BackgroundMorphological patterns of anaemia in pregnancy are considered essential for classification, diagnosis and management of patients, especially in regions with high maternal mortality like Sudan.ObjectivesThis study evaluated morphological patterns of anaemia among pregnant women in Sudan and morphological differences across characteristics of participants.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2016 to February 2017. A total of 200 women were selected according to specific criteria. Laboratory tests were performed for complete blood count, blood smears were performed for morphology and vitamin B12, folate and iron levels were measured. Participants were classified as: normochromic normocytic, microcytic hypochromic, macrocytic or dimorphic. Further classification based on haemoglobin levels was also performed.ResultsA total of 116 participants (58%) had a dimorphic pattern, followed by 50 participants (25%) with a microcytic hypochromic pattern, 20 participants (10%) with a macrocytic pattern and 14 participants (7%) with a normochromic normocytic pattern. Participants with the dimorphic pattern also had low levels of iron and folate. The majority of dimorphic participants presented with mild anaemia, whereas the majority of participants with the microcytic hypochromic pattern presented with moderate or severe anaemia. A high percentage of participants in late pregnancy had the dimorphic pattern, and there were significant differences in the degree of anaemia by parity, gestational age and regular intake of haematinic supplements.ConclusionThe most frequent morphological pattern of anaemia in this study was dimorphic, followed by microcytic hypochromic, macrocytic and normochromic patterns. Morphological patterns appeared to predict types of vitamin and mineral deficiency and the degree of anaemia.

Background: Hypercalciuria is a common cause of urinary stone formation in both children and adults; one of the components of the comprehensive evaluation of stone formers is to measure 24 hours urinary calcium, which is a complicated method especially in children, therefore some physicians depend on calcium creatinine ratio instead of it. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of calcium/creatinine ratio as an evaluation tool for hypercalciuria in urinary stone formers.Methods: This was a case control study in which forty patients of urinary stone formers along with fifteen healthy controls group were enrolled; after fulfilling specific inclusion and exclusion criteria a questionnaire was filled, then an early morning urinary samples were collected for calcium and creatinine measurement to calculate the calcium creatinine ratio.Results: The results showed significantly higher mean value of calcium/creatinine ratio in the stone formers group compared with controls one. Also there were statistically insignificant differences in the urinary calcium between the two groups. Moreover this study showed higher mean values of both calcium and calcium/creatinine ratio in recurrent stone formers when compared with first time stone former.Conclusions: This study concluded that calcium/creatinine ratio is a useful and easier method for the initial evaluation of stone formers.