Incidence of tuberculosis and its predictors among under-five children with severe acute malnutrition in North Shoa, Amhara region, Ethiopia: a retrospective follow-up study.

Introduction: Although tuberculosis (TB) is one of the significant public health challenges in severely malnourished children throughout the globe, it is a severe issue for countries such as Ethiopia, with significant resource limitations. Few studies have examined the incidence of tuberculosis and its predictors among children under five years of age with severe acute malnutrition in developing countries, and there is a paucity of data. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of tuberculosis and its predictors among under-five children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in North Shoa, Amhara region, Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted between January 20, 2017, and June 20, 2019. The sample size was calculated using STATA, which yields a total of 345 charts that were selected with systematic random sampling. Data entry was performed using Epi-data version 4.2 and analyzed with STATA 14. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were computed. Cox proportional hazard models were fitted to detect the determinants of tuberculosis. The hazard ratio with a 95% confidence interval was subsequently calculated. Variables with p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The incidence rate of tuberculosis among children under five years of age with SAM was 4.6 per 100 person-day observations (95% CI: 3.29, 8.9). Predictors of TB were a history of contact with known TB cases [AHR: 1.4 (95% CI: 1.00, 2.8], HIV/AIDS [AHR: 3.71 (95% CI: 2.10, 8.71)], baseline pneumonia [AHR: 2.10 (1.76,12)], not supplying zinc at baseline [AHR: 3.1 (1.91, 4.70)], and failed appetite taste at the diagnosis of SAM [AHR: 2.4 (1.35, 3.82)]. Conclusions: In this study, the incidence rate of TB was high. Not supplying zinc at baseline, failed appetite taste at the diagnosis of SAM, history of contact with known TB cases, and baseline pneumonia were significant predictors of TB. Prioritizing regular TB screenings, nutritional support, and zinc supplementation for under-five children with SAM should be implemented to reduce the risk of TB.

Magnitude of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders and its Associated Factors Among Computer User Bankers in South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia, 2021.

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which are the leading cause of workplace health problems; affect workers, employers, and society as a whole following direct and indirect cost. Bankers are expected to perform at computer workstations for long periods of time. As a result, they are at risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders. Hence, this study intends to assess magnitude of work related musculoskeletal disorders and its predictors among computer user bankers in this study area. Material and methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2021. A total of 422 private and Public own computer user bankers were participated. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Binary logistic regression model was used to investigate the relationship between dependent and independent variables. P value less than .05 at 95% CI was considered as a significant association between dependent and independent variables. Result: Overall, 245 (58.8%) of computer-user bankers were suffered work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the previous 12 months. Aged 30 and above [AOR:6.5 (1.7-24.6)], no regular physical exercise [AOR: 6.03 (2.2-16.3)], not received ergonomics training [AOR: 5.46 (2.2-13.1)] and working in awkward posture [AOR: 8.76 (2.9-25.9)] were significantly associated to work related musculoskeletal disorders in the previous 12 months. Conclusion: The magnitude of musculoskeletal disorders among computer user bankers was high. Implementing proper working posture, regular physical exercise, avoiding prolonged use of computer and receiving ergonomics training will reduce the burden of musculoskeletal disorders among computer user bankers. The implications of the findings enhance the need for training supervision, cascading tasks taking the age of workers in to account, sustained supply of work station materials and promoting physical exercise by banks to their workers uninterruptedly.

Knowledge and attitude of the community towards epilepsy in Northwest Ethiopia: A huge gap on knowledge and attitude of the community.

BACKGROUND: Misconception about epilepsy in Ethiopia is higher which in turn affects overall quality of life of the individuals. This research was aimed to assess knowledge and attitude of the community towards epilepsy in Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was entered by Epi data version 4.2 and analyzed by SPSS version 24. Descriptive and analytical statistical procedures, with 95% confidence interval were employed and significance level was determined at p-value < 0.05. RESULT: A total of 782 respondents were participated with the response rate of 96.1%. About 66.2% of respondents had poor knowledge and 67.0% had unfavorable attitude, towards epilepsy.In multivariate logistic regression, younger age, rural resident, not knew someone with epilepsy, did not have witness of seizure episode, and did not take prior training were associated with poor knowledge. Male sex, rural resident, did not know someone with epilepsy, did not have witness of seizure episode, did not take prior training, and had poor knowledge were associated with unfavorable attitude towards epilepsy. CONCLUSION: Majority of participants had poor knowledge and unfavorable attitude. Public education about epilepsy is recommended to modify misconceptions and to promote positive attitudes.

