Khartoum Province Research Articles

NURSES' PERFORMANCE REGARDING VENTILATOR’S ALARMS IN CRITICAL CARE UNITS AT KHARTOUM PUBLIC HOSPITALS (2021)

Ventilation alarms in critical areas are widely used, which is an important part of many machines in particular (MV) as it alerts nurses to changes in accordance with patient conditions. Therefore, nurses should be aware of the function and limitations of ventilation modes and alarm management 1. Purpose: This study aims to study nurses' procedures regarding Ventilator alarms in critical care units. Method: This was a descriptive study based on various hospitals conducted at major public hospitals in Khartoum Province. Includes (100) Nurses working in critical Care units. The data was collected by Observational Checklist on nurse performance in parts and alarms and was analyzed using a computer statistics program for the community program. Results: The study showed that the participants' complete procedures were satisfactory and that there was an important relationship between the participant's suitability and their ability to manage the ventilation machine. Conclusion: The total number of research team practices was 58.0% with a score of 1.58 ± (.496). Despite their satisfactory performance and may be due to the disclosure of their college experience or the length of their time in the program.so research Recommend, verifying skin tones for nursing staff at regular intervals based on evidence related to the ventilation machine. habits, it is important to do research to know those processes.

Diversity and Abundance of Bird’s Species at Um Dum Island, Khartoum Province, Sudan

This study focuses on bird diversity and abundance as well as their conservation status in Um Dum Island, Khartoum area, Sudan. Um Dum Island hosts distinctive biodiversity, there are a number of bird species that make the island exclusive and valuable for the local ecosystems therefore indicating the importance of Island not only for biodiversity but also for human survival, development and local health environment. The data collection used direct bird count method over six months of the study period, from June to December 2020 except October bird counts and identification surveys were conducted once each month from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Equipment used for data collection are a pair of binoculars (50X50 magnifications), telescope – Swaroviski (660 – 940), digital still camera for documenting, data recording sheets, notebook, and an identification guide to the birds. Birds species that identified compare with field guide of birds of Africa south of the Sahara. In total, about 4343 individuals that belonged to 12 orders, with different abundances were observed in Um Dum Island belonging to 34 families of 53 species, the four most common birds identified were the House Sparrow with 926 individuals counted, followed by African Mourning Dove with 923 individuals followed by Greater blue-eared starling with 424 individuals counted, the Laughing Dove with 275 individuals counted and the Red-billed Fire finch with 210 individuals counted. This result reflects the richness of the avifauna of the Um Dum Island, this richness is probably due to the use of the area for the availability of food, as well as the flora around the island and availability of water. The highest number of birds observed was in June and July, the families observed with the maximum numbers of different species were Sturnidae, Passeridae, Columbidae and Estrildidae. The Um Dum Island eligible to be considered as an important bird’s area, however the Island is still depauperate of the necessary data collection for this purpose, hence the importance of this study. Like any site of birds habitat in Sudan there is areal need for protection from human activities.

New insights into the history of early Alwa: recent archaeological research in Umm Marrahi, Hosh el-Kab and Abu Nafisa forts (Khartoum Province, Sudan)

ABSTRACT A group of nine fortified sites, similar to Roman fortlets, occur along approximately 550 km of the Middle Nile Valley of Sudan between the Fourth Cataract and the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. Previous research indicates that these forts were built in Late Antiquity, i.e. between the second and seventh centuries AD. This was a time of profound changes in the region that included the disintegration of the Meroitic kingdom and the development of several medieval Nubian realms. Drawing on previous research and the results of two seasons of fieldwork at three of the forts in 2018, this paper provides an answer to the questions of who and why these forts were built. Small finds and radiocarbon samples from various contexts provide insights into their history and indicate that all three of the forts investigated were erected in a short period during the second part of the sixth century, a time of conflict between the Nubian kingdoms that is described by the contemporary historian John of Ephesus.

