Background.Helicobacter pyloriinfection affects more than half of the world’s population. The infection is generally acquired during childhood but can remain asymptomatic, with long-term clinical sequelae including gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and stomach cancer.Methods. The study was approved by Institutional Review Committee of Mbarara University of Science and Technology. After obtaining informed consent from parents/legal guardians, illegible children who presented with gastrointestinal complaints at Holy Innocents Children’s Hospital were recruited; structured questionnaires were administered to the parents/guardians to collect information on sociodemographic data and risk factors ofH. pyloriinfection. Four (4) millilitres of blood was collected from each child and tested forH.pyloriblood Antibody test and stool specimens were used forH. pyloriantigen test.Results. The prevalence ofH. pyloriinfection among the study participants was 24.3%. The infection rate increased with increase in age of the participants, from 16.2% among 1to 5 years old to 27.2% among 6 to 10 years. Infections were higher among school going children (68/74, p=0.003, OR 3.9; CI: 1.5 to 10.6) and children from crowded households (59/74, p<0.001, OR 2.6, and CI 1.3 to 5.0), unsafe source of drinking water at schools (46/74, p=0.003), and lack of sanitary facility at homes (57/74, p=0.001, and OR 1.6 CI 0.7 to 3.6).Conclusion. The prevalence ofH. pyloriinfection among children aged 1 to 15 years at Holy Innocents Children’s Hospital was high and increases with age. School attendance, lack of sanitary facility, lack of safe drinking water, and overcrowding were the risk factors associated withH. pyloriinfection.
BackgroundBlood transfusion with allogeneic blood products is a common medical intervention to treat anemia or prepare patients for surgical procedures. Generally, the blood units are secured and stored prior to expected transfusion. During storage, a number of biochemical changes occur (generally known as storage lesion), which can affect the efficacy of blood transfusion. The aim of the study was to evaluate the biochemical changes that occur in blood units during storage and to project the impact of these changes on transfusion.MethodsThe study protocol was approved by the Faculty of Medicine Research Ethics committee of Mbarara University of Science and Technology. A total of 200 blood recipients were categorized into two study arms: group I received fresh blood (n=100) and group II received old blood (n=100), who were formally consented and recruited consecutively. A total of 2 mL of venous blood was collected from each participant in EDTA tubes before transfusion (for pre-transfusion hemoglobin [Hb] estimation) and after transfusion (for post-transfusion Hb estimation). Each crossmatched unit was sampled to collect plasma for pH, lactate and potassium assays. Data were analyzed with STATA version 12.0.ResultsA total of 200 blood transfusion recipients aged 1–60 years were enrolled in the study. Up to 60% of the participants were females. The pH of the stored blood dropped from 7.4 to 7.2 in the first 3 days to ~7.0 by day 11 and to <7.0 by day 35 (p=0.03). The average rise in lactate level was 25 g/dL in blood stored for 0 to 11 days and 32.4 g/dL in blood stored for 21–35 days. The highest increase was encountered in blood stored beyond 28 days: 40–57 g/dL by 35 days (p=0.001). Potassium levels equally increased from ~4.6 mmol/L in the first 5 days of storage to ~14.3 mmol/L by 11 days. From the third week of blood storage and beyond, there was exponential increase in potassium levels, with the highest record in blood units stored from 30 to 35 days (p=0.068).ConclusionWhole blood stored for >14 days has reduced efficacy with increased markers of red cell storage lesion such as increased potassium level, lactate and fall in pH. These lesions increase the length of hospital stay.
