Dawit Habte Woldeyes

BACKGROUND: As global rates of mortality decrease, rates of non-fatal injury have increased, particularly in low Socio-demographic Index (SDI) nations. We hypothesised this global pattern of non-fatal injury would be demonstrated in regard to bony hand and wrist trauma over the 27-year study period. METHODS: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 was used to estimate prevalence, age-standardised incidence and years lived with disability for hand trauma in 195 countries from 1990 to 2017. Individual injuries included hand and wrist fractures, thumb amputations and non-thumb digit amputations. RESULTS: The global incidence of hand trauma has only modestly decreased since 1990. In 2017, the age-standardised incidence of hand and wrist fractures was 179 per 100 000 (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 146 to 217), whereas the less common injuries of thumb and non-thumb digit amputation were 24 (95% UI 17 to 34) and 56 (95% UI 43 to 74) per 100 000, respectively. Rates of injury vary greatly by region, and improvements have not been equally distributed. The highest burden of hand trauma is currently reported in high SDI countries. However, low-middle and middle SDI countries have increasing rates of hand trauma by as much at 25%. CONCLUSIONS: Certain regions are noted to have high rates of hand trauma over the study period. Low-middle and middle SDI countries, however, have demonstrated increasing rates of fracture and amputation over the last 27 years. This trend is concerning as access to quality and subspecialised surgical hand care is often limiting in these resource-limited regions.

Introduction: The key elements of success in a given sports competition have become an area of interest for researchers. The reason for the success of Ethiopian runners was not proved scientifically. This study aimed at documenting the anthropometric parameters of 10,000 meter runners and to find out the association between such parameters and performances. Methods: A descriptive field study was conducted. 32 elite 10,000 meter runners participated. The data were collected while the athletics team was preparing for the world athletics championship. The procedure was repeated three times for each individual. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 18. All the data were presented as mean ± S.D. The Pearson product-moment test was used to determine the correlation between the variables and finishing time. The level of significance for all statistical tests was set at p < 0.05. Results: The experience of male and female athletes showed a negative association with finishing time. However, there was no statistically significant correlation between the age and running time in both sexes. A significant positive association of body weight to running time was observed in both sexes. Body height correlates positively to running time in males (p<0.05), but not in females. The length of the arm, the forearm, the leg in both sexes and length of the thigh in women had no significant association with finishing time. A smaller arm and calf circumferences have a positive effect on the performance of both sexes. Smaller thigh circumference showed a positive association with the performance of men. Conclusion: The age of the runners did not correlate with their performance. The anthropometric variables displayed significantly higher values in men than in women. Experienced athletes performed better in both sexes. Anthropometric parameters may be useful for selection, prediction, improving running performance besides for preventing injuries and health risk assessment. Keywords: anthropometry, experience, limb circumference limb length, running time

Background : The sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body is derived from the sacral plexus. It is composed of tibial and common fibular nerves; the division of this nerve varies; it may occur within the pelvis, gluteal region, upper, mid and lower part of thigh. Injury of the nerve may lead to loss of sensation in posterior thigh, whole leg and foot. The anatomical variations of the level at which the sciatic nerve divides is considered important by clinicians during neuromuscular diagnosis and treatments of the lower limb. Objective : To determine the level of sciatic nerve bifurcation and its side symmetry. Materials and Methods : Observational based descriptive study was conducted to determine the variation of sciatic nerve level of bifurcation on 25 human preserved cadavers. The data were analyzed manually using numbers, frequencies and percentages. Results : The findings of this study states that in 4 limbs (8%), the nerve divided in the pelvis region; in 2 limbs (4%), in the gluteal region; in 12 limbs (24%), at upper, middle and lower part of the posterior. The highest incidence of division occurs in 32 limbs (64%) in the popliteal fossa; in addition 8 (32%) of the 25 cadavers were asymmetrical between right and left sides. Conclusion : The findings of this study revealed that the majority of sciatic nerve divisions occur in the popliteal fossa while some divided into other regions such as pelvis, gluteal and thigh regions. Key words : Bifurcation, common peroneal nerve, ethiopia, sciatic nerve, symmetry, tibial nerve

BACKGROUND: Fontanels are anatomical features of the infant human skull comprising any of the soft membranous gaps between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria of a neonate. Various factors are taught to be responsible for the differences in the size of the fontanel at birth. Accordingly, this study is performed to examine the size of the anterior fontanel, associated factors, and the clinical significance in Northern Ethiopia at birth. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A Cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 425 neonates. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive and summary statistics were presented in the form of tables and figures. All the data were presented as mean ± S.D. The association between dependent variables and independent variables was explored by using Pearson's chi-square test and logistic regressions. P-values <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean anterior fontanel size for the study population was 3.07 cm with a 95% confidence interval (3.00, 3.14). For a unit increase of head circumference of a neonate, the odds of having abnormal fontanel increase by 52.6%. Term neonates were 74.4% less likely to have abnormal fontanel size than preterm. Vaginally delivered neonates were 64.2% less likely to have abnormal fontanel size than neonates born by caesarean section. Low birth weight neonates were at risk of abnormal fontanel size. The odds ratio of the normal weight of neonate at birth was 0.327473 [95%, CI, (0.153364, 0.6992422)]. CONCLUSION: Gestational age, mode of delivery, head circumference, and birth weight are the most important determinant factors associated with anterior fontanel size.

INTRODUCTION: Medical students' academic performance plays an important role in producing qualified graduates who will become great practitioners and workforce for the country's health sector responsible for controlling, diagnosing, and treatment of diseases. The purpose of this study was to identify college facility-related factors affecting medical students' academic performance in the human anatomy course. METHODS: To achieve the objective of this study, a cross-sectional study design was carried out between January 13 and March 30, 2019. One hundred twenty study participants were recruited in the study. Data were collected using self-administered questioners. Binary and multinomial logistic regression were applied to analyze the data. RESULTS: A total of 120 participants were included in the study. Of which, 81 (67.5%) were male while 39 (32.5%) were females. Dormitory crowdedness (AOR 3.16 (95% CI: 0.83-2.01, p= 0.11), large class size (AOR = 2.36; 95% CI: 1.11-4.64 p = 0.005), inadequate classroom facilities (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.51-4.91, p = 0.001), low internet access (AOR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.07-3.22, p = 0.015) and inadequate anatomy-teaching model (AOR = 2.63; 95% CI: 1.17-6.12, p =0.003) were significantly associated with low performance of students in human anatomy course exam. However, college library (AOR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.1-0.48 p = 0.061) did not show significant association with academic performance (p = 0.61). CONCLUSION: Dormitory crowdedness, large class size, inadequate classroom facilities, low internet access, and inadequate anatomy-teaching models were independent factors, which affect the performance of medical students in the human anatomy course exam. However, there was no significant association between the college library and the performance of study participants in this particular course.