Clinical Significance of Elevated Levels of Cardiac Troponin T in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos.

BACKGROUND: This is an observational study of pre-dialysis patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) attending nephrology clinic at Lagos University Teaching Hospital to determine the clinical significance of elevated levels of Cardiac Troponin T (CTT) and possible associated factors. METHODS: One hundred and forty-three (143) patients with CKD and no prior history of myocardial infarction were recruited and their serum levels of CTT were determined within 3 months of sample collection and storage at -80° C. ECG findings and clinical variables were compared. The 99 percentile cut-off value was derived using healthy individuals that met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Mean blood CTT level was significantly higher in CKD patients compared to the general population. The 99th percentile value derived in the reference sample population was 48.02pg/ml. Statistical analysis showed significant association of CTT elevation with left ventricular hypertrophy, decreased renal function and age. CONCLUSION: CTT is generally elevated in pre-dialysis patients with CKD and a single elevated blood level of CTT above the 99th percentile may suggest asymptomatic Acute Coronary Syndrome. Serial rising levels of CTT and other clinical features will be of diagnostic significance in the diagnosis and management of asymptomatic acute coronary syndrome in patients with CKD.

CONTEXTE: Étude observationnelle de patients prédialysés atteints d'une maladie rénale chronique (MRC) fréquentant une clinique de néphrologie de l'hôpital universitaire de Lagos afin de déterminer la signification clinique des niveaux élevés de troponine cardiaque T (TTC) et des facteurs associés possibles. METHODESS: Cent quarante-trois (143) patients atteints de MRC et aucun antécédent d'infarctus du myocarde ont été recrutés et leurs taux sériques de TTC ont été déterminés dans les 3 mois suivant le prélèvement et le stockage de l'échantillon à -80 °C. Les résultats de l'ECG et les variables cliniques ont été comparés. La valeur seuil du 99e centile a été calculée à partir de personnes en bonne santé qui répondaient aux critères d'inclusion. RESULTATSS: Le taux moyen de TTC dans le sang était significativement plus élevé chez les patients atteints de MRC que dans la population générale. La valeur du 99e centile calculée dans la population de l'échantillon de référence était de 48,02pg/ml. L'analyse statistique a montré l'association significative de l'altitude de TTC avec l'hypertrophie ventriculaire gauche, la fonction rénale diminuée et l'âge. CONCLUSION: Le CTT est généralement élevé dans les patients de pré-dialyse atteints de MRC et un taux sanguin élevé simple de CTT au-dessus du 99ème centile peut suggérer ACS qui n'a pas été remarqué. Les niveaux ascendants périodiques de CTT et d'autres dispositifs cliniques seront d'importance diagnostique dans le diagnostic et la gestion de ces patients atteints de MRC mais asymptomatique pour le syndrome coronaire aigu. MOTS-CLÉS: Troponine cardiaque T, Syndrome coronarien aigu, Maladie rénale chronique, hypertrophie ventriculaire gauche.

Acute kidney injury in Lagos: Pattern, outcomes, and predictors of in-hospital mortality.

CONTEXT: The pattern of acute kidney injury (AKI) differs significantly between developed and developing countries. AIMS: The aim of th study was to determine the pattern and clinical outcomes of AKI in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A retrospective review of hospital records of all patients with a diagnosis of AKI over a 20-month period. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Records of 54 patients were reviewed. Information retrieved included, bio-data, etiology of AKI, results of laboratory investigations, and patient outcomes. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Continuous data are presented as means while categorical data are presented as proportions. The Student's t-test was used to compare means while Chi-square test was used to compare percentages. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors that predicted in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: Twenty-seven (50%) of the patients were male. The mean age of the study population was 39.7 years ± 16.3 years. Sepsis was the etiology of AKI in 52.1% of cases. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 29.6%. Patients who died had a shorter mean duration of hospital stay (9.2 days vs. 33.9 days [P < 0.01]), lower mean serum bicarbonate (19.5 mmol/L vs. 22.9 mmmol/L [P = 0.02]), were more likely to be admitted unconscious (82.4% vs. 17.6% [P = 0.01]) and to have been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (37.5% vs. 7.9% [P = 0.01]). In addition, when dialysis was indicated, patients who did not have dialysis were more likely to die (58.3% vs. 41.7% [P = 0.02]). CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of AKI in this study is similar to that from other developing countries. In-hospital mortality remains high although most of the causes are preventable.

