BackgroundAcute poisoning is a common reason for emergency department visit and hospitalization worldwide with major morbidity and mortality. The burden of poisoning exposures in Africa is a significant public health concern, but only 10 of 58 countries have poisons information centers (PICs).ObjectiveThe primary intention of our current review is to explore and summarize the published evidence on the patterns and epidemiology of poisoning in Ethiopia.MethodPubMed and Scopus were searched for primary, case series and human studies for publications from inception to July 2017. A manual search for additional relevant studies using references from retrieved articles was also performed. Only studies that reported acute poisoning in both pediatric and adult patients were included. From the screened articles, data were extracted for baseline characteristics and relevant end points such as case fatality rate, time for health institution presentation and length of hospital stay.ResultInitial entry and search resulted in the retrieval of 332 articles. Finally, 9 studies comprised of 4763 participants were included in this current review. In 78% of the studies included in this review, acute poisoning is reported to be more prevalent in females. Acute poisoning was revealed to be prevalent in less than 30 years old. Organophosphates and household cleaning agents were the predominant agents of acute poisoning. Intentional poisoning was identified responsible for the majority of acute poisoning cases and factors such as psychiatric problems, and quarrel were identified as the underlying reasons for poisoning. Time of presentation to health institution after poisoning, length of hospital stay and case fatality rate were reported and lies in the ranges between 0.2 h–24 h, 0.5 days–17.7 days and 0–14.8%, respectively.ConclusionThe occurrence of acute poisoning was higher in females and common in less than 30 years of age, making this a real public health burden in Ethiopia. Psychiatric problems, quarrel and substance abuse were identified as the most common reasons for acute poisoning. Awareness creation how to handle chemicals and prescribed drugs and psychiatric consultations should be in place for the community.

Background. Epilepsy is among the most common neurological disorders which is highly treatable with currently available antiepileptic drugs at a reasonable price. In Ethiopia, despite a number of studies revealed high prevalence of epilepsy, little is known on predictors of poorly controlled seizures. us, the aim of this study was to assess epilepsy treatment outcome and its predictors among patients with epilepsy on follow-up at the ambulatory care unit of Mizan-Tepi University Teaching Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods. A hospital-based cross-sectional study involving patient interview and chart review was conducted from March 10 to April 10, 2018. Drug use patterns and sociodemographic data of the study participants were accustomed to descriptive statistics. Backward logistic regression analysis was done to identify predictors of poor seizure control. Statistical significance was considered at p value <0.05. Results. From a total of 143 studied patients with epilepsy, 60.8% had uncontrolled seizures. Monotherapy (79%) was commonly used for the treatment of seizures, of which phenobarbital was the most commonly utilized single anticonvulsant drug (62.9%). e majority (72.7%) of the patients had developed one or more antiepileptic-related adverse effects. Medium medication adherence (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) � 5.4; 95% CI � 1.52-19.23; p � 0.009), poor medication adherence (AOR � 8.16; 95% CI � 3.04-21.90; p � 0.001), head injury before seizure occurrence (AOR � 4.9; 95% CI � 1. 25-19.27; p � 0.02), and seizure attacks ≥4 episodes/week before AEDs initiation (AOR � 8.52; % CI � 2.41-13.45; p � 0.001) were the predictors of uncontrolled seizure. Conclusions. Based on our findings, more than half of the patients with epilepsy had poorly controlled seizures. Nonadherence to antiepileptic drugs, high frequency of seizure attack before AEDs initiation, and history of a head injury before the occurrence of seizure were predictors of uncontrolled seizure. Patient medication adherence should be increased by the free access of antiepileptic drugs and attention should be given for the patients with a history of head injury and high frequency of seizure attacks before AEDs initiation.

