Anemia in Kassala Area Eastern Sudan

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine the types and the ways of diagnosis of anemia at Kassala region, Sudan.MethodsIn this study we examined and investigate 210 patients with anemia.Full blood cell count including peripheral picture, blood film for malaria, urine analysis and stool examination were done for every patient.Bone marrow aspiration was done for patients with splenomegaly with or without pancytopenia and or presence of immature cells in the peripheral blood. Serum iron and serum ferritin, for confirmation of iron deficiency were measured in some patients.ResultsOut of all patients, 45(21%) had chronic illness, 42(20%) had history of repeated attacks of malaria and 3(18%) patients had nutritional anemia.Sixty three (30%) patients presented with severe anemia, 32(15%) with mild anemia and 115(55%) with moderate anemia. Eighty patients presented with enlarge spleen. 26 (33%) out of the latter group had features of hypersplenism.ConclusionCommon causes of anemia in this area were chronic illness, followed by nutritional and repeated malaria infection. Splenomegaly and  hypersplenism are common. We recommended that full blood count, peripheral blood picture and estimation of serum iron andserum ferritin should be performed for every anaemic patient. Blood film for malaria should be done for every anaemic patient and negative films should be repeated by immunochromatography test for plasmodium falciparum and vivax.Keywords: Splenomegaly, hypersplenism, immunochromatography, malaria

Assessment of Nutritional Status in Children from Eastern Sudan

Background: Malnutrition is a very important risk factor leading illness and death in children worldwide.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status and relevant haematological and biochemical parameters in school children.Materials and Methods: Cross sectional study, was conducted in 120 (70 boys and 50 girls) school going children of 6-7 years of age, for the assessment of their nutritional status. The haemogloblin concentration (Hb%) was measured by equation method, packed cell volume (PCV) was estimated by scale of microhameatocrit reader, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) was calculated. Serum total protein, albumin, iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin were measured by colorimetric methods. Weight (kg) and height (cm) were measured and body mass index was calculated. Data were analyzed using SPSS version13.0.Results: The mean values for hematological, biochemical and  anthropometrical measurements were much below the normal ranges. The anthropometric percentile measured in the children showed malnutrition cases in 32 (26.7%) and malnutrition and underweight in 73 (60.8%) while the body mass index showed underweight in males in 23 (19.2%) and in females 11 (9.2%).Conclusions: Malnutrition is common in our study population and was seen in 48.3 of children. It was accompanied by anaemia in 60.8 % of children.Key words: Biochemical parameters, Hematological parameters,  Anthropometric measurements, Nutritional status, Anemia

Using qualitative and quantitative methods to choose a habitat quality metric for air pollution policy evaluation

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has had detrimental effects on species composition in a range of sensitive habitats, although N deposition can also increase agricultural productivity and carbon storage, and favours a few species considered of importance for conservation. Conservation targets are multiple, and increasingly incorporate services derived from nature as well as concepts of intrinsic value. Priorities vary. How then should changes in a set of species caused by drivers such as N deposition be assessed? We used a novel combination of qualitative semi-structured interviews and quantitative ranking to elucidate the views of conservation professionals specialising in grasslands, heathlands and mires. Although conservation management goals are varied, terrestrial habitat quality is mainly assessed by these specialists on the basis of plant species, since these are readily observed. The presence and abundance of plant species that are scarce, or have important functional roles, emerged as important criteria for judging overall habitat quality. However, species defined as ‘positive indicator-species’ (not particularly scarce, but distinctive for the habitat) were considered particularly important. Scarce species are by definition not always found, and the presence of functionally important species is not a sufficient indicator of site quality. Habitat quality as assessed by the key informants was rank-correlated with the number of positive indicator-species present at a site for seven of the nine habitat classes assessed. Other metrics such as species-richness or a metric of scarcity were inconsistently or not correlated with the specialists’ assessments. We recommend that metrics of habitat quality used to assess N pollution impacts are based on the occurrence of, or habitat-suitability for, distinctive species. Metrics of this type are likely to be widely applicable for assessing habitat change in response to different drivers. The novel combined qualitative and quantitative approach taken to elucidate the priorities of conservation professionals could be usefully applied in other contexts

Diagnosis of Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy is still a Challenge in Eastern Sudan

This was a cross sectional prospective study carried out in Kassala Maternity Hospital, Eastern Sudan (2008-2011) to investigate the incidence rate and factors associated with delayed presentation in ruptured ectopic pregnancy. The total number of deliveries during the study period was 9578. The total number of ectopic pregnancy was 199 yielding an incidence rate of (1 in 48 deliveries or 20.7 per 1000 deliveries). One hundred eighty six (93.5%) out of these were ruptured ectopic reflecting very low rate of diagnosis (6.5%) before rupture occurred. Maternal education≤ secondary, parity and history of subfertilty were associated with ruptured ectopic pregnancy (P =0.00, 0.003 and 0.00 respectively). The causes of delay reported by the patients include: 64.5 not aware of the pregnancy, 28% have been seen by health provider but reassure and 7.5% regarded the symptoms not serious enough to ask for care