Assessment of Quality of Diabetic Care in Teaching Hospitals in Ethiopia: In Comparison to International Guidelines.

Background: Comprehensive high quality of care is critical in preventing diabetic complications and improving quality of life. This needs compliance with guidelines and focused therapy. There is no data in Ethiopia evaluating the quality of diabetes care using standard guidelines (American diabetic association and international diabetic federation) as a reference. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College (YHMC) to assess the process and outcome quality indicators of diabetic patients. Data were collected from outpatient clinics between May and July 2022 over a period of 3 months. Diabetic patients with at least one year since diagnosis were selected using systematic random sampling. Both the process and outcome of diabetic quality care indicators were measured and compared with standard guidelines (ADA and IDF). Both descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for data analysis. The P-value <0.05 was used as statistical significance. Results: About 250 diabetic patients with a mean age of 53±15 were included. The majority were type 2 diabetes mellitus (83.2%). HbA1c was determined for 128 (51.2%) patients with the recent mean value of 8±1.6. Only 52 (40.6%) of patients achieved target HbA1c. Annual comprehensive feet examination, urine albuminuria test, and retinal examination were done for 54 (21.6%), 52 (20.8%), and 122 (48.8%), respectively. Single marital status (AOR = 5.76; 95% CI; 1.02-32.36) P = 0.047, determining HbA1c level at least twice a year (AOR = 6.27; 95% CI; 2.18-17.73) P = 0.001, and medication adherence (AOR = 7.1; 95% CI; 2.61-19.01)P = 0.001, were significantly associated with good glycemic control. Conclusion: The overall quality of diabetic care was found suboptimal both in process and outcome quality indicators. Thus, awareness creation about quality indicators for caregivers, compliance with guidelines, wise resource utilization, and cooperation with different stakeholders like hospital management teams, and government officials is needed.

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of acute diarrheal disease and pneumonia among under 5 children in Ethiopia- A database study.

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on preventable and treatable pediatric diseases in Ethiopia. This study looks at the impact of COVID-19 on pneumonia and acute diarrheal diseases in the country, as well as the differences between administrative regions. In Ethiopia, we conducted a retrospective pre-post study to assess the impact of COVID-19 on children under the age of five who had acute diarrhea and pneumonia and were treated in health facilities during the pre-COVID-19 era (March 2019 to February 2020) and the COVID-19 era (March 2020 to February 2021). From the National Health Management District Health Information System (DHIS2, HMIS), we retrieved data on total acute diarrheal disease and pneumonia, along with their regional and monthly distribution. We calculated incidence rate ratios comparing the rates of acute diarrhea and pneumonia during the pre-and post-COVID-19 eras and adjusted for the year, using Poisson regression. The number of under-five children treated for acute pneumonia decreased from 2,448,882 before COVID-19 to 2,089,542 ((14.7% reduction (95%CI;8.72-21.28), p<0.001)) during COVID-19. Similarly, the number of under-five children treated for acute diarrheal disease decreased from 3,287,850 in pre-COVID-19 to, 2,961,771((9.91% reduction (95%CI;6.3-17.6%),p<0.001)) during COVID-19. In the majority of the administrative regions studied, pneumonia and acute diarrhea diseases decreased during COVID-19, but they increased in Gambella, Somalia, and Afar. During the COVID-19 period, the greatest reduction of children with pneumonia (54%) and diarrhea disease (37.3%) was found in Addis Ababa (p<0.001). The majority of administrative regions included in this study have seen a decrease in pneumonia and acute diarrheal diseases among children under the age of five, while three regions namely, Somalia, Gambela, and Afar saw an increase in cases during the pandemic. This emphasizes the importance of using tailored approaches in mitigating the impact of infectious diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia during situations of a pandemic such as COVID-19.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on TB prevention and care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a retrospective database study.

