Assessment of Serum Uric Acid, Urea, and Glucose Levels and Associated Factors among Breast Cancer Patients Attending A Tertiary Hospital in Bahirdar, Ethiopia: A Comparative CrossSectional Study

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is currently become a major public health problem in both developed and developing regions, it is one of the most common surgical problems in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study assessed serum uric acid, urea, and glucose levels and associated factors among benign, malignant breast cancer patients and apparently healthy women attending at Felege-Hiwot comprehensive Specialized Hospital. METHODS: Hospital based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among benign, malignant breast cancer patients and apparently healthy women attending at Felege-Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Out of 178 study participants 66 benign and 23 malignant fine needle aspirate cytology confirmed breast cancer patients and 89 apparently healthy women, included. Multivariable logistic regression models used to measure the strength of associations. A P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Majority of the study participants, 81(91%) controls, 55(83.3%) benign, and 17(73.9%) malignant cases were premenopausal. Serum glucos144.47±74.35 and uric acid 6.84±2.54 levels were significantly elevated in malignant cases than control (p-value< 0.05). Patients with malignant status were 4.38 times more likely to have hyperglycemia (AOR=4.38, 95%CI: 1.98-19.97) and 5.53 times more likely have hyperuricemia (AOR=20.43-95% CI: 6.80- 61.23), 4 times more likely to have uremia (AOR=4.09, 95% CI: 1.06-15.91) compared to apparently healthy women. CONCLUSION: Serum glucose, and uric acid levels were significantly higher in malignant and benign cases compared with apparently healthy women. Family history of breast cancer, body mass index, systolic hypertension, comorbidity, residence and menopausal status were significantly associated with hyperglycemia, uremia and hyperuricemia.

Comparison of point-of-care glucometers and laboratory based glucose oxidase test in determining blood glucose levels

Introduction: Alterations in blood glucose levels are common and an important determinant of a patient's admission outcomes, point-of-care glucometers, which are affected by a variety of factors, are increasingly used in clinical care. In this study we compared blood glucose levels determined by two commonly used glucometers (One Touch® and Accu-check® ) with those of a standard laboratory method and determined the effect of haematocrit on glucose readings Methods: Blood glucose levels were measured with One Touch® and Accu-Check® glucometers and the glucose oxidase method at the same time in 295 children aged 0 to 15 years over a 6-month period. Bland-Altman and correlation analysis were used to explore biases among the three methods. For all statistical tests, a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Most were males (51.2%) and the median (range) age was 1 year (1 day, 12 years). There was a significant correlation between each of the glucometer methods and laboratory blood sugar, and the correlation between the two glucometers was strong and significant. This correlation remained statistically significant even after controlling for haematocrit values. There was an acceptable level of bias (3.9 mg/dL) between the One Touch® and Accu-check® glucometers, but each had a remarkably large bias compared with the glucose oxidase method. Conclusion: The use of a tested glucometer in clinical settings can aid in rapid decision-making, but there is a need to periodically cross -check with the glucose oxidase method in the laboratory to optimise treatment outcomes for children with dysglycaemia

Body Mass Index to Predict Pre-diabetes

Background: Early detection of the risk of pre-diabetes can lessen the likelihood of the development of diabetes mellitus. Various studies have shown a significant correlation between obesity and the incidence of pre-diabetes and diabetes. However, none of the studies has presented the value of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) or the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) as parameters for diagnosing pre-diabetes or diabetes. This study aimed to estimate the value of FPG and the OGTT to predict pre-diabetes based on body mass index (BMI). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Kembaran sub district, Banyumas Regency, Indonesia. The research sample consisted of 231 apparently healthy respondents (not showing any clinical symptoms of diabetes) who were underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese in terms of their BMI, and the sample was selected through random sampling. All samples were measured for BMI, FPG, and OGTT. Data were then analyzed with linear regression. Results: From 231 subjects, 133 (57.5%) were considered as normal, while 90 (39.0%) were diagnosed with pre-diabetes. We were unable to predict eight (3.5%) subjects. There was a positive correlation between BMI, FPG and the OGTT (FPG: r0.543; p<0.01; FPG prediction: 56.800+2.232*BMI), (OGTT: r0.462; p<0.01; OGTT prediction: 85.231+2.202*BMI). Conclusions and recommendation: BMI can be utilized as the prediction of pre-diabetic occurrence; a person the apparently healthy but has a BMI ≥ 25kg/m2 is considered to have pre-diabetes

