Background HIV/AIDS-associated morbidity and mortality have reduced since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Treatment failure is one of the causes of mortality, morbidity, and the development of drug-resistant viral strains. Therefore, this research aims to assess the prevalence and associated factors of treatment failure among children with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy attending the University of Gondar Specialized Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 200 children registered for ART from 2005 to 2017. Data regarding patients’ socio-demographic, baseline clinical characteristics, and treatment-related information were collected through a review of their medical records. Data were entered into Epi-info version 3.5.3 and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21 software. To summarize characteristics of the study participant’s descriptive statistics were done. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression were fitted to identify factors associated with treatment failure. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the strength of the association and P-value<0.05 in the multivariable regression was considered as statistically significant. Results The prevalence of ART failure was 12.5% (95% CI: 7.88, 17.12), clinical failure was the most common followed by immunologic failure with only a small proportion having both clinical and immunologic failure. The mean time to develop treatment failure after initiation of the first-line regimen was 22.28 ± 24.00 months. Being male (AOR= 3.15; 95% CI: 1.18–8.39), co-infected with tuberculosis (TB) at baseline (AOR= 2.37; 95% CI: 1.23–8.84), being on ART for a long period (>36 months) (AOR= 1.01; 95% CI: 1.34–2.89), and regimen change (AOR=9.22; 95% CI: 3.36–25.03) were factors of ART failure. Conclusion In this study, there is significant treatment failure among HIV-infected children. Having co-infection, being on ART for a long period, regimen change, and being male were found to be independent factors of treatment failure in children. Therefore, timely identification and monitoring of ART failure should be necessary to enhance the benefit and to prevent further complications. Prophylaxis for opportunistic infections such as co-trimoxazole preventive therapy should continue to recover the immunological status of the child.

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) patients show a significant derangement in various hematological parameters including changes affecting the red blood cells (RBCs). All these derangements have an imposing effect on any of the RBC indices. Thus, the main aim of this study was determining the RBCs parameters and their correlation with renal function, and also the magnitude of anemia in DM patients in comparison with healthy controls. Methods A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at the chronic illness clinic of University of Gondar Hospital from January to April 2020. A total of 246 participants (164 DM and 82 controls) were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. Five milliliters venous blood was collected by vacutainer blood collection technique. RBC parameters and renal function tests were determined by using Sysmex KX21N and BS-200E Mindray analyzers, respectively. The data were tested for normality using Shapiro–Wilk and Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests. Independent sample t -test and Pearson’s and Spearman correlation statistics were used to analyze variables. A p-value ˂0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results The mean hemoglobin (Hgb) concentration was 13.8±0.7 and 15±1.3 among DM and controls, respectively. RBC (p=0.014), Hgb (p ˂0.001), hematocrit (Hct) (p ˂0.001), and mean cell volume (MCV) (p ˂0.001) were significantly lower in DM patients as compared to controls. On the other hand, mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) was significantly increased in DM patients (p ˂0.001) than the controls. Besides, a significant negative correlation was found between Hgb and creatinine (Cr) in DM patients. Conclusion The mean values of RBC parameters (RBC, Hgb, Hct, and MCV) for DM patients were found significantly lower than the control groups. Besides a significant negative correlation was found between Cr and RBC indices (RBC, Hgb, Hct, and MCV) in DM patients. It is, therefore, suggested that RBC parameters abnormalities should be evaluated and treated periodically in DM patients for better prognosis and quality of life.

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Background Due to its invasive procedure patients on hemodialysis (HD) are at high risk of infections. Infections acquired in dialysis units can prolong hospitalization date and/or prolong illness in patients, and increase treatment cost. There are no adequate data on the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in HD patients. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence and associated factors of HBV and HCV infections among HD patients in Africa. Method The databases PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane library, web of science, African Journals Online, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were searched to identify relevant studies. The review was performed based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Data were extracted independently by two authors and analyzed using STATA 11. A random-effect model was fitted to estimate the pooled prevalence with their 95% confidence interval. To detect publication bias funnel plots analysis and Egger weighted regression tests were done. Results The overall pooled prevalence of HBV and HCV infection among HD patients in Africa was 9.88% (95% CI: 7.20–12.56) I2 = 97.9% and 23.04% (95% CI: 18.51–2757) I2 = 99.6%, respectively. In addition, the pooled prevalence of HBV and HCV co-infection was 7.18% (95% CI: 3.15–11.20) I2 = 99.6%. Duration of dialysis was found to be the contributing factor for the occurrence of HBV and HCV among HD patients (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.01). Conclusion This study showed that there is high prevalence of HBV and HCV infections in HD patients in Africa. Therefore, strict adherence to precautions of infection control measures, isolation of seropositive patients, improvement in infrastructures, adequate screening of HBV and HCV for the donated blood, and decentralized HD services is needed to minimize the risk of HBV and HCV infections in HD facilities.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Background Breast cancer is the most frequent and fatal cancer type globally. The fatality rate of breast cancer is mostly due to disease complications like hematological alterations. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the hematological abnormalities before, during, and after the initiation of cancer treatment in breast cancer patients at the University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital. Methodology Hematological profiles were collected from 267 breast cancer patients who attended the cancer treatment center from September 2017 to August 2021. A data extraction sheet was used to extract data from the patient’s medical chart, including sociodemography, clinical, and hematological profiles. EPI info version 3.5.1 and SPSS Version 25 softwares were used for data entrance and analysis, respectively. Descriptive statistics were summarized using frequency and percentage. The Friedman test followed by a Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the mean difference between the hematological profiles at zero and after the 4th and 8th cycles of treatment. Result Of the total participants, 91% were females, and the median age of the study participants was 45 (IQR = 36, 55) years. Red blood cell, white blood cell, and lymphocyte counts, as well as hematocrit and hemoglobin values, were significantly reduced after the initiation of cancer treatment, while the platelet count and red cell distribution width were significantly increased. The prevalence of anemia was 21.7% (95% CI: 16.6, 26.8), 22.7% (95% CI: 17.6, 27.8), and 26.4% (95% CI: 21.3, 31.5) before, during, and after the initiation of cancer treatment, respectively. The prevalence of leukopenia before, during, and after treatment was 9.7%, 18.8%, and 15.1%, respectively. Finally the prevalence of thrombocytopenia was 6.3%, 3.4%, and 8% at before, during, and after treatment, respectively. Conclusion This study concluded that many hematological parameters were significantly affected by the breast cancer treatment. Therefore, proper patient follow-up and provide appropriate interventions related to their hematological abnormalities is crucial. It is also important to conduct further prospective studies to confirm the findings of this study.

Objectives The susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been linked to blood type. We aimed to characterize the relationships of the ABO and Rhesus blood groups with T2DM. Methods Literature searches were performed using the Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases to identify studies published up to 31 March 2022. The PRISMA guidelines were used for reporting. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained using fixed-effects models. Results Twenty-six studies of 6870 patients with T2DM and 11,879 controls were identified. Compared with the other ABO groups, people with blood type B were at higher risk of T2DM (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.20–1.41), while group O was associated with a lower risk (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86–0.98). There were no significant associations of T2DM with blood types A or AB, or Rh factor. Conclusion Individuals with blood type B are at higher risk of developing T2DM. Therefore, they should be screened for T2DM on a frequent basis and be made aware of the importance of maintaining a balanced diet and regular exercise for the prevention of obesity and T2DM. PROSPERO registration number CRD42022353945.