Anomalous renal artery is potential cause of resistant hypertension in a 53 year old patient: case report.

Background: Drug-resistant hypertension can be attributable to secondary hypertension and other causes. Anomalous renal artery is uncommon but can be a potential cause of resistant hypertension. Case Report: We highlight the challenges in management of resistant hypertension and describe its unusual association with renal artery anomaly in 53 years old man who was referred to our nephrology clinic from a peripheral general hospital on account of poorly controlled hypertension. At presentation, BP was severely elevated at 208/100mmHg but no remarkable findings in the rest of the examination. Several investigations done including abdominal ultrasound scan and Computerised Tomography (CT) Renal angiogram revealed a Left anomalous renal artery. Patient declined all suggested urologic interventions and he was then managed conservatively. Conclusion: We found that anomalous renal arteries can be a potential cause of resistant hypertension. We therefore recommend ultrasound scan of the abdomen as a screening modality due to its being non-invasive.

Healthy yogurt fortified with n-3 fatty acids from vegetable sources.

The concentration of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in yogurt was increased using 5 different vegetable oils obtained from flaxseed, Camelina sativa, raspberry, blackcurrant, and Echium plantagineum. The vegetable oils were added to partially skim milk before lactic fermentation at a concentration adequate enough to cover at least 10% of the recommended daily intake of 2 g/d of α-linolenic acid according to EC regulation no. 432/2012. Microbiological (lactobacilli and streptococci, yeast, and molds), chemical (pH, syneresis, proximate composition, fatty acids, oxidation stability), and sensory evaluations were assessed for all of the fortified yogurts after 0, 7, 14, and 21 d of storage at 4°C. Sensory evaluations were conducted at 21 d of storage at 4°C. Among the yogurts produced, those that were supplemented with flaxseed and blackcurrant oils exhibited the highest α-linolenic acid content (more than 200mg/100 g of yogurt) at the end of storage. The addition of oil did not influence the growth of lactic acid bacteria that were higher than 10(7) cfu/g at 21 d of storage. All of the yogurts were accepted by consumers, except for those supplemented with raspberry and E. plantagineum oils due to the presence of off flavors.

Subpericranial shunt valve placement: a technique in patients with friable skin.

INTRODUCTION: One of the nightmares of placing a shunt in patients with friable skin is an exposed shunt or shunt valve with risk of infection of the hardware which may lead to meningitis or ventriculitis with poor outcome. Another feared complication is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak from the wound with subsequent wound dehiscence. The patients at risk of shunt hardware exposure include children who have fragile skin or skin at risk (either from prematurity, malnutrition, steroid therapy or very large head with pressure on the skin). METHOD/TECHNIQUE: This technique involves making a scalp incision with the pericranium taken in one layer with the galea or if the galeal flap has been raised, a pericranial incision is made and a pericranial flap is raised. A subpericranial pouch is developed and a shunt passer used to tunnel the shunt to the abdomen. The pericranial layer is closed, the galea and subcutaneous layer also approximated, and a continuous subcurticular stitch applied. RESULT: We present a malnourished infant with postinfective hydrocephalus having a thin skin requiring a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. A subpericranial technique was used and the patient did well. CONCLUSION: This technique is simple and provides a water-tight wound cover, with the pericranium giving reinforcement and better tensile strength, as well as a fairly good protection for the shunt valve. This is useful in preventing CSF leaks and exposure of the shunt with the associated morbidity and mortality.

Sunlight exposure might account for the relatively low COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in tropical countries.

