Low birth weight in newborns: epidemiological aspects and neonatal prognosis within Bogodogo teaching hospital, Burkina Faso

Background: Low birthweight is one of the main causes of neonatal death, after asphyxia and infections. This study purpose is to determine the epidemiological aspects and prognosis of this condition. Methods: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study. Data were collected prospectively from July 1st to September 30th, 2021 within Bogodogo Teaching Hospital. The study population included the overall newborns and their mothers. Results: The low birthweight frequency was estimated at 17.26% of live births. The average age was 26.06±5.8 years. Housewives accounted for 68.6% of cases against 78.9% for mothers in union. Unschooled mothers accounted for 38.3%. Mothers having medium socio-economic status accounted for 83.1% of cases. The average number of gesture was 2.60±1.62 and average parity was 2.72±1.76. Premature newborns accounted for 51.1% of cases. Females represented 55.6% of cases, giving a sex ratio of 0.80. The average weight was 1970.64±375.21 g with extremes of 900g and 2450g. The neonatal mortality rate was estimated at 9.4%. Occupation (p=0.003), marital status (p=0.001), place of residence (p=0.011), socioeconomic level (p=0.000), body mass index (p=0.001) and multiple pregnancy (p= 0.01) were statically associated with low birthweight at term. Conclusions: At the end of this study, it appears that further action is still needed to reduce low birthweight frequency, which implies improving the socio-economic conditions of the population.

Knowledge and practice of emergency contraception among female students of public university of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa

Background: Female students are exposed to unsafe sex, sources of unwanted pregnancy and abortions. It is recognized that emergency contraception can effectively prevent pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practices of Ouagadougou public university students in relation to emergency contraception in order to propose solutions to reduce the proportion of unwanted pregnancies among female students.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between May 1st and October 31st, 2016 in the public universities of Ouagadougou. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 732 students randomly selected.Results: The average age of female students was 22.7 years old. The age group 19 to 24 was the most represented (68.03%). Of the students surveyed, 87% knew or had heard of emergency contraception. The students only used the emergency contraceptive pill. The emergency contraceptive use rate was 44.42%. Approximately, 83% of users were aware of the delay in using emergency contraception. The reasons for using emergency contraception were condom breakage (25.10%) and unprotected sex (74.9%). Female students purchased the contraceptive directly in pharmacies (93.61%).Conclusions: Emergency contraception gives women a last chance to avoid an unwanted pregnancy after unprotected sex.  Awareness and free availability of emergency contraception (EC) could improve the reproductive health of female students

Sporobolus stapfianus: Insights into desiccation tolerance in the resurrection grasses from linking transcriptomics to metabolomics

Predominant clusters of SDATs that share distinct patterns of abundance during dehydration: A. Predominant patterns of abundance for transcripts in clusters that exhibited increased abundance during dehydration. B. Predominant patterns of abundance for transcripts in clusters that exhibited a decreased abundance during dehydration. (PDF 226 kb

Metabolomic Response of Calotropis procera Growing in the Desert to Changes in Water Availability

Water availability is a major limitation for agricultural productivity. Plants growing in severe arid climates such as deserts provide tools for studying plant growth and performance under extreme drought conditions. The perennial species Calotropis procera used in this study is a shrub growing in many arid areas which has an exceptional ability to adapt and be productive in severe arid conditions. We describe the results of studying the metabolomic response of wild C procera plants growing in the desert to a one time water supply. Leaves of C. procera plants were taken at three time points before and 1 hour, 6 hours and 12 hours after watering and subjected to a metabolomics and lipidomics analysis. Analysis of the data reveals that within one hour after watering C. procera has already responded on the metabolic level to the sudden water availability as evidenced by major changes such as increased levels of most amino acids, a decrease in sucrose, raffinose and maltitol, a decrease in storage lipids (triacylglycerols) and an increase in membrane lipids including photosynthetic membranes. These changes still prevail at the 6 hour time point after watering however 12 hours after watering the metabolomics data are essentially indistinguishable from the prewatering state thus demonstrating not only a rapid response to water availability but also a rapid response to loss of water. Taken together these data suggest that the ability of C. procera to survive under the very harsh drought conditions prevailing in the desert might be associated with its rapid adjustments to water availability and losses

