0000000000150190
AUTHOR
Bitsatab Mekasha
showing 4 related works from this author
Treatment of chronic hepatitis B in sub-Saharan Africa: 1-year results of a pilot program in Ethiopia
2018
Background The World Health Organization has set an ambitious goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is virtually unavailable. Herein, we present the 1-year results of a pilot CHB treatment program in Ethiopia. Methods At a public hospital in Addis Ababa, CHB patients were treated with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate based on simplified eligibility criteria. Baseline assessment included liver function tests, viral markers, and transient elastography (Fibroscan). Changes in laboratory markers were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Adherence to therapy was measured by …
Hepatitis delta virus infection in a large cohort of chronic hepatitis B patients in Ethiopia.
2017
Background Hepatitis D Virus (HDV)-infection is associated with a more severe outcome in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB); however, little is known about the presence of HDV in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to determine the prevalence of HDV-infection, as well as its clinical, biological and virological characteristics, in a large CHB cohort in Ethiopia. Methods In total, 1267 HIV-negative CHB patients at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa were screened for anti-HDV antibodies using ELISA assays. Confirmed positive samples were further tested for HDV RNA using a consensus commercial real-time RT-PCR assay. HDV genotypes were also determined for RNA positive …
Predictors of mortality in patients under treatment for chronic hepatitis B in Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study
2019
Abstract Background Antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is largely unavailable in sub-Saharan Africa; hence, little is known about the prognosis after initiating treatment in African CHB patients. In this study we aimed to assess predictors of mortality in one of the largest CHB cohorts in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Two-hundred-and-seventy-six CHB patients who started treatment with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate at a public hospital in Ethiopia between March 18, 2015, and August 1, 2017, were included in this analysis. Patients were followed up until October 1, 2017, and deaths were ascertained through hospital records and telephone interview with relatives. Decompensated cir…
The WHO guidelines for chronic hepatitis B fail to detect half of the patients in need of treatment in Ethiopia
2019
Background & Aims In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines for the management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in low- and middle-income countries, but little is known about the applicability of the WHO treatment criteria in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the WHO guidelines in a large CHB cohort in Ethiopia. Methods Treatment-naive adults who attended a public CHB clinic in Addis Ababa were included in this analysis. All patients underwent a standardized evaluation at recruitment, including blood tests and transient elastography (Fibroscan®). A Fibroscan result >7.9 kPa was used to define significant fibrosis and >9.…