Abnormal findings on dipstick urinalysis of out-patient with malaria in Abakaliki, Nigeria.

Background & objectives: Malaria, one of the major health challenges of the tropics affecting about 500 million people, particularly the children and pregnant women have been associated with changes in urine compositions. The present study was undertaken to document the urinary abnormalities in malaria patients based on malaria species and the level of malaria parasitaemia. Methods: Febrile patients (n = 365) with positive Giemsa-stained blood films for malaria recruited from Outpatient Department of Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki participated in the study. Patients were classified into two categories (+ and ++) based on parasite density. Apparently healthy individuals (n = 81), without malaria parasite on both thick and thin films of comparable age and gender acted as control group. Urine sample (10 ml) was collected from each participant and analysed using standard laboratory methods and techniques. Results: Seventy-four (20.3%) of the patients had Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Although all the urine parameters were higher in the malarial patients in comparison to the control, only bilirubinuria and urobilinogenuria were statistically significant (p <0.05). Also, bilirubinuria, urobilinogenuria, haematuria and proteinuria were significantly (p <0.05) higher in P. falciparum infection than in infections with other malaria species, but only in P. falciparum infection, bilirubinuria and urobilinogenuria were significantly (p <0.05) higher at higher parasitaemia. Conclusion: Even though positive blood film for malaria parasite remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of malaria, urinary abnormalities, such as bilirubinuria, urobilinogenuria, proteinuria and haematuria may aid in identifying patients with severe malaria parasitaemia, especially the falciparum malaria.

Prevalence of Low Sperm Count and Abnormal Semen Parameters in Male Partners of Women Consulting at Infertility Clinic in Abakaliki; Nigeria

In order to provide an insight to the prevalence of low sperm count and abnormal semen parameters in suspected subfertile/ infertile men in our environment; semen samples collected from one hundred and seventy (170) men aged 21-50 years; whose wives were seen at a private fertility clinic in Abakaliki; Nigeria with diagnosis of primary and secondary infertility (78 and 92 respectively) were analysed in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines. Significantly high proportion (70) of the study population had low sperm count (p 0.05) with significantly high defective parameters (64). Asthenozoospermia and teratozoospermia were the major abnormal parameters recorded. Higher prevalence of oligospermia was found in the civil servants and age-group 31-40 years (74and 75respectively). Using 105 cfu/ml as a significant level of bacteria growth; the prevalence of bacteria growth was found to be 56of which 18were from normospermic semen d 38 from oligospermic semen