Vol 55, No 1 (2017): January issue

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease has been identified as emerging epidemic in developing world and Sub-saharan Africa. The prevalence of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease is not clearly established in our country. We conducted this study to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease associated risk factors in Jimma town.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in sampled adults in Jimma town. Multi-stage sampling was used by combining simple random sampling to select kebeles of Jimma town and then systematic random sampling to select the house hold .An individual was selected with a lottery method if there were more than one adult in the house hold who fulfills inclusion criteria.  Data were collected using the World Health Organization standardized structured questionnaire on cardiovascular risk assessment for developing countries. The study variables included anthropometric measurements, demographic information and behavioral risk factors. The data variables were computed using SPSS version 20.

Results: Majority (70.9%) of the respondents have one or more of the seven cardiovascular disease risk factors assessed. Nearly one forth (23.8%) of the study participants were hypertensive, 6.2% were known diabetes and the prevalence of smoking was 11.8% among males 2% among females. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 26.8 %.

Conclusion: Majority were found to have at least one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most common. Screening programs, health education and awareness creation are recommended to prevent the development of the disease. Large scale prospective study with laboratory data will help to further analyze and strengthen the results for policy makers.

Keywords:- cardiovascular, risk factors, prevalence, Jimma, Ethiopia

Objectives

To assess labor, delivery and postpartum complications in nulliparous women with FGM/C and evaluate the attitude of mothers towards  elimination of FGM.

Methods

A prospective hospital based study using structured questionnaire was conducted between January to March 2015 at Karamara hospital, Jijiga, Ethiopia. All nulliparous women admitted for labor and delivery were included. Data were collected regarding circumcision status, events of labor, delivery; postpartum and neonatal outcomes as well as attitude of mothers towards elimination of FGM/C. 

Results

Two hundred sixty four (92.0%) of the women had FGM/C with most (93.0%) undergoing Type III FGM.  The mean age of the women was 22 yr. Failure to progress in 1^st stage and prolonged 2^nd stage of labor occurred in 165 (57.0%) and189 (65.6%) of the cases respectively. Caesarean section was performed in 17.0% and instrumental delivery in 23.0%. 64.5% required episiotomies, 83.3% had an anterior episiotomy, 29 % had perineal tears, 25.7%% experienced post-partum hemorrhage and 24% postpartum infection. Among the newborns, there were 6.4% perinatal deaths; 18.8 % low birth weight and 1.5% birth injuries. Almost all complications were more frequently seen in circumcised compared to non-circumcised women.  

Conclusions: The prevalence of FGM is high and it substantially increases the risk of many maternal complications. Health professionals should be aware of these complications and support/care of women with FGM should be integrated at all levels of reproductive health care provision. Capacity building of responsible health professional should be initiated in the area with intensification of FGM eradication activities.  

Background: Knowledge of the characteristics and outcomes of critically ill patients admitted to Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) helps with identification of priorities and the resources required to improve care. The objective of this study was to examine admission patterns and outcomes in MICU at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College.

Materials: A retrospective review of 1256 patients’ case notes who were admitted to the MICU at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College from 2007 to 2012 was carried out. The data was analyzed by SPSS version 18.0 to obtain descriptive and inferential measurements. P values < 0.05 were considered significant for all tests. 

Results: Among specific diagnoses, diabetic ketoacidosis; 187 (14.9%), was the leading cause of admission, followed by all Strokes; 103 (8.2%), and Unspecified Diseases of Circulatory System; 81 (6.4%). The overall mortality rate was 39 %. Strokes were the leading causes of death, accounting for 12.2% of total deaths.  The deceased were older than the survivors by five mean age years, mean age (±SD) 41.9 (± 18.5) and 36.7 (± 17.4) years, respectively.

Conclusions:  Non- communicable will continue to be increasing proportion of ICU admissions in the study. The mortality in this study is also substantial, and reasons looks like late admissions and limited care in the facility. Improving the ICU infrastructure and staffing with skilled personnel might improve the quality of care.

Introduction: Myoma is the most common pelvic tumor and an enormous healthcare concern in women. Complications occur in approximately 10-40% of pregnancies with myomatous uterus. This study is conducted to determine the prevalence and obstetric outcome of grossly visible and/or palpable myoma among women who gave birth by caesarean section.

Methods: A cross sectional study conducted in three teaching hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data was collected using a pre-tested questioner.

Results: A total of 404 cases were included in the study. The prevalence of myoma was 15.3% (62/404). Only 9.7% (6/62) of the myoma cases were diagnosed preoperatively with ultrasound. The number of myoma per case ranged from 1-to-14 with mean number of 3 ±2.7. The mean diameter of largest single myoma per case was 5.2cm ± 3.4. The commonest location of myoma was subserous being the location in 58.1% (36/62). There was significant association between presence of myoma and age of the woman (P<0.05). The adjusted prevalence of myoma increases as women’s age increases, and gestational age and birth weight decreases. In addition, the prevalence of myoma was about two times higher in low (?6) first and fifth minute APGAR score groups with adjusted prevalences of 22.2% (Vs 14.1% in ?7 group) and 31.8% (Vs 14.4% in ?7 group) respectively.

Conclusions: The prevalence of myoma during pregnancy in this study is higher than prior reports from similar setups. But, no statistically significant association was observed between the presence of myoma and maternal out come.

Key words: Myoma, Leiomyoma, Fibroid, Pregnancy with Myoma.

Introduction: There are good pointers from literature to the detrimental impacts of psychoactive substance use in HIV/AIDS patients. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence, types and demographic correlates of psychoactive substance use among people living with HIV/AIDS.

