Background: Neonatal sepsis is an invasive infection, usually bacterial, and often occurring during the neonatal period (0-28 days). Neonatal sepsis causes a high burden of morbidity and mortality in developing countries like Ethiopia. There are fragmented, inconsistency, and no review has been conducted to report the magnitude and associated factors of neonatal sepsis in Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to assess the pooled prevalence of neonatal sepsis and its association with birth weight and gestational age among admitted neonates in Ethiopia. Methods: Electronic media searches like PubMed, CINHAL, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Cochrane library databases and African health science library were used. All original peer-reviewed papers which reported the prevalence of neonatal sepsis in Ethiopia were included in this study. Two reviewers independently extracted the data using a standardized data extraction format for eligibility and appraised their quality. Data were analyzed using Stata version 14 software. The pooled prevalence of neonatal sepsis was estimated with the random-effect model. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed by I 2 statistics test. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were done to assess the source of variation between the studies. Egger's test followed by trim and fill analysis were used to determine publication bias. A sensitivity analysis was carried out. Result: A total of 952 research papers reviewed, of which, eight studies were finally included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The random effect pooled prevalence of neonatal sepsis in Ethiopia was 49.98% (CI: 36.06, 63.90). In subgroup analysis, the pooled estimated neonatal sepsis among cross-sectional studies was 53.15% while the cohort was 40.56%. Newborns with a birth weight of less than 2.5 kg were 1.42 times more likely to develop neonatal sepsis infection compared to normal babies. The odds ratios of preterm babies were 3.36 to develop neonatal sepsis compared to term infants. Conclusion: The pooled prevalence of neonatal sepsis in Ethiopia was high. Thus, health care providers should adhere to aseptic precautions while performing procedures, especially in preterm and low birth weight infants were recommended.

BackgroundEarly initiation of breastfeeding, also known as early initiation, is the provision of a mothers own breast milk to her infant within one hour of birth. In Ethiopia, there is a considerable variation in the timely initiation of breastfeeding practices. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the level of timely initiation of breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers of infants less than six months old in Bahir Dar, Northwest, Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Bahir Dar City from April 15 to May 3, 2017. A total of 472 mothers of infant age less than six months were selected by simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were done to know the distribution of variables. To identify predictors logistic regression was conducted.ResultsThe prevalence of timely initiation of breastfeeding was 356 (75.4%). Mothers who birth by a vaginal delivery (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 6.99; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 3.49, 14.00), mothers who gave birth at health institution (AOR 3.36; 95% CI 1.47, 7.67), and who get breastfeeding counseling during antenatal care visits (AOR 5.64; 95% CI 2.70, 11.79) were more likely to initiate breastfeeding within one hour than counterparts.ConclusionsPractice of timely initiation of breastfeeding in this study was suboptimal. Mothers who delivered at the health institution, gave birth by a vaginal delivery, and who got breastfeeding counseling during antenatal visits were the independent predictors of the timely initiation of breastfeeding practice. Encouraging all mothers to give birth in health facilities, counsel mothers to initiate breastfeeding timely at time of Caesarean sections, reduce the indication of the Caesarean procedure and providing breastfeeding counseling during antenatal care visits were recommended. Additionally, health services must establish practices that enable timely breastfeeding whenever possible, in particular, after Caesarean section and systems need to be set up to enable skin-to-skin and timely breastfeeding.

BackgroundSepsis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among neonates. The risk factors and clinical outcomes of sepsis are poorly understood. Most cases of sepsis occurred mostly within the first week of newborns life related to perinatal risk factors. Late onset sepsis is related to hospital acquired infections which is seen after seven days of age. The purpose of this study was to assess clinical outcome and risk factors of neonatal sepsis in Felege Hiwot referral hospital Bahir Dar, North West Ethiopia.ResultsAmong the total 225 neonatal charts reviewed; 164 (72.9%) were age less than or equal to 7 days, and 144 (64%) were males. About 29 (12.9%) neonates were with irregular respiratory signs and 40 (17.8%) had meconium aspiration syndrome. Regarding the clinical outcome of neonatal sepsis: 189 (84%) were improved after treatment, 9 (4%) were died and 13 (5.8%) referred to other organizations for further treatment. Respiratory distress syndrome [AOR = 0.258 (0.072–0.930)] and meconium aspiration syndrome [AOR = 0.1989 (0.059–0.664)] were the determinant factors for poor outcome of neonatal sepsis.ConclusionThe clinical outcome of neonatal sepsis in Felege Hiwot referral hospital was not satisfactory. The significant risk factors for poor outcome of neonatal sepsis were respiratory distress syndrome and meconium aspiration syndrome. Recommendations to improve neonatal outcome are: performing essential newborn care for all newborns and arranging appropriate follow up until the end of neonatal period, increasing antenatal care and early detection and management of neonatal infections or problems.

Background Anemia is the most common hematologic disorder of children in the globe. There are fragmented and inconclusive study findings on under-five anemia in Ethiopia. Understanding the distribution of anemia is an important step for program planners and policymakers. Therefore, this systematic review was aimed to assess the pooled prevalence of anemia and associated factors with dietary diversity, food security, stunted, and deworming in Ethiopia. Methods We searched through African journals of online, Google Scholar, CINHAL, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, and Scopus. Reviewers used standardized format to extract the data. The data was exported to Stata version 11 software for analysis after extracted by Microsoft excel. The DerSimonian-Laird random-effect model was used to assess the pooled prevalence of under-five anemia. Variation between studies (heterogeneity) was assessed by I2 statistic test. Publication bias was assessed by the Egger test. Result From 561 studies, 16 articles were included in this review. The pooled prevalence of under-five anemia in Ethiopia was 44.83%. In subgroup analysis, the higher pooled prevalence of anemia was observed from children’s age less than 2 years old (50.36%) (95% CI 39.53, 61.18). Poor dietary diversity OR = 1.71 (1.10, 2.68), stunting OR = 2.59 (2.04, 3.28), food insecurity OR = 2.87 (1.25, 6.61), and not dewormed OR = 2.34 (1.77, 3.09) were predictors of under-five anemia. Conclusion The magnitude of under-five anemia in this study was extremely high. Therefore, increased coverage of supplementation and fortification programs, periodic deworming, feeding diversified food, supplement food for those who are stunted, and securing food in the households may all alleviate under-five anemia.

ObjectiveThe main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among adult patients in Felege-Hiwot Comprehensive Referral Hospital, northwest Ethiopia, 2018.ResultThe prevalence of hypertension in the current study area was 27.3%. Known history of cardiac problems [AOR = 6.9; 95% CI (1.24, 11.44)], alcohol consumption [AOR = 2.2; 95% CI (1.04, 5.05)], abdominal obesity [AOR = 2.3; 95% CI (1.02, 5.04)], and obesity [AOR = 4.8; 95% CI (1.12, 8.34)] were factors associated independently with hypertension.