Nosocomial infections in neonatal intensive care unit in pediatric Assiut University Hospital: incidence and risk factors

Nosocomial infections [Nis] have become a matter of major concern in neonatal intensive care units [NICUs]. Nosocomial infections are the result of the interaction of several risk factors. To identify risk factors for nosocomial infections among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit in Pediatric Assiut University Hospital [AUH]. Knowledge of modifiable risk factors could be used to guide the design of interventions to prevent the problem. Incidence [surveillance] study for identification of new nosocomial infections for one year and 9 days from [17 of April 2007 to 26 of April 2008]. The total population: All neonates attending NICU in pediatric AUH from the Obstetric Department of Maternal-Healthcare Assiut University Hospital. The target population is all neonates that developed nosocomial infections within 72 hrs of admission. The presence of risk factors was studied. A practical guide completed for each patient, which included: Demographic risk factors as age, birth weight, sex, single or multiple births, type of delivery, premature rupture of membranes, variables recorded daily as enteral feeding, parentral feeding, mechanical ventilation and indwelling catheter. Differences between patients with and without NI for discrete variables were estimated by the chi-square test. The association between risk factors and the presence of NIs were estimated by relative risk. From a total of 990 admitted neonates, the incidence rate and the incidence density rate were 16% and 24.45% infections per 1000 patient-days, respectively. Case fatality rate was 91.8%. The following risk factors were associated with Nis [P<0.05]: mechanical ventilation, umbilical catheter, prematurity, birth weight less than 1500 g, use of ryle, transport outside NICU, premature rupture of membrane and peripheral vascular catheter. The risk of NIs increases with increasing invasive devices, decreasing birth weight, and gestational age. There is an increased mortality rate associated with NI. Strategies to minimize the impact of risk factors must be identified

Knowledge, attitude and practice of secondary school students regarding obesity in Assiut City, Egypt

Adolescent obesity is a major public health problem and has important health, social and economic consequences for the adolescent. The aim of this study was to assess nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice [KAP] of secondary school students regarding obesity, in Assiut City, Egypt [2004]. The study was a cross-sectional one. The study sample was 883 secondary school students at age 14-19 years, randomly chosen from four schools representing different types of education [general and technical] for both boys and girls. Data were collected using two self-administered questionnaires. The first questionnaire included personal data, nutritional KAP and physical activity. The second questionnaire included data about the socioeconomic status. Each student underwent weight and height measurements. Then, they were classified according to body mass index- for age and sex percentiles into: non-obese, overweight and obese. It was found that, most of the students [86.3%] had poor knowledge regarding obesity [7.8% achieved zero nutritional knowledge score and 78.5% had low score]. Obesity is no longer a fashion as the majority of students [85.1%] found the obese person not attractive. Moreover, 87.1% of them perceived obesity as a health risk. Many students had poor practices as eating in-between meals [62.6%] and frequent consumption of fast foods [69.1%], snacks [35.4%] and soft drinks [18.8%]. About half of all students [47.8%] were not practicing any physical exercises. The majority of adolescent school students had poor nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice regarding obesity, which requires an appropriate intervention

Breastfeeding pattern in a village in Assiut, Upper Egypt

This cross sectional study was done to profile breast-feeding pattern in El-Boora Village, Assiut Governorate. It included 300 infants and young children of less than 24 months of age. Their mothers were asked about infant feeding practices, including breast-feeding and complementary feeding patterns. Only 35.7% of the sample was breast- fed within an hour after delivery, but the majority [84%] began breast-feeding within the first day. Colostrum was the first food given to 71.7% of the sample. The prevalence of breast-feeding was found to be 80.3%. Only a minority of infants were exclusively breast-fed throughout the first six months of life. Exclusive breast- feeding rate at four months of age was 7.9% and decreased to 4.4% at six months. The majority of infants were given liquids, mainly plain water. So, full breast-feeding was found to be 60.5% at four months of age and 51.5% at six months. Timely complementary feeding rate was 76.2%. Continued breast-feeding rate [one year] was found to be 83.8%, while continued breast-feeding rate [two years] was 38.7%. Insufficient milk was the main reason given by mothers for the termination of breast-feeding [44.1%]. Most of the mothers accept breast-feeding as the best for the infant. The major problem was that the great majority of the mothers do not breast-feed exclusively in the first six months of the infant's life. So, the exclusive breast- feeding rate is very low and an intervention was highly recommended to increase it. These problems can be effectively encountered by appropriate health education, training of health workers and effective lactation management