Haemoglobin (Hb) Genotype Profile in COVID-19 Disease Susceptibility and Severity in Lagos State Nigeria

2022-01-03T10:05:49+00:00

COVID‐19 pandemic has posed unique challenges to the health providers involved with chronic diseases like Haemoglobin disorders (sickle cell disease). Therefore, this study highlights the susceptibility and severity of COVID‐19 associated with normal and haemoglobin variants.
This study is a case series that includes patients evaluated between June and August 30, 2020, and diagnosed with COVID-19 by the Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction method. Alkaline haemoglobin electrophoresis was used to identify types of Haemoglobin genotype associated with mild-to-severe cases of COVID-19. A total of 697 COVID-19 patients were included in this study, with a mean age of 41.32 (12.917). There were more males (66.1%) than females. The most frequently detected genotype was AA (75.8%), followed by AS (22%). Severe conditions of COVID-19 were present in patients with HBAC 2(14.28%) and HBAS 13 (8.5%). Co-morbidities were present in (24.0%) of the patients, with a mortality rate of 1.3%. Patients with pneumonia in association with other co-morbidities are 26 times more likely to have severe SARS CoV-2 than those with only pneumonia, irrespective of their haemoglobin genotype profile. The clinical course is seen in normal haemoglobin, and the variant with COVID-19 was the same. It is suggested that people with haemoglobin variant are not at increased risk during COVID-19 infection or risk of a sickle cell crisis.

Bacteriology of wound infections in Nigeria and its effect on antimicrobials selection during management

2022-08-05T00:18:13+00:00

A wound is a rupture in the skin exposing the underlying subcutaneous tissue. It creates a moist, warm, and nutritive environment that is conducive to microbial colonization and proliferation. Depending on the time it takes for the wound to heal, it can be categorized as either acute or chronic. Infection in a wound elongates the healing period, causes longer hospital stays and higher treatment costs. The majority of open wound infections are polymicrobial containing both aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms, which should be taken into account when choosing antimicrobials. Due to the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance, the control of wound infections has become more challenging. In Nigeria, this challenge is exacerbated due to limited epidemiological data on the microbial agents causing wound infections. Thus, it is necessary to understand the microbes prevalent in infected wounds in order to encourage proper antimicrobial selection for the offending microbe and enhance better treatment and management outcomes. In this review, the bacteriology of wound infections, susceptibilities to routinely prescribed antibiotics and the effects of the presence of these bacterial species in wound management were discussed.

Infectious Diseases Reviews

Haemoglobin (Hb) Genotype Profile in COVID-19 Disease Susceptibility and Severity in Lagos State Nigeria

Bacteriology of wound infections in Nigeria and its effect on antimicrobials selection during management