Blood Lead Levels among Blood Donors and High-Risk Occupational Groups in a Mining Area in Ghana: Implications for Blood Transfusion among Vulnerable Populations.

Lead poisoning has been a major global health problem for decades, and blood transfusion has been suspected as a neglected potential source of lead exposure. Children and pregnant women are most vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead and over 40 percent of blood transfused in Ghana is given to children under 5 years. However, there is little data on the levels of lead in donor blood and the main sources of lead exposure in the Ghanaian population.

Fetomaternal hemorrhage among pregnant women in Accra, Ghana.

Objective: To determine the occurrence of and risk factors for fetomaternal hemorrhage (FMH) among pregnant women at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana.

Methods: A prospective study of FMH among pregnant women without hemoglobinopathies in the second trimester attending prenatal care between October 2015 and May 2016 performed using the Kleihauer-Betke test. Volume of FMH was estimated; ABO and Rh blood groups of participants were determined.

Lung Function Abnormalities in Sickle Cell Anaemia.

Background: Abnormalities in lung function tests have been shown to commonly occur in a majority of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) even at steady state. The prevalence and pattern of these lung function abnormalities have been described in other populations but this is unknown among our sickle cell cohort. There is generally little information available on risk factors associated with the lung function abnormalities and its relevance in patient care.

Investigational procedures in benign prostatic hypertrophy.

Purpose Of Review: As benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) becomes a more common disease, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of investigational procedures being developed to manage it. We seek to present an overview of the most recently developed treatments and present clinical data related to application wherever available.

Recent Findings: As a greater number of treatments become available for BPH, improved diagnostic testing could prove beneficial in helping guide patient selection.