Browsing by Author "Danso, S.E."
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Item Infammatory cytokines as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of severe malaria in children in Ghana(Malaria Journal, 2023) Obeng‑Aboagye, E.; Frimpong, A.; Amponsah, J.A.; Danso, S.E.; Owusu, E.D.A.; Ofori, M.F.Background Severe malaria (SM) is a fatal multi-system disease which accounted for an estimated 619,000 deaths in 2021. Less than 30% of children presenting with SM are diagnosed and treated promptly, resulting in increased mortality and neurologic impairments in survivors. Studies have identifed cytokine profles that diferentiate the vari‑ ous clinical manifestations of malaria (severe and uncomplicated). However, the diagnostic capability of these cytokines in diferentiating between the disease states in terms of cut-of values has not yet been determined. Methods The plasma levels of 22 pro-infammatory cytokines (Eotaxin/CCL 11, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)- 2, IL-6, IL-1β, IL-12p40/p70, IL-17A, RANTES, MCP-1, IL-15, IL-5, IL-1RA, IL-2R, IFN-α, IP-10, TNF, MIG, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, IL-7, IL-8 and Granulocyte Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF), and 3 anti-infammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-13 and IL-10) in patients with SM, uncomplicated malaria (UM) and other febrile conditions, were measured and compared using the Human Cytokine Magnetic 25-Plex Panel. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the diagnostic value of these cytokines. Results The level of the pro-infammatory cytokine, IL-17A, was signifcantly higher in the SM group as compared to the UM group. Levels of the anti-infammatory cytokines however did not difer signifcantly among the SM and UM groups. Only IL-1β and IL-17A showed good diagnostic potential after ROC curve analysis. Conclusion The data show that levels of pro-infammatory cytokines correlate with malaria disease severity. IL-1β and IL-17A showed good diagnostic potentials and can be considered for use in clinical practice to target treatment.Item Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of caregivers on childhood immunization in Okaikoi sub-metro of Accra, Ghana(Frontiers in Public Health, 2023) Danso, S.E.; Frimpong, A.; Seneadza, N.A.H.; Ofori, M.F.Background: Immunization remains one of the most cost-effective health interventions. However, there are still issues of vaccine hesitancy especially in caregivers who are required to protect their children from vaccine-preventable diseases. This thwarts the overall vaccine coverage in disease-endemic areas such as sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, to determine the factors that promote vaccine hesitancy in caregivers, this study sought to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of caregivers on childhood immunization in Okaikoi, a sub-metro of Accra in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional study on childhood immunization was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of caregivers. A total of 120 caregivers with infants aged 12 months to 23 months were interviewed with a structured questionnaire containing open-ended and closed-ended queries. Results: From the community, infants whose caregivers had adhered completely to immunization constituted 53.3% while the rest were partially immunized. The two main deterrents to complete immunization were time constraints (25.8%) and forgetfulness (17.5%). It was observed that vaccination uptake and maternal level of education, as well as vaccination adverse reaction, did not impact the completion of the EPI program by these caregivers. Unfortunately, it was noted that caregivers with higher education levels were unable to complete their vaccination schedules due to their busy work schedules. Nonetheless, the main deterrent to adhering to complete childhood immunization was poor maternal knowledge (58%). Conclusion: The study revealed that, the caregivers in the community had poor knowledge on vaccination and its benefits, and therefore, with no strict adherence to vaccination schedules. This promoted the incomplete immunization of children in the community by their caregivers. Also, since the main source of information with regard to immunization in the sub-metro was through the antenatal and postnatal child welfare clinics and the media, we recommend that the health workers collaborate with media personnel to ensure that standardized information is disseminated.