Kidney function, urinalysis abnormalities and correlates in equatorial Africans with sickle cell disease.

Background: Little is known about the renal profiles of individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) in equatorial Africa, the global epicenter of SCD. We evaluated the kidney function, urinalysis abnormalities and their correlates in a group of Cameroonians homozygous for SCD.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 4-month duration involving 72 homozygous SCD patients (39 men, 54%), recruited during routine visit or vaso-occlusive crisis at the Yaoundé Central Hospital in Cameroon.

Risk factors for transmission of HIV in a hospital environment of Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Risk factors for HIV transmission within a hospital setting were assessed using pre-structured questionnaires and observations. Of 409 respondents, 66.3% corresponded to the nursing staff, 14.

Measure of viral load by using the Abbott Real-Time HIV-1 assay on dried blood and plasma spot specimens collected in 2 rural dispensaries in Cameroon.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the use of dried blood spots (DBSs) and dried plasma spots (DPSs) locally collected in 2 rural dispensaries in Cameroon for the quantification of HIV-1 RNA.

Methods: Forty-one subjects were sampled and spots of whole blood and plasma were deposited onto Whatman 903 cards and dried at ambient temperature under local conditions. Two sets of DBS and DPS cards were done per patient.

Low risk of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus in Yaounde, Cameroon: the ANRS 1262 study.

To assess mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Cameroon, 5,008 pregnant women were screened for HCV antibodies. Eighty-nine (1.8%) were HCV-antibody (HCV-Ab) positive.

Relative rates and features of musculoskeletal complications in adult sicklers.

The purpose of this study was to prospectively look for the relative rates and features of musculoskeletal complications in a sample of adult homozygous SS sicklers in Yaoundé. During a 3-year period, known homozygous SS sicklers aged sixteen years or more, with suspicion or evidence of locomotor system disease, including leg ulcer, were consecutively investigated through complete medical history, clinical examination, full blood count, C-reactive protein, standard radiographs of the area of complaint, and, when necessary, CT scan and pus analysis. Those patients with no definite diagnosis were excluded.

Mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in relation to the season in Yaounde, Cameroon.

A public health program to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) by treatment with nevirapine has been ongoing in Yaounde, Cameroon since January 2000. After 24 months, plasma samples from 119 children born to HIV-1-positive mothers were tested for HIV-1 RNA between six and eight weeks after birth. Thirteen (10.

Low rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 after nevirapine intervention in a pilot public health program in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Objective: To determine the percentage of infected children for whom nevirapine (NVP) was used to prevent peripartum mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Design: The study was a prospective Public Health Pilot Program covering a 3-year period (January 2000-December 2002).

Methods: Counseled and consenting HIV-1-positive pregnant women were given a single dose of NVP at the onset of labor.