scholarly journals The prevalence and risk factors associated with Leptospira in donkeys in Ngaka Modiri Molema District, North West Province, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2020-2027
Author(s):  
Kibambe Kiayima Daddy ◽  
Mulunda Mwanza ◽  
James Wabwire Oguttu ◽  
Lubanza Ngoma

Background and Aim: Leptospirosis is one of the major emerging global economic and health problems affecting donkeys, thereby reducing their work output. Furthermore, the disease has public health importance because of its zoonotic nature. Despite the significant contribution donkeys make to the national economy, less attention is given to diseases that afflict donkeys and reduce their productivity and performance. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of Leptospira and identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of the disease among donkeys in the study area. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire survey was used to collect the following data: Demographic, environmental, management, and health-related factors. Blood samples were aseptically collected from 365 randomly selected donkeys from 19 villages. The sera were tested using the microscopic agglutination test. Categorical variables were summarized and presented as proportions and their 95% confidence interval (CI). A binary logistic regression model was fitted to the data to identify risk factors associated with Leptospira seroprevalence in donkeys within the study areas. Results: The majority of the donkeys (29.6%; n=108/365) were from Mafikeng local municipality, and the rest (19.7%; n=72/365) were from Ratlou. Just over half (58.1%; n=212/365) of the donkeys tested were female, and the remaining (41.9%; n=153/365) were males. In addition, most donkeys (42.7%; n=156/365) were between 6 and 12 years old, followed by those between 0 and 5 years (37%; n=135/365), and only 20.3% (n=74/365) were above 12 years. Out of the donkeys tested, 11.5% (95% CI: 4.86-18.14) donkeys tested positive for Leptospira antibodies. The most common serovar was Bratislava (81%; n=34/42), followed by Tarassovi (19.04%; n=8/42). While gender was positively associated with seroprevalence of the disease (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]=4.88; p=0.0001), the presence of horses (AOR=0.226; p=0.002) and agricultural activities (AOR=0.093; p=0.0001) in the vicinity of the dwellings of the donkeys were negatively associated with Leptospira seropositivity in the study area. Conclusion: Findings reported here show that donkeys in the study area are reservoirs for the predominant serovar Bratislava and the less dominant serovar Tarassovi. The gender of the donkey was a risk factor for Leptospira seroprevalence. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of agricultural activities in the vicinity of the dwellings of donkeys on the occurrence of Leptospira in the study area.

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e02-e02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasrin Fouladi ◽  
Maedeh Barahman ◽  
Firouz Amani ◽  
Mohammad Bahadoram ◽  
Sevda Eghbali

Introduction: Delayed diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer leads to the presentation of the disease in advanced stages necessitating more invasive surgical interventions, increasing health care costs and mortality rate, and finally reduced patients’ survival. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with delayed diagnosis of breast cancer in the north-west of Iran. Patients and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 70 breast cancer patients referred to the cancer registry of Ardabil city, north-west of Iran. The time from the presentation of clinical symptoms to the initiation of treatment was determined by interviews to identify the system and patients’ delays. The data was analyzed in SPSS 19 with the level of significance as P<0.05. Results: The mean age of the patients was 43.3 ± 13.2 years. The means of total, patient, and system related delays were 9.4±1.6 weeks, 6.3 ± 9.9 weeks, and 3.1 ± 2.8 weeks respectively. Regression analysis showed that age, marital status, educational level, monthly income, fear of cancer, and residency were significantly associated with patients’ delay. Conclusion: Our results highlighted the important role of patients’ related factors in delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. Therefore, it is essential to educate individuals for timely referrals to physicians.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bekalu Getachew Gebreegziabher ◽  
Tesema Etefa Birhanu ◽  
Diriba Dereje Olana ◽  
Behailu Terefe Tesfaye

