ABO, Rh, and Kell Blood Group Antigen Frequencies in Blood Donors of Taif City, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The ABO, Rh, and Kell blood group antigens are clinically significant. Knowledge of antigen frequencies is important to assess the risk of alloimmunization and to guide the probability of finding antigen-negative donor blood. Patients that lack such antigens may produce antibodies that may cause transfusion reaction. The frequencies of ABO, Rh, and Kell antigens in Taif city, Saudi Arabia have not yet been determined. This study aims to assess the frequencies of ABO, Rh, and Kell blood group antigens among Saudi donors in Taif city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 2,073 Saudi blood donors of both genders from May 2016 to May 2019. The data were collected, and calculations were done to determine the frequencies of ABO, Rh, and Kell blood group antigens. RESULTS: Of the 2,073 donors, the ABO blood groups of the donors were O (53.8%), A (24.9%), B (16.4%), and AB (4.6%). Rh-positive samples were (87.8%) and (12.1%) were Rh-negative. The most common Rh antigen was e (95.8%), followed by the c and C antigens (81.7% and 62.3%, respectively). The lowest Rh antigen frequency was E (31.3%). DCce was the most prevalent phenotype (29.5%). The KEL1 (K) antigen was determined in (22.1%) of the donors. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study conducted in Taif city to assess the frequency of ABO, Rh, and Kell antigens among Saudi blood donors. This study provides the first step to create a regional donor database to obtain negative antigen blood units for patients with unexpected antibodies and to offer compatible bloods for multi-transfused cases by designing red cell panels.

Detection of TEM, AmpC, SHV, CTX-M, and MCR-1 Genes in Gram Negative Isolates of Urinary Tract Infections.

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection caused by the presence and growth of microorganisms anywhere in the urinary tract. It is usually due to bacteria from the digestive tract which climb the opening of the urethra and begin to multiply to cause infection. However, UTI is more frequent in female than male, because of the short urethra, absence of prostatic secretion, and pregnancy. METHODS: This study was aimed to detect extended spectrum beta lactamase and MCR-1genes from Gram negative bacterial clinical isolates from urinary tract infections. Ninety-one urine samples were collected in this study, then cultured on CLED agar and identified by conventional biochemical methods. Modified Kirby-Bauer method was used for sensitivity testing. Genomic DNA extracted by boiling method, and multiplex PCR was conducted to amplify TEM, AmpC, MCR-1, SHV, and CTX-M genes from all Gram-negative isolates. RESULTS: The result of the susceptibility test revealed that the highest resistant rates were 73% for Ceftazidime, followed by 63%, 56%, and 55% for Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin, and Co-trimoxazole, respectively, and 21% were resistant to Imipenem. Moreover, for the presence of resistance genes, multiplex PCR results displayed that the TEM gene was present in 34% of bacteria, AmpC gene was found in 49.4% of isolates. Also, 38.5% and 6.6% were positive for MCR-1 gene and SHV gene, respectively. All Proteus species were negative to MCR-1 and TEM genes. Fifty E. coli, 7 Klebsiella pneumonia, two Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and five Proteus species were positive for CTX-M gene and all Citrobacter spp. were negative for CTX-M gene. Eighty-nine isolates were positive for one or more ESBL genes, while two isolates were negative to all genes. CTX-M gene is predominant among uropathogenic bacteria and imipenem is the best effective antibiotic. CONCLUSIONS: This recent study proved that the result of the susceptibility test revealed that the highest resistant rate were 73% for Ceftazidime, followed by 63%, 56%, and 55% for Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin, and Co-trimoxazole, respectively, and 21% were resistant to imipenem.

Assessment of Antithrombin III and Protein C in Saudi Myocardial Infarction Patients.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial infarction (MI) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly referred to as a heart attack, happens when the blood flow to part of the heart stops, causing damage to the heart muscle. Chest pain or discomfort that may flow into the shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw is the most common symptom. Most MIs occur due to coronary artery disease. High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, lack of exercise, obesity, high blood pressure, poor diet, excessive alcohol use, etc. are risk factors. Antithrombin III (AT III) is a glycoprotein produced by the liver and consists of 432 amino acids. Protein C, also referred to as autoprothrombin IIA and factor XIV of blood coagulation, is a zymogen. In regulating anticoagulation, inflammation, cell death, and maintaining the permeability of blood vessel walls in humans and other animals, the activated form of protein C plays an important role. METHODS: A case control study was conducted in Saudi Arabia to determine the levels of AT III and protein C in Saudi MI patients. Samples (n = 150) from MI patients as well as healthy controls (n = 50) were collected (2.5 mL of venous blood for sandwich ELISA). RESULTS: This study showed that the mean AT III and protein C levels were within normal levels in patients (86 ± 19.63 and 76.20 ± 30.64, respectively). A comparison of mean AT III and protein C levels in patient and control groups showed no significant difference (p-value = 0.26, 0.2, and 0.19, respectively). The results also showed that some of the samples had low levels of AT III (8.7%) and protein C (11.3%). CONCLUSIONS: A deficiency of AT III and protein C were not strong significant risk factors for myocardial infarction.

Prevalence of anemia among Saudi patients with solid cancers at diagnosis in King Faisal Hospital, Taif Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of anemia among patients newly diagnosed with solid malignancies at King Faisal Hospital in Taif Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional, hospital-based study was conducted from December 2017 to March 2020. A total of 320 patients newly diagnosed with solid malignancy were examined to assess anemia prevalence. RESULTS: Of 320 patients with solid cancers, 245 (76.6%) were female and 75 (23.4%) were male. The median (interquartile range) age of 57 (45 ─ 66) years, range between 16 and 108 years. The types of cancer included were breast (29.1%), female genital tract (20.0%), colorectal (25.3%), head and neck (10.3%), urinary bladder (4.7%), prostate (5.0%), lung (2.5%), liver (2.2%) and lymphoma (0.9%). The prevalence of anemia at diagnosis of cancer was 44.1% across all cancer types. A higher anemia prevalence was noted in colorectal (n = 46/81, 56.8%) (p = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Patients with colorectal or female genital tract cancers had a higher anemia prevalence (56.8% and 43.8%, respectively) than did patients with other cancers.