Checklist of the Flora of Tutti Island, Khartoum Province, Sudan

The current study was aimed to inventory and document the flora of Tutti Island (the study area) During a field survey conducted between August 2016 to December 2018. A total of 155 species belong to 120 genera and 41 families were inventoried. A number of 135 species were Dicotyledonous belong to 115 genera and 37 families. However, 20 species were monocotyledonous belong to 17 genera and 4 families. The most representative families were Fabaceace (23 species), Poaceae (14 species), Amaranthaceae (13 species), Asteraceae (10 species), Malvaceae (9 species) and Euphorbiaceae (8 species) respectively. Herbs comprise the predominant type of growth habit (52.34%) followed by shrubs (30.87%), vines (10.06%) and trees (6.71%) respectively. Botanical names of species and families were updated.
 The study resulted in a number of species not previously recorded in the flora of the study area. The inventory led to a new generic record to the flora of Sudan; that is Macroptilium lathyroides (L.) Urb. Despite flora of the study area is rich, the study noticed that, there are some negative impact factors can affect this richness over time, these factors represented in human activities including overgrazing, agriculture and population expansion that beside to the annual flood.

Prevalence of epilepsy in 74,949 school children in Khartoum State, Sudan

Background: Data on childhood epilepsy in Sudan are scarce and the only published study on its prevalence was published in 1983. This study aimed to determine the current prevalence of epilepsy in school children in Khartoum State.Methods: This is an analytical population-based, cross-sectional study conducted in Khartoum State, Sudan. The study included students in the basic (primary) schools aged 6–14 years. Simple random sampling was used to draw a cluster of four of the seven localities comprising Khartoum State. The sample frame consisted of 1609 public schools (808,624 pupils) and 787 private schools (194,613 pupils), a total of 2396 schools (1,003,237 pupils). A sample size of 75 940 pupils was estimated and 250 schools were drawn from a sample frame of 2396 schools using a stratified random sampling technique. Consent was obtained from the headmaster/head teacher of the selected schools who arranged a meeting with the tutor/teacher responsible for each class. The study team asked whether any of the pupils was ever noticed or known to have had any kind of seizures, and a confidential letter was sent to the parents of each identified pupil. The letter included an explanation of the aims of the study, information on the research group and the kind of help the research group could offer; contact numbers and email addresses were made available if they wished to participate in this study. Those who consented to participate were then given an appointment at the Epilepsy Outpatient Department, Gaafar Ibnauf Children’s Hospital, Khartoum where they were evaluated by the paediatric neurologist.Results: Altogether, 74,949 pupils were enrolled for the study, 398 of whom were identified initially as having seizures and 332 of whom (83.4%) were identified by a paediatric neurologist. Of the 332, 303 (91.3%) proved to have epileptic seizures, 250 (82.5%) were known to have epilepsy, and 53 (17.5%) were newly diagnosed during the survey. The male to female ratio was 1.5:1. The total prevalence of epilepsy in Khartoum State was estimated to be 4/1000. The highest prevalence was in Jabal Awliya Locality (4.87/1000) and the lowest was in Khartoum Locality (3.35/1000). Twenty-nine (8.7%) patients proved to have non-epileptic seizures. The majority (15, 51.6%) had psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, and four (13.6%) had syncope. The majority (171, 56.43%) of patients had generalised epilepsy, 109 (35.97%) had focal epilepsy, and 23 (7.6%) had unclassified epilepsy.Conclusion: The prevalence of epilepsy in school children in Khartoum State (4/1000) is higher than that reported previously from Khartoum Province in 1983 (0.9/1000).

