BackgroundPreeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal mortality worldwide. The exact etiology of preeclampsia is unknown, but the inflammatory process is postulated as one of the etiologies. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a measure of anisocytosis (variation of red cell size) and is associated with hypertension and diabetic ketoacidosis. There are few data on the association between RDW and preeclampsia. This study aimed to investigate the association between RDW and preeclampsia.MethodsA case–control study was conducted at Khartoum Hospital, Sudan, during June to August 2012. Cases were women with preeclampsia and healthy women were controls. Sociodemographic characteristics, obstetrics, and clinical data were recorded. The complete blood count, including RDW, was measured using an automated hematology analyzer.ResultsThe cases and controls (65 women in each arm) were matched in their basic characteristics. There was no difference in the mean (SD) RDW between women with preeclampsia and controls (14.5 ± 1.8% vs. 14.4 ± 1.4%, P = 0.710). There was also no difference in the mean RDW between women with mild and severe preeclampsia (14.7 ± 1.9% vs. 13.9 ± 1.4%, P = 0.144. In logistic regression, there was no association between RDW and preeclampsia (OR = 0.9, CI = 0.7–1.1, P = 0.952).ConclusionsRDW levels are not associated with the presence or severity of preeclampsia.Virtual slidesThe virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1206247718115175

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Sudan is located to the south of Egypt, along the Red Sea. The country has a total area of 1 886 068 km 2 (728 215 square miles) and a population of just over 37 million and is classified by the World Bank as a low-income country. The adult literacy rate is 59%. The total annual expenditure on healthcare is 4.3% of the gross domestic product, but the proportion spent on mental healthcare is unknown. As of 2009, there were just 0.09 psychiatrists and 0.2 psychiatric nurses per 100 000 population, and 0.2 mental health beds per 10 000 people, of which 90% were hospital-based; the other 10% were community-based units run by physician assistants and psychologists. 1,2

Violence, flight, famine, and natural disasters as well as the absence of a psychosocial healthcare system are major psychological burdens for refugees. The level of provision of mental healthcare is particularly low in developing countries. Internally displaced people and refugees place high demands on the healthcare system because they often suffer from psychiatric disorders, such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. We present first initiatives to improve psychiatric care in refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan. Moreover, we provide first insights into a project based in Northern Iraq and Germany aimed at the treatment of people who were severely traumatized by the terror regime of the so-called Islamic State (IS).

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The prevalence of epilepsy in school children in Khartoum State (4/1000) is higher than that reported previously from Khartoum Province in 1983 (0.9/1000).

We invited 108 psychiatrists of Sudanese origin, working in and outside Sudan, to take part in a study looking at the most appropriate method for scaling up mental health services in Sudan. Of those psychiatrists who were approached, 81 (75%) responded. Among the respondents, 30 (37%) resided and worked in Sudan, and 51 (63%) worked outside Sudan (mostly in the UK and Arab Gulf States). Most respondents preferred the lay counsellor model (43, 53.2%) to address the current shortage of human resources for scaling up mental health services.