BACKGROUND፡ Leeches belong to a group of annelids of the class Hirudinea which are blood feeding ecto-parasites of humans, wild animals and domesticated animals. A leech can suck out as much blood as ten times its own weight. Leech can occur at different sites in humans commonly in the eyes, nasopharynx, larynx, urethra, and vagina and rarely in the rectum.CASE DETAILS: This is a four years old male child who presented with painless, bright red rectal bleeding for two weeks. Heamatocrit was 9.2%. Leech was removed from the rectum by letting the child sit on a bucket of water. The patient was transfused, followed for 24 hours and discharged with iron sulphate syrup.CONCLUSION: Leech infestation should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a child presenting with hematochezia.

Background The adrenal gland of newborns is susceptible to hemorrhage because of its relative larger size and high vascularity. Adrenal hemorrhage is bilateral in 10% of the cases. Neonates with adrenal hemorrhage present with anemia, jaundice, abdominal mass, and, rarely, adrenal insufficiency. Case Detail A 6-day-old macrosomic neonate presented with hematuria of 2 days duration. Delivery was difficult. Abdominal ultrasound demonstrated bilateral suprarenal echo complex mass (right 4.3 cm by 2.2 cm and left 4 cm by 2 cm) and abdominal CT scan showed bilateral hypo-dense non-enhancing fluid-attenuated suprarenal gland masses (right 4.3 cm by 2.5 cm and left- 3.9 cm by 2.4 cm). Conclusion Adrenal hemorrhage should be considered and looked for in at-risk newborns like those with macrosomia, overwhelming sepsis, and perinatal asphyxia as well as those with bleeding diathesis. Although rare, hematuria is one of the clinical features of adrenal hemorrhage in neonates. Asymptomatic neonates with adrenal hemorrhage may not need any intervention except close follow up.

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Purpose Type 1 diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disorder among children and adolescents worldwide. Glycemic control is the ultimate goal of management of diabetes. Poor glycemic control is shown to be associated with complications of diabetes. Only a few studies have addressed the problem in Ethiopia, and this study aimed to determine the level of glycemic control and factors associated among children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus on follow up. Methods Institution based cross sectional study design was conducted on a total of 158 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes on follow up at Jimma Medical Center from July to October 2022. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and entered into Epi Data 3.1 then exported to SPSS for analysis. Glycemic control was assessed based on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed, and a p-value <0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance. Results The mean glycosylated hemoglobin of the participants was 9.67 ± 2.28%. Of the total study participants, 121 (76.6%) had poor glycemic control. In multivariable logistic regression, guardian or father as a primary caregiver [guardian (AOR=4.45, 95%, p=0.045), father (AOR=6.02, 95%, p=0.023)], minimal involvement of caregiver in insulin injection (AOR=5.39, 95%, p=0.002), poor blood glucose monitoring adherence (AOR=4.42, 95%, p=0.026), faced problems at health facility (AOR=4.42, 95%, p=0.018) and being admitted to hospital in the past 6 months (AOR=7.94, 95%, p=0.004) were the variables significantly associated with poor glycemic control. Conclusion Majority of children and adolescents with diabetes had poor glycemic control. Whereas, primary caregiver other than mother, minimal involvement of caregiver in insulin injection, and poor adherence to glucose monitoring were among the contributing factors for poor glycemic control. Therefore, adherence counseling and the participation of caregivers in diabetes management is recommended.

BACKGROUND፡ Abnormal blood glucose level is one of the most frequently encountered problems in children with severe illnesses. However, its magnitude and outcome have rarely been determined in Ethiopia. We aimed to determine the magnitude, associated factors and outcome of dysglycemia in critically ill children admitted to Jimma Medical Center.METHODS: Prospective longitudinal study was conducted on children aged 28 days to 14 years admitted with critical illnesses at the different units of the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health of Jimma Medical Center, Southwest Ethiopia, from June to August 2019. Data were collected by trained medical personnel using structured questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) windows version 20.0. Dysglycemia was considered whenever the child had a random blood sugar >150mg/dl or <45mg/dl.RESULT: Dysglycemia was seen at admission in 139/481, 28.9% children; 24 (5.0%) had hypoglycemia whereas 115 (23.9%) had hyperglycemia. The factors associated with dysglycemia at admission were severe acute malnutrition (p=002, AOR=3.09, CI=1.18,7.77), impaired mental status (p=0.003, AOR=4.63, CI=1.68, 12.71), place of residence (p=0.01, AOR=1.85, CI=1.15-2.96) and presence of diarrhea on date of admission. Among the children who had dysglycemia at admission, 16/139, 11.5% died.CONCLUSION: Dysglycemia is a common problem in critically ill children in the setting. Blood glucose level should be determined for all critically ill children, and routine empirical administration of dextrose should be minimized since most of the children with dysglycemia had hyperglycemia than hypoglycemia.