The present study aimed at exploring whether sunlight exposure might account for the relative difference in COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality between tropical and non-tropical countries. A retrospective observational study was designed and data from the World Health Organization weekly COVID-19 epidemiological update was compiled. We examined the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100 000 population, as well as the total number of COVID-19-related mortalities per 100 000 population. Solar variables data were obtained from the Global Solar Atlas website (https://globalsolaratlas.info/). These data were analyzed to determine the association of sunlight exposure to COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality in tropical and non-tropical countries. Results revealed a statistically significant decrease in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100 000 population (P<0.001), as well as the number of COVID-19-related mortalities per 100 000 population (P<0.001) between tropical and non-tropical countries. Analyses of sunlight exposure data found that specific photovoltaic power output, global horizontal irradiation, diffuse horizontal irradiation and global tilted irradiation at optimum angle were significantly inversely correlated to COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. This suggests that stronger sunlight exposure potentially leads to lower COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. Findings from this study suggest that the relatively low COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality in tropical countries were possibly due to better sunlight exposure that translates into adequate vitamin D status.

Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a rural area in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Patterns of SARS-CoV-2 spread have varied by geolocation, with differences in seroprevalence between urban and rural areas, and between waves. Household spread of SARS-CoV-2 is a known source of new COVID-19 infections, with rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa being more prone than urban areas to COVID-19 transmission because of limited access to water in some areas, delayed health- seeking behaviour and poor access to care. OBJECTIVES: To explore SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence and transmission in rural households in South Africa (SA). METHODS: We conducted a prospective household cluster investigation between 13 April and 21 July 2021 in the Matjhabeng subdistrict, a rural area in Free State Province, SA. Adults with SARS-CoV-2 confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests (index cases, ICs) and their household contacts (HCs) were enrolled. Household visits conducted at enrolment and on days 7, 14 and 28 included interviewer- administered questionnaires and respiratory and blood sample collection for SARS-CoV-2 PCR and SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G serological testing, respectively. Co-primary cases were HCs with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test at enrolment. The incidence rate (IR), using the Poisson distribution, was HCs with a new positive PCR and/or serological test per 1 000 person-days. Associations between outcomes and HC characteristics were adjusted for intra-cluster correlation using robust standard errors. The secondary infection rate (SIR) was the proportion of new COVID-19 infections among susceptible HCs. RESULTS: Among 23 ICs and 83 HCs enrolled, 10 SARS-CoV-2 incident cases were identified, giving an IR of 5.8 per 1 000 person-days (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.14 - 11.95). Households with a co-primary case had higher IRs than households without a co-primary case (crude IR 14.16 v. 1.75, respectively; p=0.054). HIV infection, obesity and the presence of chronic conditions did not materially alter the crude IR. The SIR was 15.9% (95% CI 7.90 - 29.32). Households with a lower household density (fewer household members per bedroom) had a higher IR (IR 9.58; 95% CI 4.67 - 21.71) than households with a higher density (IR 3.06; 95% CI 1.00 - 12.35). CONCLUSION: We found a high SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among HCs in a rural setting, with 48% of households having a co-primary case at the time of enrolment. Households with co-primary cases were associated with a higher seroprevalence and incidence of SARS-CoV-2. Sociodemographic and health characteristics were not associated with SARS-CoV-2 transmission in this study, and we did not identify any transmission risks inherent to a rural setting.

A Geospatial Analysis of the Availability, Distribution, and Accessibility of Neurosurgical Facilities, Workforce, and Infrastructure in Nigeria; and Projection Towards 2050.

