ABSTRACT
Many studies have linked smoking with cardiovascular disease, but the components and the mechanisms responsible are unclear. Smoking has been reported to enhance platelet aggregation and adhesiveness, probably via nicotine. The study is aimed at ascertaining which coagulation pathway is mostly affected in chronic smokers in Enugu, South-east Nigeria. The study comprised of 200 subjects (100 chronic smokers and 100 non-smokers as controls). The chronic smokers had mean age of 40±19 years, whereas the control had mean age of 41±20 years. Exactly 4.5mls of blood was drawn and gently mixed with 0.5ml of sodium citrate anticoagulant in a ratio of 9 parts of blood to 1 part of the anticoagulant and used for the assay. Prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time with kaolin (APTTK) were analyzed using standard operating procedures with Plasmascann® kit reagent and Hemoscann® test kit from Quimica Clinica Aplicada S.A (QCA) respectively. The statistical analysis was done using Graph pad prism software of Statmate. The result showed statistical significant decrease (P<0.05) in PT and APTTK in the smokers compared to the age-matched controls. A linear regression was used to show that chronic smoking affects the intrinsic pathway more than the extrinsic pathway (p<0.05). The study showed that chronic smoking affects coagulation pathways generally, most especially the intrinsic pathway.
ABSTRACT
Introduction/Aim: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children is now a global health problem, and obstructive uropathy plays a major causative role. Reports however indicate limited CKD knowledge and awareness among caregivers which may be a draw-back in ‘preventive nephrology’. The study aims to determine the knowledge of mothers regarding the significance of abnormal urine stream in the male newborn infant. Study Design: Paediatric Nephrology Clinic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, South-East Nigeria. Period of six months (June to December, 2013). Place and Duration: Paediatric Nephrology Clinic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, south-east Nigeria. Period of six months (June to December, 2013). Methodology: A cross-sectional, descriptive study of 204 mothers who met the study criteria was conducted using interviewer-administered, structured questionnaires. Their knowledge on whether abnormal stream suggests disease was measured on a rating scale of 1=never, 2=sometimes to 3=always. Data were analyzed with appropriate descriptive statistics on SPSS (version 13.0). P value <0.05 was chosen as level of statistical significance. Results: Eighty eight (43.1%) of the mothers had a knowledge scale of 3, while 70 (34.3%) had a scale of 2. There was no statistically significant difference between the social classes of the two groups of mothers (P=.25). Conclusion: The over-all knowledge of mothers is adjudged as modest and is not influenced by socio-economic status. Preventive intervention strategies should include health education to promote early self-referral and diagnosis.