Determinants of birth asphyxia among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units in hospitals of the Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia: A case-control study.

Background: Birth asphyxia, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is the inability of breathing to start and continue automatically at birth. Blood-gas exchange is impaired, which results in increased hypoxia, hyperapnea, and substantial metabolic acidosis. The aim of this study was to determine the factors contributing to birth asphyxia in infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units in hospitals in the Wolaita Zone. Methods: An institution-based, unmatched case-control study among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units in Wolaita Zone hospitals was conducted from March 1 to April 15, 2021. With 148 cases and 294 controls and a case-to- control ratio of 1:2, a sample size of 442 was determined. The pre-tested and structured Open Data Kit collect mobile application (v1.26.1) was used to collect the data, and SPSS version 25 was used for analysis. Using adjusted odd ratios and their corresponding 95 % confidence intervals, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyzes were performed. Results: A total of 143 cases and 286 controls were included making. the response rate 97 %. Meconium or blood-stained amniotic fluid (AOR = 5.43, 95%CI:3.10-9.50), mothers who experienced any of dangerous symptom during pregnancy (AOR = 3.71, 95%CI: 1.56-8.65), premature rupture of membrane (AOR = 3.12, 95%CI: 1.42-6.83), hypothermic newborn (AOR = 4.57, 95CI: 1.77-11.81), labor not supported by Basic Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (BEMONC) trained health professional (AOR = 3.23, 95%CI: 1.83-5.71), birth weight of less than 2500 gm (AOR = 2.68, 95%CI: 1.04-6.92), sub-standard filling of partograph (AOR = 4.03, 95%CI: 2.19-7.41), not filling on partograph during follow-up (AOR = 8.16, 95%CI: 2.24-29.66) and assisted vaginal delivery (AOR = 1.87, 95%CI:1.03-3.39) were identified as determinants of birth asphyxia. Conclusion: In this study, fetal conditions such as hypothermia and low birth weight, changes in the color of amniotic fluid, dangerous pregnancy symptoms, membrane rupture, standard filling of the partograph, and BEMONC training were factors that predicted birth asphyxia. Therefore, prompt and effective management of fetal and maternal problems and as well as the development of health professionals' BEMONC competence are crucial.

Incidence and predictors of treatment failure among children with HIV on first-line antiretroviral therapy in Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy has improved the life expectancy of HIV-positive children. Treatment failure and drug resistance among children with HIV remain major public health concerns despite the rise in ART use. A dearth of evidence exists regarding treatment failure among Ethiopian children from multicenter settings. Therefore, this study sought to assess the incidence and predictors of treatment failure among children with HIV on first-line antiretroviral therapy at health facilities in Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based retrospective cohort study was conducted from January 1, 2017, to December 30, 2021, at health facilities providing ART in Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia. A total of 425 children with HIV on first-line ART were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data were extracted by reviewing the patient's medical record. The data were entered using epi-data version 4.6 and exported to STATA version 15 for analysis. Both bi-variable and multivariable Cox regression analysis were employed. A p-value of less than 0.05 and a hazard ratio with 95 % CI was used to estimate the association between the predictor factors and treatment failure. Results: The overall incidence density rate of treatment failure was 3.2 per 1000 person-months of observation (95 % CI: 2.4-4.6). The factors significantly associated with antiretroviral treatment failure were caregiver marital status, single (AHR = 4.86, 95 % CI: 1.52, 15.60), and widowed (AHR = 3.75, 95 % CI: 1.16, 12.11), duration of follow-up (AHR = 4.95, 95 % CI: 1.81, 13.54), and baseline CD4 count (AHR = 4.70, 95 % CI: 1.68, 13.14). Conclusion: The incidence rate of ART failure among children with HIV was found to be significant. Low baseline CD4 count, short follow-up duration on ART, and having a single or widowed caregiver were significantly associated with antiretroviral treatment failure. Early identification of children with low CD4 count and subsequent initiation of ART should be emphasized by stakeholders working in HIV care programs. Healthcare professionals should pay special attention to and regularly monitor the treatment progress of children who have single or widowed caregivers, and those with shorter duration of follow-ups.

Correction: Satisfaction with regular hospital foodservices and associated factors among adult patients in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia: A facility-based cross-sectional study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264163.].

Satisfaction with regular hospital foodservices and associated factors among adult patients in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia: A facility-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Food service in hospital is one of the essential parts of the treatment process that determines recovery length and a hospital stay of patients. Even though many researches have been conducted on patients' satisfaction with healthcare services, there is a lack of studies that specifically address the satisfaction with food service at healthcare facilities in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess patient satisfaction with regular hospital food service and associated factors among adults admitted to in-patient departments of hospitals. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study design was conducted to interview 423 patients admitted to three randomly selected hospitals namely Wolaita Sodo University Referral and Teaching Hospital, Dubo St. Catholic Hospital and Sodo Christian Hospital. Participants were recruited based on probability proportional to the number of clients in each hospital. After data entry using EpiInfo v7.2.2.6, the data were exported to SPSS v23 software for further analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were undertaken to see the association between variables. Statistically significant variables were declared using an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval. RESULT: Among the total participants 33.6% (95%CI: [29.1, 38.3]) of patients were satisfied with regular hospital food services. Multivariate analysis revealed that residence (AOR = 2.16; 95%CI: [1.28, 3.63]), monthly income (AOR = 5.64; 95%CI: [2.30, 8.28]), flavour of meal, (AOR = 2.63; 95%CI: [1.34, 5.56]), and provision of easily chewable food (AOR = 7.50; 95%CI: [2.00, 12.82]) were influencing factors for satisfaction on hospital foodservices. CONCLUSION: This research ascertained a low patient satisfaction with regular hospital meal service. The identified factors need to be addressed giving attention for each foodservice dimension to scale up the patient satisfaction with hospital food services.