OBJECTIVE: There has been a modest but progressive increase in the neurosurgical workforce, training, and service delivery in Nigeria in the last 2 decades. However, these resources are unevenly distributed. This study aimed to quantitatively assess the availability and distribution of neurosurgical resources in Nigeria while projecting the needed workforce capacity up to 2050. METHODS: An online survey of Nigerian neurosurgeons and residents assessed the country's neurosurgical infrastructure, workforce, and resources. The results were analyzed descriptively, and geospatial analysis was used to map their distribution. A projection model was fitted to predict workforce targets for 2022-2050. RESULTS: Out of 86 neurosurgery-capable health facilities, 65.1% were public hospitals, with only 17.4% accredited for residency training. Dedicated hospital beds and operating rooms for neurosurgery make up only 4.0% and 15.4% of the total, respectively. The population disease burden is estimated at 50.2 per 100,000, while the operative coverage was 153.2 cases per neurosurgeon. There are currently 132 neurosurgeons and 114 neurosurgery residents for a population of 218 million (ratio 1:1.65 million). There is an annual growth rate of 8.3%, resulting in a projected deficit of 1113 neurosurgeons by 2030 and 1104 by 2050. Timely access to neurosurgical care ranges from 21.6% to 86.7% of the population within different timeframes. CONCLUSIONS: Collaborative interventions are needed to address gaps in Nigeria's neurosurgical capacity. Investments in training, infrastructure, and funding are necessary for sustainable development and optimized outcomes.

The status of specialist neurosurgical training in Nigeria: A survey of practitioners, trainers, and trainees.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the well-known neurosurgical workforce deficit in Sub-Saharan Africa, there remains a low number of neurosurgical training programs in Nigeria. This study sought to re-assess the current status of specialist neurosurgical training in the country. METHODS: An electronic survey was distributed to all consultant neurosurgeons and neurosurgery residents in Nigeria. Demographic information and questions relating to the content, process, strengths, and challenges of neurosurgical training were explored as part of a broader survey assessing neurosurgical capacity. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. RESULTS: Respondents identified 15 neurosurgical training centers in Nigeria. All 15 are accredited by the West African College of Surgeons (WACS), and 6 by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN). The average duration of core neurosurgical training was 5 years. Some identified strengths of Nigerian neurosurgical training included learning opportunities provided to residents, recent growth in the neurosurgical training capacity, and satisfaction with training. Challenges included a continued low number of training programs compared to the population density, lack of subspecialty training programs, and inadequate training infrastructure. CONCLUSION: Despite the high number of neurosurgery training centers in Nigeria, compared to other West African countries, the programs are still limited in number and capacity. Although this study shows apparent trainee satisfaction with the training process and contents, multiple challenges exist. Efforts at improving training capacity should focus on continuing the development and expansion of current programs, commencing subspecialty training, driving health insurance to improve funding, and increasing available infrastructure for training.

Pattern of intradialytic complications at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

BACKGROUND: The safety of haemodialysis (HD) procedure has improved greatly over the years but, the procedure is not without risks; complications still occur during dialysis. In this study, we report on the pattern of intradialytic complications seen over a one year period at the dialysis centre of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital Lagos (LUTH), Nigeria. METHOD: We reviewed the dialysis and hospital records of consecutive patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who received haemodialysis treatment in the dialysis centre during the period between January and December 2010. Data comprised patients' demographics, aetiology of kidney failure and complications encountered during the HD treatment sessions. RESULTS: The study involved 201 patients with CKD; there were 113 (56.2%) males, the mean age was 47.5 +/- 15.7years. There were 140 (69.7%) new patients and 61 (30.3%) old patients. The most common aetiology of CKD was hypertension (42.8%) followed by glomerulonephritis (15.9%). A total of 1010 haemodialysis sessions were recorded with complications occurring in 36.2% of the HD sessions. The most frequently encountered complication was hypertension which occurred in 15.2% of HD sessions followed by hypotension 8.5%. Hypotension occurred more frequently during first HD session (18.4%) compared with subsequent sessions (6.1%) X2 = p < 0.001. Patients who experienced hypertension had significantly higher pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure (BP) values (mean 168 +/- 28.6mmHg vs 149.3 +/- 20.1mmHg) and pre-dialysis diastolic BP (100.6 +/- 18mmHg vs 90.3 +/- 11.4mmHg) compared with those who did not p <0.001. CONCLUSION: Hypertension was the most frequently encountered complication. Hypotension was still commonly encountered especially during first HD treatments. Clinicians must make concerted to optimise blood pressure in patients undergoing haemodialysis therapy.