OBJECTIVE: The current COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia could cause severe dysfunction in tuberculosis (TB) treatment, diagnostic services, and prevention and control efforts. In this study, we evaluated the effect of COVID-19 on TB service indicators in Addis Ababa, where more than two-thirds of the country's COVID-19 morbidity was recorded. DESIGN: We performed a comparative retrospective study to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on TB services during the pre-COVID-19 era (from April 2019 to March 2020) and the COVID-19 era (from April 2020 to March 2021) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We extracted data on total TB detection rate, TB treatment success rate, isoniazid prophylaxis therapy, and drug susceptibility tests and others from the health information system. Using Poisson regression, we estimated the incidence rate ratios and the absolute number difference of the indicators (number per quarter and year) in the COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19 eras. RESULTS: Compared with the pre-COVID-19 era, the total TB detection, bacteriologically confirmed TB, TB treatment success rate, latent TB infection treatment and community health workers' engagement in TB detection decreased, respectively, by 11%, 11.8%, 17%, 44.7% and 77.2% during the COVID-19 period. Rifampicin resistance increased by 27.7% during the same period. Comparative analysis showed a significant decline in these TB service indicators (p<0.001) CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on TB service indicators in Addis Ababa. This highlights the importance of reinforcing TB services, including adopting alternative digital health technology to screen for TB and integrating TB and COVID-19 services to mitigate COVID-19's challenges to TB prevention and care.

Epidemiology and the diagnostic challenge of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in a teaching hospital in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia reported a high rate of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) and the cases are increasing since the last three decades. However, diagnostic evidence to initiate TB treatment among EPTB cases is not well known. Therefore, we described the epidemiology and assessed how EPTB is diagnosed in a teaching hospital in Ethiopia. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review among all adult EPTB cases diagnosed in Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College from 2015 to 2019. Using a standardized data abstraction sheet, we collected data from patients' medical records on sociodemographic, sites, and laboratory diagnosis of EPTB cases. RESULTS: Of the 965 total TB cases, 49.8%(481) had a recorded diagnosis of EPTB during the study period. The mean age of EPTB patients was 32.9 years (SD±13.9) and 50.7% were males. Tubercular lymphadenitis (40.3%), abdominal (23.4%), and pleural TB(13.5%) were the most common sites of EPTB involvement, followed in descending order by the genitourinary, skeletal, central nervous system, abscess, breast, and laryngeal TB. We found a histopathology finding consistent with EPTB in 59.1% of cases, Acid-fast bacilli positive in 1.5%, and the rest diagnosed on radiological grounds. In the majority of cases, more than one diagnostic method was used to diagnose EPTB cases. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of TB patients had a recorded diagnosis of EPTB that comprise heterogeneous anatomical sites. All EPTB patients were started anti-TB therapy without definitive microbiology results. This indicates the diagnostic challenge of EPTB faced in our setting and proves to be significant for TB control in Ethiopia.

Epidemiology of streptomycin resistant Salmonella from humans and animals in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Streptomycin is used as an epidemiological marker in monitoring programs for antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella serovars and indicates the presence of pentaresistance. However, comprehensive data on streptomycin resistant Salmonella among human, animal, and animal products is lacking in Ethiopia. In this review, we aimed to assess heterogeneity and pooled proportion of Salmonella serovars to streptomycin resistance among human, animal and animal products in Ethiopia. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published literature from Ethiopia. We used the MEDLINE/ PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases to identify genetic and phenotypic data on Salmonella isolates. To determine the heterogeneity and pooled proportion, we used metaprop commands and the random-effects model. Relative and cumulative frequencies were calculated to describe the overall preponderance of streptomycin resistance isolates after arcsine-transformed data. Metan funnel and meta-bias using a begg test were performed to check for publication bias. RESULTS: Overall, we included 1475 Salmonella serovars in this meta-analysis. The pooled proportion of streptomycin resistance was 47% (95% CI: 35-60%). Sub-group analysis by target population showed that the proportion of streptomycin resistance in Salmonella serovars was 54% (95% CI: 35-73%) in animal, 44% (95% Cl: 33-59%) in humans and 39% (95% CI: 24-55%) in animals products. The streptomycin resistant Salmonella serovars were statistically increasing from 0.35(95% CI: 0.12-0.58) in 2003 to 0.77(95% CI: 0.64-0.89) in 2018. The level of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella serovars was 50.1% in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: We found a high level of streptomycin resistance, including multidrug, Salmonella serovars among human, animals, and animal products. This resistance was significantly increasing in the last three decades (1985-2018). The resistance to streptomycin among Salmonella serovars isolated from animals was higher than humans. This mandates the continuous monitoring of streptomycin use and practicing one health approach to preventing further development of resistance in Ethiopia. REGISTRATION: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis after registration of the protocol in PROSPERO (CRD42019135116) following the MOOSE (Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology).