Effects of Vitamin D on COVID-19 Infection and Prognosis: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Vitamin D status is related to risks of influenza and respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D has direct antiviral effects primarily against enveloped viruses, and coronavirus is an enveloped virus. The 2019 coronavirus disease had a high mortality rate and impacted the whole population of the planet, with severe acute respiratory syndrome the principal cause of death. Vitamin D can adequately modulate and regulate the immune and oxidative response to infection with COVID-19. The goal of this systematic review was thus to summarize and decide if there were a link between vitamin D status and COVID-19 infection and prognosis. METHODS: The protocol of this study is documented in the Prospero database and can be accessed with the protocol number CRD42020201283. PubMed and Google Scholar were used for a literature search from August 2020 to September 2020. We restricted the year of publication of reviewed articles to 2019-2020, and the selected language was English. Studies that used secondary data, feedback, or analysis of reviews were removed. To assess the standard of studies included, the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) method was used. RESULTS: Of the nine studies reviewed, seven (77.8%) showed that COVID-19 infection, prognosis, and mortality were correlated with vitamin D status. CONCLUSION: Most of the articles reviewed showed that blood vitamin D status can determine the risk of being infected with COVID-19, seriousness of COVID-19, and mortality from COVID-19. Therefore, maintaining appropriate levels of Vitamin D through supplementation or natural methods, eg, sunlight on the skin, is recommended for the public to be able to cope with the pandemic.

Prevalence of Syphilis among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care Clinic, Sede Muja District, South Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Syphilis is a disease caused by bacteria called Treponema pallidum. Major rout of transmission of this bacterium was through sexual and contact with mucocutaneous lesion. Untreated syphilis during pregnancy can greatly affect pregnancy outcome, resulting in spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine the seroprevalence of syphilis and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care unit at Sede Muja district, Northern Ethiopia. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to January 2019 in two health centers from Sede Muja district, Northwest Ethiopia. The study included a total of 210 participants. The entire participants were recruited by systematic random sampling method after proportional allocation of the sample size in the two health centers. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected by semistructured questioner. Two milliliter of blood was collected to determine seroprevalence of syphilis using VDRL test method. The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 21. The association between independent and dependent variables was determined using chi-square. P-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULT: Seroprevalence of syphilis was found to be 1.9% (95 CI, 0.5-3.5%). Women with multiple sexual partners and late trimester of pregnancy during first ANC visit were found to be significantly associated with seropositive syphilis. CONCLUSION: Syphilis remains a major problem in the study area. Seroprevalence of syphilis was significantly associated with women who have multiple sexual partners and late first ANC visit attendees in the study area. Therefore it is recommended to give health education about syphilis etiology and transmission as well as creating awareness about the importance of early ANC visit and follow-up regarding syphilis prevention.

Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment and Its Predictors among HIV/AIDS Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy in Jimma University Medical Center, Southwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients can lead to treatment nonadherence, faster progression of the illness, disability, and bed ridden state if we fail to detect it early. However, there is scarcity of previous published studies in Ethiopia on the assessment of cognitive impairment among HIV-positive patients. Hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of cognitive impairment among HIV-positive patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) at Jimma University Medical Center, Ethiopia. METHODS: Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 328 HIV-positive patients attending Jimma University Medical Center, Ethiopia. Data were collected from a face-to-face interview and review of medical records using semistructured questionnaire. Validated International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS) was used to screen for cognitive impairment. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: A total of 328 (191 females and 137 males) HIV-positive patients were included in the study with a response rate of 97.04%. The prevalence of cognitive impairment among HIV-positive patients was 35.7%. Factors significantly associated with cognitive impairment were age group of 41-64 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] (1.3, 7.4)], plasma HIV-1 RNA load between 1.7log10 and 3log10 copies/ml [AOR = 2.2, 95% CI (1.1,4.3)] and ≥ 3log10 copies/ml [AOR = 7.5, 95% CI (2.6, 21.5)], khat chewing [AOR = 4.4, 95% CI (2.3, 8.3)], and clinical stage III of the disease [AOR = 5.6, 95% CI (1.7, 19.2)]. CONCLUSION: Despite the use of ART, the burden of cognitive impairment among HIV patients was high. Older age, khat chewing, advanced stage of the disease, and higher viral load were the independent factors associated with cognitive impairment. Thus, continuous screening of cognitive impairment, identification of the possible risk factors, and proper management strategy should be designed.