Trends in mesothelioma mortality rates in South Africa: 1995-2007.

OBJECTIVE: In 1984, South Africa had one of the highest mesothelioma rates in the world. The objective of this analysis was to calculate mesothelioma mortality rates in the South African population from 1995 to 2007. METHODS: Annual mortality data and midyear population estimates were used to compute mortality rates by age group and gender for each year. The WHO World Standard Population was used as the reference population to calculate age-adjusted rates. Poisson regression models were used to test for trends. RESULTS: In total, 2509 deaths due to mesothelioma were identified in the study period: 1920 in men and 588 in women. There were no significant trends in mesothelioma mortality rates: age-adjusted mortality rates fluctuated from 11 to 16 and from 3 to 5 per million per year for men and women, respectively. CONCLUSION: These mortality rates are much lower than expected, given the historical production and use of, and high exposure to, asbestos in South Africa. Possible reasons for this are discussed, including the effect of HIV which has been instrumental in reducing the life expectancy of South Africans in the last two decades. Asbestos-exposed individuals may not live long enough to develop mesothelioma. Competing causes of death need to be taken into account when constructing models to predict mesothelioma mortality rates.

Giant Encephalocele in Sokoto, Nigeria: A 5-Year Review of Operated Cases.

OBJECTIVE: Encephalocele is a common congenital malformation of the central nervous system; however, giant encephaloceles are rare. The use of folic acid supplementation and termination of pregnancies, which are prenatally diagnosed with encephaloceles and other congenital malformation of the central nervous system, has significantly reduced the occurrence of this type of congenital malformation, especially in developed countries. METHODS: This was a retrospective review over a 5-year period from January 2006 to December 2010 at the Department of Neurosurgery, Regional Centre for Neurosurgery, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria. The records of patients with giant encephalocele were retrieved from the case notes of patients who had excision and repair for encephalocele. RESULTS: Seventy-three patients had excision and repair of encephalocele over the study period. However, the records of only 50 patients were retrieved. Fourteen (28%) of the 50 whose records were retrieved had giant encephalocele. There were 4 male and 10 female patients (1:2.5). Thirteen (92.9%) had the lesion located in the occipital region, whereas in 1 patient (7.1%) the lesion was at the vertex. Three (21%) of the cases had microcephaly, 1 (7.1%) had macrocephaly, and 1 (7.1%) developed postoperative hydrocephalus. The average size of defect was 2.43 cm, and the size of the lesion ranged from 12 × 6 cm to 40 × 50 cm. The average maternal age was 20.3 years (n = 6), and the paternal age was 29 years (n = 4). Four out of 7 (57%) mothers had febrile illness in early pregnancy. Seven out of 10 patients (70%) did not have antenatal care. CONCLUSIONS: This condition is more common in children conceived during the period when farm products are yet to be harvested, and whose mothers did not attend antenatal care visits. It is recommended that mothers should be educated on the necessity of preconception folic acid. Implementation of a national strategy on food fortification is also advised. We recommend surgery after the first month of life to reduce poor early postoperative outcomes. In developing countries and centers with suboptimal pediatric intensive care units, surgical intervention is preferred after the first month of life with good temperature control, adequate fluid replacement following rupture of the sac, blood transfusion availability, and, only if necessary, complex cranial reconstruction.

Novel variants of muscle calpain 3 identified in human melanoma cells: cisplatin-induced changes in vitro and differential expression in melanocytic lesions.