Basic School Teachers' Knowledge and Attitude about Tooth Decay and Practice towards Oral Health Education at Khartoum Province- Sudan

Background : The important role of teachers in oral health education cannot be ignored, but most of teachers are not trained for this task and they have low abilities and willingness for it. Objectives : This study aimed to assess knowledge about tooth decay and practice towards oral health education among basic school teachers. Also to determine their decayed, missed and filled tooth index (DMFT) and Oral hygiene index (OHI). Subjects and Methods : Cross-sectional study among 184 basic school teachers, working in schools in Khartoum province. An interview questionnaire consisting of 15 questions covering their oral hygiene habits, basic knowledge about tooth decay, willingness to participate in school based oral health programs. Results : showed that the mean DMFT index was 11.59±5.09. The oral hygiene condition was assessed via OHI-Simplified, 53.3% had good oral hygiene, 44% fair and 2.7% poor. Knowledge assessment revealed that 54.9% thought that dental caries is caused mainly by bacteria and sugars and 31.0% believed that tooth decay cannot be prevented. Significant association was found between teachers’ age and their source of information about oral health (p=0.036). Regarding practice towards oral health 60.3% of the teachers claimed spending time promoting for oral health. Conclusion : basic school teachers were generally well informed about tooth decay but some deficiencies were noticed. Keywords : School teachers, Tooth decay, Oral Hygiene Index, Khartoum.

Brief Report: acute viral hepatitis and poor maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnant Sudanese women

Sixteen pregnant women presented at the three main hospitals in Khartoum province, Sudan during the period of March-September 2007 with features of acute viral hepatitis. Their mean (SD) gestational age was 28.0(6.7) weeks. The etiology of acute viral hepatitis was hepatitis B virus in five women (31.3%), hepatitis C virus in one woman (6.3%), hepatitis E virus in eight women (50%), and hepatitis non-A-to-E virus in two women (12.5%). There were four (25%) maternal deaths and three (18.7%) intrauterine fetal deaths. Three of these maternal deaths were due to hepatitis E virus and the fourth was due to hepatitis B virus.

A substance in broad beans (Vicia faba) is protective against experimentally induced convulsions in mice

Vicia faba (VF, broad beans) constitutes a major food item for the River Nile populations. Contrary to tropical Africa, the prevalence rate of epilepsy (0.9–1 per 1000) among schoolchildren of Khartoum Province, Sudan, is lower compared with the rates in Europe and North America. To explore whether broad beans contain any anticonvulsant that can explain this observation, Balb/c mice were either treated with VF extract (0.01 mL/g) or kept as a control. Various doses of strychnine and picrotoxin were used to explore the effect of VF extract on strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors and GABA A receptors. Diazepam (DIZ) was used as anticonvulsant. Thin-layer chromatography was run for the extract against phenobarbital, DIZ, and/or glycine. VF extract demonstrated a clear protective effect against strychnine-induced convulsions and death in Balb/c mice. Diazepam (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), administered 20 minutes prior to strychnine (0.112 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), increased the survival rate to 66.7% and, when given with VF extract (0.01 mL/g), to 100%. Various doses of DIZ protected against picrotoxin-induced convulsions (40 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) and deaths. Pretreatment of mice with VF extract was not protective. On chromatography, VF extract separated in a manner similar to the glycine spot, and revealed one peak coinciding with, but not identical to that of glycine. The extract of broad beans (VF) protects against convulsions probably through the inhibitory glycine receptors, and may contain a substance that is intimately related to glycine. Further research is needed to substantiate this by directly assessing the binding of the VF extract to the glycine receptors or a change in receptor physiology.

Knowledge and behaviour related to oral health among secondary school students in Khartoum Province, Sudan

This study explores secondary school students in the Khartoum Province, Sudan, with respect to frequency and quality of use and the socio-demographic distribution of oral health knowledge and behaviour. Six secondary schools were selected at random and 10% of the students enrolled in each class (3 grades) were randomly selected to participate. A total of 400 students (207 boys) (mean age 15.3 years) were selected, of which 396 completed questionnaires at school. 44.3% boys and 42.5% girls scored highly on knowledge of caries. The corresponding rates regarding knowledge of gingivitis were 39.2% and 47.0%, respectively. Tooth brushing and use of miswak > or = 2 times a day was confirmed by 67.2% boys and 75.5% girls and by 64.3% boys and 52% girls, respectively. Living in a town, having received oral health information and having a mother of medium education were associated with higher odds for being knowledgeable about tooth decay. There is gender equality in knowledge and practise of oral hygiene among secondary school students in Khartoum Province. Awareness of oral health issues is high, but specific misconceptions exist. Mother's education might be used as a social marker in oral health risk group evaluations.

