Background. Standard precautions are infection control techniques against pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. Objective. This study aims to assess knowledge and practice of standard precautions against blood borne pathogens among doctors and nurses in adult emergency room, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods. Institutional based cross sectional study was conducted from February to March 2018. A total of 128 study participants selected from four public hospitals were enrolled in this study. Data were collected using standardized pretested questionnaire and thencoded, entered, checked for completeness, and analyzed using SPSS version-23 statisticalsoftware. Chi-square test was used to measure the association between variables. P values <0.05 were taken as statistically significant. Result. The mean knowledge score of standard precaution measures was 10.3 out of 14 knowledge items. Out of 32 doctors, 93.8% (n=30) have good knowledge and out of 91 nurses, 86.8% (n=79) have good knowledge. The mean practice level of the study subjects was 8.5 out of 12 practice items. Majority (73.6%) of nurses have good practice level than doctors (21.8%). Knowledge level was significantly associated with the presence of infection control officer, infection control guideline, and washing hands before touching patients. Profession, training, and the presence of infection control guideline in emergency room were significantly associated with practice level of respondents (P<0.05). Conclusion. Both nurses and doctors have good knowledge of standard precaution measures. However, nurses have better practice level than doctors. Orientation during employment and continuous training programs should be provided for the newly employed health workers. In addition sustainable supply systems should be available in each hospital management.

Background Early diagnosis and treatment of childhood fever are essential for controlling disease progression and death. However, the Treatment-seeking behaviour of caregivers is still a significant challenge in rural parts of the African region. This study aimed to assess individual and community-level factors associated with treatment-seeking behaviours among caregivers of febrile under-five age children in Ethiopia. Method The recent Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data (EDHS 2016) was used for the study. The survey collected information among 1,354 under-five children who had a fever within two weeks before the survey. The data were extracted, cleaned, and recoded using STATA version 14. Multilevel logistic regressions were used to determine the magnitude and associated factors of treatment-seeking behaviour among caregivers with febrile children in Ethiopia. Four models were built to estimate both fixed and random effects of individual and community-level factors between cluster variations on treatment-seeking behaviour. The Adjusted Odds Ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) of the best-fitted model were reported at p<0.05. Result This study revealed that 491 (36.26%) caregivers seek treatment for their febrile children. Living in metropolitan and small peripheral regions, delivery at health institutions, being poorer, middle and richer wealth quintiles, having a child with diarrhoea, cough, short rapid breathing, and wasting were positively associated with treatment-seeking behaviour of caregivers. Conclusion The caregivers had poor treatment-seeking behaviour for their febrile children in Ethiopia. Health education programmers should emphasise the importance of seeking early treatment, taking action on childhood febrile illness signs.

Background Few studies are available from Africa on the use of mechanical ventilation (MV) in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Knowledge of the outcome of patients on MV is critical for better use of resources and clinical decision making. We aimed to see the outcome and pattern of patients treated in a pediatric intensive care unit in a teresery hospital, which is the first study to evaluate an Ethiopian PICU. Methods A cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection was employed. Data were abstracted from the patients’ medical records by trained health professionals. SPSS version 21 software was used for data entry and analysis. The reports were depicted descriptively using measures of central tendency, dispersion, and displayed through tables and graphs. Results There were 536 patients admitted during the study period. 202 (41.2%) incidence of mechanical ventilation (MV) rate 63.6% of the participants were males and 130 (59.1%) died. The most common indication for the initiation of MV was respiratory problems 46 (20.9%). we identified 30.59/1000 ventilator days developed complications.Ventilator-associated pneumonia accounted for 18.6% of the complications with 20.9/1000 ventilator days. Survival of medical cases was better than the surgical cases (including trauma); [AOR = 0.13, 95% CI(0.04–0.413)] and those who have MV for more than 3 days are 79% more likely to die than those of less than 3 days ventilated; (p = 0.003). Those who have multi-organ dysfunction syndrome die more likely than the other group of patients; [AOR = 0.181, 95% CI (0.08, 0.412)] and the patient who had high PIM II severity score had higher mortality rate; [AOR = 35, 95% CI (1.7, 11)]. Conclusions In the current study, the mortality rate of mechanically ventilated pediatric patients was high. Severity score, multi-organ dysfunction syndrome, length of stay, and being a surgical patient increased the risk of mortality. Adequate education of PICU staff on the use of mechanical ventilator and prevention of complications as well as the use of severity score is necessary.

BACKGROUND፡ A few studies are available from Africa on the use of mechanical ventilation (MV) in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Knowledge of the outcome of patients on MV is critical for better use of resources. We aimed to assess the characteristics and outcomes of mechanically ventilated pediatric patients in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Referral Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done from September 2016 to February 2018. Data were reviewed from the patients’ medical records. SPSS version 21 software was used for data entry and analysis.RESULTS: There were 536 patients admitted to PICU; out of these, 202 (41.2%) were on MV. Sixty-three-point six percent of the participants were males and 130 (59.1%) died. The most common indications for the initiation of MV were respiratory problems 46 (20.9%) and 30.59/1000 ventilator days developed complications. Ventilator-associated pneumonia accounted for 18.6% of the complications with 20.9/1000 ventilator days. Survival of medical cases was better than the surgical cases (including trauma); [AOR= 0.13, 95% CI (0.04-0.41)] and those who have MV for more than 3 days are 79% more likely to die (p=0.003). Those who have multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) [AOR= 0.181, 95% CI (0.08, 0.412)] and high PIM II severity score [AOR= 35, 95% CI (1.7,11)] had higher mortality rate.CONCLUSIONS: higher PIM II score, MODS, length of stay, and being a surgical patient increased the risk of mortality. Early resuscitation and thorough follow up of these ventilated patients are necessary.