Attitude,Willingness, and Associated Factors in Organ Donation Among Health Professionals in Gondar,Northwest Ethiopia

BackgroundOrgan transplantation is considered one of the greatest advances of modern science, and it has given many patients a renewed lease on life. The demand for organs far exceeds the supply. Health professionals are fundamental in the process of organ procurement.ObjectiveTo assess the attitude, willingness, and associated factors in organ donation among health professionals of Gondar, Ethiopia.MethodsOur cross-sectional study was conducted among 382 randomly selected health professionals in Gondar using a self-administered questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the data.ResultsAmong health professionals, 79.1% had favorable attitude toward organ donation and 74.6% were willing to donate their organs. After adjusting for covariates, the odds of having a favorable attitude about organ donation were 3.2 and 11.9 times higher in the professions of laboratory technologists and medical doctors, respectively. By keeping all other variables constant, attitude was found to be positively associated with awareness (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 12.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.71-43.8) and being a member of the Red Cross Association (aOR 5.24, 95% CI 1.46-18.96). Willingness was positively associated with awareness (aOR 6.25, 95% CI 2.0-19.53), a member of the Red Cross Association (aOR 5.09, 95% CI 1.5-17.22), a laboratory technologist (aOR 3.57, 95% CI 1.37-9.29), and a medical doctor (aOR 6.52, 95 % CI 1.93-22.01).ConclusionsThe main findings indicated that the majority of health professionals in Gondar had a favorable attitude toward organ donation and were willing to donate their organs in times of need.     

Profiling of Silk Sericin from Cocoons of Three Southern African Wild Silk Moths with a Focus on Their Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Properties

Silk sericin was extracted from the cocoons of three Southern African wild silk moth species, namely Gonometapostica, G. rufobrunnae (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), and Argema mimosae (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae); these three sericin extracts were analysed to determine the relationship that exists between their chemical structures and their functional properties. The relationship was investigated by utilising several methods that include the determination of the amino acid composition, and characterisation of the secondary structures with Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The antibacterial properties of these three sericin extracts were evaluated by an agar well diffusion assay with three Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis) as test microorganisms; and, lastly, the antioxidant properties of the three sericin extracts were determined using several scavenging methods that include the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS˙⁺), and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The amino acid composition in the silk sericin extracts from G. postica, G. rufobrunnea, and Argema mimosa in terms of the polar/non-polar ratio (P/NP) was found to be 65:35, 56:44, and 59:41, respectively. The FTIR spectra of these three silk sericin extracts showed distinct major bands such as amide A (3265 cm⁻¹), amide B (3062 cm⁻¹), amide I (1644 cm⁻¹), amide II (1538 cm⁻¹), and amide III (1244 cm⁻¹). The XRD patterns of the silk sericin extracts revealed both amorphous and α-helical structures, with small crystalline regions. All three silk sericin extracts presented potent antibacterial efficacy against the three Gram-positive bacteria and were found to have excellent antioxidant activities against the tested free radicals.     

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay for genus-, group- and species-specific detection of mycobacteria

We developed and evaluated a single-step, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for distinguishing (1) between the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT) and (2) between M. tuberculosis and M. bovis species. The assay targeted the 16S and the 23S rDNA to distinguish between MTBC and MOTT species, and the oxyR gene to distinguish between M. tuberculosis and M. bovis strains. Clinical samples and reference strains (N = 156) comprised 93 strains of M. tuberculosis, 44 of M. bovis, 1 M. africanum strain, and 18 strains representing 9 different species of MOTTs. MOTTs generated only a single PCR product of about 2.5 kilobase; however, all of the MTBC strains produced a 118 base pair (bp) fragment and an additional 270 bp fragment was obtained for M. tuberculosis and M. africanum when the primer pair oxyRTB-2.1/oxyRMT-1 was used. When oxyRTB-2.1/oxyRMB-1 primers were used, the 270 bp fragment was obtained for only M. bovis. The assay needed as little as 1 pg of purified genomic DNA to make a positive identification.     