High levels of scabies and malnutrition amongst orphans referred to a hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Orphans are at high risk for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and other comorbidities such as malnutrition. We investigated how many orphans suffered from scabies, other NTDs and malnutrition. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive study using medical records of orphans referred to a teaching hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from December 2014 to December 2018 was done. Files documenting NTDs were reviewed in detail for age, referral diagnosis, and nutritional status. Nutritional assessment was done using the WHO Standard growth curve, classifying children as stunted (height for age Z score < -2SD or wasted (weight for length Z score < -2SD). RESULTS: Of the 852 orphans referred, 23.1% (196/852) was diagnosed with scabies, amongst which 28.1% (55/196) had multiple episodes. The median age (interquartile range) of the children with scabies was 3 (2-5) months. 85.2% (169/196) of the orphans with scabies were stunted and /or wasted. No other NTDs were reported. All of the scabies cases identified were not documented in the referral letter of the orphanage. CONCLUSIONS: There is ongoing transmission of scabies among children in the orphanage. Amongst orphans with scabies, an alarmingly high percentage was malnourished. Referrals from orphanages may provide an opportunity to detect NTDs and this is being missed.

Unknown HIV status and the TB/HIV collaborative control program in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia has shown significant efforts to address the burden of TB/HIV comorbidity through the TB/HIV collaborative program. However, these diseases are still the highest cause of death in the country. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated this program by investigating the overall proportion of unknown HIV status among TB patients using published studies in Ethiopia. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies in Ethiopia. We identified the original studies using the databases MEDLINE/PubMed, and Google Scholar. The heterogeneity across studies was assessed using Cochran's Q test and I 2 statistics. The Begg's rank correlation and the Egger weighted regression tests were assessed for the publication bias. We estimated the pooled proportion of unknown HIV status among TB patients using the random-effects model. RESULTS: Overall, we included 47 studies with 347,896 TB patients eligible for HIV test. The pooled proportion of unknown HIV status among TB patients was 27%(95% CI; 21-34%) and with a substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 99.9%). In the subgroup analysis, the pooled proportion of unknown HIV status was 39% (95% CI; 25-54%) among children and 20% (95% CI; 11-30%) among adults. In the region based analysis, the highest pooled proportion of unknown HIV status was in Gambella, 38% (95% CI; 16-60%) followed by Addis Ababa, 34%(95% CI; 12-55%), Amhara,30%(95% CI; 21-40%),and Oromia, 23%(95% CI; 9-38%). Regarding the study facilities, the pooled proportion of unknown HIV status was 33% (95% CI; 23-43%) in the health centers and 26%(95% CI; 17-35%) in the hospitals. We could not identify the high heterogeneity observed in this review and readers should interpret the results of the pooled proportion analysis with caution. CONCLUSION: In Ethiopia, about one-third of tuberculosis patients had unknown HIV status. This showed a gap to achieve the currently implemented 90-90-90 HIV/AIDS strategic plan in Ethiopia, by 2020. Therefore, Ethiopia should strengthen TB/HIV collaborative activities to mitigate the double burden of diseases.

