Willingness toward voluntary counseling and testing and associated factors among tuberculosis infected patients at public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BackgroundVoluntary counseling and testing for HIV has proven to be a highly effective and cost-efficient approach in many locations, yielding excellent results. It serves as a gateway to a range of HIV-related services, including the provision of antiretroviral drugs. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the willingness toward VCT and associated factors among TB infected patients at Public Hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2023.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study was undertaken at public hospitals in Addis Ababa from 1st to 30th of March 2023 with 235 participants using systematic random sampling. Trained data collectors employed a pretested data extraction tool for information gathering. Variables with p-value less than 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression were considered statistically significant.ResultsThe prevalence of willingness toward VCT among TB infected patients was (78.3, 95%CI: 72.8, 83.4). Individuals with a primary education level (AOR: 6.32; 95%CI: 1.65, 24.25), government employees (AOR: 5.85; 95%CI: 1.78, 19.22) and private employees (AOR: 3.35; 95%CI: 1.12, 10.01), good knowledge of VCT (AOR: 3.12; 95%CI: 1.36, 7.16), perceived a higher risk (AOR: 6.58; 95%CI: 2.44, 17.73) and perceived stigma (AOR: 14.95; 95%CI: 4.98, 44.91) were factors associated with willingness toward VCT.ConclusionThe proportion of Tuberculosis infected patients expressing willingness toward Voluntary Counseling and Testing in this study was higher than in previous studies, it falls below the UNAIDS target of 90% of people knowing their HIV status. Notably, factors such as level of education, occupation, knowledge, perceived risk, and perceived stigma emerged as independent factors significantly associated with the willingness of TB-infected patients to undergo VCT. These findings underscore the importance of considering socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge levels, and psychosocial factors in designing strategies to enhance VCT acceptance among TB-infected individuals

Perinatal Survival and Predictors of Mortality among Mothers with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy at Antenatal care Clinics in Gamo Zone Public Hospitals

BACKGROUND፡ Pregnancy induced hypertension represents a significant public health problem throughout the world, which may complicate 0.5%–10% of all pregnancies. It is the leading cause of maternal as well perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Pregnancy induced hypertension is a multisystem disorder unique to pregnancy and results in high perinatal mortality. The objective of this study was to determine the survival status, incidence and predictors of perinatal mortality among mothers with pregnancy induced hypertension at antenatal clinics of Gamo Zone public hospitals.METHODS: Facility-based retrospective cohort study was conducted among selected 576(192 exposed and 384 unexposed) antenatal care attendants' record at Gamo Zone public hospitals from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018. Data were entered into Epi data version 3.02 and exported to SPSS V 25 for analysis. Kaplan Meier survival curve together with log rank test was fitted to test the survival time. Statistical significance was declared at Pvalue <0.05 using cox proportional hazard model.RESULT: The incidence of perinatal mortality was 124/1000 births. The cumulative proportion of surviving at the end of 4th , 8th, 12th and 16th weeks of follow-up among the exposed groups was 96.9%, 93.5%, 82.1% and 61.6% respectively whereas it was 99.5%, 98.9% and 98.5% at the end of 4th, 8th and 12th weeks of follow-up for the non-exposed groups respectively. Parity of >5(AHR: 6.3; 95%CI: 1.36,10.55), mothers who delivered at<34 weeks of gestation(AHR:7.8; 95%CI: 2.6,23.1), being preterm(AHR:6; 95%CI: 5.3,19.2), perinatal birth weight<2500gm(AHR:6.1; 95&CI: 1.01,37.9), vaginal deliveryn(AHR:2.7; 95%CI:1.13,6.84), maternal highest systolic blood pressure level >160mmHg (AHR: 2.3; 95%CI: 1.02,5.55) and prepartum onset of pregnancy induced hypertension (AHR:6; 95%CI: 5.3,19.2) were statistically significant in multivariable analysis.CONCLUSION: The risk of perinatal mortality was high among the mothers with pregnancy induced hypertension compared to those of pregnancy induced hypertension free mother,s and the perinatal mortality rate was high. High parity, low gestational age, low number of antenatal care visits, low birth weight, vaginal delivery, antepartum onset of pregnancy induced hypertension and highest maternal systolic blood pressure level were the independent predictors of perinatal mortality

Survival Status and Predictors of Mortality Among Children Admitted With Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia at Cancer Treatment Hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background Acute lymphocytic leukemia is a cancer affecting the blood and bone marrow and is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among children. In Ethiopia, it represents the predominant form of childhood leukemia, comprising approximately 80% of cases and serving as a leading cause of childhood cancer-related deaths. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the survival status and factors that may predict mortality in children admitted with acute lymphocytic leukemia at cancer treatment hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods A retrospective follow-up study was conducted at cancer treatment hospitals in Addis Ababa, focusing on children diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. The investigation covered records from January 1, 2017, to December 30, 2023, encompassing a sample of 230 study records. Variables with a P -value below 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were selected for entry into the multivariable analysis. Subsequently, variables demonstrating a P -value less than 0.05 in the multivariable Cox proportional hazards model were deemed statistically significant. Results The cumulative proportion of survival was 98.3% (95%CI: 94.8, 99.5), 89.2% (95%CI: 82.0, 93.6), and 24.1% (95%CI: 8.43, 44.1) at the end of the 20 th , 40 th , and 60 th month, respectively. The incidence rate of mortality among cohort of children admitted with acute lymphocytic leukemia was 0.45 per 100 child months. History of relapse (AHR: 2.48; 95%CI: 1.01, 6.08) and infection (AHR: 2.34; 95%CI: 1.03, 5.31) were independent predictors of mortality among children admitted with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Conclusion The likelihood of mortality increased in the later stages of follow-up for children admitted with acute lymphocytic leukemia, and the incidence density rate of mortality in this group was lower compared to previous reports from other regions. Furthermore, independent predictors of mortality among children with acute lymphocytic leukemia included a history of relapse and infection