Histopathological pattern of gynaecological malignancies: National Health Laboratory (NHL), Sudan

Gynaecological malignancies (GM) is a common cancer problem in both developing and developed countries .The burden of GM is more critical in developing countries, this is due to lack or deficient screening and late clinical presentation. The aim of this study is to study the histopathological pattern of GM in the NHL (National Health Laboratory) Sudan. Material &Methods: Clinical data, histopathological reports, stained tissue slides of patients diagnosed histologically as GM were revised from the archive of the department of histopathology and cytology at the NHL .Results: 372 patients diagnosed histologically as GM from 1st Jan 2009-31st Dec to the 1st Jan 2013 were studied. The commonest GM histological type was cervical malignancies, followed by ovarian, endometrial, vaginal, vulvar, choriocarcinoma and tubal cancer respectively .Conclusion: There is an urgent need for screening, early detection and prompt management for GM.Keywords: ,

Epidemiology of cesarean delivery in Kassala, Eastern Sudan: a community-based study 2014- 2015

Background: Cesarean delivery is a main obstetrical operation and its rate should be optimized where the World Health Organization regards that a cesarean delivery rate of 5-15% is an optimal range, putting in consideration the necessity of the procedure as a lifesaving intervention for both the mother and fetus.Objectives: To investigate the epidemiology of cesarean delivery in Kassala, Eastern Sudan from December 2014 to March 2015.Materials and Methods: A stratified, multistage, household survey was carriedout. Questionnaires were applied to gather mode of delivery and its determinants.Results: Out of 303 women, 87 (28.7%), 100 (33%), 116 (38.3) were primiparous, secondiparous and multiparous, respectively, Mothers' age ranged from 13 to 48 with mean (SD) 27.79 (5.94) years. In logistic regression, elder women (OR=1.1, 95 CI= 1.01-1.34, p = 0.005), primparae (OR= 6.4, 95% CI = 1.3-31.8, p = 0.001) and women who had medical disease (OR= 2.9, 95% CI= 1.16-7.6, p= 0.023) were at higher risk to deliver by caesarean delivery.Conclusion: The rate of cesarean delivery in Kassala in the current study is17.8% and the elder women, primiapare and women with medical disorders were at a higher risk to deliver by caesarean delivery.Keywords: Cesarean, Kassala, pregnancy, Suda

Effect of pre-eclampsia on glomerular filtration rate in Sudanese women

Background: Creatinine clearance is safest method to measure glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in pregnancy. The objectives was to study a case-control study conducted in Omdurman Maternity Hospital aimed to assess GFR, using creatinine clearance and magnitude of changes of serum creatinine in pre-eclampsia.Methods: Pre-eclamptic were 70, normal pregnant 96 and non-pregnant 63. Investigations were done at St Hellier's hospital London. Serum and urine creatinine were measured using Jaffé reaction and spectrophotometer. 24-hour urine output was measured and creatinine clearance calculated to find GFR. GFR was calculated in ml/min/mm2 using John Hopkins’ method.Results: The mean serum creatinine in pre-eclamptic (68.6µmol/L) was less than non-pregnant (75.5µmol/L) (P=0.001) but was higher than normal pregnant (62.4µmol/L) (P=0.003). Mean GFR pre-eclamptic (68.6ml/min.1.73m2) was less than non-pregnant (87.0ml/min/1.73m2) (P=0.0001) and normal pregnant (89.0ml/min/1.73ml/min/1.73m2) (P =0.0001).Conclusions: GFR decreased at term in normal pregnancy and even more in pre-eclampsia. Serum creatinine levels increased and did not correlate with GFR changes in pre-eclampsia

A Higher Rate of Iron Deficiency in Obese Pregnant Sudanese Women

AIM: To assess the association between obesity and iron deficiency (ID).MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pregnant women were recruited from Saad Abualila Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan, during January–April 2015. Medical history (age, parity, gestational age) was gathered using questionnaire.  Weight and height were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Women were sub-grouped based on BMI into underweight (< 18.5 kg/m^2), normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m^2), overweight (25–29.9 kg/m^2) and obese (≥ 30 kg/m^2). Serum ferritin and red blood indices were measured in all studied women.RESULTS: Two (0.5%), 126 (29.8%), 224 (53.0%) and 71 (16.8%) out of the 423 women were underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese, respectively. Anemia (Hb <11 g/dl), ID (ferritin <15µg/l) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) were prevalent in 57.7%, 21.3% and 12.1%, respectively. Compared with the women with normal BMI, significantly fewer obese women were anemic [25 (35.2%) vs. 108 (85.7%), P < 0.001] and significantly higher number of obese women [25 (35.2) vs. 22 (17.5, P = 0.015] had iron deficiency. Linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant negative association between serum ferritin and BMI (– 0.010 µg/, P= 0.006).CONCLUSION: It is evident from the current findings that prevalence of anaemia and ID showed different trends about BMI of pregnant women