Background: Stroke is a great public health problem in Ethiopia. According to reports, in-hospital stroke mortality was estimated to be 14.7% in Ethiopia. Despite this, in this country researches done on factors associated with stroke sub-types were inadequate. Objective: To assess the Characteristics and risk factors associated with stroke sub-types among patients admitted to JUMC. Methods and materials: A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted from May 2017 to May 2018 in stroke unit of Jimma University Medical Center. A total of 106 medical charts of patients diagnosed with stroke were reviewed. Checklist comprising of relevant variables was used to collect data. SPSS version 21 was employed for data entry and analysis. Chi-square test was used to point-out association and difference among stroke sub-types. The data was presented using text, tables and figures. Result: From a total of 106 patients, 67(63.2%) were men. The mean ± SD of age was 52.67±12.46 years, and no significant association was found. Of all the patients, 59(55.6%) had ischemic strokes and 47(44.4%) had hemorrhagic strokes. The most common risk factor in the patients was alcohol use with a prevalence of 69.9%. Of all the risk factors, only sex, cigarettes smoking and dyslipidemia were significantly associated to sub-types of stroke. Conclusion: Ischemic stroke was the most common subtype of stroke. Sex of patient, cigarette smoking and dyslipidemia are significantly associated with the two stroke subtypes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyan Wang ◽  
Xiaoling Dai ◽  
Zichuan Yao ◽  
Xianqing Zhu ◽  
Yunzhong Jiang ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction To explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms and the associated risk factors in frontline nurses under COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from February 20, 2020 to March 20, 2020 and involved 562 frontline nurses. The effective response rate was 87.68%. After propensity score matched, there were 498 participants left. Extensive characteristics, including demographics, dietary habits, life-related factors, work-related factors, and psychological factors were collected based on a self-reported questionnaire. Specific scales measured the levels of sleep quality, physical activity, depressive symptoms, perceived organization support and psychological capital. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined by binary paired logistic regression. Results Of the nurses enrolled in the study, 50.90% had depressive symptoms. Three independent risk factors were identified: poor sleep quality (OR = 1.608, 95% CI: 1.384–1.896), lower optimism of psychological capital (OR = 0.879, 95% CI: 0.805–0.960) and no visiting friend constantly (OR = 0.513, 95% CI: 0.286–0.920). Conclusions This study revealed a considerable high prevalence of depressive symptoms in frontline nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak, and identified three risk factors, which were poor sleep quality, lower optimism of psychological capital, and no visiting friend constantly. Protecting mental health of nurses is important for COVID-19 pandemic control and their wellbeing. These findings enrich the existing theoretical model of depression and demonstrated a critical need for additional strategies that could address the mental health in frontline nurses for policymakers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2740
Author(s):  
Efrat L. Amitay ◽  
Tobias Niedermaier ◽  
Anton Gies ◽  
Michael Hoffmeister ◽  
Hermann Brenner

The success of a colonoscopy in detecting and removing pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions depends heavily on the quality of bowel preparation. Despite efforts, 20–44% of colonoscopy participants have an inadequate bowel preparation. We aimed to assess and compare risk factors for inadequate bowel preparation and for the presence of advanced colorectal neoplasms in routine screening practice. In this cross-sectional study, among 8125 participants of screening colonoscopy in Germany with a comprehensive assessment of sociodemographic factors, lifestyle and medical history, we examined factors associated with inadequate bowel preparation and with findings of advanced neoplasms using adjusted log-binomial regression models. Among the identified risk factors assessed, three factors were identified that were significantly associated with inadequate bowel preparation: age ≥ 70 years (adjusted prevalence ratios, aPR, 1.50 95%CI 1.31–1.71), smoking (aPR 1.29 95%CI 1.11–1.50) and abdominal symptoms (aPR 1.14 95%CI 1.02–1.27). The same risk factors were also associated with the prevalence of advanced neoplasms in our study (aPR 1.72, 1.62 and 1.44, respectively). The risk factors associated with inadequate bowel preparation in this study were also associated with a higher risk for advanced neoplasms. Inadequate bowel preparation for colonoscopy might lead to missed colorectal cancer (CRC) precursors and the late diagnosis of CRC. People at high risk of advanced neoplasms are in particular need of enhanced bowel preparation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 030006052110346
Author(s):  
Techane Sisay Tuji ◽  
Addisu Dabi Wake ◽  
Gezahegn Badeg Adere ◽  
Aselefu Beka Wedajo ◽  
Batu Dekeba Obole ◽  
...  

