BackgroundDiarrheal diseases continue to be the major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years. Salmonella and Shigella specious are the major enteric pathogen causing diarrhea among children worldwide. Examination of stool sample is the most sensitive method to diagnose diarrheal disease in children. This study aimed to determining the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and associated factor of Salmonella and Shigella infection among under five children.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted on under 5 years children attending Arba Minch town. Pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used for collecting data about socio-demographic characteristics and associated factors. Stool sample was used to isolate and identified the pathogen. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed for isolated Salmonella and Shigella specious. A logistic regression analysis was used to see the association between different variables and outcome variable. Odds ratio with 95% CI was computed to determine the presence and strength of the association.ResultsA total of 167 under five children were included in the study. About 57% of participants were males with the mean age of 32 months. The overall prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella species infection was 17.45% with 12.6% Salmonella species. The isolates were resistant to common antibiotics such as Amoxicillin, Erythromycin, Chloramphenicol, Clindamycin, Norfloxacin, Ciprofloxacin, Cotrimoxazole, and Gentamycin. Urban resident [AOR = 7.11; 95% CI (2.3, 22.2)], month income < 1000 Ethiopian birr [AOR = 6.5; 95% CI (2.0, 21.4)], absence of waste disposal system [AOR = 3.3; 95% CI (1.2, 9.3)], poor hand washing habit [AOR = 6.0; 95% CI (2.0, 18.2)], untrimmed finger nail [AOR = 3.7; 95% CI (1.4, 10.6)], and use of napkin [AOR = 3.2; 95% CI (1.1, 9.3)] had significant association with Salmonella and Shigella infection.ConclusionSalmonella and Shigella species infections were higher as compared the national prevalence. This study also revealed that the enteric infection were significantly associated with finger nail status, residence, hand washing practice, month income of parents, usage of napkin after toilet, and absence of waste disposal system. Therefore, working on identified associated factors and regular drug susceptibility test is mandatory to reduce the problem.

Background Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific disorder characterized by endothelial dysfunction, and activation of the coagulation system. Alteration of PLT parameters is the common hematological abnormality observed in women with PE. The main aim of this study was to systematically review previous studies from around the world to generate evidence about the relationship between platelet count (PC) and PE, as well as mean platelet volume (MPV) and PE, by calculating the pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) of PC and MPV between PE and normotensive (NT) groups. Methods Relevant articles which were published in the English language from January 10, 2011, to January 10, 2021, were systematically searched through PubMed, Web of Science, and African journals online. In addition, reference probing of published articles searching was employed through Google Scholar and Google for searching grey literature. The methodological qualities of articles were assessed using Joana Brigg’s institute critical appraisal checklist. A random-effects model was used to estimate pooled WMD of PLT parameters between the two groups with the respective 95% confidence intervals (CI) using Stata version 11.0. The I2 statistics and Egger’s regression test were used to assess heterogeneity and publication bias among included studies, respectively. Results A total of 25 articles were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Of which, 23 studies were used in each PC and MPV analysis. The overall pooled WMD of PC and MPV between PE and NT groups were -41.45 × 109/L [95% CI; -51.8, -31.0] and 0.98 fl [95% CI; 0.8, 1.1], respectively. The pooled WMD revealed that PC decreased significantly in the PE group compared to the NT group while MPV increased significantly in the PE group. Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that there is a significant decrease in PC and a significant increase in MPV during PE development among pregnant women. As a result, a change in these parameters among pregnant women may indicate the development of PE.