Calpains are cysteine proteases comprising members ubiquitously expressed in human tissues and other tissue-specific isoforms. Alterations of calpain 3 (p94), the muscle-specific isoform that contains three peculiar sequences (NS, IS1 and IS2), are strictly associated to the limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A, in which a myonuclear apoptosis has been documented. Our recent demonstration of a proapoptotic role of ubiquitous calpains in drug-induced apoptosis of melanoma cells prompted us to investigate the expression of calpain 3 in human melanoma cell lines undergoing apoptosis and in melanocytic lesions. In melanoma cell lines, we have identified two novel splicing variants of calpain 3 (hMp78 and hMp84): they have an atypical initiation exon and a putative nuclear localization signal, the shorter one lacks IS1 inset and both proteins are extremely unstable. Virtually, both isoforms (prevalently as cleavage forms) are localized in cytoplasm and in nucleoli. In cisplatin-treated preapoptotic cells, an increase of both transcription and autoproteolytic cleavage of the novel variants is observed; the latter event is prevented by the inhibitor of ubiquitous calpains, calpeptin, which is also able to protect from apoptosis. Interestingly, among melanocytic lesions, the expression of these novel variants is significantly downregulated, compared with benign nevi, in the most aggressive ones, i.e. in vertical growth phase melanoma and, even more, in metastatic melanoma cells, characterized by invasiveness properties and usually highly resistant to apoptosis. On the whole, our observations suggest that calpain 3 variants can play a proapoptotic role in melanoma cells and its downregulation, as observed in highly aggressive lesions, could contribute to melanoma progression.

Measuring gender norms about relationships in early adolescence: Results from the global early adolescent study.

INTRODUCTION: Gender norms are increasingly recognized as drivers of health and wellbeing. While early adolescence constitutes a critical window of development, there is limited understanding about how adolescents perceive gender relations across different cultural settings. This study used a mixed-method approach, grounded in the voices of young people around the world, to construct and test a cross-cultural scale assessing the perceptions of gender norms regulating romantic relationships between boys and girls in early adolescence. METHODS: The study draws on the Global Early Adolescent study (GEAS), a study focusing on gender norms and health related outcomes over the course of adolescence in urban poor settings worldwide. In-depth interviews were first conducted among approximately 200 adolescents between 10-14 years in seven sites across 4 continents to identify common scripts guiding romantic relations in early adolescence. These scripts were then transformed into a multidimensional scale. The scale was tested among 120 adolescents in each of 14 GEAS sites, followed by a second pilot among 75 adolescents in six sites. We evaluated the psychometric criteria of each sub-scale using principal component analysis, and parallel analysis, followed by exploratory factor analysis to guide the selection of a more parsimonious set of items. RESULTS: Results suggested a two-factor structure, consisting of an "adolescent romantic expectations" subscale and a "Sexual Double Standard" subscale. Both subscales yielded high internal validity in each site, with polychoric Cronbach alpha values above 0.70 with the exception of Kinshasa for the adolescent romantic expectations scale (0.64) and Hanoi for the sexual double standard scale (0.61). CONCLUSION: This study reveals common perceptions of gendered norms about romantic engagement in early adolescence, normative for both sexes, but socially valued for boys while devaluated for girls. The findings illustrate that social hierarchies of power in romantic relationships form early in adolescence, regardless of cultural setting.

Cross-talk between calpain and caspase-3/-7 in cisplatin-induced apoptosis of melanoma cells: a major role of calpain inhibition in cell death protection and p53 status.

The contribution of different proteolytic systems, in particular calpains and effector caspases, in apoptotic cell death is still controversial. In this paper, we show that during cisplatin-induced apoptosis of human metastatic melanoma cells, calpain activation, as measured in intact cells by two different fluorescent substrates, is an early event, taking place well before caspase-3/-7 activation, and progressively increasing during 48 h of treatment. Such activation appears to be independent from any intracellular calcium imbalance; in fact, an increase of cytosolic calcium along with emptying of the reticular stores occur only at very late stages, uniquely in frankly apoptotic, detached cells. Calpain activation proves to be an early and crucial event in the apoptotic machinery, as demonstrated by the significant protection of cell death in samples co-treated with the calpain inhibitors, MDL 28170, calpeptin and PD 150606, where a variable but significant reduction of both caspase-3/-7 activity and cell detachment is observed. Consistently, such a protective effect can be at least partially due to the impairment of cisplatin-induced p53 activation, occurring early in committed, preapoptotic cells. Furthermore, in late apoptotic cells, calpain activity is also responsible for the formation of a novel p53 proteolytic fragment (approximately 26 kDa), whose function is so far to be elucidated.

