Potential drug–drug interactions among elderly patients admitted to medical ward of Ayder Referral Hospital, Northern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

Additional file 2. STROBE Statement—checklist of items that should be included in reports of observational studies

PREVALENCE OF POTENTIALLY INAPPROPRIATE MEDICATIONS IN AYDER REFERRAL HOSPITAL, TIGRAY REGION, NORTHERN ETHIOPIA: PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use includes the use of drugs with higher risk where adverse drug effect outweighs the clinical benefit, especially when more effective alternative therapy is available. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess prevalence and risk factors associated with the use of PIMs in elderly patients at medical ward of Ayder Referral Hospital (ARH), Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia. Methods: A facility based prospective cross sectional study was conducted among 140 elderly patients from February 6, 2014 to May 05, 2014 in ARH. Patients with age ≥ 60 years admitted to medical ward during the study period were randomly selected. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire and analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS, IBM Corporation) version 20. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with occurrence of PIM. Results: Of 140 patients, 52.1% were males and forty (28.6%) of patients received at least one potentially inappropriate medication. The most commonly used potential inappropriate medications were metoclopramide (25.58%), nifedipine (16.28%), diazepam (13.95%) and meperedine (13.95%). Above half of (58%) patients encountered polypharmacy. Thirty eight percent of the participants’ had comorbid conditions. In the binary logistic analysis, patients with polypharmacy were more likely to receive PIMs [AOR 4.163: 95 % CI 1.75– 9.92, p=0.001]. Conclusions: Prevalence of PIMs in elderly patients admitted to ARH was high. Polypharmacy was identified as the independent predicator of the uses of PIMs. Clinical pharmacists’ are in a position to alert and monitor the exposure to PIMs as part of multidisciplinary team. Keywords:  Elderly, Potential inappropriate medication, Beer’s criteria, Ethiopia  Â

Evolution of some physical properties related to soil quality in the degraded ecosystems of raña formations from SW Spain

Se hace un estudio de la dinámica de diversas propiedades físicas del suelo relacionadas con su calidad: densidad aparente, porosidad y porcentaje de agregados estables en un palexexerult bajo diferentes tipos de vegetación y formas de uso; se encuentra que estas propiedades son muy sensibles a la disminución del contenido en materia orgánica, que a su vez esta relacionado con la degradación de la vegetación natural y los años de laboreo del suel

FACTORS AFFECTING PHYSICIAN’S ADHERENCE TO GENERIC DRUG PRESCRIBING PRACTICE IN PRIVATE HEALTH FACILITIES, MEKELLE CITY, NORTHEASTERN ETHIOPIA

Introduction: Generic medicines are produced by multiple manufacturers hence, are usually cheaper than innovator brands and therefore save costs on medicines. Many physicians oppose brand substitution, believing generic medicines to be inferior to their originator counterparts. Physicians’ belief about generic medicines and factors affecting generic prescribing in Ethiopia are poorly investigated. Objective: To assess the physicians’ belief about generic medicines and to identify factors affecting generic medicines prescribing in private health facilities, Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted enrolling all physicians working in private health facilities. The data were collected from January 2016 to March 2016. Data were collected using self-administered structured questionnaires measuring generic medicines belief of physicians using a Likert scale of 1–5. Data were then entered into SPSS version 20 for analysis. Results: Of the fifty-six physicians approached in this study, 50 (89.2% response rate) questionnaires were included in the analysis. Nearly three-fourth (72%) of the physicians claimed that they always prescribe generic medicines. More than half (55.3) of the respondents beliefs generic medicines have different active ingredients than a brand innovator. Almost equal percentage (52% and 54%) of the Physicians disagreed with brand medicines were safer than generic medicines and prescribing generic due to the complicated health problem of the patient respectively. Around two third (67.5%) of physicians reported that quality profile of medicine was a major reason for prescribing generic medicines. Moreover, availability of medicines in pharmacies and low cost of medicines were the main reasons for prescribing generic medicines with 58.1% and 52.4% respectively. Conclusion: The majority of physicians do not have a positive perception of generic medicines and a significant portion of the physician’s belief brand medicines safer and effective than generic counterparts. The availability of medicines in pharmacies, low cost of medicines and purchasing power of the patients are major factors affecting generic medicines prescribing. Keywords: Generic medicines, belief, private health facilities, physiciansÂ

