Quality assessment of common anti-malarial medicines marketed in Gambella, National Regional State, South Western-Ethiopia.

Background: Over the past years, there has been a growing concern that a considerable amount of anti-malarial supply in the underdeveloped world particularly in the private sector, is of poor quality. The World Health Organization (WHO) has received about 1500 reports that mentions instances of substandard and falsified products since 2013. The majority of the reports concerned antibiotics and anti-malarials.

Post-marketing quality surveillance of selected antibacterial agents marketed in porous borders; the case of Ethiopia-Sudan-Eritrea border.

Background: The presence of poor-quality medicines is becoming a public health threat in many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. Antibiotics are among the most common anti-infective medicines that are highly prone to this problem.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of selected antibacterials that are marketed in Setit Humera and West Gondar Zones, North West Ethiopia, which are located on the Ethiopian side of the Ethiopia-Sudan-Eritrea border.

Quality of medicines for Cardio-Vascular Diseases (CVDs) in the Ethiopian border with Kenya: The case of enalapril maleate and furosemide tablet quality in Borena and Gedeo zones.

Hypertension (HTN), a cardiovascular disease (CV), is a major public health challenge. Therefore, the quality of drugs used to treat it has become a major concern. Enalapril and furosemide are among the drugs prescribed to manage hypertension.

Highly Sensitive Diethylamine Detection at Room Temperature Using g-CN Nanosheets Decorated with CuO Hollow Polyhedral Structures.

Chemiresistive-based metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors are widely used in gas sensing due to their advantageous properties. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) and metal oxide heterostructure materials can improve charge transport properties, selectivity, and sensitivity in MOS gas sensor materials. Herein, for the first time, CuO hollow polyhedral structures (HPSs) were synthesized via a hydrothermal technique and annealed at different temperatures, with the 400 °C annealed (CuO-400 HPSs) demonstrating remarkable sensing capabilities for diethylamine (DEA) gas at room temperature (RT).

Quality of veterinary anthelmintic drugs marketed in Gondar Zones, North West Ethiopia; presence of poor-quality medicines.

The presence of poor-quality veterinary drugs hampers the effectiveness of animal health care systems. It may produce danger to human safety through animal-derived food products that are consumed by the people. Thus, this study assessed the quality of veterinary albendazole, fenbendazole and ivermectin boluses/tablets marketed in Gondar Zones, North West Ethiopia.

Chemometric-Assisted Spectrophotometric Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Ciprofloxacin and Doxycycline Hyclate in Pharmaceutical Formulations.

Two chemometrics methods-principal component regression and partial least squares-were developed for simultaneous spectrophotometric estimation of ciprofloxacin and doxycycline hyclate in pharmaceutical dosage forms without any pretreatment. The UV spectra of both drugs were recorded at concentrations within their linear ranges between 200 and 400 nm with the intervals = 2 nm at 100 wavelengths in distilled water. Beer's law was obeyed for both drugs in the concentration ranges of 1-10 g/mL for ciprofloxacin and 5-25 g/mL for doxycycline hyclate.

New RP-HPLC Method Development and Validation for Dorzolamide in Ophthalmic Dosage Form.

A reversed phase liquid chromatographic method with UV detection at 254 nm for dorzolamide assay in ophthalmic solutions was developed and validated. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Zorbax SB C (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 m) column kept at 30°C with an isocratic mixture of mobile phase (phosphate buffer, pH 2.

Development and Validation of a High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Cinitapride in Human Plasma.

A precise and reliable reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection was developed and validated to determine cinitapride in human plasma. After liquid-liquid extraction, chromatographic separation was achieved on a Nucleosil C18 (25 cm × 4.6 mm, 5 m) column with an isocratic elution consisting of 10 mM ammonium acetate (pH 5.

Development and Validation of an Extractive Spectrophotometric Method for Miconazole Nitrate Assay in Pharmaceutical Formulations.

A simple extractive spectrophotometric technique has been developed and validated for the determination of miconazole nitrate in pure and pharmaceutical formulations. The method is based on the formation of a chloroform-soluble ion-pair complex between the drug and bromocresol green (BCG) dye in an acidic medium. The complex showed absorption maxima at 422 nm, and the system obeys Beer's law in the concentration range of 1-30 g/mL with molar absorptivity of 2.

Infant Exposure to Metals through Consumption of Formula Feeding in Mekelle, Ethiopia.

This study aimed at determination of heavy metals (cadmium, lead, and zinc) in milk-based infant formulas collected from Mekelle, Ethiopia, and their associated health risks to the infants through consumption of these products. The infant feeding samples were dry-ashed in a muffle furnace followed by digestion in nitric acid and the resulting solutions were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Cadmium was not detected in the samples while the levels of lead and zinc ranged from not detected value to 0.

Late presentation for diagnosis of HIV infection among HIV positive patients in South Tigray Zone, Ethiopia.

Background: In spite of the availability and accessibility of HIV testing opportunities and efforts, people are being late to test in the course of HIV infection. Late diagnosis leads to late anti-retroviral therapy initiation which in turn results in poor treatment outcome and prognosis of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of late HIV diagnosis among HIV-infected patients in South Tigray Zone, Ethiopia.

Drug Use during Acute Illness in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia: A Household Study.

Background: Drug use study in the community enables health authorities to understand pattern of drug utilization and its related aspects. This, in turn, can help to develop rational drug policies to be harmonized in accordance to the need of the community.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess drug use during acute illness by the general population in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia.

Household Storage of Medicines and Associated Factors in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia.

Introduction: The presence of medicines in households is a risk factor for irrational drug use. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence and factors associated with home storage of medicines in Tigray Region, Ethiopia.

Method: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2013 in Tigray Region, Ethiopia.

CD4 cell count trends after commencement of antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected patients in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Background: The rate and extent of CD4 cell recovery varies widely among HIV-infected patients with different baseline CD4 cell count strata. The objective of the study was to assess trends in CD4 cell counts in HIV-infected patients after initiation of antiretroviral therapy in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted by reviewing medical records of HIV patients who received antiretroviral treatment at twenty health centers in Tigray region during 2008-2012.

The prevalence of and factors associated with current smoking among College of Health Sciences students, Mekelle University in northern Ethiopia.

Background: Tobacco smoking is one of the greatest causes of preventable morbidity and mortality globally, and is responsible for many causes of untimely deaths. This survey was aimed to determine prevalence and factors associated with current smoking among the students of College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed using a structured self-administered questionnaire among College of Health Sciences students in March 2013.

Self-medication practices in Mekelle, Ethiopia.

Background: Self-medication makes consumers more health conscious, reduces treatment burden on healthcare facilities and curtails the cost and time of obtaining access to treatment. However, it increases risks such as drug resistance, adverse drug reactions, incorrect diagnosis, drug interactions and polypharmacy. The purpose of this study was to assess the practices and factors associated with self-medication in Mekelle, Tigray region, Ethiopia.

Caregiver-reported adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV infected children in Mekelle, Ethiopia.

Background: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children is complicated may be because of many factors such as child characteristics, caregiver and family characteristics, regimen characteristics, etc. Therefore, it is important to identify factors associated with adherence in HIV infected children in order to reduce the risk of developing treatment failure or drug resistance through interventions. This survey was planned to find out the rate of adherence to ART and its associated factors among the children in Mekelle, Tigray region, Ethiopia.