Assessment of Serum Uric Acid, Urea, and Glucose Levels and Associated Factors among Breast Cancer Patients Attending A Tertiary Hospital in Bahirdar, Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is currently become a major public health problem in both developed and developing regions, it is one of the most common surgical problems in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study assessed serum uric acid, urea, and glucose levels and associated factors among benign, malignant breast cancer patients and apparently healthy women attending at Felege-Hiwot comprehensive Specialized Hospital. METHODS: Hospital based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among benign, malignant breast cancer patients and apparently healthy women attending at Felege-Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Out of 178 study participants 66 benign and 23 malignant fine needle aspirate cytology confirmed breast cancer patients and 89 apparently healthy women, included. Multivariable logistic regression models used to measure the strength of associations. A P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Majority of the study participants, 81(91%) controls, 55(83.3%) benign, and 17(73.9%) malignant cases were premenopausal. Serum glucose 144.47±74.35 and uric acid 6.84±2.54 levels were significantly elevated in malignant cases than control (p-value< 0.05).   Patients with malignant status were 4.38 times more likely to have hyperglycemia (AOR=4.38, 95%CI: 1.98-19.97) and 5.53 times more likely have hyperuricemia (AOR=20.43-95% CI: 6.80- 61.23), 4 times more likely to have uremia (AOR=4.09, 95% CI: 1.06-15.91) compared to apparently healthy women. CONCLUSION: Serum glucose, and uric acid levels were significantly higher in malignant and benign cases compared with apparently healthy women. Family history of breast cancer, body mass index, systolic hypertension, comorbidity, residence and menopausal status were significantly associated with hyperglycemia, uremia and hyperuricemia

Chronic Kidney Disease and Associated Risk Factors Assessment among Diabetes Mellitus Patients at A Tertiary Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of chronic kidney disease, particularly in diabetic patients, is increasing rapidly throughout the world. Nowadays, many individuals in developing nations are suffering from diabetes which is one of the primary risk factors of chronic kidney disease.METHODS: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Hospital from February to April 2016. A total of 229 study participants were selected using systematic random sampling technique. Urine sample was collected for albumin determination by dipstick. The Simplified Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study equation was used to estimate glomerular filtration rate. Binary logistic regression model was used to identify risk factors.RESULTS: Of the total 229 study participants, 50.2% were females and the mean age was 47±15.7 years. Among study participants, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was found to be 21.8% (95% CI: 16% - 27%). Of all study participants, 9(3.9%) had renal impairment (eGFR < 60 ml/min/ 1.73 m2) and 46 (20.1%) had albuminuria. Older age (AOR: 5.239, 95% CI: 2.255-12.175), systolic blood pressure ≥140mmHg (AOR: 3.633, 95% CI: 1.597-8.265), type 2 diabetes mellitus (AOR: 3.751, 95% CI: 1.507-9.336) and longer duration of diabetes (AOR: 3.380, 95% CI: 1.393-8.197) were independent risk factors of CKD.CONCLUSIONS: The study identified high prevalence (21.8%) of CKD among diabetic adults. CKD was significantly associated with older age, systolic blood pressure, type 2 DM and longer duration of DM. Thus, DM patients should be diagnosed for chronic kidney disease and then managed accordingly.

Undiagnosed diabetes mellitus and associated factors among psychiatric patients receiving antipsychotic drugs at the University of Gondar Hospital, northwest Ethiopia

Background: Undiagnosed diabetes mellitus cases are at higher risk for diabetic related complications. In low-income African countries, patients with undiagnosed diabetes mellitus account for 75% of diabetes cases. Psychiatric disorders have a greater impact on the global burden of diseases and disability associated with chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases.Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Hospital from February to April 2016. A total of 205 psychiatric patients aged above 15 years that were taking antipsychotic were included by the simple random sampling method. Fasting blood glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol level were determined from venous blood samples to evaluate diabetes mellitus based on WHO criteria.Results: Among 205 psychiatric patients taking antipsychotics, 15(7.3%) had undiagnosed diabetes mellitus. Duration of antipsychotic treatment and sex had a statistically significant association with the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus. As the duration of antipsychotic drug treatment increased by one year, the risk of having a diabetes mellitus increase by 1.47 times (AOR: 1.47 CI: 1.021-2.125).Conclusion: The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus among psychiatry patients taking antipsychotics was higher than the estimated diabetes national prevalence of Ethiopia. Screening of diabetes mellitus in particular, patients having a longer duration of antipsychotic treatment is mandatory to bring more undiagnosed cases for medical attention.Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Psychiatric disorder, Antipsychoti

The Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients at a Tertiary Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that is responsible for the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of MetS and its components among T2DM patients.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Diabetes Clinic of the Hospital, from June to July, 2015. Data were entered into EPI INFO software and exported to SPSS 20 for analysis. MetS prevalence was estimated using NCEP ATPIII and IDF criteria. Anthropometric measurements, investigations of serum glucose and lipid profiles were done. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate associated factors. A P-value ≤ 0.05 wasconsidered statistically significant.RESULT: A total of 159 participants were included in the study; 119 (59.7%) were females with mean (±SD) age of (49.8±8.7) year. The prevalence of MetS was 66.7% in NCEP-ATP III and 53.5% in IDF definitions. The most prevalent component of MetS was elevated triglyceride (56.6% in ATPIII and 62.3% in IDF criteria), followed by abdominal obesity (61%) IDF and elevated blood pressure (55.4%) NCEP-ATPIII criteria. The regression analysis showed that increased age, being female, high BMI, having diabetes for over 5 years and poor glycemic control were significantly associated with metabolic syndrome.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MetS and its components among T2DM patients were high, suggesting that diabetic patients are at increased risk of CVD and other complications. Efforts should be geared towards addressing these abnormalities through lifestyle modification, health awareness and medications in order to reduce this complication.