Objective To assess the prevalence of spontaneous preterm births and to identify the associated risk factors. Methods This single-centre cross-sectional study enrolled women that experienced a preterm birth as registered on the neonatal log-book between 30 December 2019 and 30 December 2020. A pre-tested structured checklist was used to collect data (sociodemographic characteristics; obstetric-related factors; medical history; and pregnancy-related factors). Bivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to identify factors associated with spontaneous preterm birth. A multivariate model identified significant independent risk factors. Results A total of 310 patients participated in the study. The prevalence of spontaneous preterm birth in this population was 67.1% (208 of 310; 95% confidence interval [CI] 61.5, 71.9). Patients without a partner (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.470, 95% CI 1.23, 4.42), patients residing in a rural area (AOR = 2.51, 95% CI 1.123, 5.513) and those with a history of PIH during their current pregnancy (AOR = 0.104, 95% CI 0.053, 0.014) were significantly more likely to have a spontaneous preterm birth. Conclusion The prevalence of spontaneous preterm birth in in this study was high. Healthcare providers and all stakeholders should focus on screening pregnant women at the risk of spontaneous preterm birth.


Author(s):  
Abdullah Nimer ◽  
Suzan Naser ◽  
Nesrin Sultan ◽  
Rawand Said Alasad ◽  
Alexander Rabadi ◽  
...  

Burnout syndrome is common among healthcare professions, including resident physicians. We aimed to assess the prevalence of burnout among resident physicians in Jordan, and a secondary aim was to evaluate the risk factors associated with the development of burnout syndrome in those residents, including gender, working hours, psychological distress, training sector, and specialty. In this cross-sectional study, 481 residents were recruited utilizing multistage stratified sampling to represent the four major health sectors in Jordan. Data were collected using an online questionnaire, where the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) was used to assess the prevalence of burnout. The prevalence, group differences, and predictors of burnout were statistically analyzed using STATA 15. Overall, 373 (77.5%) residents were found to have burnout. Factors associated with higher levels of burnout were psychological stress (β = 2.34, CI = [1.88–2.81]), longer working hours (β = 4.07, CI = [0.52–7.62], for 51–75 h a week, β = 7.27, CI = [2.86–11.69], for 76–100 h a week and β = 7.27, CI = [0.06–14.49], for >100 h a week), and obstetrics/gynecology residents (β = 9.66, CI = [3.59–15.73]). Conversely, medical sub-specialty residents, as well as private and university hospital residents, had lower burnout levels. We concluded that decreasing the workload on residents, offering psychological counseling, and promoting a safety culture for residents might help in mitigating burnout consequences.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Saito ◽  
Hitoshi Sugawara ◽  
Tamami Watanabe ◽  
Akira Ishii ◽  
Takahiko Fukuchi

AbstractRisk factors associated with 72-h mortality in patients with extremely high serum aspartate aminotransferase levels (AST; ≥ 3000 U/L) are unknown. This single-centre, retrospective, case-controlled, cross-sectional study obtained data from medical records of adult patients treated at Saitama Medical Center, Japan, from 2005 to 2019. We conducted a multivariate logistic after adjusting for age, sex, height, weight, body mass index, Brinkman Index, vital signs, biochemical values, updated Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score, CCI components, and underlying causes. A logistic regression model with selected validity risks and higher C-statistic for predicting 72-h mortality was established. During the 15-year period, 428 patients (133 non-survivors and 295 survivors [cases and controls by survival < 72 and ≥ 72 h, respectively]) with AST levels ≥ 3000 U/L were identified. The 72-h mortality rate was 133/428 (31.1%). The model used for predicting 72-h mortality through the assessment of alkaline phosphatase, creatine kinase, serum sodium, potassium, and phosphorus levels had a C-statistic value of 0.852 (sensitivity and specificity, 76.6%). The main independent risk factors associated with 72-h mortality among patients with AST levels ≥ 3000 U/L included higher serum values of alkaline phosphatase, creatine kinase, serum sodium, potassium, and phosphorus.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001564
Author(s):  
Raina D Brooks ◽  
T Grier ◽  
B H Jones ◽  
M C Chervak

IntroductionFalls/near falls are the second leading cause of hospitalisation and outpatient visits among US Army soldiers. While numerous studies have evaluated fall-related or near fall-related injuries among elderly adults, few have evaluated this association among young adults. The objective of this study is to describe the characteristics and risk factors associated with fall-related or near fall-related injuries among male US Army soldiers.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study of male US Army Airborne Division soldiers (n=5187). Electronic surveys captured demographic, lifestyle, physical training (PT), fitness and injury data during spring/summer of 2016. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors of fall-related or near fall-related injuries, adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsPrimary findings indicated that activities and risk factors associated with fall-related or near fall-related injuries among soldiers included younger age (≤35 years), holding a job that required minimal lifting activities, slower 2-mile run times and not running during personal PT.ConclusionsThe findings from this study suggest that male US Army soldiers and other physically active men may benefit from (1) obtaining and/or maintaining higher aerobic endurance and muscular strength, and (2) training focused on preventing fall-related injuries during PT, road marching and sports/recreational activities. Moreover, prevention strategies and education should further target younger soldiers (≤35 years old), as younger age is not modifiable.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bingsi Gao ◽  
Yu-Ligh Liou ◽  
Yang Yu ◽  
Lingxiao Zou ◽  
Waixing Li ◽  
...  

