Objective: Ethiopia is planning to vaccinate 20% of its population against the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic by the end of 2021—however, there is no single piece of evidence regarding pregnant women’s intention to be vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019; hence, the objective of this study was to investigate predicting factors of intention to be vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 among pregnant women in Bench-Sheko Zone, southwest Ethiopia. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study was undertaken from 1 February to 1 March 2021 in southwest Ethiopia. The study was carried out among pregnant women who came for antenatal care service in the selected public health facilities. Interviewer-administered structured tool was used to collect the data. Data were entered into EpiData (version 3.1) and then analyzed using SPSS (version 20). Results: The study revealed that only 31.3% (95% confidence interval: 26.7–35.2) of the participants had an intention to be vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 when the vaccine will be made available in Ethiopia. Participants’ intention to be vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 was significantly associated with attaining secondary school and above (adjusted odds ratio = 4.24, 95% confidence interval: 2.23–9.32), residing in urban areas (adjusted odds ratio = 2.57, 95% confidence interval: 1.22–5.40), being compliant with coronavirus disease 2019 guidelines (adjusted odds ratio = 5.86, 95% confidence interval: 3.40–10.09), and having good perception toward coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine (adjusted odds ratio = 3.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.64–5.62). Conclusion: Above all, in this study, pregnant women’s intention to vaccinate against coronavirus disease 2019 was very low when compared with previous studies. Hence, before commencing the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination program in Ethiopia, it is essential to launch a widespread public health education campaign that could improve people’s perception of the vaccine. Besides, the upcoming public health intervention programs better put special emphasis on community members with lower educational attainment backgrounds and rural residents.

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a critical emergency with substantial morbidity and mortality. Outcomes depend on bleeding severity, patient risk factors, and comorbidities. This study evaluated clinical patterns and factors influencing disease severity and hospital stay among patients present with UGIB symptoms at two major Ethiopian hospitals. A retrospective, cross-sectional review was conducted on 199 UGIB patients admitted to Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College (Y12HMC) and Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital (TASH) from September 2022 to September 2023. Data on demographics, clinical presentations, endoscopic findings, and outcomes were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Binary logistic regression assessed associations, with statistical significance set at P < 0.05. Of 199 patients, 70.9% were male, predominantly aged 18–40. Hematemesis (63.8%) and hematemesis with melena (27.6%) were common presentations. Endoscopy was not performed on more than half of the participants, with 116 patients (58.3%) not undergoing this procedure. Among the 83 cases who did have endoscopy, esophageal varices emerged as the most common condition, observed in 43.3% (36 cases. Smoking (AOR = 1.77), alcohol intake (AOR = 1.89), and drug use (AOR = 1.34) were linked to higher severity scores. Alcohol use, comorbidities, liver disease, and previous drug use correlated with prolonged hospital stays. UGIB predominantly affects younger males, with hematemesis as the primary presentation. Key factors like smoking, alcohol intake, and drug use were associated with greater disease severity and longer hospital stays. These findings suggest the importance of lifestyle interventions, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Objective: Despite the concerted effort to improve skilled delivery service utilization in Ethiopia, a considerable proportion of births still occur at home by traditional birth attendants, notably in a rural setting. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate whether mother’s perceived service quality and physical accessibility affect skilled delivery service utilization. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 July 2019 to 30 August 2019, among mothers who gave birth in the last 12 months before the study, in selected five districts of Kaffa Zone, Ethiopia. Result: In this study, 262 (70.1%) of mothers utilized skilled delivery service in their recent childbirth. Mothers regarding the nearby health facility’s physical environment as “Good” (adjusted odds ratio = 2.48, 95% confidence interval = 1.44, 4.25), mothers mentioning time to reach to the nearby health facility “<1 h” (adjusted odds ratio = 1.92, 95% confidence interval = 1.11, 3.34), and mothers regarding prompt transport service from home to the nearby health facility “Available” (adjusted odds ratio = 2.01, 95% confidence interval = 1.11, 3.63) were positively associated with skilled delivery services’ utilization. Furthermore, completing secondary education and above, attending three and more antenatal care visits, and having good knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy showed a significant association. Conclusion: Although the study evidenced statistically significant association between perceived physical accessibility and perceived service quality, further study is recommended to investigate the relationship between actual physical accessibility and actual service quality. Targeted health education program intended to improve skilled delivery service utilization should give due emphasis on enhancing antenatal care service uptake, and raising mothers’ awareness on danger signs during pregnancy, with particular focus on those mothers with low schooling.

