Background: The utilization of dietary supplement (DS) is dramatically increasing across the globe, but knowledge of the community pharmacists regarding these products has not been well studied. As to the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no previous study explored community pharmacists knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards DS in Ethiopia context. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess KAP of the community pharmacist about DS. Methods: A cross-sectional multi-center survey of community pharmacists in different cities of Ethiopia was conducted over a period of five months from January to May 2019. The survey evaluated demographic information and KAP of participants related to DS. A stratified random sample of registered pharmacy practitioners all over the country was chosen to respond to the survey. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. The result was considered significant if P < 0.05. Results: Of the 672 surveys distributed, 608 pharmacists accepted to participate in the study with a response rate of 90.47% and only 600 met the inclusion criteria for further evaluation. Of pharmacists surveyed, 66.7% had adequate knowledge while 53.7% of the pharmacists were within a positive attitude range and lower proportion (41.2%) of pharmacists were found within the good practice range about DS. Age, education level, experience, and position in community pharmacies were significantly associated with KAP. Significant positive linear correlations between knowledge-attitude (r =0.471, p < 0.001), knowledgepractice (r = 0.546, p < 0.001), and attitude-practice (r = 0.741, p < 0.001) were also found. Conclusion: The finding of this survey suggested that the majority of pharmacists had poor professional practice towards DS in spite of having adequate knowledge and a positive attitude regarding DS. Emphasis should be given to teaching/training community pharmacists how to critically evaluate the use, efficacy, and safety of common DS.

Background: Effective asthma management requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes; the physician, the patient, and the patient’s family. Objectives: The current study aimed to assess the roles played by community pharmacists toward asthma control together with the barriers hindering their practice and possible strategies to overcome those barriers. Methods: A multi-centered cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire adapted from previously conducted studies and customized to fit with the current study setup. The collected data was cleaned, coded, and entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 for analysis. Descriptive analysis of the collected data was conducted and the results were presented using frequency tables and graphs. Results: A total of 122 community pharmacy professionals; 63 from Gondar, 26 from Bahir Dar, 15 from Debre Markos, 14 from Woldia, and 4 from Debre birhan participated in the study. About 96 (78.7%) of the participants reported that they teach their patients the basic facts about asthma. More than two-thirds of the participants 85 (69.7%) also reported that they were able to identify and manage the triggering factors of asthma for their patients. Lack of pharmacist time was reported by 78 (63.9%) of the study participants as a major reason for the inadequacy of the counseling service provided. Conclusion: It appears evident that there is a need for continuing professional education and pharmacists to receive additional training to improve their ability to go beyond identifying a problem and suggesting therapeutic options.

Background Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients need intense therapy and diagnostic evaluation for improved treatment. In Ethiopia, where patient deaths and hospital stays are rising, the ACS treatment is thought to be not very effective. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at St. Paul Hospital. The data were collected from patients medical records using a structured data abstraction checklist from 2018 to 2020. The data was entered, analyzed, and interpreted using SPSS version 24 software. Results Of 157 ACS patients, 69 (43.9%) had a STEMI diagnosis. Age was 63.69 years on average (SD: 8.23). The typical amount of time between the onsets of ACS symptoms to hospital presentation was 79.3 hours (3.3 days). For 104 (66.2%) patients, hypertension was the main risk factor for the development of ACS. Killip class III and IV patients made up about 3.8% of the ACS patients at St. Paul hospital. An EF of less than 40% was present in 36.3% of patients. Loading doses of aspirin (90.4%), anticoagulants (14%), beta-blockers (82.8%), statins (86%), clopidogrel (7.6%), and nitrates (2.5%) are among the medications taken inside hospitals. Of 157 ACS patients, 6 (3.8%) patients with medical records examined died while receiving treatment in the hospital, while 151 (96.2%) patients were discharged alive. Conclusion STEMI was the most common diagnosis for ACS patients at St. Paul Hospital. The two main hospital events for these patients were CHF and cardiogenic shock.

Introduction The lack of local side effect profiles for vaccines could hinder vaccination uptake. Since all COVID-19 vaccines are brand-new medications, it is crucial to keep track of any safety related concern. Objective This study is aimed to investigate post-vaccination side effects of COVID-19 vaccines and associated factors in Bahir Dar city. Method An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among vaccinated clients. A simple random and a systematic random sampling method were used to select the health facilities and the participants, respectively. Bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were executed with odds ratio at 95% confidence intervals at p < .05. Results A total of 72(17.4%) participants reported at least one side effect following vaccination. The proportion prevalence was higher after the first dose than that of the second dose and the difference was also found to be statistically significant. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis female participants (AOR = 3.39, 95% CI =  1.53, 7.52), participants with a history of regular medication use (AOR = 3.34, 95% CI  =  1.52, 7.33), participants aged 55 and above (AOR = 2.93, 95% CI  =  1.23, 7.01), and participants who had taken only the first dose (AOR = 14.81, 95% CI  =  6.40, 34.31) were more likely to develop side effects for COVID 19 vaccination compared to their counterparts. Conclusion A significant number (17.4%) of participants reported at least one side effect following vaccination. Sex, medication, occupation, age, and type of vaccination dose were factors statistically associated with the reported side effects.