Evaluation of Adding Desmopressin to Alpha Blockers in Treatment of Nocturia in Cases of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Study

Background: Nocturia is one of the most bothersome symptom of lower urinary tract symptoms in males with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). Alpha blockers has good effect in relieving bladder outlet obstruction.Objective: The aim of the present study was to provide best available medical treatment for nocturia in patients of BPH.Patients and methods: This prospective study was carried out on 44 male patients complaining of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) of BPH with nocturia, were enrolled in this prospective randomized study for 12 weeks. They were divided randomly into 2 groups, each group included 22 patients. Group A: the patient received oral desmopressin added to tamsulosin once daily. Group B, the patient received oral tamsulosin daily.Results: The mean serum Na of patients at group A was 142.35. No significant difference regarding in-between groups before treatment but at after  12 week of treatment; group A was (mean of Na=137.68±2.033) significantly lower than  group B and significantly decreased from before to after treatment. There was no significant difference between groups in both nocturnal void and nocturnal volume before treatment and after treatment as group A was significantly lower and both groups significantly changed and improved from before to after treatment. No significant difference was found at before treatment regarding total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) but group A was significantly lower regarding total IPSS after treatment and both groups significantly decreased after treatment (6.36±2.59 in group A and 10.55±4.13 in group B).Conclusion: Addition of desmopressin to α-blockers is an active therapy for men with BPH and suffering nocturia and is preferred than α-blockers therapy alone

An Epidemiological Study of Sheep and Goat pox Outbreaks in the Sudan

Sheep and goat pox Outbreaks occurred in different geographic areas of Sudan and most strikingly, were highly species specific. Two outbreaks in Gedarif State in June. 2013 affected no goats and outbreak in Khartoum state in March. 2015 affected no sheep despite communal herding; affected goats were vaccinated with 0240 strain. Clinically, the disease was characterized by fever, depression and eruption of generalized pox lesions. Mortality rate ranged between 5.2 and 6.7% with a mean of 6.1%. Isolation of viruses succeed on Lamb testes cell culture at passage four, the diseases were diagnosed using virus neutralisation test and polymerase chain reaction. Sheeppox and goatpox isolates grew well in lamb testes and Vero cells. In MDBK however, both viruses induced slight CPE that reached 60% in 9 days. On the other hand, both isolates induced no CPE in chick embryo fibroblast cells. Virus isolation attempts failed on chorioallantoic membrane of embryonated chicken eggs

Evaluation of the preoperative administration of sildenafil on operative and early postoperative outcome after mitral valve replacement in patients with pulmonary hypertension

Background: Mitral valve diseases are commonly associated with pulmonary hypertension. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of preoperative administration of sildenafil on the outcome after mitral valve replacement in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Methods: This prospective randomized study was carried out on 67 patients who had a mitral valve replacement and associated high systolic pulmonary artery pressure more than 50 mmHg. Patients were randomized into three groups: group A (n= 20) received preoperative sildenafil for one week, group B (n=22) received sildenafil for one month, and group C (n= 25) did not receive sildenafil. All patients had transthoracic echocardiography preoperatively, one week and one month postoperatively. Results: There was no difference in preoperative and operative variables among groups. Dobutamine support was required in 15 patients (60%) in group C vs. 6 patients (30%) in group A and 5 patients (22.5%) in group B (p= 0.012). Duration of mechanical ventilation was significantly longer in group C (389.2 ± 48.79 minutes) compared to group A and B (295.5 ± 17.01 and 281.4 ± 39.44 minutes, respectively, p<0.001). ICU stay was longer in group C (61.72 ± 13.69 hours) compared to groups A and B (53.55 ± 14.49 and 45.64 ± 13.43 hours, respectively, p=0001). The hospital stay was longer in group C (8.0 ± 1.80 days) compared to group A and B (6.05 ± 0.94 and 6.27 ± 1.24 days, respectively; p< 0.001). The transthoracic echocardiographic study one month after the operation showed that pulmonary artery systolic pressure significantly lower in groups A and B (28.30 ± 3.3 and 28.2 ± 4.98 mmHg, respectively) compared to group C (43.12 ± 4.99 mmHg) (p <0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between groups A and B regarding PASP after five days  (p= 0.287) or one month (p= 0.939). Conclusion: We found that preoperative administration of oral sildenafil in patients with pulmonary hypertension undergoing mitral valve replacement may reduce pulmonary hypertension postoperatively. We could not find a difference in the administration of sildenafil for either one week or one month preoperatively

Correction of poliomyelitis foot deformities with Ilizarov method

Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease caused by a neurotrophic virus targeting anterior horn cells of lower motor neurons resulting in flaccid paralysis and represents a common condition in developing countries, and even nowadays, most of both treated and untreated cases result in foot deformities. Between 1994 and 2007, 27 patients were treated by classic ring Ilizarov fixator, aiming at producing a stable plantigrade and cosmetically acceptable foot and followed up for meanly 7.17 years. Additional procedures were performed if needed. The mean time in frame was 4.2 months. All the patients were satisfied with their gait, compared to preoperative status. A painless and plantigrade foot was obtained in all patients, and limb-length discrepancy was always corrected where present. No major complications were encountered. In conclusion, the Ilizarov method allows simultaneous progressive correction of all components of severe foot deformities associated with limb-lengthening discrepancy with minimal surgery, reducing risks of cutaneous or neurovascular complications and avoiding important shortening of the foot