Background: Although emergency health-care services, particularly clinical and surgical care, are an important part of the provision of high quality health care in Ethiopia, infections related with surgical care are still the most well-known medical services-related diseases. This study aimed to assess the bacterial profiles and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of isolates among patients diagnosed with surgical site infections at Mizan-Tepi university teaching hospital, southwest Ethiopia. Methodology: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted from June to September 2021. Patient data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Follow-up of patients who had undergone a surgical procedure was conducted for at least 30 days. Wound swabs were collected from patients suspected to have surgical site infections (SSIs) and cultured onto appropriate culture media. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done using the disk diffusion technique. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 25.0. Frequencies and cross-tabulation were used to summarize descriptive statistics. Results: In this study, the postoperative SSIs rate was 12.6%. All patients with SSIs were culture positive, and a total of 41 bacterial isolates were detected. Of these, 73.2% were Gram-negative, 26.8% were Gram-positive and 24.2% were a mixture of two bacterial growths. Escherichia coli accounted for 29.3%, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (19.5%), Proteus species (14.6%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.2%). With the exceptions of amikacin and meropenem, which exhibited very high sensitivity, ranging from 33.3– 100.0% isolates was resistant against all other tested antibiotics. The resistance rate to three or more classes of antibiotics was 100.0%. Conclusion: In this study, the most isolated bacteria causing SSIs were Gram-negative and multidrug-resistant strains. This event highlights that surveillance of the bacterial profile and antibiotic susceptibility pattern coupled with the implementation of the strict protocol for antibiotic use and operative room regulations is important to minimize the burden of SSIs.

Introduction and importance: Volvulus of the large bowel is a pathological condition characterized by the twisting of the colon around itself, resulting in obstruction and potentially severe complications such as bowel ischemia and necrosis. The objective of this case report is to highlight the importance of considering volvulus as a differential diagnosis in patients with a history of colonic surgeries, particularly when presenting with symptoms indicative of bowel obstruction. Case presentation: The case was a 55 years old male patient who underwent Hartman procedure three years back for an indication of gangrenous sigmoid volvulus. Three months later the colostomy was reversed and descending colo-rectal end-to-end anastomosis was performed. He currently presented to the emergency department with a one day history of abdominal distension which was progressive and associated with colicky persistent abdominal pain. Exploratory laparotomy was done which showed the descending colon was massively dilated and twisted 360 degree in the counterclockwise direction. The patient was discharged from the ward after one week stay. Clinical discussion: Despite of the fact that volvulus is the third most common cause of bowel obstruction, consecutive bowel obstruction secondary to volvulus at a separate time and site is an extremely rare phenomenon. Conclusion: A metachronous colonic volvulus is an extremely rare clinical entity. In a patient who presents with bowel obstruction with a history of prior sigmoid colectomy. it is important to consider metachronous volvulus as differential diagnosis specially in patients with significant risk factors or residing in a geographic area known with high rates of volvulus. Highlights:

In 2022, there were 249 million cases of malaria globally, resulting in 608,000 deaths. The majority of cases and deaths occurred in the WHO (World Health Organization) African Region. A study in our region found that, out of 263,476 individuals, 148,734 had P. falciparum, 106,946 had P. vivax, and 7,796 had mixed infections. The prevalence of P. falciparum (Plasmodium falciparum) was 8.97% and P. vivax (Plasmodium Vivax) was 7.94%. Although there have been a few reported cases of cerebral malaria caused by P. vivax, there is currently no comprehensive analysis of such cases. All the cases that have been reported so far involved individuals living in malaria-endemic areas, who presented with symptoms characteristic of cerebral malaria. Cerebral malaria was diagnosed based on the clinical algorithm which WHO used except we used P. vivax instead of P. falciparum The diagnosis of these cases was confirmed through thin blood film examination and Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs). Therefore, this report aims to provide additional data on the occurrence of P. vivax as a cause of cerebral malaria. It also recommends further studies to reassess the current clinical case definition of cerebral malaria mainly in endemic areas as it affects patient treatment outcome.