BackgroundThe hypercoagulability of pregnancy is exaggerated in pre-eclamptic state because of endothelial activation with resultant production of some endothelial derived proteins that are said to be inhibitors of fibrinolysis. This study compares these proteins like tPA, PAI-1 and D-dimers in normal pregnant women and the pre-eclamptic women.MethodologyThis was a comparative cross-sectional study. Eighty-five pre-eclamptic women were recruited as subjects and eighty five age, trimester and parity matched normotensive pregnant women as controls. Levels of PT, aPTT, tPA, PAI-1, D-dimer protein were determined in blood samples of subjects and controls. Urinalysis was performed with dipstick method on their urine samples. Data generated was analysed using the IBM®SPSS 20.0 (2011) soft ware packages and the level of significance was a p-value <0.05.ResultsThe mean age of the respondents was 29.9±5.2 years. The median(25th–75th percentile) values of D-dimer, tPA, and PAI-1 of subjects were 730 (305.000–1560.000ng/ml), 0.11 (0.065–0,300ng/ml) and 3.65 (2.970–4,400ng/ml) respectively which were significantly higher than the corresponding values in the controls of 520 (24.000–1030.000ng/ml), 0.05 (0.040–0.090ng/ml and 2.650 (2.125–3.400ng/ml) respectively, p<0.05 each.ConclusionThe abnormal levels of PAI-1, D-dimer and tPA imply that they contribute to the exaggerated hypercoagulabilty state in pre-eclampsia thus, measuring their levels can help in the management of the condition.

BackgroundPost-transfusion hepatitis occurs even with stringent donor selection criteria and screening for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) in HBsAg-negative blood donors. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study in which 200 HBsAg-negative blood donors were recruited. Screening for viral markers was done using both a rapid test kit and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for anti-HBc IgM. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of anti-HBc IgM was done by "capture" enzyme immunoassay using DIA.PRO HBc IgM test kits. The other viral markers were investigated using one step cassette style HBV tests. SPSS version 16 was used for data analysis. A P-value of 0.05 or less was considered significant. ResultsThere were 190 male (95%) and 10 female (5%) blood donors, with a mean age of 31.7 ± 7.9 years. The prevalence of anti-HBc IgM was 4%. The other viral markers (HBeAg, anti-HBeAg, anti-HBs and total anti-HBc) had a prevalence of 1.5%, 23%, 2.5%, and 32.5%, respectively.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 principally through respiratory droplets and fomites transitioned into a global pandemic in waves of outbreaks across regions. 1 The projected colossal impact of the pandemic on economies particularly in low to middle income countries (LMIC), 2 have prompted pertinent questions about Africa's preparedness. 3 This report highlights early responses of a Nigerian institution to the COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Ilorin (Unilorin), Ilorin, Nigeria is an international institution of higher learning, which was established by the Nigerian Government in 1976. It occupies a 15 000-ha landmass that cuts across several rural communities in Kwara State, North-central Nigeria and 180 miles (289.7 km) from the Lagos epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria. The Unilorin community comprises over 4500 workers and 56 600 students across 15 faculties, one College of Health Sciences, and a School of Preliminary Studies. Following the first reported case of COVID-19 in Lagos, Nigeria, a COVID-19 Prevention Committee (herein referred to as The Committee) was setup by the University management to safeguard the University community. Within 3 weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, the committee successfully implemented a string of containment measures before the first confirmed case was reported in Ilorin, Kwara State.

We therefore advocate the use of CD4 count range derived in this study is lower than that of the national reference values.

Abstract:Objective: The study was carried out to document the pattern of childhood malignant tumors which were diagnosed at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, and compare with previous reports from other parts of Nigeria and elsewhere and also highlight the challenges and strategies for effective management of these diseases in our environment. Methods: A ten year retrospective analysis of all cancers diagnosed in children below the age of 18 years at the study centre between January 2000 and December 2009 was carried out. Case folders of all children diagnosed with malignant tumors within the study period were retrieved from the Cancer Registry Department of the Hospital and were analyzed with respect to age, gender, morphological or histological type of malignancy, extent of disease, treatment modality, and survival outcome. Results: Ninety nine (99) children were diagnosed with various malignancies during the study period. Sixty seven (67; 67.7%) were boys and 32 (32.3%) were girls giving a male to female ratio of 2:1. There were 22 cases (22.2%) recorded in children aged below 4 years and 72 cases (72.7%) were diagnosed in children between 4 -14 years. Lymphomas were the most prevalent malignancies encountered accounting for 54 cases (54.5%), Burkitt's lymphoma constituted 43 (79.6%) of all lymphoma cases. The distribution of the five foremost malignancies recorded were as follows: Burkitt's lymphoma (43 cases), Nephroblastoma (10 cases), Retinoblastoma (8 cases), Non Hodgkin's lymphoma (7 cases) and Acute leukaemias (5 cases). Other malignancies included Osteogenic sarcoma (5), Hodgkin's lymphoma (4), and 2 cases each of primary liver cell carcinoma, neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and nasopharyngeal tumor. Conclusion:The distribution of the various childhood malignant tumors recorded in this study is similar to the pattern reported in previous studies from Nigeria and other countries. However, there appears to be a lower prevalence of leukemia recorded in this study compared to the earlier findings. The challenges which were identified in the diagnosis, management and overall outcome of our patients included limited number of diagnostic tools, late presentation in the hospital, high patient default rate, poverty, and shortage of chemotherapeutic drugs.