Guideline Recommendations for Empirical Antimicrobial Therapy: An Appraisal of Research Evidence for Clinical Decision-Making in Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: The rapid spread of drug resistance is forcing standard treatment guidelines (STGs) to become more appropriate with due consideration of the evidence on the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) situation in Ethiopia. Therefore, we aimed to assess the local AMR recommendations in the STGs for empirical antibacterial prescriptions for the five common infectious syndromes. We also determined the quality of AMR reviews conducted in the country. METHODS: We conducted a review of the STGs used in the health centers, general hospitals, and primary hospitals in Ethiopia and assessed the AMR recommendations in STGs for empirical antibacterial prescriptions for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), urinary tract infection (UTI), tonsillopharyngitis, acute otitis media (AOM), and bacterial dysentery. Next, we performed an overview of AMR reviews published in Ethiopia. We used the MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases to identify AMR reviews. The review characteristics were extracted. We also evaluated the quality of each included AMR review using a measurement tool to assess the systematic review scale (AMSTAR 2). RESULTS: A total of 6 STGs and 12 AMR reviews conducted in the country were included. The choice of empirical antibacterials for similar infectious syndromes (and editions) was comparable across the three levels of the health care system. None of the STGs evaluated included the local AMR recommendations for empirical antibacterial prescriptions for five common infectious syndromes. Of all the AMR reviews included, 75% had low and below methodologic quality, and none had a high-quality score using the AMSTAR 2 tool. CONCLUSION: Standard treatment guidelines did not consider local AMR recommendations for empirically prescribing antibacterials for common infectious syndromes. The AMR reviews published in the country produced poor methodologic quality evidence for clinical applications. This highlights the need to improve the methodologic quality to provide the best available evidence for clinical decision-making and curb the ongoing AMR in Ethiopia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered (15/07/2020).

Prevalence rate of undiagnosed tuberculosis in the community in Ethiopia from 2001 to 2014: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In Ethiopia individual report indicated nearly 30% of incident cases of tuberculosis remained undiagnosed. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed to determine the pooled prevalence rate of undiagnosed smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) using community based studies published in Ethiopia. METHODS: MEDLINE/PubMed, 'Cochrane' library, and Google scholar databases were searched, and reference list of studies on tuberculosis in Ethiopia were reviewed. We used table to present descriptive information of original studies and quantitative results were presented in forest plots. The Cochrane Q test and I2 test statistic were used to test heterogeneity across studies. The Pooled prevalence and point estimates of undiagnosed smear positive PTB were computed by a random effects model. RESULTS: From the nine studies included in the analysis, the pooled prevalence rate and point estimate of undiagnosed smear positive PTB was 0.11%(95% CI, 0.06-013%, p < 0.001) and 79.8/100,000(95% CI; 56.3-112.8) respectively. Pooled prevalence rate and point estimate of bacteriologically confirmed PTB were 0.17%(95%CI; 0.13-0.22%, P < 0.001) and 191/100000(95% CI; 141.3-258) respectively. The ratio of active to passive case detection was 2.3(95% CI, 0.42-4.1). Pooled prevalence rate of presumptive PTB was 2.7%(95% CI; 1.3-5.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The analysis revealed that the magnitude of undiagnosed smear positive PTB cases in the community is high in Ethiopia. This indicated the ongoing transmission of tuberculosis in community due to missed infectious cases. Active tuberculosis finding in the community should be strengthened in Ethiopia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: 140611.

Prevalence of rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis among presumptive tuberculosis patients in selected governmental hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Rapid detection of rifampicin resistance is essential for early management and prevention of transmission of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). We studied the prevalence of rifampicin resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) among presumptive TB patients in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted in three referral hospitals and the regional laboratory in Addis Ababa city from March 2015 to October 2017. Data was collected by data-extraction sheet from registration books. It was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Statistically significant association was taken with P < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 12,414 (11,672 adults and 742 paediatrics) TB presumptive patients were included in the study. The overall prevalence of TB was 15.11% (1876/12414) in all age groups and 13.6%(101/742) among paediatric population. Rifampicin resistant TB was 9.9% (186/1876) in all TB confirmed cases and 7.9% (8/101) in paediatric TB patients. The prevalence of rifampicin resistant TB among new and previously treated was 7.6 and 27.4%, respectively. Sex (being female) and previous TB treatment were significantly associated with rifampicin resistant TB. CONCLUSIONS: Rifampicin-resistant TB is prevalent both among adult and paediatric TB patients. The strong association of rifampicin resistance with previous treatment in this study suggests the need to improve and monitor the treatment to limit the emergence of drug resistant TB.

