239 admitted patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia were enrolled in the study. An unfavorable outcome was observed in 105 (44%) patients; 24.27% was in-hospital all-cause mortality, 12.5% was nonresolution, 5.8% was complicated cases, and 1.26% were gone against medical care for poor prognosis. After analyzing multivariable logistic regression, confusion (OR= 4.84; 95%CI: 1.47-15.88), anemia (OR= 2.36; 95%CI: 1.01-5.52), leukopenia (OR=4.38; 95%CI: 1.26-15.25), leukocytosis (OR=3.15; 95%CI: 1.23-7.96), elevated creatinine (OR=5.67; 95%CI: 1.72-18.65), intubation (OR=7.27; 95%CI: 1.58-33.37) and antibiotic revision during treatment for a different reason (OR=0.02; 95%CI: 0.01-0.07) were variables significantly associated with unfavorable outcome. Conclusion: Unfavorable outcome was high among hospitalized severe community acquired pneumonia patients, and confusion, elevated creatinine, anemia, leukopenia, leukocytosis, intubation during admission, and antibiotic revision during the course were independent predictors associated significantly with the unfavorable outcome. It is important to consider the development of a treatment protocol for the hospital and to further research incorporating the microbiologic profile of the patients.

Obstructive sleep apnea risk and determinant factors among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients at the chronic illness clinic of the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep complaint among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients that has a deleterious effect on health with immediate and long-term impacts. Despite its impacts, data on the magnitude and predictors of obstructive sleep apnea among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Ethiopia is still limited. Thus, this study was conducted to determine how common a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea is and its predictors among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients receiving follow-up care at the chronic illness follow-up clinic at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Interviewer-administered questionnaires and physical measurements with standard instruments were used to collect the required data. The collected data were entered into EpiData 4.6 and exported into STATA 14. Both Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea. Variables with a p-value ≤0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression analysis were declared as significantly associated with a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea. Results: A total of 319 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with a median age of 58 years participated in our current study. The overall prevalence of a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea among the study participants was 31.97% (95%CI: 27.06, 37.32). On multivariable logistic analysis, a neck circumference of ≥40 cm (AOR=4.33, 95%CI 1.37, 13.72), physical inactivity (AOR=2.29, 95%CI 1.15, 4.53), comorbid hypertension (AOR=4.52, 95%CI 2.30, 9.18), and male sex (AOR=8.01, 95%CI 3.02, 21.24) were associated with a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea. Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients remains high. A neck circumference of ≥40 cm, physical inactivity, comorbid hypertension, and male sex were significantly associated with a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Screening and evaluation of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients for obstructive sleep apnea are recommended to avoid the negative impacts.