Conectar
by Jabir Aman, Bikila Balis, Naol Oda, Dawit Tamiru, Tadesse Gure Eticha, Dawit Firdisa, Aboma Motuma
BackgroundMeconium aspiration syndrome is a life-threatening respiratory disease affecting around 5% of neonates worldwide. Although several studies have been conducted in developed countries, data on meconium aspiration syndrome and its associated factors remain limited in low-resource settings, including Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the meconium aspiration syndrome and associated factors among neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at public hospitals in Harari region, Eastern Ethiopia.
MethodA retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among all neonates admitted from January 1 to December 30, 2023 and data were extracted from patient charts during April 1–30, 2025. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 417 charts of neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. The data were collected by a data extraction checklist via Kobo Toolbox. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used in SPSS version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) for the analysis. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to declare statistical significance at a p-value ≤ 0.05.
ResultsThe prevalence of meconium aspiration syndrome among neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit was 24.2% [95% CI, 20.2–28.6]. Factors significantly associated with meconium aspiration syndrome were post-term gestation [AOR = 9.05, 95% CI 2.38–34.41], antepartum hemorrhage [AOR = 3.34, 95% CI 1.31–8.60], prolonged labor [AOR = 3.06, 95% CI 1.27–7.36], premature rupture of membranes [AOR = 3.65, 95% CI 1.28–10.45], low Apgar scores at 5th minute [AOR = 11.27, 95% CI 3.44–36.92] and intrapartum thick meconium passage [AOR = 5.98, 95% CI 2.6–13.6].
Conclusions and recommendationsThese findings indicate a high prevalence of meconium aspiration syndrome, and to reduce its impact, targeted clinical interventions should be implemented. Pregnancies reaching 42 weeks of gestation, prolonged labor, and high-risk conditions such as antepartum hemorrhage, premature rupture of membranes, or the presence of thick meconium are important factors to consider. Careful monitoring and appropriate management may be warranted in these cases.
With the global lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination goal set to 2030, it is necessary to address challenges hindering the last-mile efforts. Never treated individuals are those who self-report that they have never taken the drugs for LF during any mass drug administration (MDA) rounds. Hence, it is necessary to identify these individuals and assess if they can be potential reservoirs of infection and understand the reasons for non-compliance.
This mixed method study, proposed for a period of 2 years, will assess the filarial infection status of never treated individuals from four LF-endemic districts in India. A multi-stage cluster sampling design will be followed to select the health subcentres from one highly endemic block in each of the selected districts. A random sample of 2535 never treated individuals from each block will be assessed for filarial infection by a cross-sectional blood survey. Qualitative surveys, including in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, will be conducted to elicit the reasons for their non-compliance. The prevalence of filarial infection will be summarised as frequencies and percentages. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis will be performed to find the factors associated with filarial infection. Exploring the various reasons, such as sociocultural, behavioural and programmatic drivers of non-participation, will enable the programme to design tailored communication and community engagement strategies to bring them under the umbrella of MDA and thereby support the ongoing LF elimination efforts.
This study has been approved by the institutional ethics committee (IHEC 07-0824/N/F, dated 25 September 2024). After completion of the study, a workshop will be held with all stakeholders to disseminate the study findings.
Malaria remains a major public health challenge in India, with transmission dynamics varying widely across ecological, epidemiological, sociobehavioural and health system contexts. Achieving the national malaria elimination target by 2030 requires integrated, context-specific evidence to design effective interventions. This study aims to generate a comprehensive understanding of malaria transmission and factors surrounding it across diverse eco-epidemiological settings in India by assessing malaria burden, identifying determinants of transmission, evaluating health system performance and equity, characterising vector bionomics and insecticide resistance, and examining the influence of environmental drivers.
This longitudinal, multicentric study will be conducted in collaboration with the national programme in 12 districts spanning 10 states in India, covering a population of around 25 000 individuals representing varied ecological contexts (urban, periurban, rural, forest-foothill and coastal) and malaria endemicity levels. In each district, two clusters (villages) with a population of 1000 individuals will be included. A baseline mass survey will estimate malaria prevalence using bivalent rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and blood smear microscopy, with low-density parasitaemia detected by PCR in a subset of RDT-negative samples. Participants will be followed for 1 year, with monthly screening of symptomatic individuals using RDT and microscopy, and testing a subset of asymptomatic individuals to detect subclinical infections. Sociobehavioural data will be collected through structured interviews and household observations, with purposive inclusion of vulnerable groups, pregnant women, migrants, elderly persons, individuals with disabilities and tribal populations to assess equity dimensions through mixed-methods approaches. Health system performance will be evaluated through key informant interviews with programme officials, health workers, patients, private practitioners and traditional healers. Entomological surveillance will document vector species composition, density, infection rates and assessment of susceptibility status and intensity of insecticide resistance to commonly used public health insecticides. Environmental variables, including temperature, rainfall and humidity, will be linked with entomological and epidemiological data to explore spatiotemporal relationships.
The protocol was approved by the Institute Human Ethics Committee of ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre (IHEC 03-0125/N/F). All standard ethical practices will be adhered to. The findings will be shared with stakeholders and published in reputed open-access journals.
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