Effect of Glucose Contents of Selected Soft Drinks on Plasma Glucose Level of Adolescent Healthy Nigerian Subjects

Soft drink is a carbonated water; flavoured and sweetened with either sugar or sweetener. The resulting glucose solution in the human body is the key source of energy. Positive associations between soft drinks consumption and incidence of diabetes have been postulated. Thus; it is the aim of this study to show the effects of casual soft drinks consumption on glucose level of healthy Nigerian individuals in fasting and 2 hours post-prandial. A total of 350 apparently healthy individuals were recruited for this study. 115 subjects (Group A) were given a bottle of Coca-Cola (Coke) each; another 115 (Group B) subjects were given a bottle of Bitter Lemon (Krest) each while the remaining 120 subjects (Group C) were given 75g of D-glucose in 300mL of distilled water. Glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed on all the subjects and the curve of glucose concentration plotted against time of sample collection. GTT graph of group A and B shows a flat curve of enhanced GTT while group C shows a normal GTT response graph. The result however; indicates that casual consumption of soft drinks did not predispose to development of diabetes as it has no significant effect on plasma glucose and renal threshold concentration of apparently healthy individuals

Variation in fasting in blood sugar levels of pregnant and non-pregnant women attending Federal Medical centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

This is a descriptive study on variation in fasting blood sugar level of pregnant and non-pregnant women attending Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Yenagoa, Nigeria in March 2008. Blood sample was taken under strict aseptic technique and tested for fasting blood sugar. The findings were analyzed using t-test and correlation method of statistics. The results showed that fasting blood sugar level for pregnant women was 3.869±0.823 while those of non-pregnant women was 3.784±0.725. The t-test (cal) and t (α) for both pregnant and non-pregnant women were 0.484 and 1.670 respectively. Fasting blood sugar level increases with increasing age and the calculated α value for pregnant and non-pregnant women were 0.77 and 0.0653 respectively, which showed a negative correlation level. However the correlation was independent of pregnancy and the r values for pregnant and non-pregnant women were 0.9976 for both groups. This research showed that no significant difference in fasting blood sugar level exist between pregnant and non-pregnant women used for this study although blood sugar levels correlated with age, weight and level of education

Effect of Aqueous Extract of Alstonia Congensis on Glucose Transport and Na+-K+-ATPase Activity in the Everted and Non-Everted Guinea Pig Intestine and Erythrocyte Fragility

The seed of Alstonia congensis has been used as purgative by traditional doctors. It is not known if glucose transport and Na+-K+ ATPase activity are affected during the purging process. The effect of the plant on erythrocytes fragility is also not known. This study was designed to provide this information. The effect of aqueous extract (1:25w/v) of Alstonia congensis on the transportation of glucose ranging from 0.10 to 0.40M from normal and everted guinea pig intestinal strips into the surrounding 0.5M TrisEDTA saline buffer pH 8.2; on Na+-K+- ATPase activity and erythrocytes fragility were measured. Results showed that the aqueous extract reduced glucose transportation; inhibited Na+-k+-ATPase activity and specific activity at higher enzyme protein concentration and activated the enzyme activity and specific activity at lower enzyme protein concentration. Glucose transport reduction was linked to the effect of the extract on the Na+-k+-ATPase system. The extract also increased erythrocytes fragility. The active ingredient(s) in the extract is not known yet and research work is in progress to ascertain it