OBJECTIVES Poor treatment outcomes of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) are responsible for the high mortality rate of this condition in resource-limited settings such as Ethiopia. This study aimed to identify the proportion of poor VL treatment outcomes in northwest Ethiopia and to evaluate the determinants associated with poor outcomes.
METHODS
A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted among 595 VL patients who were admitted to Kahsay Abera Hospital in northwest Ethiopia from October 2010 to April 2013. Data were entered into Epi Info version 7.0 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to identify the determinants of VL treatment outcomes. Adjusted odds ratio (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used, and p-values <0.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance.
RESULTS
The proportion of poor treatment outcomes was 23.7%. Late diagnosis (≥29 days) (aOR, 4.34; 95% CI, 2.22 to 8.46), severe illness at admission (inability to walk) (aOR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.06 to 2.40) and coinfection with VL and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (aOR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.40 to 5.20) were found to be determinants of poor VL treatment outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS
Poor treatment outcomes, such as death, treatment failure, and non-adherence, were found to be common. Special attention must be paid to severely ill and VL/HIV-coinfected patients. To improve VL treatment outcomes, the early diagnosis and treatment of VL patients is recommended.
Summary
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Survival analysis of adult visceral leishmaniasis patients admitted to Metema Hospital, Metema, Ethiopia: a hospital-based cross-sectional study Habitamu Wudu, Chekol Alemu Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Barriers and facilitators of visceral leishmaniasis case management in the Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia: an exploratory qualitative study Yared Mulu Gelaw, Jean-Pierre Gangneux, Getu Degu Alene, Florence Robert-Gangneux, Adisu Abebe Dawed, Mohammed Hussien, Wendemagegn Enbiale BMC Public Health.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Hematological and Clinical Features Associated with Initial Poor Treatment Outcomes in Visceral Leishmaniasis Patients with and without HIV Coinfection in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia Muluneh Ademe, Yaneth Osorio, Rawliegh Howe, Saba Atnafu, Tadele Mulaw, Helina Fikre, Bruno L. Travi, Asrat Hailu, Peter C. Melby, Tamrat Abebe Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease.2023; 8(1): 36. CrossRef
Fever of Unknown Origin and Splenomegaly: A Case Report of Visceral Leishmaniasis Diagnosed By Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing Lan-Qing Li, Yiju He, Ting Liu, Jing Zhou, En-Qiang Chen Future Microbiology.2023; 18(11): 699. CrossRef
Trend of Visceral Leishmaniasis at Medicine Sans Frontier’s Abdurafi Treatment Center, West Armachiho District, Ethiopia, 2009-2015, a retrospective descriptive analysis Sisay Awoke, Sefonias Getachew, Yimer Seid, Tatek Bogale Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Zoonotic Diseases in the eastern region of the Iraqi capital, between 2010-2016 A S Barrak, O A Saeed, MTA Mohammed IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.2021; 779(1): 012008. CrossRef
Inequalities of visceral leishmaniasis case-fatality in Brazil: A multilevel modeling considering space, time, individual and contextual factors Gláucia Cota, Astrid Christine Erber, Eva Schernhammer, Taynãna Cesar Simões, Alberto Novaes Ramos PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.2021; 15(7): e0009567. CrossRef
Efficacy and safety of a combined treatment of sodium stibogluconate at 20mg/kg/day with upper maximum daily dose limit of 850mg and Paromomycin 15mg/kg/day in HIV negative visceral leishmaniasis patients. A retrospective study, northwest Ethiopia Aschalew Tamiru, Rezika Mohammed, Saba Atnafu, Girmay Medhin, Asrat Hailu, Peter C. Melby PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.2021; 15(8): e0009713. CrossRef
Bioprospecting marine actinomycetes for antileishmanial drugs: current perspectives and future prospects O.F. Davies-Bolorunduro, O. Osuolale, S. Saibu, I.A. Adeleye, N.S. Aminah Heliyon.2021; 7(8): e07710. CrossRef
Prevalence estimates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among visceral leishmaniasis infected people in Northwest Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis Mehdi Mohebali, Yonas Yimam BMC Infectious Diseases.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Incidence of Mortality and Its Predictors Among Adult Visceral Leishmaniasis Patients at the University of Gondar Hospital: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Yigizie Yeshaw, Adino Tesfahun Tsegaye, Solomon Gedlu Nigatu Infection and Drug Resistance.2020; Volume 13: 881. CrossRef
Infectivity and Drug Susceptibility Profiling of Different Leishmania-Host Cell Combinations Kyung-Hwa Baek, Laura Piel, Thibault Rosazza, Eric Prina, Gerald F. Späth, Joo Hwan No Pathogens.2020; 9(5): 393. CrossRef
Discovery of novel hit compounds with broad activity against visceral and cutaneous Leishmania species by comparative phenotypic screening S. Lamotte, N. Aulner, G. F. Späth, E. Prina Scientific Reports.2019;[Epub] CrossRef
Visceral Leishmaniasis Treatment Outcome and Associated Factors in Northern Ethiopia Kidu Gidey, Desalegn Belay, Berhane Yohannes Hailu, Tesfaye Dessale Kassa, Yirga Legesse Niriayo BioMed Research International.2019; 2019: 1. CrossRef
Relationship of Serum Antileishmanial Antibody With Development of Visceral Leishmaniasis, Post-kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis and Visceral Leishmaniasis Relapse Dinesh Mondal, Prakash Ghosh, Rajashree Chowdhury, Christine Halleux, Jose A. Ruiz-Postigo, Abdul Alim, Faria Hossain, Md Anik Ashfaq Khan, Rupen Nath, Malcolm S. Duthie, Axel Kroeger, Greg Matlashewski, Daniel Argaw, Piero Olliaro Frontiers in Microbiology.2019;[Epub] CrossRef
Cutaneous leishmaniasis a neglected tropical disease: community knowledge, attitude and practices in an endemic area, Northwest Ethiopia Helina Fikre Tamiru, Yohana James Mashalla, Rezika Mohammed, Gloria Thupayagale Tshweneagae BMC Infectious Diseases.2019;[Epub] CrossRef
The criminal association of Leishmania parasites and viruses Matteo Rossi, Nicolas Fasel Current Opinion in Microbiology.2018; 46: 65. CrossRef
Leishmaniasis in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence in animals and humans Ayalew Assefa Heliyon.2018; 4(8): e00723. CrossRef
Treatment outcomes of visceral leishmaniasis in Ethiopia from 2001 to 2017: a systematic review and meta-analysis Eyob Alemayehu Gebreyohannes, Akshaya Srikanth Bhagvathula, Tadesse Melaku Abegaz, Mohammed Assen Seid Infectious Diseases of Poverty.2018;[Epub] CrossRef
A preliminary survey of major diseases of ruminants and management practices in Western Tigray province, northern Ethiopia Getachew Mebrahtu Welay, Dawit Gebremichael Tedla, Gebreyohans Gebru Teklu, Shishay Kahsay Weldearegay, Mearg Belay Shibeshi, Haftom Hadush Kidane, Berhe Beyene Gebrezgiabher, Teklehaymanot Huluf Abraha BMC Veterinary Research.2018;[Epub] CrossRef