The study aimed to determine treatment outcome and factors affecting treatment outcomes among hospitalised patients with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialised Hospital (UOGCSH) in Ethiopia.

An institution-based prospective observational study.

UOGCSH, Northwest Ethiopia.

423 patients from all age groups with clinically diagnosed SSTIs from 25 June to 25 December 2023 at the UOGCSH were included.

Primary treatment outcomes were early apparent clinical response within 48–72 hours and treatment failure after 72 hours of optimal antibiotic therapy. Secondary treatment outcomes included hospital length of stay (HLOS) and in-hospital mortality. Multiple linear regression assessed factors influencing the HLOS, and multivariable logistic regression identified predictors of treatment failure.

The average HLOS was 13.46±3.01 days. Of the patients, 39.3% had an early clinical response within 48–72 hours, whereas 34.4% had treatment failure. At 0.7%, the in-hospital death rate was modest. Living in a rural area (adjusted OR (AOR) 5.54, 95% CI 2.67 to 11.37), having concurrent illnesses (AOR 2.11, 95% CI 1.10 to 4.07) and starting antibiotics later than 12 hours (AOR 0.08, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.17) were significantly associated with treatment failure. Concomitant disorders and complex comorbidities were also associated with longer HLOS, whereas higher socioeconomic level, oral step-down therapy, early antibiotic initiation and early clinical response were linked to better results and shorter hospital stays.

Timely antibiotic initiation, efficient source control, patient comorbidities and socio-economic considerations affect the treatment course for SSTIs. Prolonged treatment and the frequent use of ‘watch’ and ‘reserve’ antibiotics underscore the need for improved antimicrobial stewardship. In this situation, optimising clinical results and minimising HLOS requires prompt clinical evaluation and customised antibiotic therapy. However, the single-centre design and potential residual confounding may introduce bias.

To assess the time to first optimal glycaemic control and its predictors among adult patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Ethiopia.

A retrospective cohort study.

University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, northwest, Ethiopia.

We recruited 423 adult diabetic patients who were diagnosed between 1 January 2018 and 30 December 2022 at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital.

The primary outcome was the time from diagnosis to the achievement of the first optimal glycaemic control, measured in months. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was fitted to identify predictors of time to first optimal glycaemic control. Data were collected with KoboToolbox from patient medical charts and exported to Stata V.17. The log-rank test was used to determine the survival difference between subgroups of participants.

Median time to first optimal glycaemic control was 10.6 months. Among 423 adult diabetic patients, 301 (71.16%) achieved the first optimal glycaemic control during the study period. Age category (middle age (adjusted HR (AHR)=0.56, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.76), older age (AHR=0.52, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.82)), comorbidity (AHR=0.52, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.76), therapeutic inertia (AHR=0.20, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.30) and medication non-compliance (AHR=0.49, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.89) were significant predictors of time to optimal glycaemic control.

The median time to first optimal glycaemic control was prolonged. Diabetic care should focus on controlling the identified predictors to achieve optimal glycaemic control early after diagnosis.