Thyroid Function and 25 (OH) Vitamin D Level among Sudanese Women in Early Pregnancy

AIM: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Saad Abualila Hospital (Khartoum, Sudan) to evaluate the vitamin D levels and thyroid function among pregnant Sudanese women (132) in early pregnancy.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Saad Abualila hospital (Khartoum, Sudan) during the period from March to July 2015. Women who were in early pregnancy with a singleton pregnancy were approached to participate in the study after signing informed consent. A sample size of 132 participants was calculated guided by the normal interval of thyroid function in Sudanese women in the first trimester and not the level of 25(OH) vitamin D. The 25 - hydroxyvitamin D (25 (OH) vitamins levels were measured using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay on an Elecsys 2010 Analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany).RESULTS: The mean (SD) of age, gravidity and gestational age was 27.6 (5.5) years, 2.2 (1.6) and 10.4 (2.2) weeks, respectively. The mean (SD) of the body mass index (BMI) and haemoglobin was 27.1 (5.2) kg/m2 and 10.8 (1.1) g/dl, respectively. Median (interquartile) values of TSH, FT3, and FT4 were 1.164 IU/ml (0.079 -2.177 IU/ml), 4.639 nmol/l (3.843 - 6.562 nmol/l), and 16.86 pmol/l (13.02 - 31.48 pmol/l), respectively. There was no significant correlation between vitamin D levels and TSH, FT3 and FT4CONCLUSION: There is no correlation between 25 (OH) vitamin D levels and thyroid function during early pregnancy among Sudanese pregnant women, despite prevalent vitamin D deficiency among these women

Severe anaemia is associated with a higher risk for preeclampsia and poor perinatal outcomes in Kassala hospital, eastern Sudan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anaemia during pregnancy is major health problem. There is conflicting literature regarding the association between anaemia and its severity and maternal and perinatal outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a retrospective case-control study conducted at Kassala hospital, eastern Sudan. Medical files of pregnant women with severe anaemia (haemoglobin (Hb) < 7 g/dl, n = 303) who delivered from January 2008 to December 2010 were reviewed. Socio-demographic and obstetric data were analysed and compared with a similar number of women with mild/moderate anaemia (Hb = 7-10.9 g/dl, n = 303) and with no anaemia (Hb > 11 g/dl, n = 303). Logistic regression analysis was performed separately for each of the outcome measures: preeclampsia, eclampsia, preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW) and stillbirth.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 9578 deliveries at Kassala hospital, 4012 (41.8%) women had anaemia and 303 (3.2%) had severe anaemia. The corrected risk for preeclampsia increased only in severe anaemia (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 1.4-9.1, <it>P </it>= 0.007). Compared with women with no anaemia, the risk of LBW was 2.5 times higher in women with mild/moderate anaemia (95% CI: 1.1-5.7), and 8.0 times higher in women with severe anaemia (95% CI: 3.8-16.0). The risk of preterm delivery increased significantly with the severity of anaemia (OR = 3.2 for women with mild/moderate anaemia and OR = 6.6 for women with severe anaemia, compared with women with no anaemia). The corrected risk for stillbirth increased only in severe anaemia (OR = 4.3, 95% CI: 1.9-9.1, <it>P </it>< 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The greater the severity of the anaemia during pregnancy, the greater the risk of preeclampsia, preterm delivery, LBW and stillbirth. Preventive measures should be undertaken to decrease the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy.</p

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Maternal age and intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome in infertile couples at Khartoum, Sudan [version 1; referees: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]

Background Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was considered as the mainstay of treatment for male infertility. Nowadays, the scope of ICSI has been widened to include other causes of infertility. There are few published data on ICSI in countries with low incomes. Aims A cross-sectional study was conducted at Saad AbuAlla and Banoun Centers, Khartoum, Sudan to investigate outcomes of ICSI and to determine the parameters that might predict pregnancy success rate following ICSI. Methods The study included 191 infertile couples who underwent 296 ICSI cycles between 1st April 2013 and 31 March 2014. Results One hundred and ninety one couples (comprising 296 cycles of ICSI) were enrolled to the study. The mean (SD) number of retrieved oocytes was 9.7 (7.5).  The mean (SD) number of transferred embryos was 2.9 (1.0). Out of these, 50 (26.2%) and 40 (20.9%) had chemical and clinical pregnancy, respectively. Thirty–six couples (18.8%) and five couples (2.6%) had miscarriage and had ectopic pregnancy, respectively. Under logistic regression, younger age (OR = 0.8, 95% CI= 0.81 ─ 0.96, P = 0.004) and endometrial thickness (OR = 1.3, 95% CI= 1.07─1.60, P = 0.009) were the significant predictors for the success of ICSI in inducing pregnancy. Conclusion                 The rates of successful fertilisation and pregnancy-to-term rates in this setting depend mainly on the maternal age