Background Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is considered one of the most painful illnesses known to medical practice. Little is known about TN in Ethiopia. Our study aimed to assess clinical characteristics, treatment, and associated factors of TN. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 61 patients with confirmed Trigeminal neuralgia visiting outpatient neurology clinics of two government teaching Hospitals and two private health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between June 2019 and March 2020. Results Our participants’ age range between 21 and 78 years with mean ± SD age of 50.7 ± 14.2 years. Males accounted for 50.8%. Twenty-five (41%) reported a prior history of one or more tooth extraction on the painful side. In the majority (68.9%) of the patient’s right side of the face was affected. The mandibular nerve was the commonly involved branch (47.5%). Fifty-five (90.2%) of patients fulfilled criteria for classical TN and 9.8% had symptomatic TN. The majority of the participants reported mixed types of pain such as burning, lancinating, and electric shock-like. Well defined trigger zone was identified in one-third (36%) of cases. Carbamazepine was the most commonly prescribed drug with a median dose of 600 mg (IQR: 400 – 1000 mg). Two-third of the patients reported prominent satisfaction. The mean (± SD) dose of carbamazepine used to control the pain was significantly higher among those with dental extraction history as compared to those with no history of dental extraction (736 ± 478.6 mg Vs 661.1 ± 360.4 mg, respectively, T = − 2.06, p = 0.04 95% CI:-213.41 to − 2.98). A statistically significant number of patients who had single branch involvement reported prominent satisfaction with their treatment as compared to those who had more than one branch involvement. (95% CI: 1.3–3.8: p = 0.006). Conclusion The majority of our patients had Classical TN in the mandibular nerve distribution on the right side of the face and well satisfied with carbamazepine only treatment. Furthermore, we observed a higher proportion of dental extraction among our patients, hinting at the scale of miss and delayed-diagnoses. Thus, we recommend conducting a well-designed prospective study to support our findings.

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Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is considered one of the most painful illnesses known to medical practice. Little is known about TN in Ethiopia. Our study aimed to assess clinical characteristics, treatment, and associated factors of TN.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 61 patients with confirmed Trigeminal neuralgia visiting outpatient neurology clinics of two government teaching Hospitals and two private health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between June 2019 and March 2020.Results: Our participants' age range between 21 and 78 years with mean ± SD age of 50.7 ± 14.2 years. Males accounted for 50.8%. Twenty-five (41%) reported a prior history of one or more tooth extraction on the painful side. In the majority (68.9%) of the patient's right side of the face was affected. The mandibular nerve was the commonly involved branch (47.5%). Fifty-five (90.2%) of patients fulfilled criteria for classical TN and 9.8% had symptomatic TN. The majority of the participants reported mixed types of pain such as burning, lancinating, and electric shock-like. Well defined trigger zone was identified in one-third (36%) of cases. Carbamazepine was the most commonly prescribed drug with a median dose of 600mg (IQR: 400 – 1000mg). Two-third of the patients reported prominent satisfaction. The mean (± SD) dose of carbamazepine used to control the pain was significantly higher among those with dental extraction history as compared to those with no history of dental extraction (736 ± 478.6mg Vs 661.1 ± 360.4mg, respectively, T = -2.06, p = 0.04 95% CI:-213.41 to -2.98). A statistically significant number of patients who had single branch involvement reported prominent satisfaction with their treatment as compared to those who had more than one branch involvement. (95% CI: 1.3-3.8: p = 0.006). Conclusion: The majority of our patients had Classical TN in the mandibular nerve distribution on the right side of the face and well satisfied with carbamazepine only treatment. Furthermore, we observed a higher proportion of dental extraction among our patients, hinting at the scale of miss and delayed-diagnoses. Thus, we recommend conducting a well-designed prospective study to support our findings.

BackgroundAdmission hyperglycemia (HG) has been associated with worse outcomes among acute stroke patients. A better understanding and awareness of the potentially adverse influence of hyperglycemia on the clinical outcome of acute stroke patients would help to provide guidance for acute stroke management and prevention of its adverse outcomes. We aimed to assess the frequency of admission hyperglycemia and its impact on short term (30-days) morbidity and mortality outcomes of stroke in adult Ethiopian patients in an urban setting.MethodsA prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted among acute stroke patients admitted to Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), within 72 h of symptom onset, from July to December 2016. Socio-demographic data, neuroimaging findings and capillary blood glucose values were obtained on admission. Hyperglycemia was defined as > 140 mg/dl. National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) were used to assess the baseline stroke severity and the 30-days post-stroke outcome, respectively.ResultsA total of 103 first-ever acute stroke patients were included (mean age = 55.5 + 15.3 years, 64.1% male and 65% under the age of 65 years) and 51 (49.5%) were hyperglycemic at time of admission. The median admission NIHSS score was worse in the hyperglycemic patients 14 (IQR 10–19) compared to normoglycemic patients 11 (IQR 8–15). Among stroke survivors, patients with hyperglycemia were 3.83 times (95% CI, 1.99–6.19) more likely to be functionally impaired (mRS = 3–5) at 30-days compared to normoglycemic patients (P = 0.041).Older age (≥ 65 years) (P = 0.017) and stroke severity (NIHSS > 14) (P = 0.006) at admission were both significantly associated with poor functional recovery at 30-day. Among patients who died at 30-day, two-third (66.7%) were hyperglycemic but they failed to show any significant association.ConclusionsHyperglycemia is prevalent among Ethiopian stroke patients at the time of presentation and it is associated with significantly poor functional recovery at 30th-day of follow up. This finding provides a rationale for achieving normal blood glucose in the course of acute stroke management which could have a favorable impact on the neurological outcome and quality of life for patients.

Background Insecticide-treated net (ITN) use is among the most recommended strategies to prevent malaria in pregnancy. We analysed the regional and socio-economic patterns of ITN use among pregnant women in Kenya using data from the 2003, 2008 and 2014 Kenyan Demographic and Health Surveys (KDHSs). Methods Inequality was assessed using four dimensions: economic status, education, place of residence and region. Both relative and absolute summary measures were applied. In addition, simple and complex summary measures, i.e. difference, population attributable fraction, population attributable risk and ratio were considered based on the number of subgroups in each variable. Results There was overt inequality in the use of ITNs among pregnant women, with greater use among the better-off group in 2003 and 2014. Greater ITN use was also observed among pregnant women with a higher level of education. Pregnant women from urban settings tended to use ITNs (slept under a net the night before the survey) more than their rural counterparts in the 2003 KDHS. There were significant regional variations across the three surveys in all inequality summary measures, except ratio in the 2014 survey. Conclusions Significant inequality in ITN use among pregnant women was observed at a macro scale.