Objective. To describe selected biochemical and hematological parameters (blood picture, liver enzymes, and kidney functions) in petrol station attendants in Mansoura city. Methods. This is a comparative cross-sectional study. The exposed group included 102 petrol station attendants. They were compared to a matched group of healthy 102 male service and office workers at the Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University. The results of blood picture, liver enzymes, and kidney functions were compared between both groups. Results. Mean Red Blood Cells (RBCs) count, hemoglobin level, and Hematocrit (HCT) level were significantly lower in petrol station attendants than the comparison group. All other blood picture parameters showed nonsignificant difference between both groups. Liver enzymes, renal functions, serum albumin, and total protein showed statistically nonsignificant difference between both groups except for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) which was significantly higher in petrol station attendants. Conclusions. Some laboratory parameters among petrol station attendants showed changes that could be attributed to workplace exposure and should be given attention at preemployment and periodic medical examination.

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This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and C-reactive protein (CRP) and develop a predictive score to improve the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). AGP and CRP were measured in serum of 53 HCC patients and 20 liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, in addition to 15 healthy individuals. Area under receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUCs) was used to create a predictive score comprising AGP, CRP, alpha fetoprotein, and albumin. The diagnostic performances of score was determined and compared with AFP alone for the diagnosis of HCC. The combination of AGP, albumin, CRP, and AFP had AUC 0.92 and sensitivity 85% which was higher than AFP alone. The odds ratio of having HCC was 8.4 for AGP, 5.8 for CRP, 12.5 for AFP and 6.5 for albumin. Our score predicted HCC with an OR of 50.6 for HCC. The AUC of score in HCC with single tumor, absent vascular invasion and CLIP score (0-1) were 0.9, 0.9, 0.82, respectively, compared with 0.71, 0.71, 0.68, respectively, for AFP. In conclusion, a non-invasive and simple score based on AGP, CRP, AFP, and albumin could improve the accuracy of HCC diagnosis.

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Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-RNA amplification is a costly procedure in terms of time and reagents. Consequently, the search for more a cost-effective specific HCV diagnostic method is of great interest. Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) methods that detect HCV in serum, plasma, whole blood, and ascites without the need for sample pretreatment are not currently available. Here, a CZE method was developed that detects a larger specific peak in serum and other body fluids of HCV-infected patients than that found in healthy or hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected individuals. The nature of the HCV peak was investigated using biochemical treatments, including RNase, DNase, and chymotrypsin enzymes. Electroeluted HCV peak was applied to transmission electron microscopy; electron micrographs showed that the HCV peak was attributed to virus-like particles with diameter and morphological properties similar to non-enveloped HCV nucleocapsids. The determination of CZE-HCV and HCV-RNA levels using quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 258 subjects revealed that these two tests were highly correlated (r = 0.92, p < 0.0001). One important issue of HCV testing is the storage conditions of serum to obtain reliable results. Serum samples at -20 °C showed the best preservation of the HCV peak up to one year. In conclusion, we detected HCV using CZE in a microliters volume from different body fluids. Besides the stability of samples in maintaining their peak height, the HCV-CZE test is rapid (<15 min) and a well-suited and low-cost technique. Thus, a major improvement in the quantitative diagnosis of HCV infection was established.