FPGA based Eigenvalue Detection Algorithm for Cognitive Radio

Radio Communication technologies are undergoing drastic demand over the past two decades. The precious radio resource, electromagnetic radio spectrum, is in vain as technology advances. It is required to come up with a solution to improve its wise uses. Cognitive Radio enabled by Software-Defined Radio brings an intelligent solution to efficiently use the Radio Spectrum. It is a method to aware the radio communication system to be able to adapt to its radio environment like signal power and free spectrum holes. The approach will pose a question on how to efficiently detect a signal. In this thesis different spectrum sensing algorithm will be explained and a special concentration will be on new sensing algorithm based on the Eigenvalues of received signal. The proposed method adapts blind signal detection approach for applications that lacks knowledge about signal, noise and channel property. There are two methods, one is ratio of the Maximum Eigenvalue to Minimum Eigenvalue and the second is ratio of Signal Power to Minimum Eigenvalue. Random Matrix theory (RMT) is a branch of mathematics and it is capable in analyzing large set of data or in a conclusive approach it provides a correlation points in signals or waveforms. In the context of this thesis, RMT is used to overcome both noise and channel uncertainties that are common in wireless communication. Simulations in MATLAB and real-time measurements in LabVIEW are implemented to test the proposed detection algorithms. The measurements were performed based on received signal from an IF-5641R Transceiver obtained from National Instruments.

Incidencia del incremento de temperatura del suelo durante la quema de matorral sobre la textura de la capa más superficial del suelo en las "machambas" de Cabo Delgado (Mozambique)

Se estudia la incidencia de la temperatura alcanzada en la superficie del suelo durante la quema del matorral en las ¿machambas¿ de la provincia de Cabo Delgado (NE de Mozambique) sobre la textura y la liberación de arena de la capa más superficial del mismo. Se encuentra que dicha temperatura, inferior a 275ºC, no es suficiente como para afectar al porcentaje de arena, corroborándose la importancia de la subida del pH y la dispersión de los agregados en dicho proceso

Incidencia del incremento de temperatura del suelo durante la quema de matorral sobre la textura de la capa más superficial del suelo en las "machambas" de Cabo Delgado (Mozambique)

Se estudia la incidencia de la temperatura alcanzada en la superficie del suelo durante la quema del matorral en las ¿machambas¿ de la provincia de Cabo Delgado (NE de Mozambique) sobre la textura y la liberación de arena de la capa más superficial del mismo. Se encuentra que dicha temperatura, inferior a 275ºC, no es suficiente como para afectar al porcentaje de arena, corroborándose la importancia de la subida del pH y la dispersión de los agregados en dicho proceso

MOESM1 of Potential drug–drug interactions among elderly patients admitted to medical ward of Ayder Referral Hospital, Northern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

Additional file 1. Dataset

Perioperative mortality among trauma patients in Northwest Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study

Abstract Trauma is the leading cause of mortality in persons under 45 and a significant public health issue. Trauma is the most frequent cause of perioperative mortality among all surgical patients. Little is known about perioperative outcomes among trauma patients in low-income countries. This study aimed to assess the incidence and identify predictors of perioperative mortality among adult trauma victims at Tibebe Ghion Specialised Hospital. From June 1, 2019, to June 30, 2021, a prospective cohort study was conducted at Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital. Demographic, pre-hospital and perioperative clinical data were collected using an electronic data collection tool, Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). Cox proportional hazard model regression was used to assess the association between predictors and perioperative mortality among trauma victims. Crude and adjusted hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was computed; a p-value < 0.05 was a cutoff value to declare statistical significance. One thousand sixty-nine trauma patients were enrolled in this study. The overall incidence of perioperative mortality among trauma patients was 5.89%, with an incidence rate of 2.23 (95% CI 1.74 to 2.86) deaths per 1000 person-day observation. Age ≥ 65 years (AHR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.04, 6.08), patients sustained blunt trauma (AHR = 3.28, 95% CI: 1.30, 8.29) and MVA (AHR = 2.96, 95% CI: 1.18, 7.43), trauma occurred at night time (AHR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.15, 4.56), ASA physical status ≥ III (AHR = 3.84, 95% CI: 1.88, 7.82), and blood transfusion (AHR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.08, 3.74) were identified as a significant predictor for perioperative mortality among trauma patients. In this trauma cohort, it was demonstrated that perioperative mortality is a healthcare burden. Risk factors for perioperative mortality among trauma patients were old age, patients sustaining blunt trauma and motor vehicle accidents, injuries at night, higher ASA physical status, and blood transfusion. Trauma care services need improvement in pre-hospital and perioperative care