Study of the antigenic characteristics of red blood cells units and their sickle cell disease recipients and the G6PD activity of transfused red blood cells units.

INTRODUCTION: Transfusion has a central place in the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Matching blood groups of red blood cell (RBC) units with the blood groups of the patient is essential to prevent alloimmunization and delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction. African ancestry donors have the best phenocompatibility with patients of the same origin, however their RBCs may present characteristic that can alter quality of the unit such as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. The objective is to analyze transfusion protocol, immunization rate and mismatch situations of SCD recipients and to evaluate the frequency of G6PD deficiency in RBCs units from African ancestry donors. METHODS: Samples of units transfused to SCD patients were analyzed. Transfusion data were collected from institutional databases. The activity of G6PD was measured in the segment of the RBC units. RESULTS: A total of 98 segments of units transfused to 37 SCD recipients in 41 transfusions episodes was collected. Among patients, 35.1% (n = 13) had no antibodies; 10.8% (n = 4) had antibodies against Fya/Fyb, Jka/Jkb, M/N, S/s; 21.6% (n = 8) against RH/K antigens. In all cases, the protocols were in line with the recommendations. G6PD deficiency was observed in 9 units, that were all collected from Afro-Caribbean donors. CONCLUSION: The transfusion protocol is established to prevent immunological reactions due to disparities in blood group antigens between donors and SCD recipients. However, the units of African ancestry donors, which allowed the best compatibility, displayed a high rate of G6PD deficiency. The storage and recovery impact of this deficiency must be evaluated.

Wound colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and hypotheses about acquisition routes in rural health care settings in Sub-Saharan Africa: Perspective from a center devoted to the treatment of cutaneous neglected tropical diseases.

We identified a high prevalence (46.4%) of wound colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in patients hospitalized in a center devoted to the treatment of cutaneous tropical diseases in Benin. The proportion of MRSA among S aureus isolates was 54.3%. Thirty percent of these MRSA were identified in outpatients. The analysis of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis demonstrated an important diversity of strains but also identified 8 small clusters containing between 2 and 4 isolates suggesting cross-transmission.