Assessment of hepatitis B surface antigen negative blood units for HBV DNA among replacement blood donors in a hospital based blood bank in Nigeria

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is one of the greatest threats to blood safety all over the world. The laboratory algorithm based on only the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) leaves a gap for infected HBsAg negative donors to donate blood during the \u201cwindow period\u201d (WP) and late stages of infection. Objective: To estimate the frequency of the presence of HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in HBsAg negative blood units screened using two different assays for HBsAg in a high endemic region. Methods: Frozen serum aliquot of 100 replacement blood donors who donated blood units that were HBsAg negative were retrieved and tested for HBV DNA. Sample positive for HBV DNA was sequenced by Sanger\u2019s method, genotyped and the viral load was determined. Results: One sample (1%) was positive for HBV DNA. The HBV viral load of the sample was 768,000 IU/ml. The partial S-gene of the Hepatitis B virus isolated was genotype E using the NCBI viral genotyping tool. Conclusions: There is still a risk of HBV infected blood unit escaping detection when donor testing is limited to HBsAg screening. The use of NAT which can substantially reduce HBV infected blood donors from the donor pool should be considered

Negative peri-donation events among whole blood donors in a blood bank in Ibadan, Nigeria

The existence and sustenance of the blood bank depends on blood donors. It is imperative that the donation experience is satisfactory for the donors. Therefore this study was carried out to determine the frequency of undesirable events experienced by the blood donor as part of donor haemovigilance. This was a retrospective descriptive study of the events that occurred amongst the blood donors of the blood bank of a tertiary institution. The blood donor incident book was reviewed for the period of six months. Negative undesirable events occurred in 2% of the donor populations, of which 45.8% could not complete the blood donation process while only 16.7% completed the blood donation process. Mild vasovagal attack occurred in 0.2% of the donor population. Undisclosed deferrable risk factors/ behaviours were identified by the phlebotomist in the bleeding room which made donors unfit for donation even though they had passed the donor screening criteria. This accounted for 20.8% of those with negative experience. Guidelines are required to identify donors that are not likely to complete donation to avoid wastage of time, blood, resources and reduce undesirable experiences

Knowledge, attitude and practice of good nutrition among women of childbearing age in Somolu Local Government, Lagos State

Women of child-bearing age (especially pregnant and lactating women) are in the most nutritionally-vulnerable stages of the life cycle. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of good nutrition among women of childbearing age in Somolu Local Government (LG), Lagos state. This study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey of 244 women of childbearing age (15-49 years). Excellent knowledge and good attitude towards good nutrition was observed among 61.89% and 86.89% respectively. During pregnancy, greater than 80% took folic acid, iron supplements and increased daily consumption of fruits and vegetables while 43.59% avoided eggs, fish, meat and chocolate beverage because of taboos. Seven days prior to interview, over 90% had consumed fast foods, 56.15% and 50.01% of the respondents ate fruits and vegetables every day to ≥ 4 times in a day respectively. A majority of the respondents knew and had a good attitude towards good nutrition supporting studies from Kenya and Northern Nigeria. This, however, did not translate to good practice for about half of the respondents

Blood donation and transfusion: Perception of pregnant women at the University College Hospital, Ibadan

Background: At the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, there is a policy of compulsory blood donation by relatives of pregnant women registered for care. This study assesses the perception of these women about blood donation and transfusion and compliance with the policy. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was among women registered for antenatal care at UCH. By nonprobability purposive sampling, 300 pregnant women >18 years were recruited from July 1, 2017, to September 30, 2017. Women presenting for emergency care and Jehovah's Witnesses were excluded from the study. Information was obtained using pretested questionnaires. Data are presented as means (standard deviation), simple frequency, and percentages. Results: Among the 300 participants, the mean age was 31.0 (±3.7) years, 194 (64.6%) were multiparous, 94.4% had postsecondary education, and 263 (87.7%) were Yoruba by ethnicity. Concerning perception about blood donation, 221 (73.7%) agreed that blood can be donated and stored for the future use, 279 (93.0%) thought that blood donation is good, 214 (71.3%) agreed that voluntary blood donation is best, and both men and women could donate (269, 89.7%). Concerning the effect of blood donation, 229 (74.6%) agreed/strongly agreed that donation could cause weakness. However, 195 (65.0%) and 194 (64.0%) disagreed/strongly disagreed with donation causing loss of sexual drive or death. Concerning transfusion, 273 (90.7%) and 253 (84.3%), respectively, agreed that women may need blood during pregnancy/delivery, and hemorrhage during labor/delivery may lead to death. Finally, 266 (88.7%) were aware of the hospital policy although only 133 (44.3%) had complied. Conclusion: The positive perception was unmatched with compliance suggesting unidentified factors for further research

Total antioxidant status in sickle cell anemia

Background: The homozygous sickle cell anemia (SCA) has an unstable hemoglobin (HbS). The heme group dissociates easily from globin chain and the iron is released and free within the red cell. In addition, the sickle red cells release cell-free hemoglobin after undergoing intravascular hemolysis. These contribute to increased reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress ensues. Oxidative stress contributes to complications such as acute chest syndrome and pulmonary hypertension both of which are severe manifestations of SCA. Objectives: In this study, we set out to correlate inflammatory markers of disease severity with oxidative stress. Materials and Methods: We compared the total antioxidant status of 61 steady-state SCA patients with 60 HbAA controls. We then investigated associations between the total antioxidant levels and hematological and clinical indices of the patients in order to establish a relationship between markers of oxidative stress and markers of sickle cell severity. Results: We found that that total antioxidants were significantly lower in SCA compared with control levels (50% lower). The total antioxidants levels were inversely proportional to leukocyte and especially neutrophil cell counts which are pro-inflammatory markers. Conclusion: Oxidative stress which leads to secondary complications correlates with pro-inflammatory markers of clinical severity in SCA