Evaluation of the usefulness of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in a context with increased resistance of Plasmodium falciparum in Kingasani Hospital, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo

peer reviewedBackground: Increasing resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) threatens its usefulness for intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp-SP). The prophylactic effects of IPTp-SP on maternal malaria and adverse pregnancy outcomes were evaluated in Kingasani Hospital, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Methods: Laboring women (n = 844) and respective newborns were investigated. Blood samples collected from women were tested for malaria using rapid diagnostic test (RDT), blood smears examination, and real-time PCR. The hemoglobin level was measured by HemoCue© analyzer. A PCR-RFLP method was applied for detecting N51I, C59R, and S108N mutations on dhfr along with A437G and K540E mutations on dhps in P. falciparum positive samples. Logistic regression models assessed relationships between IPTp-SP uptake and pregnancy outcomes. Results: P. falciparum malaria was detected at delivery in 10.8% of women and was statistically associated with fever during the pregnancy (OR = 2.9 [1.5; 6.3]; p = 0.004) and maternal anemia (OR = 3.9 [2.4; 6.3]; p 0.05). Conversely, three or more doses of SP were associated with reduced maternal anemia at delivery (OR = 0.4 [0.2; 0.9]; p = 0.024), shortened gestation (OR = 0.4 [0.2; 0.8]; p = 0.009), and low-birth weights (OR = 0.2 [0.1; 0.5]; p < 0.001). Conclusion: IPTp-SP was not associated with reduced maternal malaria in our study, but evidence was found of a prophylactic effect against adverse pregnancy outcomes. To counteract further loss of clinical effects of IPTp-SP in the study population, alternative strategies able to improve its anti-malarial efficacy such as combination of SP with partner molecules should be implemented. © 202

Care-seeking behaviour and socio-economic burden associated with uncomplicated malaria in the Democratic Republic of Congo

peer reviewedBackground: This study aimed to estimate the socio-economic costs of uncomplicated malaria and to explore health care-seeking behaviours that are likely to influence these costs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country ranked worldwide as the second most affected by malaria. Methods: In 2017, a cross-sectional survey included patients with uncomplicated malaria in 64 healthcare facilities from 10 sentinel sites of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) in the DRC. A standard questionnaire was used to assess health care-seeking behaviours of patients. Health-related quality of life (HRQL) and disutility weights (DW) of illness were evaluated by using the EuroQol Group’s descriptive system (EQ-5D-3L) and its visual analogue scale (EQ VAS). Malaria costs were estimated from a patient’s perspective. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) evaluated the uncertainty around the cost estimates. Generalized regression models were fitted to assess the effect of potential predictive factors on the time lost and the DW during illness. Results: In total, 1080 patients (age: 13.1 ± 14 years; M/F ratio: 1.1) were included. The average total costs amounted to US$36.3 [95$ 16.7 [95% CI 16.3–17.1] as direct costs and US$ 19.6 [95% CI 18.9–20.3] indirect costs. During care seeking, economically active patients and their relatives lost respectively 3.3 ± 1.8 and 3.4 ± 2.1 working days. This time loss occurred mostly at the pre-hospital stage and was the parameter associated the most with the uncertainty around malaria cost estimates. Patients self-rated an average 0.36 ± 0.2 DW and an average 0.62 ± 0.3 EQ-5D index score per episode. A lack of health insurance coverage (896 out of 1080; 82.9%) incurred substantially higher costs, lower quality of life, and heavier DW while leading to longer time lost during illness. Residing in rural areas incurred a disproportionally higher socioeconomic burden of uncomplicated malaria with longer time lost due to illness and limited access to health insurance mechanisms. Conclusion: Uncomplicated malaria is associated with high economic costs of care in the DRC. Efforts to reduce the cost-of-illness should target time lost at the pre-hospital stage and social disparities in the population, while reinforcing measures for malaria control in the country. © 2021, The Author(s)