Microbial spectrum and drug-resistance profile of isolates causing bloodstream infections in febrile cancer patients at a referral hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: The spectrum of pathogens causing bloodstream infections (BSIs) in cancer patients has shown significant fluctuations in different geographical areas and time. We studied the microbial spectrum and drug-resistance profile of pathogens causing BSIs in febrile cancer patients at a referral hospital in Ethiopia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2011 and June 2012 at Tikur Anbessa Hospital in Addis Ababa. Blood cultures from febrile cancer patients (n=107) were performed. Bacterial and fungal pathogens were identified and antimicrobial susceptibility testing done for the bacterial isolates using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. RESULTS: A total of 82 pathogens were isolated from 112 blood culture tests of the 76 patients: 71 (86.6%) of the isolates were bacteria and 11 (13.4%) were fungi. The majority (60.5% [43 of 71]) of the isolates were Gram-positive bacteria, where Staphylococcus aureus was predominant (72% [31 of 43]), and 68% of S. aureus isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone and oxacillin. Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 39.5% (28 of 71) of the isolates. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (17.9% [five of 28]) was the most frequent Gram-negative isolate. In Gram-negative bacteria, the highest rates of resistance were observed in amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (80% [12 of 15]), followed by ceftriaxone (73.3%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (73.3%). Multidrug resistance (resistance to three or more types of antibiotics, in this case to ceftriaxone, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole) was observed in 26.3% (13 of 43) of Gram-positive and 40% (six of 16) of Gram-negative bacteria. Neutropenia was an independent risk factor for BSIs (P=0.02). CONCLUSION: Gram-positive bacteria were the predominant etiologic agents of BSIs in Ethiopian patients with cancer. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria showed an increasing level of resistance for most of the antibiotics used for empiric therapy. Routine bacterial surveillance and study of their resistance patterns must be an essential component of cancer-related infection control and care in our setting.

Rare bacterial isolates causing bloodstream infections in Ethiopian patients with cancer.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, saprophytic bacteria have been emerging as potential human pathogens causing life-threatening infections in patients with malignancies. However, evidence is lacking concerning such bacteria, particularly in sub-Saharan countries. This study was designed to determine the spectrum and drug resistance profile of the rare bacterial pathogens causing bloodstream infections (BSIs) in febrile cancer patients at a referral hospital in Ethiopia. METHODS: Between December 2011 and June 2012, blood samples were collected from 107 patients with cancer in Tikur Anbessa hospital. Culturing was performed using the blood culture bottles and solid media and the microorganisms were identified using the gram staining and APINE identification kits (Biomerieux, France). The disk diffusion method was used for the antimicrobial susceptibility testing. RESULTS: Overall, 13 (12.2%) rare human pathogens were isolated from 107 adult febrile cancer patients investigated. Aeromonas hydrophilia species (a fermentative gram-negative rod) was the predominant isolate, 30.8% (4/13), followed by Chryseomonas luteola 15.4% (2/13), Sphignomonas poucimobilis 15.4% (2/13), and Pseudomonas fluorescens 15.4% (2/13). Of the nine isolates tested for a nine set of antibiotics, 89% were resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ampicillin, and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the emergence of saprophytic bacteria as potential drug-resistant nosocomial pathogens in Ethiopian patients with cancer. As these pathogens are ubiquitous in the environment, infection prevention actions should be strengthened in the hospital and early diagnosis and treatment with appropriate antibiotics are warranted for those already infected.