The objective of this study was to develop clinical classifiers aiming to identify prevalent ascending aortic dilatation in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valve (TAV).

A prospective, single-centre and observational cohort.

The study involved 543 BAV and 491 TAV patients with aortic valve disease and/or ascending aortic dilatation, excluding those with coronary artery disease, undergoing cardiothoracic surgery at the Karolinska University Hospital (Sweden).

Predictors of high risk of ascending aortic dilatation (defined as ascending aorta with a diameter above 40 mm) were identified through the application of machine learning algorithms and classic logistic regression models.

Comprehensive multidimensional data, including valve morphology, clinical information, family history of cardiovascular diseases, prevalent diseases, demographic details, lifestyle factors, and medication.

BAV patients, with an average age of 60.4±12.4 years, showed a higher frequency of aortic dilatation (45.3%) compared with TAV patients, who had an average age of 70.4±9.1 years (28.9% dilatation, p

Cardiovascular risk profiles appear to be more predictive of aortopathy in TAV patients than in patients with BAV. This adds evidence to the fact that BAV-associated and TAV-associated aortopathy involves different pathways to aneurysm formation and highlights the need for specific aneurysm preventions in these patients. Further, our results highlight that machine learning approaches do not outperform classical prediction methods in addressing complex interactions and non-linear relations between variables.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease with high incidence in low-income countries (LICs); it remains one of the infectious diseases with the highest mortality in the world, especially in LICs. It is crucial to recognise and diagnose TB as soon as possible, but microbiological tests on sputum are not always sensitive enough. New methods for an early diagnosis of TB are needed. In this study, we will investigate the role of two different tests to detect TB in Ethiopia (where the prevalence of TB is high): molecular search for TB in stool samples with Xpert assay and detection of pulmonary TB signs on chest X-rays with CAD4TB technology.

A prospective diagnostic test accuracy study during TB active contact investigation will be conducted. In the referral hospital in Southwest Shoa Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, patients with pulmonary TB and a sputum sample positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and household contacts of at least 4 years of age will be enrolled, with a target sample size of 231 patients. Trained staff will label household contacts as ‘possible TB’ cases or not according to their symptoms; when TB is possible, a stool Xpert and computer-aided detection on chest X-ray will be performed, alongside standard diagnostic methods, assessing the diagnostic accuracy of CAD4TB compared with Xpert MTB/RIF during TB contact investigation and the accuracy of stool Xpert compared with sputum Xpert.

This study has been approved by the Oromia Health Bureau Research Ethics Committee (ref no BFO/MBTFH/1-16/100023). All information obtained will be kept confidential. Selected investigators will have access to data, while international partners will sign a dedicated data protection agreement. Eligible participants will receive brief information about the study before being asked to participate and they will provide written informed consent. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals.

NCT05818059.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) partnered with the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency (EPSA) in 2018–2019 to reform procurement and supply chain management (PSCM) procedures within the Ethiopian healthcare system. This assessment sought to determine the impact of the reforms and document the lessons learnt.

Mixed-methods study incorporating qualitative and quantitative analysis. Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were applied for the qualitative methods, and the data collected was transcribed in full and subjected to thematic content analysis. Descriptive analysis was applied to quantitative data.

The study was based in Ethiopia and focused on the EPSA operations nationally between 2017 and 2021.

Twenty-five Ethiopian healthcare decision-makers and health workers.

Global Fund training programme for health workers and infrastructural improvements

Operational and financial measures for healthcare PSCM.

The availability of antiretrovirals, tuberculosis and malaria medicines, and other related commodities, remained consistently high. Line fill rate and forecast accuracy were average. Between 2018 and 2021, procurement lead times for HIV and malaria-related orders reduced by 43.0% relative to other commodities that reported an increase. Many interview respondents recognised the important role of the Global Fund support in improving the performance of EPSA and provided specific attributions to the observed successes. However, they were also clear that more needs to be done in specific critical areas such as financing, strategic reorganisation, data and information management systems.

The Global Fund-supported initiatives led to improvements in the EPSA performance, despite several persistent challenges. To sustain and secure the gains achieved so far through Global Fund support and make progress, it is important that various stakeholders, including the government and the donor community, work together to support EPSA in delivering on its core mandate within the Ethiopian health system.

It has been reported that maintaining a normal body temperature among surgical patients can reduce the length of hospitalisation by up to 40%, decrease the risk of surgical site infection by 64% and reduce mortality by fourfold. Nurses are primarily responsible for preventing the occurrence of hypothermia among surgical patients. This study assessed nurses’ knowledge and practices with respect to perioperative hypothermia prevention in Northwest Ethiopia, and investigated the factors associated with good knowledge and practice.

Cross-sectional study.

Northwest Amhara Regional State Referral Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia, 25 March–20 May 2021.

413 nurses working in the perioperative units of five referral hospitals.

Perioperative hypothermia prevention knowledge and practice among nurses.

Nearly three-fifths (59.1%; 95% CI: 54.7% to 63.7%) of respondents had good knowledge and about half (50.4%; 95% CI: 45.5% to 55.0%) had good practice with respect to perioperative hypothermia prevention. Factors associated with nurses’ knowledge of prevention of perioperative hypothermia included male sex (adjusted OR (AOR): 1.61, 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.53), having a bachelor’s degree (AOR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.25 to 5.00), having a master’s degree (AOR: 4.39, 95% CI: 1.45 to 13.20) and training participation (AOR: 3.68, 95% CI: 2.14 to 6.33). Factors associated with nurses’ practice of prevention of perioperative hypothermia included working in recovery (AOR: 2.87, 95% CI: 1.08 to 7.58) and intensive care units (AOR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.09 to 5.22), training participation (AOR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.53 to 4.57), being satisfied with their job (AOR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.34 to 3.43) and having good knowledge (AOR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.63 to 4.27).

Nurses’ knowledge and practice of the prevention of perioperative hypothermia were inadequate. Hospital managers need to design and strengthen training programmes and work to enhance job satisfaction.