AbstractThis cross-sectional study investigated the characteristics of cervical HPV infection in Changsha area and explored the influence of Candida vaginitis on this infection. From 11 August 2017 to 11 September 2018, 12,628 outpatient participants ranged from 19 to 84 years old were enrolled and analyzed. HPV DNA was amplified and tested by HPV GenoArray Test Kit. The vaginal ecology was detected by microscopic and biochemistry examinations. The diagnosis of Candida vaginitis was based on microscopic examination (spores, and/or hypha) and biochemical testing (galactosidase) for vaginal discharge by experts. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS 9.4. Continuous and categorical variables were analyzed by t-tests and by Chi-square tests, respectively. HPV infection risk factors were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Of the total number of participants, 1753 were infected with HPV (13.88%). Females aged ≥ 40 to < 50 years constituted the largest population of HPV-infected females (31.26%). The top 5 HPV subtypes affecting this population of 1753 infected females were the following: HPV-52 (28.01%), HPV-58 (14.83%), CP8304 (11.47%), HPV-53 (10.84%), and HPV-39 (9.64%). Age (OR 1.01; 95% CI 1–1.01; P < 0.05) and alcohol consumption (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.09–1.56; P < 0.01) were found to be risk factors for HPV infection. However, the presence of Candida in the vaginal flora was found to be a protective factor against HPV infection (OR 0.62; 95% CI 0.48–0.8; P < 0.001). Comparing with our previous study of 2016, we conclude that the subtype distribution of HPV infection is relatively constant in Changsha. Our data suggest a negative correlation between vaginal Candida and HPV, however, more radical HPV management is required in this area for perimenopausal women and those who regularly consume alcohol.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 205873922096054
Author(s):  
Faiz Ullah Khan ◽  
Yu Fang ◽  
Zakir Khan ◽  
Farman Ullah Khan ◽  
Zafar Iqbal Malik ◽  
...  

Globally, surgical site infections are one of the common infections which lead to a large amount of mortality and morbidity in postsurgical care. The risk for surgical site infection is multidimensional which includes mainly; patient, surgery, and hospital-related factors. This study is aimed to determine the burden of SSIs along with contributed risk factors. A prospective observational cross-sectional study was conducted in one of the largest public-sector hospitals in Pakistan. A total of 412 patients were recruited in the study with full consent and monitored for 30 days after surgery with direct and indirect surveillance. Overall, in seven different surgical procedures the incidence (29.8%) rate of SSI was observed; in appendectomy ( n = 17, 4.1%), exploratory laparotomy ( n = 51, 12.6%), laparoscopic cholecystectomy ( n = 12, 2.90%), mesh repair ( n = 17, 4.01%), thyroidectomy (5, 1.2%), transurethral resection of the prostate ( n = 11, 2.6%), and transurethral resection of the bladder (10, 2.4%). The average SSI rate in every single procedure was about 18 (4.27%) per surgical procedure out of 123 (29.85%) SSI cases. Types of SSI identified were superficial, deep incisional and organ/space ( n = 76, 18.4%, n = 23, 5.5%, and n = 24, 5.7%). Incidence of SSIs during admission, at readmission, and post-surveillance cases were ( n = 50, 12.1%, n = 25, 6.0% and n = 48, 11.6%). Associated risk factors found contributed to the incidence of SSI ( p < 0.05). Pre-operative ( n = 348, 84.5%) and 6 (1.5%) surgical patients did not received the post-operative antibiotics. The P. aeruginosa ( n = 15, 12.1%) and S. aureus (13, 10.5%). Cefoperazone and sulbactam were the most prescribed antibiotics. Associated risk factors and treatment outcomes of surgical patients have a direct association with the incidence of SSI. Hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship, implementation of surgical guidelines, patient care, and education are needed to develop at wards level in hospitals.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document