BioMed Research International

Reliable laboratory diagnostic results are key for evaluating and improving children’s health. To interpret these results, child-specific reference intervals (RIs), which account for constant biological changes and physiological development with sex and age, are required, as recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). This study presents age- and sex-specific reference intervals for complete blood count (CBC) parameters in children (<1–12 years old) in the Northern Region of Ghana. In this cross-sectional study, 600 healthy children from randomly sampled schools in Tamale (the Northern Region) were recruited and screened. Data from 388 eligible children were used to nonparametrically determine the reference intervals of CBC parameters at the 2.5^th and 97.5^th percentiles. The CBC reference intervals were compared for variations in sex and age groups using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. There were no statistically significant differences in most CBC parameters by sex (RBC, Hb, HCT, MCH, RDW (CV/SD), WBC, LYM#, MON#(%) NEU#(%), EOS#(%), and BAS#(%); ) and age group (RBC, MCV, RDW (CV/SD), WBC, LYM#, MON#(%) NEU#(%), EOS#(%), and BAS%; ). However, there were observable differences between this locally established CBC reference interval and that used for children at Tamale Teaching Hospital (manufacturer’s RIs). This study emphasises the importance of determining reference intervals representative of the local child population and incorporating them into the current reporting system of laboratories in the Northern Region to ensure the provision of effective and efficient healthcare services.

Introduction. Many COVID-19 patients display adverse symptoms, such as reduced physical ability, poor quality of life, and impaired pulmonary function. Therefore, this systematic review is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of physical exercise on various psychophysiological indicators among COVID-19 patients who may be at any stage of their illness (i.e., critically ill, hospitalized, postdischarge, and recovering). Methods. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from 2019 to 2021. Twenty-seven studies, which assessed a total of 1525 patients, were included and analysed. Results. Overall, data revealed significant improvements in the following parameters: physical function, dyspnoea, pulmonary function, quality of life (QOL), lower limb endurance and strength, anxiety, depression, physical activity level, muscle strength, oxygen saturation, fatigue, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), lymphocyte, leukocytes, and a fibrin degradation product (D-dimer). Conclusions. Physical training turns out to be an effective therapy that minimises the severity of COVID-19 in the intervention group compared to the standard treatment. Therefore, physical training could be incorporated into conventional treatment of COVID-19 patients. More randomized controlled studies with follow-up evaluations are required to evaluate the long-term advantages of physical training. Future research is essential to establish the optimal exercise intensity level and assess the musculoskeletal fitness of recovered COVID-19 patients. This trial is registered with CRD42021283087.

Objective. The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of scientific production related to the use of filtered water in the field of dentistry. Material and Methods. A quantitative and descriptive observational study was carried out with a scientometric approach. Data were collected from the Web of Science (WOS) database during the period January 1991 to December 2023. A search strategy incorporating a combination of MeSH terms, including terms and thesauri related to “filtered water” and “dentistry”, was used. R Studio version 4.3.2 and CiteSpace 6.2.R7 were used for data analysis. Results. Over the 32-year study period, 227 scholarly papers from 134 different sources were reviewed. The literature in this field has shown an annual growth rate of 10.44%. During the year 2010, a steady movement in the number of publications and authors was observed, with considerable collaborative interaction. In the year 2020, a large interaction between publications and their citations was found. The “Citation Burst” graph identified three references that have experienced the largest “burst” of citations in an evaluated period. Lotka’s law described the productivity of authors, finding that most authors have published only one paper, while a smaller number of authors have published two papers. Most authors contributed a small number of articles, while a few authors contributed a large amount of the existing literature. Conclusion. A comprehensive overview of the scientific production related to the use of filtered water in dentistry over a span of 32 years is provided. The results highlight the growing interdisciplinarity and international collaboration in this field. Finally, the importance of filtered water in dentistry and its growing relevance in the scientific literature are emphasized.