New records to the Bryoflora of the Sudan Republic.

Five mosses are reported as new records to the Khartoum Province. This brings the number of fully identified mosses known from this Province to 11 entities. The main floral elements in the studied localities are species of Philonotis. The total number of fully identified mosses, for the Sudan, is increased from 23 to 31 entities. Four of the eight new to Sudan records resulted from this work while the other four were erroneously regarded earlier as elements of the Egyptian flora.

Water quality and public health in northern Sudan: a study of rural and peri-urban communities.

Access to adequate supplies of good quality drinking water continues to be limited among many rural and peri-urban communities in Africa, despite several decades of water improvement programmes. The present study investigated water quality at the source and point of consumption among rural and peri-urban communities in northern Sudan. Faecal coliform counts were determined by the membrane filtration technique and geometric mean counts compared in different seasons and among the different communities. Among nomadic pastoralists and riverine villages, both water sources and water stored for consumption had faecal coliform counts grossly in excess of WHO standards, with higher counts at the end of the rainy season. In the peri-urban community on the outskirts of Omdurman, while water quality from the distribution system had faecal coliform counts generally below 10 dl - 1, after storage, water was of considerably lower quality, with faecal coliform counts up to 1000 d1 - 1. The highest counts again occurred in the rainy season. Rates of diarrhoeal disease for Khartoum province were also greatest towards the end of the rainy season. The study has shown that poor quality water continues to be a major risk factor for public health in these communities.

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Evaluation of arthropod-borne viruses and other infectious disease pathogens as the causes of febrile illnesses in the Khartoum Province of Sudan.

The relative importance of arthropod-borne and other disease pathogens as the cause of an outbreak of febrile illnesses was assessed during August 1988, following severe flooding in Khartoum, Sudan. A total of 200 patients with acute febrile illness and 100 afebrile controls were enrolled in the study during October and November 1988; at the Omdurman Military Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan. Sera were tested for IgM and IgG antibodies to six arthropod-borne viruses by an enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay, and for similar antibodies to Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Ebola and Marburg viruses by an indirect fluorescence assay. Thick and thin blood smears were examined microscopically for malaria parasites, and fecal and blood specimens were tested for bacteria by standard culture methods. Among the acute and convalescent sera collected from 67 febrile patients, five cases were caused by sandfly fever Sicilian (SFS), six by sandfly fever Naples (SFN), and 12 by unidentified phleboviruses. Of 233 remaining unpaired, acute-phase sera collected from cases and controls, 49 (21%) had IgM antibodies to SFS or SFN, RVF, West Nile (WN), and Chikungunya (CHIK) viruses. Forty-three (22%) of 192 febrile cases and two of the 100 afebrile controls were positive for Plasmodium falciparum, and bacterial enteropathogens were associated with 25 (13%) cases and four controls. These data indicated that phleboviruses and to a lesser extent, WN, P. falciparum, and enterobacterial pathogens were causes of acute febrile illnesses following the 1988 flood in Khartoum, Sudan.

Effects of the Relative Importance of Different Factors and their Degree of Interactions on Child Growth

The purpose of the study is to determine duration of satisfactory breast feeding in health breast-fed infants of mothers attending Maternal and Child Health Centres in the three towns of Khartoum Province. The main objective of this paper is to compare samples in terms of effects of different factors on child growth. The infants' weight and length were measured in the first few days after birth and from then on weight was measured every 2 weeks and length every 4 weeks up to 1 year. The results presented have been analysed throughout in terms of factors that affect weight gain. In Khartoum North sample weight gains were lowest in the first 3 months, but thereafter were higher and almost the same as the NCHS reference. In Khartoum and Omdurman, however, growth from birth to 3 months exceeded the NCHS standard, but from 3 to 6 months were significantly less than the reference. Level of hygiene, health of the mother during pregnancy, sex, housing, and town were found to be the factors affecting weight gain of infants from 0 to 3 months of age, while income, supplementary feeding, occupation, water, infections, and town were found to be the factors affecting weight gain of infants from 3 to 6 months of age.

