Publications by authors named "A Melendez Jonathan"

Background: Depression commonly arises among adolescents who have experienced long-standing psychosocial difficulties, especially those facing chronic illnesses such as sickle cell anemia (SCA). SCA is a global health concern, and Tanzania is one of the countries with a high incidence, estimated at 8,000-11,000 births per year. This study aims to assess the magnitude and factors associated with depression among adolescents with SCA.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study involved 250 children with SCD, using dipstick and culture methods to diagnose UTIs, finding a UTI positivity rate of 22.4% via culture and 24.8% via dipstick, with girls more affected than boys.
  • * Results indicated that all tested uropathogens showed resistance to ampicillin, emphasizing the need for improved clinical practices in managing UTIs among SCD patients.
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Purpose: This comparative study sets out to report dental caries status among individuals with Sickle Cell Disease (HbSS) against those with sickle cell trait (HbSA) and those without the disease (HbAA) as controls. The study further assessed the impact of penicillin chemoprophylaxis and hydroxyurea use on dental caries among Sickle Cell Disease participants.

Methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study in which 93 children aged 30 to 60 months were recruited.

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Introduction: For medical students, food is rarely discussed from the clinical perspective. Yet, in hospitals reduced food intake poses the risk of malnutrition, along with increased morbidity and mortality. The issue of food waste, a cause of inadequate dietary intake and a common issue within the National Health Service, is rarely addressed.

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In Africa, sickle cell disease phenotypes' genetic contributors remain understudied due to the dearth of databases that pair biospecimens with demographic and clinical details. The absence of biorepositories in these settings can exacerbate this issue. This article documents the physical verification process of biospecimens in the biorepository, connecting them to patient clinical and demographic data and aiding in the planning of future genomic and clinical research studies' experience from the Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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