Prevalence and serverity of Iodine deficiency disorder among children 6-12 years of age in Shebe Senbo District, Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Iodine deficiency disorder is a major problem worldwide, especially during pregnancy and childhood. The magnitude of the problem is quite big in Ethiopia. The main aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and severity of iodine deficiency disorders. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shebe Senbo District on January 2011. Three elementary schools were selected by lottery method from 20 schools. From each school, students were selected by simple random sampling. Spot urine sample (5 ml) was taken to measure urine iodine level; physical exam was made to palpate goiter and salt samples were collected to estimate iodine content. RESULTS: Out of 389 participants, 179 (46%) were males. The total goiter rate was 59.1% (Grade 1: 35.2%; Grade 2:23.9%). The median urinary iodine level was 56 4g/L that indicates iodine deficiency. Out of 389 households in the study area, 277 (71.2%) were using non-iodinated salt, 102 (26.2%) of the households were using iodinated salt. Cabbage usage was significantly associated with goiter. CONCLUSION: Endemic goiter is quite prevalent in the study area. Median urinary iodine value of the study samples was found to be far lower than standards. Quality of the salt used by the study population was found to be poor in its iodine content. The use of cabbage (goitrogen) has shown remarkable influence on the development of goiter. Therefore, awareness creation and distribution of iodized salt are highly recommended.Keywords: Iodine deficiency disorders, goiter, median urinary iodine, severity, prevalenceEthiopian Journal of Health Sciences vol 22 (3) 201

The epidemiology of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: A five year retrospective study

Background: Globally, tuberculosis (TB) continues to cause considerable morbidity and mortality. Ethiopia is among the 22 high TB burden countries reported. Currently, data regarding the magnitude of TB and associated factors have been released at different health facilities as part of service auditing. However, such data are not universally available that this study was carried out to determine the prevalence of smear positive tuberculosis and its associated risk factors at FelegeHiwot Referral Hospital (FHRH) over a period of five years.Methods: We analyzed all the records of 12,442 presumptive TB patients registered at FHRH from 2011 to 2015. Data on patient’s sex, age, residential address and sputum smear microscopy results were extracted from laboratory registration logbook. All data were entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 22 for windows. The proportion and trend of smear positive TB over the five years period was calculated and the overall prevalence of TB in these years was determined. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between TB positivity and potential associated variables; p < 0.05 was considered to be significant.Results: TB suspected patients were found to be characterized as male 7052 (56.7%), within the age group of 15-29 years of age 4105 (33.0%) and were from rural settings7841 (63.0). The number of presumptive TB patients visiting FHRH over the five years period was quite variable. However, the prevalence of smear positive TB in each year was almost consistent, ranging from 4.2% to 6.5%. The prevalence of smear positive TB among new and follow up patients was at 5.2% and 4.5%, respectively. The proportion of overall burden of smear positive pulmonary TB was estimated at 5.2% and was found significantly associated with age group between 15-29 (AOR: 0.45, 95% CI, 0.23-0.77), 30-44 (AOR:0.22, 95% CI, 0.15-0.32) and 45-59 (AOR:0.38, 95% CI, 0.26-0.56).Conclusions: In the studied area high prevalence of smear positive TB was documented over the five years period; which implies inconsistent measures being taken to reduce the burden of the disease. Hence, interventions to decrease prevalence of TB and thereby its impacts need to be evaluated and strengthened. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2017;31(3):155-160]Keywords: TB, Trend, Felege Hiwot Referral Hospita

Xpert MTB/RIF assay for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its Rifampicin resistance at Felege Hiwot and Debre Tabor Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia: A preliminary implementation research

Background: The World Health Organization endorsed GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in 2010. However, the practice of using this novel diagnostic method is still limited in a high TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden settings, including Ethiopia. Therefore, we conducted this study aimed at describing the first implementation status of Xpert assay in the diagnosis of TB and MDR-TB at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital (FHRH) and Debre Tabor General Hospital (DTGH), Northwest Ethiopia.Methods: We analyzed the records of 1922 (FHRH=544 and DTGH=1378) presumptive TB patients diagnosed using Xpert test from 1 November 2015 to 30 April 2016 at FHRH and DTGH, Northwest Ethiopia. All patients who had registered data on their sex, age, HIV status, presumptive MDR-TB status and Xpert results were included for analysis. Data were retrieved directly from GeneXpert result registration log book using data extraction sheet. Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS statistical software package; p < 0.05 was considered to be significant.Results: Overall Xpert assay properly diagnosed 14.6% of the cases (258/1922). Among these, rifampicin (RIF) resistance was detected at 9.3% (24/258). In the studied settings, clinical data showed that 81.0% (1556/1922) of the cases were MDR- TB. Among the study subjects, 888 (46.2 %) of them were HIV positive. However, TB-HIV co-infection rate was at 41.9% (108/258). Of the total patients registered, 1005 (52.3%) of whom were males. The mean age of patients was 31.1 years with SD of 17.5. Significant predictors of the Xpert test were: age (p=0.000), sex (p=0.009), HIV status (p=0.003) and presumptive MDR-TB (p=0.000).Conclusions: In the studied areas, large proportion of clinically TB suspected patients were wrongly diagnosed with MDR-TB. Therefore, the use of Xpert assay in health settings with no culture facility will decrease the unnecessary use of anti-TB drugs and improve rapid TB, and MDR-TB detection and proper management of the cases. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2016;30(2):60-65]Keywords: TB, GeneXpert, MTB/RIF assay, Northwest Ethiopi

THE ROLE OF LYVE-1+ MACROPHAGES IN LUNG HOMEOSTASIS & DISEASE

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (SOM

Ankylosing spondylitis: Diagnosis in sub-saharan african setting

International audienc

The Prevalence of Visual Acuity Impairment among School Children at Arada Subcity Primary Schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background. Visual impairment and blindness are major public health problems in developing countries where there is no enough health-care service. Objective. To determine the prevalence of visual impairment among school children. Materials and Methods. A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted between 15 June 2015 and 30 November 2015 at Arada subcity primary schools, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Two schools were selected randomly, and 378 students were screened from grades 1 to 8 using systematic random sampling method. Snellen chart was used for visual acuity test. Students who had visual acuity of ≤6/12 were further examined by an ophthalmologist to diagnose the reason for low vision. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results. A total of 378 students were screened, and 192 (50.8%) were females and the remaining 186 (49.2%) were males. The prevalence of visual impairment (VA) of ≤6/12 on either eye was 5.8%, VA < 6/18 on either eye was 1.1%, and VA < 6/18 on the better eye was 0.53%. In this study, color blindness [OR: 19.65, 95% CI (6.01–64.33)] was significantly associated with visual acuity impairment. Conclusion. The prevalence of visual impairment among school children in the study area was 5.8% and school screening is recommended