Methods: The study participants consisted of 295 adults with HIV/AIDS and were interviewed with a designed questionnaire that consisted of two parts. The first part contained questions to elicit socio-demographic and treatment related information of the participants, while the second part focused on psychoactive substance use.

Results: The mean (SD) age of participants was 37.6 (±8.6) years, and majority (61.0%) of them were made up of females. Most of the subjects were married, 181 (61.4%) and employed 174 (59.0%). Of the total participants, 64 (21.7%) reported  use of a form of psychoactive substance, among which the largest proportion (19.3%) reported use of alcohol, 1.4% use cannabis while 1% admitted to use of nicotine. Following regression analyses, being male (Odds Ratio =2.38; 95% Confidence Interval: 95% CI = 1.26 - 4.49; p=0.008) and increasing educational attainment (Odds Ratio = 1.62; 95% CI: 1.07 - 2.45; p=0.02) correlated positively with psychoactive substance use, while being single (Odds Ratio = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.35 - 0.99; p=0.047) correlated negatively.

Conclusion: Proactive and targeted intervention strategies against psychoactive substance use among people living with HIV/AIDS using what is known about vulnerability are implied. Further research on the complex relationship between HIV/AIDS and psychoactive substance use is indicated.

Keywords: Demographic Correlates; HIV/AIDS; Nigerians; Prevalence; Psychoactive Substance

Background: Cancer treatment is associated with variable degrees of myelosupression. Infection is often a life-threatening complication of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, and it is also considered an oncologic emergency. Febrile neutropenia is a common, costly and potentially fatal complication in oncology.

Objective: To assess factors affecting treatment outcome of cancer patients with chemotherapy induced febrile neutropenia.

Method: We conducted a review of records of pediatric patients hospitalized and treated for chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 and met the selection criteria.

Result: A total of 60 patients (36 males and 24 females) fulfilled the selection criteria. Twelve of them died while in hospital. The mean (SD) age of patients who died was 4.78 (±2.48) years and the mean (SD) hospital stay before death was 20.2 (±5.26) days. Ten children had hematologic malignancy and two had a solid tumor. Ten of the 12 patients had an absolute neutrophil count  of less than 100/mm³ (p=0.008, OR=20.3) and a platelet count of less than 50,000/mm³. Six of the 10 children (10%) had sepsis. Patients with profound neutropenia, platelet count of less than 50,000 and sepsis were more likely to die (P=0.048, OR=7).

Conclusion: The result of this study showed that absolute neutrophil count of less than 100/mm³, platelet count of less than 50,000/mm³ and a diagnosis of sepsis were factors affecting outcome patients with febrile neutropenia. Careful evaluation of these factors and assessing severity of patients’ clinical condition at time of admission can be useful for triaging children with febrile neutropenia.

Keywords: fever, neutropenia, cancer, absolute neutrophil count , febrile neutropenia, oncologic emergency

Introduction: Institutional delivery is very low in Ethiopia, particularly in Oromia where less than one-third of antenatal care attendees utilize the services. This study assessed the magnitude of institutional delivery and associated factors in South West Showa Zone of Oromia.

Methods: A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in 2010. A stratified cluster sampling technique used to select study districts, villages and households. Four hundred thirty childbearing women with at least one birth in the past 5 years preceding the survey were interviewed. Qualitative study method was employed to supplement the quantitative data. Data analyses were done using SPSS v15. Frequency tables and percentages were used to describe study population. Association of independent variables with outcome variable was measured using odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was run to control for confounding variables.

Results: Eighty percent (344) respondents were from rural. Mean age of the women was 28.8 (±6.6). Most (70.5%) respondents and 39% of their husbands were uneducated. A quarter of them delivered at health institutions over five years preceding the survey. In a regression model with maternal age, residence, maternal and paternal education, all were significantly associated with use of institutional delivery services. Obstetric factors have also showed a statistically significant association. The qualitative findings revealed that trust in traditional birth attendants and health workers’ negative attitude were among the reasons for not delivering at health institutions.

Conclusion: Institutional delivery service utilization in the zone is affected by maternal and paternal education, ANC attendance and duration of labor. Traditional beliefs and health workers’ negative attitude were among the identified barriers. Multiple interventions involving community, service providers and health system are recommended.

Key words: Institutional delivery, antenatal care, Oromia

Background: Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability in people younger than 40 years of age worldwide.

Objective: The study primarily aims at assessing the short-term outcome of patients operated for traumatic intracranial hemorrhage.

Patients and Methods: This is a hospital based cross sectional study on patients with traumatic brain injury at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Teaching Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, between February 2013 and February 2014. Standardized and structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data. All patients with traumatic brain injury operated following intracranial hemorrhage were included. Glasgow Coma Scale was used to determine the outcome. Difference in proportions was examined using Chi-square test.

Results: The study reviewed 91 patients with traumatic brain injury. Their age ranged from 13 to 60 years with a mean (SD) of 32.3 (±12.1). Eighty-seven (95.6%) of the cases were males and 4(4.4%) females and 34(37.4%) of them cases had mild and 30(33%) had severe traumatic brain injury. Acute Epidural Hematoma was seen in 79(86.8%), Acute Subdural hematoma  had the highest proportion, 4/11(36.4%), of deaths and it was also significantly associated with unfavorable Glasgow Outcoma Scale at 3 months (p=0.03). Overall, the proportion patients who died was 18.7% with older patients (>50 years) had a significantly higher proportion of death (p=0.01). Most of the patients had favorable Glasgow Outcoma Scale ,unfavorable was seen in 22/30 (73.3%) and 17/30 (56.7%) of patients with severe traumatic brain injury at 3 and 6 months, respectively.

Conclusion: In conclusion, male predominance was substantially high. Acute Subdural hematoma  and old patients had high death rates and unfavorable outcome. Overall the death rate was not different from global figures.