Evaluation of the Antibiotic Resistance Pattern at the Medical Services Administration Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan, 2021

The number of antibiotics available is limited and does not cover the growing antibiotic resistance challenge. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics act as factors that help in improving and increasing the problem of resistance to those currently being prescribed by doctors. The study was carried out at the Medical Services Administration Hospital (MSAH) in Khartoum, Sudan to investigate the antibiotic resistance pattern for the period between Dec. 2020 and Jan. 2022. The results showed that, in a total of different clinical samples that were collected and processed, a total number of 980 organisms were isolated. The result indicated that 345 out of the total isolates (35.20%) were Klebsiella pneumonia, 326 (33.27%) Escherichia coli, 154 (15.71%) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 130 (13.27%) Proteus mirabilis, and 25 (2.55%) Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that K. pneumonia was quite resistant to piperacillin, cefuroxime, and azithromycin. The amikacin, imipenem, and meropenem antibiotics showed significant activity against K. pneumonia. The isolates of E. coli showed significant resistance to azithromycin and were more sensitive to imipenem and meropenem. P. aeruginosa was resistant to penicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and azithromycin in a big way, but it was very sensitive to cefuroxime, the drug used to treat strep throat infections. P. mirabilis was found to be resistant to nalidixic acid, nitrofurantoin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and azithromycin. It showed good sensitivity to amikacin, imipenem, and meropenem. It was clear that S. aureus was resistant to cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, nitrofurantoin, and norfloxacin, while tests showed that it was sensitive to imipenem

Development and evaluation of a live attenuated camelpox vaccine from a local field isolate of the virus

Summary A strain of camelpox virus (CMLV) isolated in the Sudan was attenuated by serial passage in Vero cell monolayers for use as a future vaccine strain. The safety and potency of passage 115 virus (designated Sudan CMLV/115) was tested. Camels inoculated with CMLV/115 showed no clinical disease or skin lesions, developed low-level antibodies and cell-mediated immune response and resisted challenge with virulent wild-type CMLV. Field testing of the candidate vaccine showed that the developed vaccine induces immune response and is safe for young and pregnant camels

Transparency of law making and fiscal democracy in the Middle East

Fiscal democracy is the capacity of the legislature to make budgetary choices in response to the emerging needs of citizens. This study indicates that, in Middle Eastern countries, there are specific limitations to fiscal democracy in the process of law-making: most notably the lack of attention to financial impact assessments (FIAs). Without systematic FIAs, mandatory out-of-budget allocations are inadvertently included in public spending, as they do not require parliamentary approval within the regular budgeting process. The low level of effective citizens’ engagement in the process of law-making worsens the situation. Budgetary decisions are not well informed by national priorities and preferences. This study utilizes the dataset of the Open Budget Index (OBI) to measure the quality of the law-making process of the budget law in a sample of Middle Eastern countries. The study concludes with recommendations on mapping the law-making process to increase budget transparency

Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of some 2-arylbenzoxazole acetic acid derivatives as potential anticancer agents

A series of 2-arylbenzoxazole compounds possessing a cytotoxic activity as potential anticancer agents has been synthesised. Oxidative coupling of benzaldehyde with o-aminophenol utilizing lead tetraacetate approach has been used to realize the synthesis of compounds 1-11. The cytotoxicity of 1-11 have been screened against breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and human colon cancer cell line HCT-116 utilizing doxorubicin as reference drug. Among these compounds, 2-(3-benzyloxyphenyl)benzoxazole-5-acetic acid 5 and 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)benzoxazol-5-acetic acid 10, are found to be promising cytotoxic compounds against MCF-7 cell line. In addition, this study shows that the presence of acetic acid group at position 5 of benzoxazole nucleus enhances the activity. Moreover, it is noticed that the presence of oxygen atom directly linked to the phenyl substituent improves activity. The results offer a new benzoxazole based template to design and develop novel antineoplastic agents.

Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of some 2-arylbenzoxazole acetic acid derivatives as potential anticancer agents

1496-1501A series of 2-arylbenzoxazole compounds possessing a cytotoxic activity as potential anticancer agents has been synthesised. Oxidative coupling of benzaldehyde with o-aminophenol utilizing lead tetraacetate approach has been used to realize the synthesis of compounds 1-11. The cytotoxicity of 1-11 have been screened against breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and human colon cancer cell line HCT-116 utilizing doxorubicin as reference drug. Among these compounds, 2-(3-benzyloxyphenyl)benzoxazole-5-acetic acid 5 and 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)benzoxazol-5-acetic acid 10, are found to be promising cytotoxic compounds against MCF-7 cell line. In addition, this study shows that the presence of acetic acid group at position 5 of benzoxazole nucleus enhances the activity. Moreover, it is noticed that the presence of oxygen atom directly linked to the phenyl substituent improves activity. The results offer a new benzoxazole based template to design and develop novel antineoplastic agents