Feasibility of diabetes self-management coaching program for individuals with type 2 diabetes in the Ethiopian primary care setting: a protocol for a feasibility mixed-methods parallel-group randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is the third most prevalent chronic metabolic disorder and a significant contributor to disability and impaired quality of life globally. Diabetes self-management coaching is an emerging empowerment strategy for individuals with type 2 diabetes, enabling them to achieve their health and wellness goals. The current study aims to determine the feasibility of a diabetes self-management coaching program and its preliminary effectiveness on the clinical and psychosocial outcomes in the Ethiopian primary healthcare context. METHODS: The study will employ a mixed-method feasibility randomized controlled trial design. Forty individuals with type 2 diabetes will be randomly allocated to treatment and control groups using block randomization. The primary feasibility outcomes include acceptability, eligibility, recruitment, and participant retention rates, which will be computed using descriptive analysis. The secondary outcomes are self-efficacy, self-care activity, quality of life, and glycated hemoglobin A1c. For normally distributed continuous variables, the mean difference within and between the groups will be determined by paired sample Student t-test and independent sample Student t-test, respectively. Non-parametric tests such as the Mann-Whitney U test, the Wilcoxon signed rank test, and the Friedman analysis of variance test will determine the median difference for variables that violated the normality assumption. A repeated measure analysis of variance will be considered to estimate the variance between the baseline, post-intervention, and post-follow-up measurements. A sample of 10 volunteers in the treatment group will participate in the qualitative interview to explore their experience with the diabetes self-management coaching program and overall feasibility. The study will follow a qualitative content analysis approach to analyze the qualitative data. Qualitative and quantitative findings will be integrated using a joint display technique. DISCUSSION: Evidence reveals diabetes self-management coaching programs effectively improve HbA1c, self-efficacy, self-care activity, and quality of life. This study will determine the feasibility of a future large-scale randomized controlled trial on diabetes self-management coaching. The study will also provide evidence on the preliminary outcomes and contribute to improving the diabetes self-management experience and quality of life of individuals with type 2 diabetes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered online at ClinicalTrials.gov on 12/04/2022 and received a unique registration number, NCT05336019, and the URL of the registry is https://beta. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/study/NCT05336019 .

Chronic California herbal tea use causing biopsy-proven Melanosis coli.

Melanosis coli is a dark to brown pigmentation of the colon due to lipofuscin deposition within the cytoplasm of cells. It is a benign condition associated with excessive use of laxatives, particularly those that are anthracene derivatives and common herbal remedies like Cassia Angustifolla (senna). It is usually asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally during colonoscopy or histopathologic evaluation. We present a case of a 56-year-old male patient who presented with diarrhea of 3 months duration, which started after he began to use California herbal tea for his constipation. Colonoscopic evaluation revealed an intense pigmentation throughout the colon suggestive of Melanosis coli, which was confirmed on histopathology. In patients with prolonged use of California herbal tea and dark to brown pigmentations of colonic mucosa on colonoscopy, there should be a high index of suspicion for Melanosis coli. And patients should be aware of the risk of developing Melanosis coli following prolonged herbal tea use. The findings presented in our case are in support of few previous literature that showed relations between chronic herbal tea use and Melanosis coli.

Accuracy of non-invasive diagnosis of esophageal varices among cirrhotic patients in a low-income setting.

Cirrhosis is a chronic liver disease that is frequently complicated by increased portal venous pressure and the formation of EV. The most common clinical manifestation of portal hypertension is esophageal varices, and ruptured varices are the most fatal complication of portal hypertension. The diagnosis and follow-up of esophageal varices is done by Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, but in most developing countries, the follow-up of cirrhotic patients by gastrointestinal endoscopy remains a challenge. Objective: Assessment of diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive tests as predictors of esophageal varices among cirrhotic patients at University of Gondar comprehensive Hospital. Method: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among cirrhotic patients from March 2022-October 2022. All study participants underwent screening for Esophageal Varices, Spleen Diameter, Platelet count and Platelet count/spleen diameter ratio. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. ROC curves were plotted for Spleen Diameter, Platelet count and Platelet count/spleen diameter ratio with specific cutoffs determined. Diagnostic performance was assessed using ROC curve. The diagnostic thresholds were specified with their sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value positive and negative likelihood ratios. Result: A total of 206 patients were included. The mean age was 41.84 year and SD of (41.84 ± 12.398). About 79.4 % percent were males. Endoscopy confirmed esophageal varices were present in 176(85.4 %) cases. Sixty-seven percent of cases had decompensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class B&C). The platelet count to spleen diameter ratio less than 818 had a PPV of 94.7 % (AUROC = 0.835), while spleen diameter greater than 145 mm had 93.7 % PPV (AUROC = 0.783). At a platelet count cutoff <121,000/mm3, the PPV was 95.1 % (AUROC = 0.818). Conclusion: In this study, platelet count, spleen diameter, and PC/SD all performed well for EV diagnostics, with PC/SD outperforming the others. This finding supports the use of these noninvasive indicators for the diagnosis and implementation of prophylactic treatment foe esophageal varices in health institutions where gastrointestinal endoscopy is unavailable.

