Serum Immunoglobulin E Level and Its Relationship with Eosinophil Count among Patients with Allergic Rhinitis in Tertiary Hospital in Bauchi, Northeastern Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis is an immunoglobulin E-mediated hypersensitivity disease of the mucous membrane of the nasal airway. There is a paucity of information regarding serum immunoglobulin E level and its relationship with eosinophil count among patients with allergic rhinitis in our facility and Northeastern Nigeria. AIM: To determine serum immunoglobulin E level and its relationship with eosinophil count among patients with allergic rhinitis. METHODOLOGY: It was a cross-sectional study of consecutive patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis that were recruited from the ear, nose, and throat surgery and respiratory medicine clinics of ATBUTH, Bauchi, Bauchi State, Northeastern Nigeria, from January 01, 2022, to May 31, 2023. Five milliliters of blood were analyzed for immunoglobulin E estimation using an immunoglobulin E ELISA kit and determination of eosinophil count using pack five hematologic autoanalyzer. Extracted data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23.0 software. RESULT: There were 61 patients studied comprising 22 (36.1%) males and 39 (63.9%) females with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.7. Their ages range from 18 to 77 years old. The mean age, serum IgE level, and eosinophil counts of all three patients were 38.65 ± 14.34 years, 371.24 ± 82.63 IU/ml, and 3.35 ± 2.87%, respectively. All (100%) participants had raised serum IgE levels, and 88.5% had normal eosinophil count. There was no significant correlation between the serum IgE level and eosinophil counts (r = -0.206; P = 0.112). CONCLUSION: All of the participants had a high serum IgE level. There was no significant association between serum IgE and eosinophil count.

Diagnostic usefulness of serum procalcitonin in patients with bacterial sepsis.

Background: The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is used for the diagnosis of sepsis and involves clinical and laboratory parameters that may not be readily and/or timely available in most resource-poor settings. Procalcitonin (PCT) has its level changed in response to bacterial sepsis and its measurement costs only a fraction of the total cost of investigations required to calculate SOFA score. This study aims to determine the diagnostic usefulness of PCT in bacterial sepsis. Materials and Methods: Ninety-nine participants were studied, divided into three groups: apparently healthy volunteers, those with bacterial infection without sepsis (SOFA score <2), and patients with bacterial sepsis (positive culture and SOFA ≥2). PCT level of each participant was measured and median group levels compared. Pearson's correlation was used to determine the correlation between serum PCT levels and SOFA scores in the sepsis group using a significance level of 5 percent (P < 0.05). Diagnostic usefulness of PCT was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC). Result: Positive correlation was found between serum PCT levels and SOFA scores among patients with sepsis r = 0.42, P = 0.016. At a concentration of ≥4.25 ng/ml, serum PCT as a surrogate for SOFA score had a sensitivity and specificity of 57.60% and 84.80%, respectively, for indicating sepsis. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.74 (95% CI {0.62 to 0.86}, P = 0.001). Conclusion: Serum PCT concentration was significantly higher in bacterial sepsis compared to bacterial infection without sepsis and healthy state. PCT concentration demonstrated positive correlation with SOFA score in bacterial sepsis and can be used as surrogate for sepsis screening/monitoring in resource-poor settings.

Hepatic transaminase and alkaline phosphatase enzyme levels in HIV/HBV co-infected and HIV mono-infected patients in Maiduguri, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that HIV-HBV co-infected patients have an increased risk of liver-related morbidity and mortality compared to their HIV-mono-infected counterparts. Furthermore, it has been reported that HIV-HBV co-infected patients have a significantly high incidence of drug-induced hepatotoxicity following commencement of HAART than HIV-mono-infected patients. OBJECTIVES: To compare the levels of aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALKPO 4 ) enzyme levels between HAART naïve HIV-HBV co-infected patients and their HIV-mono-infected counterparts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study in which 142 newly diagnosed HIV/HBV co-infected and HIV mono-infected adults were investigated for alkaline aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase enzyme levels. RESULTS: The study subjects comprised of 80 (56.3%) females and 62 (46.7%) males. The age range of the study population was 15-65 years. The mean ages of male and female subjects were 45.5 ± 10.5 years and 39.1 ± 7.5 years respectively ( P < 0.05). Sixty-three (44.4%) study subjects were HIV/HBV co-infected while 79 (55.6%) were HIV mono-infected. The mean ALT enzyme level of HIV/HBV co-infected subjects was significantly higher than that of HIV mono-infected ones i.e., 42.12 IU/l vs. 27.86 IU/l, ( P = 0.038). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean AST (30.14 IU/l vs. 29.09 IU/l, P = 0.893) and ALKPO 4 (55.86 IU/l vs. 60.97 IU/l, P = 0.205) enzyme levels between HIV-HBV co-infected and HIV mono-infected subjects albeit the two enzymes were moderately elevated in both categories of subjects. CONCLUSION: The significantly elevated ALT enzyme levels amongst HIV-HBV co-infected subjects suggest that HIV-HBV co-infected patients may have an increased risk of liver-related morbidity and mortality than their HIV mono-infected counterparts. Screening for serological markers of chronic HBV infection, as well as hepatic transaminase enzyme levels in all newly diagnosed HIV-positive patients is therefore recommended before commencement of HAART.