Serum Potassium, Sodium, and Chloride Levels in Sickle Cell Disease Patients and Healthy Controls: A Case-Control Study at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra.

The activity of Na+-K+ ATPase is altered in sickle cell disease (SCD), which affects serum electrolyte levels. This alteration is associated with several complications in sickle cell patients. This study evaluated the serum levels of sodium, potassium, and chloride in patients with SCD. The study was a case-control cross-sectional study involving 120 SCD patients in the steady state and 48 'healthy' controls. The SCD patients were made up of 69 HbSS patients and 41 HbSC patients. Serum electrolyte levels (Na+, K+, and Cl-) were measured using a Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (Variant 240FS; Varian Australia Pty Ltd). Serum sodium levels were significantly lower in the sickle cell patients, compared with their 'healthy' counterparts (P = .0001). Although the study found significantly higher serum levels of potassium in the SCD patients (P = .0001), there was no significant difference in serum chloride levels between patients with SCD and the controls (P = .098). Serum sodium and chloride levels were not significantly different in both HbSS and HbSC patients (P = .197 and P = .553, respectively). The level of serum potassium in the HbSS patients was, however, significantly higher compared with those with the HbSC genotype (P = .0001). There is higher efflux of K+ from the intracellular into the extracellular space in HbSS patients, which may lead to red cell membrane dysfunction and associated complications.

Estimating the incidence of tuberculosis cases reported at a tertiary hospital in Ghana: a time series model approach.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of Tuberculosis (TB) differs among countries and contributes to morbidity and mortality especially in the developing countries. Trends and seasonal changes in the number of patients presenting with TB have been studied worldwide including sub-Saharan Africa. However, these changes are unknown at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). The aim of this study was to obtain a time series model to estimate the incidence of TB cases at the chest clinic of the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital. METHODS: A time series analysis using a Box-Jenkins approach propounded as an autoregressive moving average (ARIMA) was conducted on the monthly TB cases reported at the KBTH from 2008 to 2017. Various models were stated and compared and the best was found to be based on the Akaike Information Criterion and Bayesian Information Criterion. RESULTS: There was no evidence of obvious increasing or decreasing trend in the TB data. The log-transformed of the data achieved stationarity with fairly stable variations around the mean of the series. ARIMA (1, 0, 1) or ARMA (1,1) was obtained as the best model. The monthly forecasted values of the best model ranged from 53 to 55 for the year 2018; however, the best model does not always produce the best results with respect to the mean absolute and mean square errors. CONCLUSIONS: Irregular fluctuations were observed in the 10 -year data studied. The model equation to estimate the expected monthly TB cases at KBTH produced an AR coefficient of 0.971 plus an MA coefficient of - 0.826 with a constant value of 4.127. The result is important for developing a hypothesis to explain the dynamics of TB occurrence so as to outline prevention programmes, optimal use of resources and effective service delivery.

Serum nitric oxide levels in healthy pregnant women: a case- control study in a tertiary facility in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is associated with significant changes in maternal cardiovascular system which regulates oxygen and nutrient supply to the growing foetus. Nitric oxide, a physiologic vascular smooth muscle relaxant regulates blood flow and therefore may play a role in the cardiovascular changes in pregnancy. The study aimed to determine the levels and changes in maternal serum nitric oxide levels during healthy pregnancy. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted among 32 healthy non-pregnant women as controls and 100 healthy pregnant women (consisting of 33 first trimester, 37 s trimester, and 30 third trimester) as cases. Subjects were consecutively recruited into the study after obtaining an informed consent and meeting the inclusion criteria. Griess Reagent method was used to determine serum nitric oxide levels. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant difference in the ages and parity of recruited cases and controls. Mean arterial blood pressures were significantly lower (p = 0.009) and serum nitric oxide levels were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in healthy pregnant women compared to healthy non-pregnant women. There was a non-significant progressive increase in serum nitric oxide levels during healthy normal pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of a significantly reduced blood pressures and a significant increase in serum nitric oxide levels in healthy pregnancy may suggest a role of nitric oxide in vascular adaptation in pregnancy.

Serum magnesium and calcium in preeclampsia: a comparative study at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: A large percentage (16% of maternal mortality in developed countries, compared to 9% in developing countries), is due to hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. The etiology of preeclampsia remains unknown, with poorly understood pathophysiology. Magnesium and calcium play an important role in vascular smooth muscle function and therefore a possible role in the development of preeclampsia. AIM: We aimed to compare serum magnesium and total calcium levels of preeclamptic and normal pregnant women at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study involving 30 normal pregnant and 30 preeclamptic women with >30 weeks gestation and aged 18-35 years, was conducted at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Magnesium and calcium were determined using a flame atomic absorption spectrometer. RESULTS: Mean serum magnesium and total calcium levels in preeclamptic women were 0.70±0.15 and 2.13±0.30 mmol/L, respectively. Mean serum magnesium and total calcium levels in normal pregnant women were 0.76±0.14 and 2.13±0.35 mmol/L, respectively. There was a statistically nonsignificant difference in serum magnesium and total calcium in preeclamptic women compared to normal pregnant women, with p-values of 0.092 and 0.972, respectively. CONCLUSION: Serum magnesium and total calcium, therefore, seem not to differ in preeclamptic women compared to normal pregnant women in Ghana.

Relationship between serum total magnesium and serum potassium in emergency surgical patients in a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: Potassium and magnesium are the two most abundant intra-cellular cations. They play pivotal roles in many essential biological processes. Deficiencies of these electrolytes are of clinical importance in hospitalised patients. AIM: To determine the relationship between serum total magnesium and potassium levels in adult patients requiring an emergency intra-abdominal surgery and the clinical utility of this relationship in the care of patients. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted over a five month period at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. All 101 adult patients admitted for emergency intra-abdominal surgery, who met the inclusion criteria and gave informed consent, were consecutively recruited and enrolled into the study. Patients' characteristics preoperative total serum magnesium, serum potassium and albumin levels were determined. Regression analysis and correlation coefficients were used to determine the relation between serum magnesium and potassium. Analysis was done using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: Mean serum total magnesium and serum potassium were 0.66±0.20mmol/L and 3.79±0.65mmol/L respectively. There was a significant but weak positive correlation between serum hypokalaemia and serum magnesium levels. Pearson's correlation coefficient (2 tailed) was 0.21, R(2)= 0.04, p = value 0.038. Analysis generated a regression model: [Mg] = 0.06[K] + 0.42mmol/L, with a p-value = 0.038. CONCLUSION: A mathematical relationship was found between serum total magnesium and serum potassium among adult patients who require emergency intra-abdominal surgery. However, it had limited clinical utility. FUNDING: None declared.