Risk stratification and prognostic value of prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time among COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a viral disease caused by a new strain of corona virus. Currently, prognosis and risk stratification of COVID-19 patients is done by the disease's clinical presentation. Therefore, identifying laboratory biomarkers for disease prognosis and risk stratification of COVID-19 patients is critical for prompt treatment. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the risk stratification and prognostic value of basic coagulation parameters and factors associated with disease severity among COVID-19 patients at the Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital, COVID-19 treatment center, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A follow-up study was conducted among conveniently recruited COVID-19 patients attended from March to June 2021. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire and checklist, respectively. Prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) were analyzed by the HUMACLOT DUE PLUS® machine. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants. Kruskal Wallis tests were used to compare the difference between parametric and non-parametric continuous variables, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the value of PT and APTT in the risk stratification and disease prognosis of COVID-19 patients. Ordinal logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with disease severity and prognosis. A P-value < 0.05 was defined as statistically significant for all results. RESULT: Baseline PT at a cut-off value ≥ 16.25 seconds differentiated severe COVID-19 patients from mild and moderate patients (AUC: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.83-0.95). PT also differentiated mild COVID-19 patients from moderate and severe patients at a cut-off value ≤ 15.35 seconds (AUC: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.84-0.96). Moreover, alcohol drinkers were a 3.52 times more likely chance of having severe disease than non-drinkers (95% CI: 1.41-8.81). A one-year increment in age also increased the odds of disease severity by 6% (95% CI: 3-9%). An increment of ≥ 0.65 seconds from the baseline PT predicted poor prognosis (AUC: 0.93, 0.87-0.99). CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Prolonged baseline PT was observed in severe COVID-19 patients. Prolonged baseline PT was also predicted to worsen prognosis. An increase from the baseline PT was associated with worsen prognosis. Therefore, PT can be used as a risk stratification and prognostic marker in COVID-19 patients.

Baseline Thrombocytopenia and Disease Severity Among COVID-19 Patients, Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital COVID-19 Treatment Center, Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: Thrombocytopenia and platelet indices in COVID-19 patients were important for prompt treatment and management of the disease. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of thrombocytopenia, platelet indices, and its association with disease severity among COVID-19 patients at the Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital, COVID-19 treatment center, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 117 conveniently recruited COVID-19 patients from March to June 2021. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire and checklist, respectively. The platelet parameters were analyzed by the Mindray-BC 5800 automated hematological analyzer. ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the difference between parametric and non-parametric continuous variables, respectively. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with thrombocytopenia. A P-value < 0.05 was defined as statistically significant for all statistical tests. Results: Among COVID-19 patients, 45, 43 and 29 were mild, moderate and severe, respectively. 65.8% of the patients were males and 34.2% were alcohol drinkers with a mean age of 50.6 ± 15.4. Moreover, 44.4% of the patients had co-morbidity. Thrombocytopenia was presented in 23.9% of the patients. It was 4.57 (95% CI: 1.30-16.07) and 6.10 (95% CI: 1.54-24.08) times more likely in the moderate and severe cases compared to mild cases, respectively. Disease severity was also associated with PDW (P-value = 0.001). Conclusion: Even though thrombocytopenia was not presented in most moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, thrombocytopenia and PDW were associated with disease severity.

The Prevalence of Coagulopathy and Associated Factors Among Adult Type II Diabetes Mellitus Patients Attending the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder of metabolism which results hyperglycemic-related atherothrombotic complications. These complications are the leading cause of death in diabetes mellitus patients. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence of coagulopathy and associated factors among adult type II diabetes mellitus patients attending at University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 357 study participants. A questionnaire and a data collection sheet were used to collect the sociodemographic and clinical data, respectively. About 6mL of venous blood samples were collected for coagulation tests and complete blood count. For prolonged coagulation tests, a mixing test was performed. Data were entered into EpiInfo and exported to SPSS for statistical analysis. Then, descriptive statistics were done. A binary and multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the associated factors. P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: In this study, 357 study participants were included. Of them, 52.1% (186) and 80.7% (288) were females and urban residences, respectively. The prevalence of coagulopathy was 26.6% (95% CI: 22.1, 31.5%). Out of this, 12.3% and 8.7% showed shortened PT and aPTT, respectively. In addition, the prevalence of prolonged PT and aPTT were 5.6% and 3.9%, respectively. From the prolonged PT and aPTT, the prevalence of factor deficiency was 95% and 92.8%, respectively. Being female (AOR = 2.06; 95% CI: 1.11-3.85%), abnormal BMI (AOR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.08-3.50), and educational status of high school (AOR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.10-0.83%) were significantly associated with hypercoagulation. CONCLUSION: Coagulopathy is an important public health problem among type II diabetes mellitus patients. Being female and having abnormal BMI were associated with hypercoagulation. Therefore, regular monitoring of coagulation parameters is vital to reduce the consequence of coagulopathy.

Increasing smear positive tuberculosis detection using a clinical score - A stepped wedge multicenter trial from Africa.

BACKGROUND: The Bandim TBscore is a clinical score that predicts treatment outcome in Tuberculosis (TB) patients and proved useful as an indicator of which healthcare-seeking adults to refer for sputum smear microcopy. We aimed to test in a randomized trial if the TBscore could be used to enhance the detection of smear positive (SP) TB. METHODS: We carried out a stepped wedge cluster-randomized trial at six health centers in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, and Gondar, Ethiopia. The primary outcome was diagnostic yield for SP TB. Secondary outcomes were successful treatment and effect on overall 12 months mortality. The study was registered at the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR201611001838365). RESULTS: We included 3571 adults. Overall, there was no effect of the intervention on SP PTB detected (OR 1.39 (95%CI 0.75 - 2.56). Analysis stratified by country, showed that the TBscore increased case detection in Gondar (OR 4.05 (95%CI 1.67 - 9.85)) but no effect was found in Bissau (OR 0.47 (95%CI 0.22 - 1.05)) where take-up was much lower. Overall mortality decreased during the intervention (HR 0.31 (95%CI 0.13-0.72)). CONCLUSION: Using the TBscore for triage before smear microscopy may improve case detection and decrease mortality if there is sufficient laboratory capacity to increase sputum smears.