Department of Physiology

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Author: search.filters.author.Antwi-Boasiako, C.Subject: search.filters.subject.sickle cell disease

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    Serum Potassium, Sodium, and Chloride Levels in Sickle Cell Disease Patients and Healthy Controls: A Case-Control Study at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra
    (Biomarker Insights , 2019-08-13) Antwi-Boasiako, C.; Kusi-Mensah, Y.A.; Hayfron-Benjamin, C.; Aryee, R.; Dankwah, G.B.; Abla, K.L.; Darkwa, E.O.; Botchway, F.A.; Sampene-Donkor, E.
    The activity of Na+-K+ ATPase is altered in sickle cell disease (SCD), which affects serum electrolyte levels. This alteration is associated with several complications in sickle cell patients. This study evaluated the serum levels of sodium, potassium, and chloride in patients with SCD. The study was a case-control cross-sectional study involving 120 SCD patients in the steady state and 48 ‘healthy’ controls. The SCD patients were made up of 69 HbSS patients and 41 HbSC patients. Serum electrolyte levels (Na+, K+, and Cl−) were measured using a Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (Variant 240FS; Varian Australia Pty Ltd). Serum sodium levels were significantly lower in the sickle cell patients, compared with their ‘healthy’ counterparts (P = .0001). Although the study found significantly higher serum levels of potassium in the SCD patients (P = .0001), there was no significant difference in serum chloride levels between patients with SCD and the controls (P = .098). Serum sodium and chloride levels were not significantly different in both HbSS and HbSC patients (P = .197 and P = .553, respectively). The level of serum potassium in the HbSS patients was, however, significantly higher compared with those with the HbSC genotype (P = .0001). There is higher efflux of K+ from the intracellular into the extracellular space in HbSS patients, which may lead to red cell membrane dysfunction and associated complications.
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    Sickle Cell Disease: Reappraisal of the Role of Foetal Haemoglobin Levels in the Frequency of Vaso-Occlusive Crisis
    (Ghana Medical Journal, 2015-06) Antwi-Boasiako, C.; Frimpong, E.; Ababio, G.K.; Dzudzor, B.; Ekem, I.; Gyan, B.; Sodzi-Tettey, N.A.; Antwi, D.A.
    Background: Foetal haemoglobin has been implicated in the modulation of sickle cell crisis. Its level is generally inversely proportional to the severity of sickle cell disease (SCD) for a given sickle cell phenotypes. The main aim of therapy for vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), which is the hallmark of SCD, is to reduce the chances of sickling through the prevention of polymerization of HbS. One way of preventing this polymerization is by increasing foetal haemoglobin levels. Objectives: To determine the relationship between HbF levels and the frequency of crisis in SCD patients in Ghana. Method: A longitudinal retrospective survey covering a period of 30 months was carried out on adult SCD patients at the Sickle Cell Clinic of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Results: Eighty-three adults aged 15 to 65 years made up of 40 males and 43 femalea were studied. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) gave significant results in Hb and HbF levels. Higher HbF levels were positively related to less frequent crisis and were significantly high in SCD patients than in controls. HbF effects on the clinical manifestations on SCD were variable. Conclusion: Threshold values of HbF play a role in reducing the frequency of vaso-occlusive crisis in SCD patients and this finding contributes to the body of available literature on SCD severity. However our work does not give the apparent threshold level of helpful HBF Level in SCD.