Predictors of mortality among under-five children with severe acute malnutrition,Northwest Ethiopia: an institution based retrospective cohort study

Background

Globally, approximately 19 million children under 5 years are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in low-income countries including Ethiopia. However, little is known regarding predictors of mortality among these children in Ethiopia. The current study aimed to assess the potential predictors of mortality among under-five children with SAM admitted to a stabilization center.

Method

A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 527 under-five children who were admitted for SAM at the University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital from 2014 to 2016. Data were collected from a randomly selected chart after getting ethical clearance. Data were cleaned, coded and entered to Epi-info (version 7) and analyzed using STATA (version14). The outcome was computed by using tables and graphs. A multivariable cox proportional hazards model was fitted to identify predictors of mortality.

Result

Overall, the median follow-up period was 10 days with interquartile range (Q1, Q3: 8, 17). At the end of the follow-up, the mortality rate was 66(12.52%). Anemia (AHR(Adjusted Hazard Ratio): 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.5), Shock (AHR: 7.9, 95% CI: 3.7, 16.7), no intake of antibiotics (AHR: 2.3 95% CI: 1.2, 4.4), IV-Fluid (AHR: 3.2, 95% CI: 1.7, 5.8), no intake of F75 (AHR: 6.6,95% CI: 2.9, 14.7) and no intake of F100 (AHR: 3, 95% CI: 1.6, 5.4) were independent predictors of mortality.

Conclusion

The survival status of under-five children with SAM was lower than the national standard protocol. Altered general conditions such as shock, anemia, not adhering to medical and nutritional therapies were identified as predictors of mortality among SAM children. Health education on early medical seeking behavior and adherence on the routine regimens may improve this gap in child survival.

     

Evaluation of the impact of pharmacist-led medication reconciliation intervention: a single centre pre–post study from Ethiopia

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy - Background The role of pharmacists in medication reconciliation (MedRec) is highly acknowledged in many developed nations. However, the impact of this...     

Absence of anamnestic response after transfusion of washed red blood cells in haemophilia A patients with antibody to factor VIII

Washed red blood cells (WRC) have been used for replacing the blood loss in haemophilia A patients with antibody to Factor VIII. Levels of VIII coagulant activity (VIII:C), VIII coagulant antigen (VIII:CAg) and VIII related antigen (VIIIR:Ag) have been measured during the different steps of the preparation of WRC. The amount of VIII:CAg decreases very rapidly after washing and both are undetectable in the final product. These results were correlated with the absence of anamnestic response in 10 haemophilia A patients with inhibitor known as high responders.     

Can source reduction of mosquito larval habitat reduce malaria transmission in Tigray,Ethiopia?

The development of irrigation schemes by dam construction has led to an increased risk of malaria in Tigray, Ethiopia. We carried out a pilot study near a microdam to assess whether environmental management could reduce malaria transmission by Anopheles arabiensis, the main vector in Ethiopia. The study took place in Deba village, close to a dam; Maisheru village, situated 3-4 km away from the dam, acted as a control. Baseline entomological and clinical data were collected in both villages during the first 12 months. Source reduction, involving filling, draining and shading of potential mosquito-breeding habitats was carried out by the community of Deba in the second year and routine surveillance continued in both villages during the second year. Anopheles arabiensis was highly anthropophilic (Human Blood Index=0.73), biting early in the night before people went to bed. The major breeding habitats associated with the dam were areas of seepage at the dam base (28%), leaking irrigation canals (16%), pools that formed along the bed of streams from the dam (13%), and man-made pools (12%). In the pre-intervention year, 5.9-7.2 times more adult vectors were found in the dam village compared with the control village. There was a 3.1% higher prevalence of an enlarged spleen in children under 10 years in the dam village than in the control village during the pre-intervention period, but no statistically significant difference was found in the incidence of falciparum malaria between the two villages during the same period. Source reduction was associated with a 49% (95% CI=46.6-50.0) relative reduction in An. arabiensis adults in the dam village compared with the pre-intervention period. There were very few cases of malaria during the intervention period in both villages making it impossible to judge whether malaria incidence had been reduced. These preliminary findings suggest that in areas of low intensity transmission community-led larval control may be a cheap and effective method of controlling malaria. Further, large-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings.