No abstract available.
Humans ; Korea ; Sickle Cell Trait

BACKGROUND: Microcytic anemia, the most common form of anemia in children and adolescents, is a heterogeneous group of diseases that is acquired or inherited. We assessed the frequency and causes of microcytosis in children and adolescents with the sickle cell trait (SCT). METHODS: This descriptive study included 95 subjects (49 males and 46 females) with SCT who attended Basra Center for Hereditary Blood Diseases for evaluation. Investigations included complete blood count, high performance liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, and measurement of serum ferritin and transferrin levels. RESULTS: SCT subjects had a low hemoglobin (Hb) concentration (9.79±1.75 g/dL), low mean corpuscular volume (MCV, 67.43±9.22), low mean corpuscular Hb (21.15±3.64), and a normal red cell distribution width (RDW, 14.00±2.30). Among 95 SCT subjects, 81 (85.26%) had microcytosis, 12 (12.63%) had normal MCV, and 2 (2.11%) exhibited macrocytosis. Sixty-three (77.78%) SCT subjects with microcytosis were iron deficient, and 18 (22.22%) had normal iron levels. The mean serum ferritin and HbA2 levels were significantly lower, while the RDW, sickle Hb, and serum transferrin levels were significantly higher in patients with microcytosis and iron deficiency compared to non-iron deficient subjects (P<0.05). Correlation coefficients did not reveal a significant association between the MCV and iron status of SCT subjects (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Despite the frequent occurrence of iron deficiency in SCT subjects, co-inheritance of alpha-thalassemia seemed to be the cause of low MCV in non-iron deficient individuals with microcytosis. Genetic analysis is required to understand the genetic basis of this phenomenon.
Adolescent ; alpha-Thalassemia ; Anemia ; Blood Cell Count ; Child ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Electrophoresis, Capillary ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Ferritins ; Hematologic Diseases ; Humans ; Iraq ; Iron ; Male ; Sickle Cell Trait ; Transferrin

PURPOSE: Abdominal cysts of gastrointestinal origin are rare. Their rarity and varied clinical presentations make their pre-operative diagnosis difficult. METHODS: Fourteen patients with histological diagnosis of cysts of gastrointestinal origin admitted between 2009 and 2015 were retrospectively analyzed with respect to age, sex, clinical presentation, diagnostic modality, site and type of cyst, management, outcome and follow-up. RESULTS: The mean age at presentation was 4 years and there were six males and eight females. Abdominal pain was the most common presenting symptom. Five patients had an acute presentation-three had distal ileal mesenteric cysts and two had ileal duplication cyst sharing a common wall with ileum. Six patients presented with chronic abdominal pain and lump—three patients had omental cysts and three had mesenteric cysts—two of these in distal ileum and one in sigmoid colon. Two patients presented with antenatally diagnosed palpable abdominal lump. One had a mesenteric cyst of the ileum and the other had a distal ileal duplication cyst which required excision with resection and anastomosis. One patient had an atypical presentation. He was a known case of sickle cell trait and had presented with vague abdominal pain, recurrent cough and multiple episodes of haemoptysis over a period of one year. At laparotomy, gastric duplication cyst was found which was excised completely. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Cysts of gastrointestinal origin are rare and have varied presentation. Surgical excision is the mainstay of treatment. The results and prognosis are good.
Abdominal Pain ; Child* ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Cough ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ileum ; Laparotomy ; Male ; Mesenteric Cyst ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sickle Cell Trait

Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage due to liver cirhosis associated with impaired coagulopathy is very rare disease. Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage has been recorded as having originated from many retroperitoneal organs and blood vessels, and it may be due to local disease and/or systemic factors. In the majority of patients the bleeding arose from the kidney or adrenal gland. Among the systemic causes of spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage are anticoagulation therapy and chronic hemodialysis during the course of which hemorrhagic complications may occur at many site, including the retroperitoneal space. Blood dyscrasias have been a rare cause of spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage. Conditions reported have been included hemophilia, leukemia, polycythemia and sickle cell trait. Virtually every hemostatic function may be impaired in patients with severe hepatic disease as the result of failure of both the biosynthetic and clearence function of the liver, thrombocytopenia, platelet dysfunction, intravascular coagulation and fibrinogenolysis, and the effects of products of fibrinogen catabolism on the coagulation mechanism. We are reporting a case of spontaneous retroperitoneal hematoma in a patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis with brief review of literature.
Adrenal Glands ; Blood Platelets ; Blood Vessels ; Fibrinogen ; Hematoma* ; Hemophilia A ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Kidney ; Leukemia ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ; Liver* ; Metabolism ; Polycythemia ; Rare Diseases ; Renal Dialysis ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Sickle Cell Trait ; Thrombocytopenia