Knowledge, attitude and perception towards COVID-19 among representative educated sub-Saharan Africans: A cross-sectional study during the exponential phase of the pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the Severe Acute Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global health threat with extensive misinformation and conspiracy theories. Therefore, this study investigated the knowledge, attitude and perception of sub-Saharan Africans (SSA) on COVID-19 during the exponential phase of the pandemic. In this cross-sectional survey, self-administered web-based questionnaires were distributed through several online platforms. A total of 1046 respondents from 35 SSA countries completed the survey. The median age was 33 years (18-76 years) and about half (50.5%) of them were males. More than 40% across all socio-demographic categories except the Central African region (21.2%), vocational/secondary education (28.6%), student/unemployed (35.5%), had high COVID-19 knowledge score. Socio-demographic factors and access to information were associated with COVID-19 knowledge. Bivariate analysis revealed that independent variables, including the region of origin, age, gender, education and occupation, were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with COVID-19 knowledge. Multivariate analysis showed that residing in East (odds ratio [OR]: 7.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.7-14, p<0.001), Southern (OR: 3.7, 95% CI: 2.1-6.5, p<0.001) and West (OR: 3.9, 95% CI: 2.9-5.2, p<0.001) Africa was associated with high COVID-19 knowledge level. Apart from East Africa (54.7%), willingness for vaccine acceptance across the other SSA regions was <40%. About 52%, across all socio-demographic categories, were undecided. Knowledge level, region of origin, age, gender, marital status and religion were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. About 67.4% were worried about contracting SARS-CoV-2, while 65.9% indicated they would consult a health professional if exposed. More than one-third of the respondents reported that their governments had taken prompt measures to tackle the pandemic. Despite high COVID-19 knowledge in our study population, most participants were still undecided regarding vaccination, which is critical in eliminating the pandemic. Therefore, extensive, accurate, dynamic and timely education in this aspect is of ultimate priority.

Cardiovascular benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients with heart failure: a meta-analysis of small and large randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have shown promise in improving cardiovascular outcome in patients with heart failure (HF) and diabetes mellitus (DM). Although these benefits have been confirmed by several meta-analyses, small studies have not been included into these pooled analyses. AIM: Publication of recent RCTs prompted us to perform this updated meta-analysis to examine the consistency of favorable cardiovascular outcomes of SGLT2 inhibitors in HF patients by inclusion of clinical trials with small sample size. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of the literature in PubMed/Medline and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify all RCTs investigating the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients with HF. The primary endpoint of this meta-analysis was to compare the cardiovascular death (CVD) and hospitalization for HF (HHF) between patients who received an SGLT2 inhibitor and those who received a placebo or a non-SGLT2 inhibitor. We used a risk difference (RD) and log hazard ratio (HR) to pool the reported difference across the included RCTs. RESULTS: A total of 12 RCTs encompassing 59,825 patients at different stages of HF and DM were included, 32,448 patients in the SGLT2 inhibitor group and 27,377 patients in the control group. A pooled analysis of RCTs, regardless of HF severity or DM status, showed a significantly reduced RD for CVD (RD =-0.01, 95% CI [-0.01, 0.00], P=0.01) and HHF (RD =-0.02, 95% CI [-0.03, -0.01], P=0.0005) in patients who received a SGLT2 inhibitor compared to those who did not. A sub-group analysis showed a significantly reduced RD for CVD (RD =-0.01, 95% CI [-0.02, 0.00], P=0.03) and HHF (RD =-0.02, 95% CI [-0.03, 0.00], P=0.01) in patients with DM who received SGLT2 inhibitors regardless of the severity of HF. Also, regardless of DM status, RD for HHF favored the use of SGLT2 inhibitor than the control medication (RD =-0.05, 95% CI [-0.06, -0.03], P<0.00001). CONCLUSION: SGLT2 inhibitors have shown a promise in reducing CVD and HHF in patients with HF, regardless of ejection fraction or diabetes status.