Introduction Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder of metabolism which results hyperglycemic-related atherothrombotic complications. These complications are the leading cause of death in diabetes mellitus patients. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence of coagulopathy and associated factors among adult type II diabetes mellitus patients attending at University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 357 study participants. A questionnaire and a data collection sheet were used to collect the sociodemographic and clinical data, respectively. About 6mL of venous blood samples were collected for coagulation tests and complete blood count. For prolonged coagulation tests, a mixing test was performed. Data were entered into EpiInfo and exported to SPSS for statistical analysis. Then, descriptive statistics were done. A binary and multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the associated factors. P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results In this study, 357 study participants were included. Of them, 52.1% (186) and 80.7% (288) were females and urban residences, respectively. The prevalence of coagulopathy was 26.6% (95% CI: 22.1, 31.5%). Out of this, 12.3% and 8.7% showed shortened PT and aPTT, respectively. In addition, the prevalence of prolonged PT and aPTT were 5.6% and 3.9%, respectively. From the prolonged PT and aPTT, the prevalence of factor deficiency was 95% and 92.8%, respectively. Being female (AOR = 2.06; 95% CI: 1.11–3.85%), abnormal BMI (AOR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.08–3.50), and educational status of high school (AOR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.10–0.83%) were significantly associated with hypercoagulation. Conclusion Coagulopathy is an important public health problem among type II diabetes mellitus patients. Being female and having abnormal BMI were associated with hypercoagulation. Therefore, regular monitoring of coagulation parameters is vital to reduce the consequence of coagulopathy.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients face several hematological abnormalities. Of these abnormalities, anemia is the most common one. Africa has a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, especially in the East and South African region, which is heavily affected by the virus. Therefore, this systematic review and metaanalysis aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of anemia among patients with HIV/AIDS in East Africa.Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted based on the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Dove Press, Cochrane Online, and African journals online were searched systematically. The quality of the included studies was assessed by 2 independent reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Data were extracted into an Excel sheet and then exported to STATA version 11 for analysis. A random-effect model was fitted to estimate the pooled prevalence and Higgins I 2 test statistics were done to test the heterogeneity of studies. Funnel plots analysis and Egger-weighted regression tests were done to detect publication bias.Results: The pooled prevalence of anemia among HIV/AIDS patients in East Africa was 25.35% (95% CI: 20.69-30.03%). A subgroup analysis by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) status showed that the prevalence of anemia among HAART naive HIV/AIDS patients was 39.11% (95% CI: 29.28-48.93%) whereas the prevalence among HAART experienced was 36.72% (95% CI: 31.22-42.22%). A subgroup analysis by the study population showed that the prevalence of anemia among adult HIV/ AIDS patients was 34.48% (95% CI: 29.52-39.44%) whereas the pooled prevalence among children was 36.17% (95% CI: 26.68-45.65%). Conclusion:This systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that anemia is among the most common hematological abnormalities in HIV/AIDS patients in East Africa. It also underscored the importance of taking diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic measures for the management of this abnormality.Abbreviations: AIDS = acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, ART = antiretroviral therapy, HAART = highly active antiretroviral therapy, HIV = human immunodeficiency virus, JBI = Joanna Briggs Institute.

Background: Preeclampsia has a deleterious effect on renal and liver function, which results in alterations of various biochemical tests. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the role of some hepatic and renal biochemical tests in the diagnosis of preeclampsia. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out on a total of 126 pregnant women after 20th week of gestation who attended at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. The participants were divided into two groups as cases and controls. The case group consisted of 63 preeclamptic women, whereas the control group had 63 age and gestational week matched normotensive pregnant women. From each participant, three milliliters of blood was collected, the serum part was separated, and selected biochemical tests were measured using Humastar 800 chemistry analyzer. An independent t-test and receiver operating characteristics were done using SPSS 20 for comparison and diagnostic value determination of different biochemical tests between the study groups. Results: The maternal serum aminotransferases, total bilirubin, Creatinine, and Urea levels were all significantly elevated in preeclamptic women compared to normotensive pregnant women. The receiver operating characteristics plots revealed that serum aspartate aminotransferase level had area under the curve of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84-0.95) and can distinguish preeclampsia patients from normotensive pregnant women at cut-off value of ≥58.5 U/l with 74.6% sensitivity, 87.3% specificity, and 80.9% diagnostic accuracy. Serum Creatinine level had area under the curve of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.86-0.96), which enabled to indicate preeclampsia at a cut-off value ≥0.90 mg/dl with 77.8% sensitivity and 85.7% specificity. Conclusion: An increased serum aminotransferases, total bilirubin, creatinine, and Urea levels in pregnant women could indicate the development of preeclampsia, and needs to be investigated. Among biochemical tests, serum Creatinine level was the best diagnostic marker of preeclampsia, followed by serum aspartate aminotransferase level.