Albuminuria and Reduced Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate among First-degree Relatives of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

Screening of individuals at increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been advocated by several guidelines. Among individuals at increased risk are first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with CKD. There is a paucity of data on the prevalence and risk of CKD in FDRs of patients with CKD in sub-Saharan African population. This study aimed to screen FDRs of patients with CKD for albuminuria and reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). A cross-sectional survey of 230 FDRs of patients with CKD and 230 individuals without family history of CKD was conducted. Urinary albumin: creatinine ratio (ACR) was determined from an early morning spot urine. Glomerular filtration rate was estimated from serum creatinine. Reduced eGFR was defined as eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 and albuminuria defined as ACR ≥30 mg/g. A higher prevalence of albuminuria was found in the FDRs compared to the controls (37.0% vs. 22.2%; P < 0.01). Reduced eGFR was more prevalent among the FDRs compared with the controls (5.7% vs. 1.7%, P < 0.03). Hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 2.9) and reduced eGFR (OR, 9.1) were independent predictors of albuminuria while increasing age (OR, 6.7) and proteinuria (OR, 10.7) predicted reduced eGFR in FDRs. The odds of developing renal dysfunction were increased 2-fold in the FDRs of patients with CKD, OR 2.3, 95% confidence interval, 1.29-3.17. We concluded that albuminuria and reduced eGFR are more prevalent among the FDRs of patient with CKD and they are twice as likely to develop kidney dysfunction as healthy controls.

Do the Benefits of Transplant Tourism Amongst Nigerian Patients Outweigh the Risks? A Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Transplant tourism (TT) is the term used to describe travel outside one's country of abode for the sole purpose of obtaining organ transplantation services. OBJECTIVE: This study describes the characteristics and outcomes of kidney transplant tourists who were followed up in our institution. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent kidney transplantation outside the country and were followed up in our institution from 2007 to 2015. RESULTS: 26 patients were followed up; 19 (73%) were males. The mean±SD age of patients was 40.5±10.3 years. The majority (n=20) of the transplantations were carried out in India. Living-unrelated transplants were most common (54%). Complications encountered were infections in 11 (42%) patients, new-onset diabetes after transplantation in 9 (35%), chronic allograft nephropathy in 8 (31%), biopsy-proven acute rejections in 3 (12%), and primary non-function in 2 (8%). 1-year graft survival was 81% and 1-year patient survival was 85%. CONCLUSION: Kidney transplant tourism is still common among Nigerian patients with end-stage renal disease. Short-term graft and patient survival rates were poorer than values recommended for living kidney transplants. We therefore advise that TT should be discouraged in Nigeria, given the availability of transplantation services in the country, and also in line with international efforts to curb the practice.

Don't abandon hope all ye who enter here: The protective role of formal mentoring and learning processes on burnout in correctional officers.

BACKGROUND: Within a Job Demands-Resources Model framework, formal mentoring can be conceived as a job resource expressing the organization's support for new members, which may prevent their being at risk for burnout. OBJECTIVE: This research aims at understanding the protective role of formal mentoring on burnout, through the effect of increasing learning personal resources. Specifically, we hypothesized that formal mentoring enhances newcomers' learning about job and social domains related to the new work context, thus leading to lower burnout. METHODS: In order to test the hypotheses, a multiple regression analysis using the bootstrapping method was used. RESULTS: Based on a questionnaire administered to 117 correctional officer newcomers who had a formal mentor assigned, our results confirm that formal mentoring exerts a positive influence on newcomers' adjustment, and that this in turn exerts a protective influence against burnout onset by reducing cynicism and interpersonal stress and also enhancing the sense of personal accomplishment. CONCLUSIONS: Confirming previous literature's suggestions, supportive mentoring and effective socialization seem to represent job and personal resources that are protective against burnout. This study provides empirical support for this relation in the prison context.