Errors in the total testing process in the clinical chemistry laboratory at the University of Gondar Hospital, northwest Ethiopia

Background: Laboratory services have been described as the major processes contributing to safe patient care in the modern healthcare sector. However, occurrences of errors in the overall testing processes impair the clinical decision-making process. Such errors are supposed to be high in resource-poor countries, like Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess errors in the total testing process in the Clinical Chemistry laboratory of the University of Gondar Hospital, Northwest EthiopiaMethods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Hospital from February to March 2016. All the required data were collected using established quality indicators. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequencies and cross-tabulations were used to summarize descriptive statistics.Results: A total of 3259 samples and corresponding laboratory request forms were received for analysis. The analysis of the overall distribution of errors revealed that 89.6% were preanalytical errors, 2.6% were analytical, and 7.7% were postanalytical errors. Of the pre-analytical errors, incomplete request form filling was the most frequent error observed, followed by sample rejection rate (3.8%). Analytical errors related to internal and external quality control exceeding the target range, (14.4%) and (51.4%) respectively, were reported. Excessive turnaround time and unreported critical value cases were the major defects in the post-analytical phase of quality assurance.Conclusion: The present finding showed relatively high frequency of errors, which alarms the importance of quality indicators to assess errors in the total testing process. The University of Gondar Hospital laboratory should improve the quality of healthcare services based on these findings using laboratory standards.Keywords: Analytical errors; clinical laboratory; postanalytical errors; pre-analytical errors; qualit

KODAMA exploratory analysis in metabolic phenotyping

KODAMA is a valuable tool in metabolomics research to perform exploratory analysis. The advanced analytical technologies commonly used for metabolic phenotyping, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy push out a bunch of high-dimensional data. These complex datasets necessitate tailored statistical analysis able to highlight potentially interesting patterns from a noisy background. Hence, the visualization of metabolomics data for exploratory analysis revolves around dimensionality reduction. KODAMA excels at revealing local structures in high-dimensional data, such as metabolomics data. KODAMA has a high capacity to detect different underlying relationships in experimental datasets and correlate extracted features with accompanying metadata. Here, we describe the main application of KODAMA exploratory analysis in metabolomics research

Preparation and physicochemical analysis of some Ethiopian traditional alcoholic beverages

Ethiopian traditional alcoholic beverages namely tella, tej and areki are very common drinks in the country. Ten (10) alcohol vending houses were considered in the study by considering two from each five sub-cities, purposely for ‘filtered ’ tella sampling and five for the unfiltered tella, tej and areki samples. The alcoholic contents of filter-tella, tej and areki were measured and found in the range of 3.84 to 6.48, 8.94 to 13.16 and 33.95 to 39.9 % v/v ethanol, respectively. Difference in pH values and ethanol levels among all samples was significant (p<0.05). Variations within samples of each vending houses, coefficient of variation (CV>10%) among all samples were significant, though the variation in pH of the alcohols studied were analyzed and found at drinking range or according to European Brewery Convention. Finally, sensory responses which were taken from the community (people drinking these alcohols), indicated that they are high in aroma (bitterness for tella than other drinks reported). Key words: Filter-tella, tej and areki, traditional alcoholic beverages

Anemia severity among children aged 6–59 months in Gondar town, Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Anemia is a public health problem affecting both developed and developing countries. Childhood anemia is associated with serious consequences including growth retardation, impaired motor and cognitive development, and increased morbidity and mortality. Hence, this study aimed at assessing the prevalence and factors associated with severity of anemia among children aged 6–59 months in Gondar town, northwest Ethiopia. Method A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Socio demographic and socioeconomic data were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were taken as per WHO recommendation. Hemoglobin (Hb) concentration was measured using a portable HemoCue301 instrument (A Quest Diagnostic Company, Sweden). Mild anemia corresponds to a level of adjusted Hb of 10.0–10.9 g/dl; moderate anemia corresponds to a level of 7.0–9.9 g/dl, while severe anemia corresponds to a level less than 7.0 g/dl. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the study participants. Both bivariable and multivariable ordinal logistic regression were done, and proportional odds ratio (POR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was reported to show the strength of association. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result Out of the total of 707 children included in this study, more than half (53.5%) of them were male. The median age of children was 30 months. Two hundred two (28.6%) of children were anemic: 124(17.5%) were mildly anemic, 73(10.3%) were moderately anemic, and 5 (0.7%) were severely anemic. The young age of the child, low frequency of child complementary feeding per day, primary maternal educational status, unmarried maternal marital status, and home delivery were factors associated with severity of childhood anemia. Conclusion Anemia among children aged 6–59 months in Gondar Town was a moderate public health problem. Improving access to education, providing regular health education about childcare and child feeding practices, strengthening the socioeconomic support for single-parent families and conducting regular community-based screening are recommended to reduce childhood anemia