Zinc and copper levels are not correlated with angiographically-defined coronary artery disease in sudanese patients.

We investigated zinc and copper levels in angiographically defined obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients undergoing elective coronary angiography in El-Shaab Hospital, Sudan. We performed a cross-sectional study. One hundred forty-two patients were enrolled. Sociodemographic and medical characteristics were collected using a questionnaire. Glucose, lipid, zinc, and copper levels were measured. Out of 142 patients, 102 (71.8%) had CAD and 40 (28.2%) had patent coronary arteries. There were no significant differences in median (interquartile range) zinc [118.5 (97.2-151.0) vs. 130.0 (106.0-174.0) µg/ml, P = 0.120] and copper [150.6 (125.0-183.0) vs. 158 (132.0-180.0) µg/mL, P = 0.478] levels between patients with CAD and those with patent coronary arteries. In linear regression analysis, there were no associations between CAD and zinc and copper levels. The current study failed to show any significant association between CAD and zinc and copper levels.

Significance of serum total prostate specific antigen and digital rectal examination in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the significance of serum total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PC). METHODS: One hundred and eighteen patients with serum tPSA ranging between 2.5 and 10 ng/ml with lower urinary tract symptoms presented at the Urology Clinic of Soba University Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan from August 2008 and January 2010 were included in the study. Serum tPSA was measured using enzyme immunoassay method, and accordingly, the patients were classified into 2 groups: patients that had tPSA between 2.5-4.0 ng/ml; and patients that had tPSA between 4.1-10 ng/ml. The DRE was performed on all patients by a qualified urologist, and were recorded as a group with suspicion of PC, and a group with no suspicion of PC. All patients underwent transrectal sextant prostate biopsy. RESULTS: The DRE alone showed 63.8% sensitivity and 68% specificity with 46.9% positive predictive value (PPV) for the diagnosis of PC. The tPSA test revealed 91.6% sensitivity and 24% specificity with PPV of 34%. However, when combining DRE and tPSA, the sensitivity reached 100% and the specificity increased to 92% with PPV of 49%. CONCLUSION: Combining DRE and tPSA test increases the sensitivity, specificity, and PPV of PC detection.

Age-specific reference range for serum prostate-specific antigen in Sudanese men.

OBJECTIVE: To determine age-specific prostate-specific antigen (PSA) reference values in a community-based sample of Sudanese men, aged 40-90 years. METHODS: This study was conducted in the Central Laboratory Services, Soba University Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan from January 2008 to May 2010. Total serum PSA in 3475 Sudanese men with no clinical evidence of lower urinary tract symptoms were measured using immunoenzometric assay. Out of the 3475, only 1051 men met the inclusion criteria. Those with total PSA<10 ng/ml and no recent urinary tract infection were included in this study. The data were analyzed using SPSS for Windows to define age-specific reference ranges of PSA. RESULTS: The geometric mean of total serum PSA in the study group of Sudanese men was 1.48 ng/ml. The 95th percentile total serum PSA ranges in the age groups was 0-3 ng/ml for 40-49 years, 0-3.02 ng/ml for 50-59 years, 0-3.8 ng/ml for 60-69 years and 0-8.7 ng/ml for 70-90 years. CONCLUSION: The currently adopted age-specific total PSA reference ranges are not appropriate for Sudanese men. Accordingly, our study indicates that the reference ranges of this study may be more suitable.