Coronary events in Khartoum, Sudan.

The aim of the study was to determine coronary events in a defined Sudanese population. All coronary events occurring in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, were registered during the calendar year 1989. The cold pursuit method of identifying coronary events by surveillance of routinely collected data was adopted. A total of 517 cases representing coronary events in 1989 was recorded and submitted to the WHO MONICA diagnostic and classification protocol. The annual (1989) coronary event rate for men and women was 112/100,000, with a total mortality rate of 36/100,000 (men, 52/100,000; women, 18/100,000). Event rates for men and women were 162/100,000 and 64/100,000 and fatality rates were 33 and 30%, respectively. The highest event rate 364/100,000, occurring in men 45-64 years of age compared to 120/100,000 in women of the same age group. The study establishes a baseline for coronary event rates, mortality, and case fatality rates. It also defines coronary heart disease in Khartoum and provides means for comparison with other countries. We recommend that the disease receive more health attention, and efforts to define the precipitating risk factors should be undertaken. Health education and preventive measures to curb the disease are needed.

A double-blind, crossover study of acebutolol and hydrochlorothiazide/amiloride diuretic in Sudanese patients with essential hypertension.

A double-blind, crossover study was carried out in 32 Sudanese patients with essential hypertension to assess the effectiveness of single daily doses of 400 mg acebutolol when given alone and in combination with single daily doses of hydroclorothiazide/amiloride diuretic. The results show that in both groups there was a statistically significant reduction in systolic and diastolic levels throughout the treatment period. After crossover at 6 weeks, those patients initiated on acebutolol alone showed a further reduction in both systolic and diastolic pressures when the hydrochlorothiazide/amiloride combination was added. Both treatment regimens were well-tolerated and only a few side-effects were reported.

Spectrophotometric determination of enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide using Sol-Gel immobilized horseradish peroxidase.

Peroxidase entrapment in different Sol-Gel matrices was successful. The enzyme did not show a decrease in activity for at least 2 months as well as storage at room temperature and dry condition for periods exceeding 3 weeks. It was evident that the enzymatic activity was a function in the type of the alkoxysilane precursor. In addition, the optimum temperature which resulted in maximum enzymatic activity was also dependent on the type of Sol-Gel matrix. Excellent results were obtained for the determination of glucose in serum samples using soluble glucose oxidase in conjunction with the Sol-Gel entrapped peroxidase. The enzymatically produced hydrogen peroxide is oxidized by the entrapped peroxidase yielding oxygen which oxidizes the faint blue variamine blue into the intensely violet colored species (the molar absorptivity is about 1.8 x 10(4) 1 mol(-1) cm(-1)). The characteristics of this chromogenic system as well as optimized conditions for its use in the spectrophotometric determination of enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide were investigated. Excellent agreement between the results obtained by the proposed method and the widely used standard method, utilizing a commercial reagents kit, was always observed.

Acute poisoning from hair dye.

A series of 18 cases of acute hair dye (paraphenylenediamine) poisoning were reported. The characteristic features of swollen face and the chocolate brown colour of the urine were diagnostic. Asphyxia was found to be the major early challenge of life. Tracheostomy and intensive medical treatment with hydrocortisone and chlorpheniramine maleate (antihistaminic drug) and penicillin cover were life saving in all serious cases. The mild cases were successfully treated with hydrocortisone and chlorpheniramine maleate and penicillin without tracheostomy. The dye was detected in the urine by thin layer chromatography on silica gel and proved to be paraphenylenediamine. Early prompt diagnosis and clinical management proved to be life saving in both serious or mild hair dye poisoning.

Radiographic image analysis in the study of bone morphology.

Early changes in bone morphology, arising from such conditions as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, are difficult to detect and even more difficult to quantify when estimates are based upon visual examination of conventional radiographs. In this paper, we describe in detail the software operations of a computer-based image analysis system that will readily detect small changes in periarticular bone contours. Detailed studies have shown that the system compares favourably with clinical evaluations, and that the results so obtained are both reliable and reproducible.