Diagnostic accuracy of serological rk-39 test for visceral Leishmaniasis: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), or kala-azar, is a vector-borne tropical disease caused by a group of intracellular hemoflagellate protozoa belonging to the family of Trypanosomatide and the genus Leishmania. The disease is distributed around the world and transmitted via the bite of infected female Phlebotomine sandflies, and there is variation in the diagnostic accuracy. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the pooled global sensitivity and specificity of the rk-39 test and to evaluate if there is a difference between the different parts of the world. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis have been conducted on the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy. After setting eligibility criteria, literature was searched in four databases and one searching engine. Articles were screened, critically appraised, and extracted independently by two reviewers, and any disagreements were resolved with the involvement of a third person. The quality of the included studies had been assessed by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS 2) tool. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were determined by bivariate random effect analysis. Heterogeneity was assessed by Higgins's I2, and when it was present, mitigation was conducted by using sensitivity analysis. RESULT: A total of 409 studies were identified, and finally 18 articles were eligible for the review with a total sample size of 5, 253. The bivariate random effect meta-analysis of the 7 diagnostic accuracy studies showed a pooled sensitivity of 0.89 (0.76-0.95) and specificity of 0.86 (0.72-0.94). The +LR was 6.32 (95% CI: 2.85-14.02), the-LR was 0.13 (95% CI: 0.06-0.30), and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 47.8 (95% CI: 11.3-203.2). Abdel-Latif (2018) was both an outlier and influential for sensitivity, and Walter (2011) was both an outlier and influential for specificity, and removing them from sensitivity and specificity, respectively, was beneficial for reducing the heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: Rk-39 is found to have highly accurate measures in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. Both sensitivity and specificity were found to be highly accurate in the diagnosis of leishmaniasis, with a pooled sensitivity of 0.91 (0.88-0.93) and a pooled specificity of 0.89 (0.85-0.91). ETHICAL CONSIDERATION: As we will use secondary data for the systematic review and meta-analysis, ethical concerns are not necessary.

Assessment of Preference and Its Determinant Factors to Ward Modern Contraceptive Methods among Women of Reproductive Age Group in Shire Indaselassie Town, Northern Ethiopia, 2011.

Background. Women's preferences for various contraceptive methods attribute vary according to the type of relations and other aspects of their life. The discrepancy between fertility preferences and contraceptive practice is regarded as an indicator of unmet demand for family planning. Objective. To assess modern contraceptive methods preference and its determinant factors among women of reproductive age group in Shire Indaselassie town, Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia. Method. A community based cross-sectional study design was employed on 367 sampled women. Stratified sampling technique was used to select the study subjects. Then, data was collected using structured questionnaire. Result. In this study, the most commonly preferred modern contraceptive method was injectable contraceptive 202 (55%), the second 61 (16.6%) was oral contraceptives, and the third 47 (12.8%) was Norplant. Condom 31 (8.4%), IUD 14 (3.8%), female sterilization 7 (1.9%), and others were less commonly preferred methods. Some of the reasons for preference were effectiveness of the method, reversibility, fewer side effects, convenience, long duration of use, and no need to remember daily. Conclusion. This study clearly described that women preferences of modern contraceptive methods increased after they had higher number of children and less desire to limit family size.