Antibody response to hepatitis b immunization in Egyptian children with sickle cell disease

Background: Despite improvement in the safety of blood products, sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassemic patients are at greater risk than the general population for hepatitis B infection and chronic liver disease, making hepatitis B immunization especially important for this population. This study was conducted to evaluate and follow up the antibody response to hepatitis B vaccination, in patients with SCD, after 1-15 years of vaccination. Methods: participants were 30 SCD and 30 thalassemic patients attending the Hematology Department, Children’s Hospital, Cairo University as well as 30 ages and sex matched normal controls. They were subjected to clinical evaluation, complete blood count, and measurement of liver transaminases, serum bilirubin, and serum ferritin levels as well as estimation of anti-HBs titer by enzymatic immunoassay. Results: Anti-HBs titers in SCD patients ranged between 5.6 and 381 IU/L (54.83 ± 15.30), while the levels of thalassemic patients ranged between 16 and 343 IU/L (93.4 ± 30) and those of the control group ranged from 10 to 523 IU/L (83.4 ± 28.1) which revealed statistically significant decrease in SCD patients compared to thalassemic and healthy controls (p =0.0317). Out of the 30 SCD patients, 40% showed anti-HBs titer below 10 IU/L (non-protective titer), while none of the thalassemic patients or the control group revealed the same. Achievement of a protective titer had no correlation with sex, consanguinity, or any of the clinical or laboratory data tested. Conclusion: Immune dysfunction in thalassemia is not playing a major role in response to hepatitis B vaccination. However, SCD children should have their anti-HBs titer measured after routine hepatitis B immunization to ensure that they achieved protective titer, then after 1 year of vaccination and repeated every 5 years and those who do not seroconvert should receive additional doses. Booster HBV vaccination of unprotected SCD patients seems mandatory.Keywords: sickle cell, immunity, hepatitis B, immunizationEgypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010;8(2):67-7

Implementation of a bowel management program in the treatment of incontinence in children for primary healthcare providers

Objectives: Our surgical team has devised a bowel management program (BMP) as a basic approach for primary healthcare providers with the least use of resources.Background: Soiling in children is a major problem that has a serious impact on the child’s social and psychological life. Causes vary from idiopathic constipation to postoperative or neuropathic causes as meningomyelocele.Participants and methods: Seventy five children suffering from fecal incontinence were assessed and divided into true incontinence and pseudoincontinence groups. The BMP was applied to both categories in the form of proper diet control, enemas, drugs, and bowel habit alteration. The program was fashioned according to the age, type, severity, and response of each case. A fecal incontinence scoring system was used to assess the results.Results: All cases with pseudoincontinence attained 50% or more improvement in incontinence score whereas the true incontinence cases attained excellent results except in post high anorectal malformation repairs and neurologic groups.Conclusion: Most of the cases suffering from constipation with pseudoincontinence can be treated properly by BMPs, whereas the minority suffering from true incontinence need multidisciplinary work to achieve acceptable results.Keywords: anorectal malformations, bowel management program, chronic idiopathic constipation, fecal incontinence, Hirschsprung’s disea

Adult thoracic and abdominal aortic

Objective: To detect the value of MSCTA in diagnosis and preplanning in endovascular management of adult thoracic and abdominal coarctation. The additional value of conventional angiography before or during the procedures is explained. The follow-up by either techniques is evaluated for early detection of re-coarctation and re-intervention. Patients and methods: This retrospective study included 22 patients, 9 females and 13 males, age ranging from 17 to 49 years. The main clinical presentation was hypertension (n = 15). All patients were evaluated by MSCTA and conventional angiography with pressure gradient studies for preoperative evaluation and planning of treatment. Follow-up MSCTA was done at 6 months interval for 3 years. Results: MSCTA detected suprarenal MAS (n = 3), infrarenal and juxtarenal MAS (n = 10), pre- and post-coarctation dilatation of the thoracic aorta and subclavian (n = 4), thoracic collateral pathways (n = 5). Mean narrowest diameter is 2.3 mm (1.2–4.5 mm). In conventional angiography peak systolic gradient decreased from 33 to 2 mmHg. Successful endovascular repair was done in n = 15, PTA was done alone in 6 and PTA and stenting were done in n = 9. Endovascular re-intervention was done in n = 3. Conclusion: Aortic COA could be found in any segment of the aorta. Proper identification of the anatomical details and pressure gradient studies are important factors affecting the plan of management

The Nucleation of Co Bubbles in Molten Ironcarbon Drops Reacting with Oxidizing Gases

A theoretical representation has been developed for the supersaturation of molten iron drops with respect to carbon monoxide caused by the counter diffusion of carbon and oxygen. These theoretical predictions were compared with experimental measurements obtained using droplets, 4 to 6 mm in diameter at temperatures ranging from 1600 °C to 2000 °C under levitated conditions and with free fall. The agreement between the theoretically predicted and the experimentally measured limits for the onset of the carbon boil was very good, assuming that the effective diffusivity in levitated drops was about three times the molecular diffusivity. This observation is consistent with calculations of flow and mixing in electromagnetically levitated metal droplets

Synthesis and spectral studies of manganese(II), cobalt(ll), nickel(II), copper(II), zinc(II), cadmium(ll) and mercury(II) complexes of 4-oxo-4H-1-benzopyran- 3-carboxaldehyde hydrazone derivatives

308-312A few complexes of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) with 4-oxo-4H-1 benzopyran- 3-(carboxaldehyde-4-chlorobenzylhydrazone) (BCBH) and 4-oxo-4H-1-benzopyran- 3- (carboxaldehyde-4-methylbenzylhydrazone) (BMBH) have been synthesised and characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivities, magnetic measurements and IR and visible spectral studies. The IR spectra show that BCBH and BMBH behave as bidentate ligands either in the keto or enol form

Potentiometric & Spectrophotometric Determinations of Dissociation Constants of B-Diketoarylazo Compounds

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