Première observation de l’hépatite infectieuse nécrosante (black disease) parmi des chèvres nubiennes au Soudan

In a flock of 425 female and male Nubian goats in the Khartoum Province, an outbreak of a disease causing sudden death of 18 apparently healthy goats occurred (11 females and 7 males, 3-6 years old). Adult Fasciola gigantica were found in the livers of all goats and in seven of them Cysticercus tenuicollis cysts. These organs showed necrotic and severe histopathological changes. Clostridium novyi type B was isolated from necrotic areas of all livers and found to be highly pathogenic and toxigenic to laboratory animals. The disease was diagnosed as infectious necrotic hepatitis (black disease). Faecal examination revealed the presence of F. gigantica eggs. Lymnaea natalensis snails were found to be prevalent in the water canals. As the Khartoum Province is regarded as an endemic area for black disease, routine vaccination is highly recommended for its control in goats and sheep.

Studies on the leishmaniases in the Sudan. 1. Epidemic of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Khartoum

A recent outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Khartoum province, the first ever reported, involved about 10 000 recorded cases. The peak incidence was in September 1986. It was widespread all over the province, but the most affected areas were along the banks of the River Nile. People of both sexes, all age groups, different ethnic origins, and all socio-economic classes were equally affected, suggesting that this epidemic was a new occurrence among a non-immune population. A leishmaniasis clinic was established and 736 cases were treated and studied. The control measures, responsible parasite, possible animal reservoir, and vector are discussed. Possible contributory factors were mass population movement from known endemic areas of CL in Khartoum, expanding towns and new settlements in previously uninhabited areas, high population densities of sandflies, and an increase in the rodent population, including Arvicanthis species.

Attitudes of Urban Sudanese Men Toward Family Planning

Using data from the Male Attitude Survey of 1985, this paper shows that Sudanese men play a major role in family planning decision-making. Attitudes regarding family planning issues are presented for 1,500 men aged 18 years and over, living in urban areas of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The decision not to practice family planning is found to be male-dominated, and husbands are responsible for providing contraceptives when family planning is practiced. Widespread misconceptions about vasectomy, along with a very low acceptance rate, exist among the men in the sample. It is concluded that the involvement of men in family planning programs will give these programs a better chance of success in the future.

Zinc deficiency in sheep: field cases.

Zinc deficiency was diagnosed in a sheep farm in Khartoum Province; the young sheep and lambs were mostly affected. Skin lesions, depression, wool eating, flexed knees and a markedly stiff gait were observed. Histopathology of the skin revealed mainly hyperkeratosis accompanied sometimes by parakeratosis. The animals responded rapidly to oral administration of zinc oxide.

Isolation and identification of salmonella from chickens in Khartoum province of the Sudan

Due to an expanding poultry industry in the Sudan and the importance of poultry as a reservoir for salmonella, an investigation was carried out over eighteen months to determine the presence of salmonella in the domestic fowl. Forty-three salmonella isolates were recovered from 1104 samples. The isolates belonged to 17 serotypes, 16 of which are reported for the first time from the Sudan.

Recovery of bluetongue virus serogroup from sera collected for a serological survey from apparently healthy cattle, from the Sudan.

Virus of the bluetongue (BT) serogroup was recovered from 11% of cattle sera collected from apparently healthy animals in Khartoum Province for the sole purpose of screening for BT antibodies. Since these sera did not contain BT antibodies, the donor cattle could have been scored as BT free in the serological survey. Virus was initially isolated in chicken embryos inoculated intravascularly, and was further adapted to Vero cell cultures. Isolates were identified as belonging to the BT serogroup using the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and complement fixation (CF) tests. The results indicated that cattle in the Sudan could harbour BT virus without showing symptoms of the disease. Such an observation necessitates further work to clarify the role of cattle in the epidemiology of BT in the Sudan.