Survival Status, Length of Stay, and Predictors of Mortality Among Neonates Admitted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Gurage Zone Public Hospitals.

Background: Many countries need to accelerate their progress to achieve the sustainable development goal target of neonatal death. It is still high in Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to assess the mortality predictors and length of hospital stay among Neonates admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Gurage zone public Hospitals. Method: In this study, a facility-based retrospective follow-up study was applied among 375 neonates admitted to the NICU of selected public hospitals in the Gurage zone from June 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021. The researchers used Epi-Data entry 3.1 for the data entry and then exported it to STATA version 14 for analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were used to estimate and compare the survival time of categorical variables, respectively. Result: The researchers observed about 85 (22.7% with 95%CI: 18.7, 27.2) deaths from the 2305 person-days follow-up. The median survival time was 14 days. The overall incidence density rate was 36.9 per 1000 person-days observed (95%CI: 29.8, 45.6). Perinatal asphyxia (AHR: 2.9[CI: 1.8; 4.8]), cesarean section as a mode of delivery (AHR: 1.1[CI; 1.01; 1.15]), maternal age of greater or equal to 35 years (AHR: 1.1[95% CI: 1.01, 1.15]), and twin pregnancy (AHR: 2.3[95% CI: 1.2, 4.3]) were predictors of neonatal mortality. Conclusion: The survival rate of neonates was higher compared to other studies. So, to reduce the burden of neonatal mortality, health care providers should give special attention to twin pregnancies, neonates delivered via cesarean section, and neonates with a problem of perinatal asphyxia.

Prevalence and factors associated with neonatal acute respiratory distress syndrome among neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care units of Gurage zone public hospital, South West Ethiopia.

Background: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is the leading cause of respiratory failure and death of a neonate in today's world, especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. Methods: We used an institutional-based cross-sectional study in the selected hospitals of the Gurage zone admitted from June 2019 to June 2021. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered into Epi data 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Result: The prevalence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in the study area was 45.1%. The odds of RDS in neonates from mothers with gestational age between 35 &37 were 3.99 times higher compared to term gestation. The odds of RDS among neonates with jaundice and sepsis are 4.33- and 1.92-times higher odds compared to their counterparts. The odds of RDS in neonates born via Caesarean section were 1.7 times higher compared with those delivered via spontaneous and instrumental delivery. RDS was also higher in neonates born to mothers <20 years of age and >=35 years old. Conclusion: the prevalence of RDS in the study area was high. Thus, healthcare providers should act on those factors with appropriate follow-up for early detection of the problem and prevent the risk.

Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Its Predictors Among Preterm Neonates Admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units of Gurage Zone Public Hospitals, Southwest Ethiopia, 2021.

Background: Necrotizing Enter colitis (NEC) is the most common multifactorial and devastating gastrointestinal emergency which primarily affects premature infants. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis and its associated factors among preterm neonates admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Gurage Zone hospitals. Methods: Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed. The simple Random Sampling Technique was applied to collect the data using a structured questionnaire. Data were cleaned, checked for inconsistencies, coded and entered via EPI data 3.1, and exported to Stata version 14 for further analysis. The data were processed by Stata 14 to estimate the prevalence of necrotizing enterocolitis. Results: The prevalence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis among neonates was 28 (9.7%) 95% CI of 6. 8-13.7%. Birth weight (AOR: 7.33 95% CI (2.04: 26.38)), presence of maternal infection (AOR: 6.09, 95% CI (1.31:28.26)), length of hospital stay (AOR: 3.28, 95% CI (1.20, 8.96)), and initiating trophic feeding (AOR: 5.89, 95% CI (2.27: 15.33)) were associated with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis. Conclusion: The prevalence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis among preterm neonates was significant and special attention is needed for premature neonates with low birth weight and born from mothers with infection during pregnancy. Minimizing the length of hospital stay will be very useful to prevent the occurrence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

HIV/AIDS post-exposure prophylaxis knowledge and uptake among health professionals in Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers in developing countries are at particularly increased risk of infections from blood-borne pathogens because of the high prevalence of such pathogens in their communities as well as the lack of basic personal protective equipment, such as gloves, gowns and goggles. For those exposed healthcare workers, the immediate administration of antiretroviral drugs following exposure to potentially infected blood or other bodily fluids is essential in order to minimize the risk of acquiring HIV infection. This review is aimed at estimating the pooled prevalence of knowledge and uptake of post-exposure prophylaxis among healthcare providers in Africa. METHODS: We accessed PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, African Journals Online (AJOL), Journal Storage (JSTOR) and EMBASE. The search for unpublished studies included Google and institutional repositories were also used. This meta-analysis follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The quality of studies was assessed using the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Meta-analysis was carried out with a random-effects method using STATA v.14 software. RESULTS: Out of 654 692 studies retrieved, 37 studies from four African regions involving 6482 healthcare providers were included in this meta-analysis. The overall estimated pooled uptake and knowledge of HIV/AIDS post-exposure prophylaxis among healthcare providers in Africa using a random-effects model were 40.09% (95% CI: 30.14-50.04) and 57.67% (95% CI: 44.32-71.01) respectively, whereas the highest uptake and knowledge were 45.48% (95% CI: 24.79-66.17) and 61.37% (95% CI: 46.39-76.36) in the southern and eastern regions, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this meta-analysis indicated that the knowledge and uptake of post-exposure prophylaxis, one of the best approaches to tackling HIV/AIDS transmission, are significantly low. Therefore, healthcare organizations should work on strategies to increase knowledge and uptake of post-exposure prophylaxis among healthcare providers. REGISTRATION: Prospero (ID: CRD42021244003).