Useful As well as Attractive PDK4 Recommendations

Controls and primary subjects were matched on the basis of age and sex. One hundred and ninety-four children (97 HbSS and 97 HbAA) were studied. In order to avoid uneven distribution of subjects in terms of age or sex, PDK4 the calculated sample size was stratified. Inclusion criteria included: Age of at least 6 months to 5 years Confirmed HbSS by electrophoresis Steady-state condition i.e. absence of any crisis in the preceding four weeks and absence of any symptom or sign attributable to acute illness [4]. The study exclusion criteria were: Denial of consent Children on long-term transfusion therapy Children who had received a blood transfusion within three months prior to the study Children with a history of prematurity or low birth weight Any patient with disorders that may affect the haematological values such RGFP966 as leukemia or renal disease. The inclusion and exclusion criteria for the controls were the same as for the subjects except that the haemoglobin genotype was AA. Two ml of blood were drawn from a convenient peripheral vein and transferred into Na-EDTA containing tubes. The vacuum tubes were labeled and placed in a cool box containing ice-packs. The samples were protected from light at all times using sheets of black plastic. They were transported to the Research Laboratory of the Department of Paediatrics, Lagos State University College of Medicine. The fresh blood samples collected in EDTA containing tubes were used for determination of packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) determination on the same day of collection using an auto-analyzer (Coulter LH 750). Social classification was done using the check details scheme proposed by Oyedeji [5] in which subjects were grouped into five classes (I �C V). Socio-economic index scores (1 to 5) were awarded to each subject based on the occupational and educational levels of parents. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. Comparison of mean values was done using Student's t-Test and level of significance was set at p