Background: Drug-related problem is any event involving drug therapy that may interfere in a patient’s desired clinical outcome. It has been pointed out that hospitalized pediatric patients are particularly prone to drug-related problems. Thus, this study aimed to assess drug-related problems and its predictors among pediatric patients diagnosed with infectious diseases admitted to Jimma University Medical Center, Southwest Ethiopia. Methodology: A prospective observational study was conducted among pediatric patients with infectious diseases admitted to the Jimma University Medical Center. Drug-related problems were classified based on Cipolle, Morley, and Strand’s drug-related problems classification method. The patient’s specific data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered into Epi data version 4.0.2 and then exported to statistical software package version 21.0 for analysis. To identify predictors of drug-related problems occurrence, multiple stepwise backward logistic regression analysis was done. Statistical significance was considered at a p-value < 0.05. Results: Of the total 304 participants, 226 (74.3%) of them had at least one drug-related problem during their hospital stay. A total of 356 drug-related problems were identified among 226 patients. Anti-infective medication was the major class of drug involved in drug-related problems. Noncompliance (28.65%) and dose too low (27.53%) were the most common type of drug-related problems identified. Presence of disease comorbidity (adjusted odds ratio = 3.39, 95% confidence interval = 1.89–6.08), polypharmacy (adjusted odds ratio = 3.16, 95% confidence interval = 1.61–6.20), and more than 6 days stay in hospital (adjusted odds ratio = 3.37, 95% confidence interval = 1.71–6.64) were independent predictors for the occurrence of drug-related problems.. Conclusion: Drug-related problems were high among pediatric patients with infectious disease in the study setting. The presence of comorbidity, polypharmacy, and prolonged hospital stay were predictors of drug-related problems in this finding. Therefore, to prevent these problems, the collaboration of clinical pharmacists, pediatricians, and other health care professionals is needed during the provision of pharmaceutical care.

Background: Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are common throughout the community. They are associated with mortality, hospitalization, substantial extra costs and lower patient's quality of life. Thus, this study aimed to assess the community's knowledge of COVID-19 and associated factors in Mizan-Aman town, southwest Ethiopia. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among the community of Mizan-Aman from April 14 to May 14, 2020. A systematic sampling technique was used to collect data from selected households. Data were entered into Epi data version 4.0.2.101 and then exported to SPSS version 24.0 for analysis. To identify the predictors of knowledge of COVID-19, multiple backward logistic regression analysis was used. To show the accuracy of data analysis, 95% CI was used, and statistical significance was considered at p <0.05. Results: From 423 sampled population, 393 (92.9%) of them responded to the questionnaire. Of these, 233 (59.3%) were male, 225 (57.3%) were 18-34 years old, and 250 (63.6%) were married. The overall correct rate of the knowledge questionnaire was 74.75%. More than 85% of respondents were well aware of the main clinical symptoms of COVID-19, its transmission by close contact, its prevention by not going to crowded places and isolation of infected persons.

Background Many healthcare professionals are dying of COVID-19 while trying to save others. The loss in the healthcare workforce due to sickness and absence will double the risk of a crisis. Identifying barriers of willingness to work during epidemics outbreak and preparedness of healthcare professionals is important to minimize the shortage of human power. Methods Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare professionals working in the selected hospitals of Southwest Ethiopia from June 1–30/2020. The data entry was done by Epi-Data Manager version 4.4.1.0 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis with a backward stepwise approach was done to identify independent predictors of poor preparedness and willingness of the healthcare professionals to work during COVID-19 and Variables with P-value <0.05 were considered as a statistically significant determinant. Results Of 407 healthcare professionals who participated in the study, 246 (60.4%) were male. The mean age of the respondents was 28.47±5.60 years. Forty-seven (11.55%) Physicians, 59 (14.50%) pharmacy personnel, 52 (12.78%) Laboratory personnel, 31 (7.62%) Midwives, and 195 (47.91%) Nurses were included in the study. The healthcare professionals who were not prepared for the provision of services during COVID-19 and not willing to work during COVID-19 were 165 (40.5%) and 86 (21.1%) respectively. Having 6 to10 years’ experience (AOR=4.046, CI: 1.05–15.58), and divorced marital status (AOR=7.855, CI: 1.781–34.65) were independent predictors of not willing to work during COVID-19. Similarly, lack of personal protective equipment (AOR=28.089, CI: 13.9–56.67) and shortage of infrastructure at the work place (AOR=28.1, CI: 13.9–56.67) were independent predictors of poor preparedness. Conclusion and Recommendations Healthcare professionals’ willingness and preparedness to work during COVID-19 was low. Use of Telemedicine, provision of personal protective equipment, increasing hospital’s safety with adequate infection control policy, and assigning staff who have experience of more than ten years in the risky wards of the hospitals may decrease staffs absentee and increase in the provision of continuous service.