Electrophoresis test prevalence, requesting patterns, yield and related bone marrow biopsy findings at a South African tertiary hospital: A 5-year retrospective audit

Background. Studies of electrophoresis testing (serum protein electrophoresis (SPE), urine protein electrophoresis (UPE), immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE)) in a South African (SA) pathology laboratory setting are limited. Objectives. To evaluate the prevalence, testing pattern and yield of electrophoresis tests performed over a 5-year period in a tertiary academic laboratory and to relate these findings to bone marrow biopsy findings in a few selected cases.Methods. This was a retrospective audit of all SPE, UPE and IFE tests performed on new and follow-up adult patients (aged ≥18 years) from 2010 to 2015, using data from the Tygerberg Academic Hospital (Cape Town, SA) National Health Laboratory Service hospital information system database. A subgroup analysis of all patients with negative serum (SIFE) and/or urine immunofixation (UIFE) tests who had concurrent bone marrow biopsies close to the time of IFE testing was also performed.Results. A total of 5 086 SPE tests were performed (44.3% were follow-up tests, and of these patients 13.8% had SIFE tests); 1 299 UPE tests were performed (23.3% were follow-up tests, and of these patients 33.6% had UIFE tests). The mean ages of patients who had SIFE and UIFE tests were 59 years (standard deviation (SD) 14.2) and 60 years (SD 15), respectively. The female-to-male ratio was 1.1:1 for both SIFE and UIFE. The negative test yields for SIFE and UIFE were 31.3% and 52.1%, respectively. Bone marrow biopsy findings for patients with negative SIFE tests identified 8 out of the 20 biopsies (40.0%) as positive for myeloma.Conclusion. This audit provides baseline data on the prevalence of test requests, their source and the yield of electrophoresis testing in our laboratory. An increasing trend in SIFE and UIFE was evident

Evaluating the Knowledge of Sickle Cell Disease and Hemoglobin Electrophoretic Pattern among People Living in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis; Ghana

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited lifelong hemolytic disorder affecting many children in sub-Saharan Africa; especially in West and Central Africa. There is a limited public health education on SCD in Ghana with only two information centers in Accra and Kumasi; respectively.Methodology: This cross-sectional study evaluated the knowledge of SCD among people living in Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis. Churches; saloons; internet cafes and bus stations were randomly selected in the center of the city with proximity to the central market.Results: A total of 621 individuals were recruited; 52.5 (326) had knowledge of their hemoglobin (Hb) electrophoretic pattern while 47.5 (295) had none. In addition; 93.4 individuals had knowledge of SCD while 6.6 had no knowledge of SCD. Older individuals exhibited better knowledge of their Hb electrophoretic pattern than the younger ones (P = 0.019). Individuals with tertiary education and married couples exhibited higher knowledge of SCD when compared to their counterparts (P 0.001).Conclusion: Despite the relatively high knowledge of SCD and Hb electrophoretic pattern observed in this study; it is very important to increase neonatal screenings and health care services to the region. In addition; more emphasis is needed to increase public awareness of SCD especially in schools; churches; hospitals and the media

Analysis of a Temporal Cluster of Shigella Boydii Isolates in Mpumalanga; South Africa; November to December 2007

Background: Shigellosis is a global human health problem. The disease is most prevalent in developing countries with poor access to safe potable water and sanitation. Shigella boydii is of particular epidemiological importance in developing nations such as African and Asian countries. In the present study; we report on the analysis of a temporal cluster of 29 S. boydii serotype 2 strains; isolated in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa (SA) over the period of November to December 2007. Methodology: Bacteria were identified as S. boydii using standard microbiological identification techniques and serotyped using commercially available antisera. Susceptibility testing to antimicrobial agents was determined by the Etest. Genotypic relatedness of strains was investigated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis of digested genomic DNA. Results: The cluster of 29 isolates revealed comparable antimicrobial susceptibility profiles; while dendrogram analysis of PFGE patterns showed that the cluster of isolates grouped together and could clearly be differentiated from a random selection of unrelated S. boydii serotype 2 strains. Our data has strongly suggested that this cluster of isolates may share a common ancestry. However; this cannot be substantiated by epidemiological data because a detailed epidemiological investigation was not conducted. Conclusions: We have documented the first cluster of S. boydii infection in SA. Due to the lack of adequate epidemiological investigation; we cannot emphatically state that an outbreak had occurred. However; we do hypothesis that this was an outbreak for which a waterborne source cannot be excluded. This study has highlighted the urgent need for timely and appropriate systems of epidemiological investigation of all suspected outbreaks of disease in developing countries

Electropherotypes and Subgroups of Group A Rotaviruses Circulating among Diarrhoeic Children in Kano; Nigeria

Background: It is estimated that about 600?000 children die annually as a result of severe dehydrating diarrhea caused by rotaviruses. The virus is a double stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus with 11 segments. Group A rotaviruses show a characteristic 4-2-3-2 pattern following electrophoresis. The VP6 subgroups; I and II exist. This work was carried out to study the prevalence of rotavirus infection among children 0-5 years with diarrhea in Kano; and to determine the circulating subgroups and electropherotypes and of the rotavirus isolates. Methods: Two hundred and eighteen stool specimens from children 0-60 months (198 diarrheic and 20 non-diarrheic) were collected from different hospitals and health care centers in Kano and subjected to group A rotavirus enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine presence of group A rotavirus; subgroup ELISA to determine the VP6 subgroups and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to determine the electropherotypes present. Results: The long electropherotypes (47.05) of four variations dominated over the short electropherotype (17.64). About 11.76of the isolates were of mixed infection. Dominance of subgroup II (45) over subgroup I (25); and the presence of both subgroups I and II (10) and neither subgroup I nor II (15) was observed in this study. Conclusion: Information on the genomic diversity of the RNA electropherotypes in this region; Kano; is reported in this study

Electrophorese Haute Resolution en gel d'agarose. Mise au point technique en cuve non refrigeree

Dans le Laboratoire de Biochimie Clinique a Cotonou; l'utilisation de l'electrophorese se limite a l'analyse des cinq fractions classiques c'est-a-dire albumine; alpha1; alpha2; beta et gamma globulines bien que chaque zone se compose de plusieurs proteines de roles et fonctions physiologiques differents. Afin de tirer le maximum de profit de cette methode de separation; il s'est developpe une technique l'Electrophorese Haute Resolution en gel d'agarose refrigere. Les auteurs presentent dans ce travail une mise au point de cette technique correspondant aux conditions de travail au Laboratoire du Centre National Hospitalier et Universitaire de Cotonou