The study aimed to determine the prevalence, morphological classification, and risk factors of anemia among pregnant mothers attending antenatal clinic at Itojo hospital, Ntungamo district, southwestern Uganda. Patients and methods: After obtaining an informed consent, 5mL of blood was collected from the vein of each participant for complete blood count (CBC) and peripheral film report. The CBC was performed using HumaCount 80 hematology analyzer (HUMAN Gesellschaft für Biochemica und Diagnostica mbH Max-Planck-Ring 21 65,205 Wiesbaden Germany). Peripheral blood smears were made and stained using Wright's Romanowsky stain and examined under ×1000 magnification for morphological classification of anemia. Structured questionnaires were administered to each participant to collect information on patients' demography and risk factors of anaemia in pregnancy. The data generated were prepared in EXCEL and later transferred to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Univariate logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression were used to evaluate the association of socio-demographic characteristics of the participants with anemia. A 95% confidence level was used and statistical significance was reached at p<0.05. Results: One hundred and sixty-three participants (n=163) were recruited for the study with the median age of 25 years and range of (17 to 40 years). The overall prevalence of anemia was 12 (7.4%), the morphological classification was 1 (8.3%) normocytic normochromic anemia, 6 (50%) microcytic hypochromic anemia, and 5 (41.7%) macrocytic anemia. Spouse occupation (p=0.03), household income (p=0.04), use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (p=0.001), history of urinary tract infection (p=0.002), use of haematinics (p≤0.001), and history of postpartum hemorrhage (p=0.03) were significantly associated with anemia in pregnancy. Conclusion: Despite the reported high prevalence of anemia in pregnancy in other areas within the country, anemia prevalence was low in this study. Routine screening for anemia at all antenatal care clinics countrywide is recommended.
Purpose: To determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium by age, sex, and duration on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and establish hygienic malpractices that may predispose to infection. Methods: We enrolled 138 HIV/AIDS patients on ART from June to October 2018. Stool samples were collected from study participants, wet saline preparations made and examined, stool samples concentrated using formal ether concentration, and smears stained using the modified Ziehl–Neelsen technique. Structured questionnaires were used to collect demographic data and hygienic malpractices that predisposed study participants to cryptosporidiosis infection. Results: Of 138, 99 (71.7%) were females and 39 (28.7%) males. The age range was 9–69 years and mean age 37 years. The overall prevalence of cryptosporidiosis was three (2.17%). The most affected age-groups were 31–40 years (3.85%) and 21–30 years (3.22%), and only females (3.03%) were affected. The distribution of cryptosporidiosis according to the duration spent on ART showed that those who had spent <1 year on ART were the most affected (11.1%), followed by those who had spent 1–5 years 1 (2.2%), while those patients on ART for 6-10 years were 1 (1.7%) and those on ART for more than 10 years were not affected. There was no significant association between cryptosporidiosis and sex ( P =0.272), educational background ( P =0.670), handwashing ( P =0.853), drinking boiled water ( P =0.818), duration on ART ( P =0.263), occupation ( P =0.836), and age ( P =0.723). Conclusion: The prevalence reported in this study is low; however, it is still vital for clinicians to proceed to have cryptosporidiosis as the main differential in HIV/AIDS patients with gastrointestinal infections.
Background: The WHO recommends that pre-transfusion testing should include ABO/RhD grouping followed by screen- ing for red blood cell (RBC) alloantibodies using the indirect antiglobulin test (IAT). However, in Uganda, current practice does not include RBC alloantibody screening. Objective: To assess the utility of ‘home-made’ reagent RBCs in alloantibody screening. Materials and methods: In a laboratory-based study, group O RhD positive volunteer donors were recruited and their extended phenotype performed for C, c, E, e, K, Fya, Fyb Jkb, S and s antigens. These ‘home-made’ reagent RBCs were preserved using Alsever’s solution and alloantibody detection tests performed. For quality assurance, repeat alloantibody screening of patients’ samples was done at Bloodworks Northwest Laboratory in Seattle, United States. Results: A total of 36 group O RhD positive individuals were recruited as reagent RBC donors (median age, 25 years; range, 21 – 58 years; male-to-female ratio, 1.6:1). Out of the 311 IATs performed, 32 (10.3%) were positive. Confirmatory IAT testing in the United States was in agreement with the findings in Uganda. Conclusion: Use of ‘home-made’ reagent RBCs during pre-transfusion testing in Uganda is feasible. We recommend the introduction of pre-transfusion IAT alloantibody screening in Uganda using ‘home-made’ reagent RBCs to improve trans- fusion safety. Keywords: Blood transfusion; ‘Home-made’ reagent RBCs; Pre-transfusion testing; RBC alloantibody screening; Uganda.
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