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.     

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Homeless People

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among homeless people and is associated with an increased risk of mortality from suicide, medical causes, and drug-related problems. However, there are no previous systematic review and meta-analysis studies that reported the consolidated magnitude of PTSD among homeless people. A literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, and Scopus to discover pertinent studies that determined the prevalence of PTSD among the homeless. Articles were evaluated by titles, abstracts, and full-text. Comprehensive meta-analysis software was used to conduct the meta-analysis. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis were performed and Cochran’s Q- and the I² test were used to assess heterogeneity. The evidence of publication bias was evaluated by using Egger’s test and visual inspection of the symmetry in funnel plots. From the total, 19 studies with 20,364 participants across seven countries were included in the final analysis. Our meta-analysis revealed that the pooled prevalence of PTSD among homeless people was 27.38% (95% CI; 21.95–33.57). In our subgroup analysis, we found that the prevalence of PTSD was considerably high as measured by the screening instrument (35.93%) than the diagnostic instrument (23.57% %). The prevalence of PTSD among homeless showed a significant variation by the location of the studies, the instruments used to measure PTSD as well as the quality of the included studies. This review showed that the pooled prevalence estimate of PTSD among homeless peoples was remarkably high (27.38%). Early screening and treatment of PTSD among homeless peoples are warranted to alleviate suffering.

     

Increased resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates to antimicrobial drugs, at a referral hospital in north-west Ethiopia

Beta lactam antibiotics were very effective against Streptococcus pneumoniae. However, resistance to this class of antibiotics has become an increasing problem. Reports of penicillin resistant and multidrug resistant strains are being made in many parts of the world. We examined the drug sensitivity pattern of S. pneumoniae isolates in a retrospective analysis of laboratory records of S. pneumoniae isolates between March 2001 and April 2005 at Gondar University Hospital, Ethiopia. A significant proportion of the isolates were found to be resistant to one or more of the commonly used antibiotics. Furthermore, the isolates appear to be acquiring an increasing resistance to crystalline penicillin, cotrimoxazole and ampicillin. This situation needs immediate attention.     

Treatable bacterial infections are underrecognized causes of fever in Ethiopian children

Febrile illnesses remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in resource-poor countries, but too often, tests are not available to determine the causes, leading to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. To determine the cause of febrile illnesses, we recovered the malaria smears from 102 children presenting with fever to Soddo Christian Hospital in Wolaitta Soddo, Ethiopia. DNA was isolated from the smears and evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction. We identified pathogen DNA with probes for Plasmodium spp., Streptococcus pneumoniae, Rickettsia spp., Salmonella spp., and Borrelia spp. Overall, we showed that it is possible to isolate high-quality DNA and identify treatable pathogens from malaria blood smears. Furthermore, our data showed that bacterial pathogens (especially Pneumococcus, Rickettsia spp., and Borrelia spp.) are common and frequently unrecognized but treatable causes of febrile illnesses in Ethiopian children.     

Urinary symptoms and urodynamics following obstetric genitourinary fistula repair

Introduction and hypothesis

The aim of this study was to evaluate urinary symptoms and urodynamic diagnoses in women following repair of obstetric fistula of the lower urinary tract.

Methods

Women with previous genital tract fistula and ongoing urinary symptoms were evaluated at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. The women were referred to the Urodynamic Unit by doctors reviewing women at the hospital. Consecutive women between December 2008 and September 2009 were assessed (including urodynamic studies) and data collected

Results

One hundred and fifty-four women were referred for urodynamic assessment. Only women with previous obstetric fistula were included in the study. Of the 154 women, 5 were excluded from the study—1 declined the assessment, 1 had a non-obstetric fistula and 3 were found to have recurrence of the fistula. Forty-nine percent had urodynamic stress incontinence only, 3 % had detrusor overactivity only and 43 % had both urodynamic stress incontinence and detrusor overactivity. Five percent of women had neither detrusor overactivity nor urodynamic stress incontinence. Seven percent had post-void residual volume of 150 ml or more.

Conclusions

Non-surgical management of post-obstetric fistula urinary symptoms may be neglected. The reduced success rates in surgery for post-obstetric fistula urinary incontinence may be due to the lack of attention to the other reasons for urinary symptoms and markedly impaired urethral function. Urethral closure pressures in this group of women often did not reflect the severity of urinary incontinence.     

Silently waiting to heal

Introduction and hypothesis

The aim of this study was to gain in-depth knowledge of women suffering from urinary incontinence (UI) in rural and semiurban settings in Ethiopia.

Methods

A qualitative study based on semistructured in-depth interviews with 26 informants, 18 of whom were women experiencing the symptom of urinary leakage. The study was conducted in the Amhara Region of northwest Ethiopia and was part of the Dabat Incontinence and Prolapse (DABINCOP) study.

Results

Limited access to water, soap, pads, and spare clothes characterized daily management of the symptom. The consequences for marital relationships and social life were of great concern to the informants. Shame, embarrassment, and fear of being discriminated against led to huge efforts to hide the leakage. Among informants who were not able to hide it, humiliating comments and discriminatory behavior were commonly experienced, sometimes leading to divorce and self-isolation. Women who disclosed their symptom usually had a person who supported them. Women with UI regarded it as unnatural and uncommon. Most took no action to improve the situation, as they saw no options for help.

Conclusions

Several circumstances limited the opportunities available to women to keep themselves clean, disclose the problem to others, and access health information and health-care facilities. In order to understand how women in this setting practically handled, perceived, and experienced living with UI, it was essential to address contextualized and sociocultural dimensions related to the symptom.     

Hydrothermal green synthesis of MoS2 nanosheets for pollution abatement and antifungal applications

In this study, we report a green synthesis of MoS₂ nanosheets (NSs) using a facile hydrothermal technique in the presence of l-cysteine. l-Cysteine can serve as a greener source of sulfur as well as a capping agent to help the growth of MoS₂ nanosheets. The prepared materials were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), electron transmission microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) analysis. The results showed that MoS₂ NSs are of high crystallinity with a lattice spacing of 0.61 nm. The optical bandgap of MoS₂ NSs nanosheets prepared using l-cysteine as a source of sulfur was found to be 1.79 eV. The photocatalytic degradation of MoS₂ NSs towards methylene orange (MO) and rhodamine blue (RB) dyes under sunlight was found to be promising for practical applications. The fast kinetics of degradation of MO and RhB was observed over a wide range of pH range. Moreover, MoS₂ NSs showed excellent antifungal activities against Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Penicillium chrysogenum fungus.

In this study, we report a green synthesis of MoS₂ nanosheets (NSs) using a facile hydrothermal technique in the presence of l-cysteine.