Magnitude of Abdominal Wound Dehiscence and Associated Factors of Patients Who Underwent Abdominal Operation at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal wound dehiscence (AWD) is the separation of different layers of an abdominal wound before complete healing has taken place. It is a major cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia, and little is known about its prevalence and related factors in the study area. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to assess the magnitude of abdominal wound dehiscence and related factors on patients operated at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A hospital-based retrospective review of the chart was carried out by using the data covering three years (September 2014-September 2017) period. Data were collected from hospital medical records of sampled patients such as operation room logbooks and individual patient medical records. The collected data were checked for consistency, coded, and entered into SPSS version 20 for data processing and analysis. Descriptive analysis was conducted, and tables and graphs and summary statistics were used to depict data. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients developed abdominal wound dehiscence from among 4137 patients who underwent abdominal laparotomy in the hospital. Among the patients, 51.2% were in the age range of 41 and above with mean age 29.8 (SD = 1.21) and 70.7% of them were male. Abdominal wound dehiscence was more common in emergency patients (90%) and vertical incision was the most common type of incision. Over half (58.5%) of the wound dehiscence occurred within 6-10 postoperative days. The majority (95.2%) of dehisced patients underwent relaparotomy for the management of the wound dehiscence, and 48.8% of them were treated with tension suture during the second operation of abdominal closure. Four of the patients (9.7%) died after the management of the second operation. CONCLUSION: The current study revealed that the overall magnitude of abdominal wound dehiscence in the study area was 0.99%. Most of the dehiscence has occurred in male patients, and older age groups were highly affected than the younger ones. Emergency admission is the most common form of admission identified in the study, and this signifies appropriate preoperative preparation of patients for an optimal outcome. However, regarding the management outcome, 9.8% of patients died in our study within the institution after the second operation which is the high mortality rate.

Seroprevalence and associated factors of hepatitis B virus infection among HIV-positive adults attending an antiretroviral treatment clinic at Wolaita Sodo University Referral Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) constitutes major public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa from different infections occuring in HIV positive patients. Ethiopia is a part of sub-Saharan Africa with 1.5% adult HIV prevalence, and also belongs to the intermediate to high HBV prevalence category. Hence, this study aimed to measure the seroprevalence and associated factors of HBV infection among HIV-positive adults attending an antiretroviral treatment (ART) clinic at Wolaita Sodo University Referral Hospital. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October 15 to December 10, 2017 using a systematic random sampling technique. After getting informed written consent, data were collected by a structured and interviewer-administered questionnaire. Venous blood was collected and centrifuged to separate serum. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was detected from serum using an advanced quality one-step rapid test kit. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.01 and exported to SPSS version 20. Summary statistics, bivariate analysis, and multivariate analyses were performed. The variables having significant association of P<0.05 in the multivariate logistic regression were taken as independent factors. OR and 95% CI were used to measure the strength of the association. RESULTS: A total of 442 study participants, 187 males and 255 females, were included in this study. Overall prevalence of HBsAg was 37 (8.4%). Family history of HBV (adjusted OR=8.83, 95% CI=2.56-30.49), multiple sexual partners (adjusted OR=7.08, 95% CI=2.29-21.9), and CD4 count <200 cells/µL (adjusted OR=15.34, 95% CI=4.77-49.3) were found to be significantly associated with HBsAg positivity. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HBsAg in this study was high. Family history of HBV, multiple sexual partners, and CD4 count <200 cells/µL were independently associated with HBsAg positivity. Therefore, screening for HBV is recommended before initiation of ART in HIV patients and providing appropriate treatment for co-infection. Furthermore, accurate information on risk factors for HBV transmission should be provided.

Burden of NCDs in SNNP region, Ethiopia: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are medical conditions or diseases that are non-transmissible. As NCDs are becoming one of major public health problem, providing local description of diseases and injuries is key to health decision- making and planning processes. So, this study aimed to describe caseload of NCDs in Southern Nations Nationalities and People's Region, Ethiopia. METHODS: A facility based retrospective study was conducted in February 2015 in SNNPR, Ethiopia. A total of 22,320 records of three years retrieved from 23 health facilities using systematic sampling. Data were entered in to Epi-Info 3.5.3 and descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: From 22,320 records reviewed, 6633 (29.7%) clients visited health facilities due to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Majority (37.2%) of NCD cases were in productive age groups (20-35 year). Near to half (43%) of NCD cases were from rural and 45.8% were females. Digestive disorder (26.7%), cardiovascular diseases (18.8%) and Diabetes Mellitus (13.1%) were the most prevalent types of NCDs. CONCLUSION: Health facilities are burdened with significant proportion of clients with NCDs. Young population accounts large share and NCDs are becoming public health problem of urban and rural area within a health care system that focus on communicable diseases. There is a need to strengthen the health system to work towards NCDs, and investigate risk factors associated with NCDs at individual level.