Background. Although inappropriate gestational weight gain is considered closely related to adverse maternal and birth outcomes globally, little evidence was found in low- and middle-income countries. Study Objectives. This study is aimed at identifying the determinants of gestational weight gain and examine the association between gestational weight gain and maternal and birth outcomes in the Northern Region of Ghana. Study Methods. The study used a facility-based cross-sectional study design involving 611 antenatal and delivery records in Tatale district, Tamale west, and Gushegu municipal hospitals. A two-stage sampling method involving cluster and simple random sampling was employed. Descriptive statistical analysis and measures of central tendency were used to describe the sample. The multinomial logistic regression model was used to determine the determinants of gestational weight gain and its association with maternal and birth outcomes. Results. Among the 611 women included in the study, 516 (84.45%) had inadequate gestational weight gain, and 19 (3.11%) had excessive gestational weight gain. The gestational weight gain ranged from 2 kg to 25 kg with a mean of  kg. The risk factor for inadequate gestational weight gain was low prepregnancy BMI (adjusted odds ratio , 95% , ). Pregnant women who had inadequate gestational weight gain were significantly less likely to deliver through caesarean section (, 95% , ), and those who had excessive weight gain were more likely to undergo caesarean section (, 95% , ). The odds of premature delivery ( weeks) among pregnant women with inadequate weight gain were 2.88 (95% , ). Furthermore, subjects who had excessive weight gain were 43.80 times more likely to give birth to babies with macrosomia (95% , ). Conclusion. Inappropriate gestational weight gain is prevalent in Ghana, which is associated with caesarean section, preterm delivery, delivery complications, and macrosomia. Urgent policy interventions are needed to improve on the frequent monitoring and management of gestational weight gain of pregnant women till term.

Background. There is no conclusive evidence on the association between interleukin- (IL-) 6 gene polymorphism and type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM). Thus, this study is aimed at evaluating the role of rs1800795 and rs1800796 polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of type 2 DM among Ghanaians in the Ho Municipality. Materials and Methods. We recruited into this hospital-based case-control study 174 patients with type 2 DM (75 DM alone and 99 with DM+HTN) and 149 healthy individuals between 2018 and 2020. Demographic, lifestyle, clinical, anthropometric, and haemodynamic variables were obtained. Fasting blood samples were collected for haematological, biochemical, and molecular analyses. Genomic DNA was extracted, amplified using Tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) technique, and genotyped for IL-6 gene polymorphism. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between IL-6 gene polymorphism and type 2 DM. Results. The minor allele frequency (MAF) of the rs1800795 and rs1800796 polymorphisms was higher in DM alone (57.5%, 62.0%) and DM with HTN groups (58.3%, 65.3%) than controls (33.1%, 20.0%). Carriers of the rs1800795GC genotype (, 95% CI: 1.13-4.90, ) and mutant C allele (, 95% CI: 1.16-5.00, ) as well as those who carried the rs1800796GC (, 95% CI: 4.00-18.90, ) and mutant C allele (, 95% CI: 4.06-19.26, ) had increased odds of type 2 DM. For both polymorphisms, carriers of the GC genotype had comparable levels of insulin, HOMA-IR, and fasting blood glucose (FBG) with those who carried the GG genotype. IL-6 levels were higher among carriers of the rs1800796GC variant compared to carriers of the rs1800796GG variant (). The rs1800796 polymorphism, dietary sugar intake, and exercise status, respectively, explained approximately 3% (), 3.2% (, ), and 6.2% (, ) of the variability in IL-6 levels, suggesting weak effect sizes. Conclusion. The GC genotype and mutant C allele are risk genetic variants associated with type 2 DM in the Ghanaian population. The rs1800796 GC variant, dietary sugar intake, and exercise status appear to contribute significantly to the variations in circulating IL-6 levels but with weak effect sizes.

Introduction. An accurate urine analysis is a good indicator of the status of the renal and genitourinary system. However, limited studies have been done on comparing the diagnostic performance of the fully automated analyser and manual urinalysis especially in Ghana. This study evaluated the concordance of results of the fully automated urine analyser (Sysmex UN series) and the manual method urinalysis at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. Methodology. Sixty-seven (67) freshly voided urine samples were analysed by the automated urine analyser Sysmex UN series and by manual examination at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Kappa and Bland-Altman plot analyses were used to evaluate the degree of concordance and correlation of both methods, respectively. Results. Substantial (, ), slight (, ), and slight (, ) agreements were found for urine colour, appearance, and pH, respectively, between the manual and automated methods. A strong and significant correlation (, ) was found between both methods for specific gravity with a strong positive linear correlation observed for red blood cell count (, , ), white blood cell count (, , ), and epithelial cell count (, , ). A perfect agreement of urine chemistry results in both methods was observed for nitrite 67 (100%) (, ) with a fair agreement for protein 46 (68.7%) (, ). A strong agreement was found in both methods for the presence of cast 65 (97.0%) (, ) with no concordance observed for the presence of crystals (, ) and yeast-like cells (YLC) (, ). Conclusion. The automated and manual methods showed similar performances and good correlation, especially for physical and chemical examination. However, manual microscopy remains necessary to classify urine sediments, particularly for bacteria and yeast-like cells. Future research with larger samples could help validate automated urinalysis for wider clinical use and identify areas requiring improved automated detection capabilities.