Background: Estimating malaria parasite count is needed for estimating the severity of the disease and during the follow-up.
Objective: This study was conducted to determine the malaria parasite density among children using actual white blood cell (WBC) and the assumed WBC counts (8.0 × 10(9)/l).
A case-control study was conducted in Khartoum Hospital Sudan to determine maternal and umbilical cord blood levels of zinc and copper in active labor versus elective cesarean delivery. Cases were women delivered vaginally and controls were women delivered by elective cesarean (before initiation of labor). Paired maternal and cord zinc and copper were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic inflammation and reduced blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3) are known characteristics of sickle cell disease (SCD).The anti-inflammatory properties of n-3 fatty acids are well recognized. Omega-3 treated (n = 24), hydroxyurea (HU) treated (n = 18), and n-3 untreated (n=21) homozygous SCD patients (HbSS) and healthy (HbAA) controls (n = 25) matched for age (5-16 years), gender and socioeconomic status were studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Microscopic examination using Giemsa-stained thick blood films remains the reference standard for detection of malaria parasites and it is the only method that is widely and practically available for quantifying malaria parasite density. There are few published data (there was no study during pregnancy) investigating the parasite density (ratio of counted parasites within a given number of microscopic fields against counted white blood cells (WBCs) using actual number of WBCs.
Methods: Parasitaemia was estimated using assumed WBCs (8,000), which was compared to parasitaemia calculated based on each woman's WBCs in 98 pregnant women with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria at Medani Maternity Hospital, Central Sudan.
Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a major health problem during pregnancy and it has adverse effects on the mother and the newborn. Red cell distribution width (RDW), which is a quantitative measure for red cell size variation (anisocytosis), is a predictor of IDA. Little is known regarding RDW and IDA during pregnancy.
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