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Objectives To characterize high-risk HPV types associated with cervical precancerous lesions in women living in Yaounde, Cameroon, and to determine their distribution with HIV status. Methods Women with abnormal pap smears recorded from February 2015 to May 2019 at Saint Martin de Porres' Health Centre, Yaounde, Cameroon, were recruited in this study after obtaining informed consent. Pap smears were collected and re-examined. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serology was determined. HPV16, 18, 33, and 45 were assessed using standard PCR. Results All included participants (370) were HPV-positive and had either low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (67.03%) or high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (31.35%). They were subdivided into HIV-positive (N =102) and HIV-negative (N =268). In the HIV-negative subgroup, we observed 66.04% HPV16-positve, 41.79% HPV18-positve, 21.27% HPV33-positve and 8.21% HPV45-positve. In the HIV-positive subgroup, we observed 22.55% HPV16-positve, 5.88% HPV18-positve, 75.49% HPV33-positve, and 49.02% HPV45-positve. Married HIV-positive participants (47.14 ± 1.19) were older than both their single counterparts (34.94±1.22, P = 0.0008) and HIV-negative participants (41.43 ± 0.79, P = 0.0001). Single HIV-positive women reported higher numbers of miscarriages (P = 0.0023), and had later first sexual intercourse than HIV-negative (P = 0.0079) women. Conclusion Our study suggested differential expressions in high-risk HPV types with HIV status and cervical precancerous lesions and warrants more extensive studies.

Introduction: The high mortality rate of prostate cancer in Cameroon, its high incidence, its prevalence, the lack of epidemiological data for the north which for the case is the poorest area of the country led us to conduct this study with for the purpose of presenting the epidemiological, clinical and para-clinical aspects, the cost and means of management with a view to setting up adequate management policies. Patients and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study in the city of Ngaoundéré for a period of 5months. The data were obtained after a survey of patients and collection of results from the pathology registry of the Islamic clinic of Adamawa three months before the start of our study. Results: The prevalence and incidence of prostate cancer were 28.7% and 24.32%, respectively. The average age of prostate cancer patients was 66.5 years. Gleason scores were less than 6 in 44.44% of cases. Risk factors related to familial cancer cases were difficult to determine. The symptoms were dominated in patients by urinary retention associated with polyuria, dysuria and pollakiuria. The means and costs of care were scalable depending on the difficulty of achieving the technique.Conclusion: Prostate cancer remains a real health problem in the north because of its incidence and high prevalence and requires the implementation of a government policy of care.

Background: Cervical cancer is a major cause of women death worldwide. The reduction of the mortality and morbidity of this pathology depends on the early detection based on powerful suitable screening methods, that will lead to optimal treatment strategies. However in some rural region of developing countries, it is very difficult to get access to standard screening methods, alternative screening methods, cheaper and easy to handle are then useful. Objective: The aim of this work was to test the sensitivity and specificity of VIA (Visual inspection with acetic acid) and VILI (Visual inspection with lugol iodine) as screening test of cervical cancer compared to the Pap Smear, evaluating the feasibility in health formation in the North Cameroon region, of implementing epidemiological surveillance of cervical cancer based on early diagnosis using the VIA-VILI association Method: 309 women age 20 to 62 years were recruited in this study, 307 were included in the statistical analyzes. Each woman was screened for cervical cancer by a conventional Smear and visual inspection with acetic acid 5% and the lugol solution. Results: We found in our study a prevalence of precancerous lesions of cervix at 12.70%. The risks factors of cervical cancer identified are age, matrimonial status, age of first sexual intercourse and parity. The association of VIA and VILI showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value respectively about 93.58%; 97.01%; 82.01%, 99.04%. Conclusion: Compared to PAP Smear, VIA or VILI could be used as an alternative screening methods for cervical cancer in developing countries. However, histology test was recommended to use a « Gold Standard » to evaluate the test accuracy of VIA/VILI because it can be used to diagnose cancer, while PAP smear cannot.

Background: Due to the late diagnosis, resulting partly from the absence of national screening programs, Cervical cancer is a public health concern for women in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 34 over 100,000 are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 23 over 100,000 die yearly. We evaluated the knowledge and practices of the female population towards the prevention of cervical cancer in the city of Bafoussam, West Cameroon, considering that poor awareness about the disease and its prevention drives its progression in Africa.Methods: 228 women were recruited during a cross-sectional study with simple random selection of participants in two District Health Centres in Bafoussam from February to August 2017. They were administered a questionnaire aimed at asserting their knowledge about cervical cancer, risk factors and prevention. Subsequently, cervicovaginal smears were screened and gynaecological signs were assessed. Data analysis was done using Epi info version 7.2.2.6. with Chi 2 test application.Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.Results: The most represented age group was [25-35] (50.88%). Only 89 participants (39.04%) had heard about cervical cancer, 63 (27.63%) had heard about risk factors with only 13 (5.70%) able to name at least one risk factor. Moreover, 72 participants (31.58%) had heard about cervical screening test, 48 (21.05%) were aware about the existence of means of prevention, and only 6 (2.63%) had heard about human papillomavirus (HPV) relationship to cervical cancer or HPV vaccine. An incidence of 07.63% was obtained. The most common reason reported for not attending cervical cancer screening was ignorance (68.92%). Conclusions: Our data suggest that there is a real need for raising the awareness about cervical cancer and its prevention in the western region of Cameroon.

Due to the lack of hospitals with adequate technical platform on one hand, and high diagnostic costs that cannot be afforded most of the population, the incidence of prostate cancer in Cameroon has increased and has great impact on people’s health. Aim: This work was undertaken with the objective to determine the impact of prostate cancer on erectile dysfunction and how to manage it. Methodology: Sampling of the population was done in a comprehensive and non-probabilistic manner at the Urology Department of Ngaoundere Islamic Hospital, Ngaoundere, Cameroon, between June 2018 and November 2019. Of the 75 patients received, 50 of them participated in this study. Biopsies were taken from these patients to determine and confirm the form and stage of cancer followed by PSA assays. After the diagnosis was revealed, the testosterone assay was carried out in order to evaluate erectile functioning in the patients who equally completed a survey form made available to them in order to get an idea of their health history, the type of treatment followed and their lifestyle. Results: The mean age of the patients was 67 years, with a predominance in the 60-70 age range. 85% of the patients had a Gleason score greater than or equal to 8. Of these patients, 42% had low testosterone levels (< 2.3 ng/mL), resulting to lack of morning erection (66.6%), loss of sexual desire (43.9%), difficulty having a spontaneous erection (88%). On the other hand, erectile dysfunction was revealed in the prostate cancer patients with low testosterone levels, with a history of hypertention (16.6%), diabetes (28.5%) alcohol consumption (44%), tobacco smoking (41%) and having undergone as prostate cancer treatment involving transurethral resection of the prostate (80%) and orchiectomy (20%). Conclusion: The major cause of erectile dysfunction observed in patients suffering from prostate cancer in Northen Cameroon can be attributed to the evolution of the disease, as well as the health history of the patients (diabetes, hypertension).

Background: Breast cancer, the deadliest cancer in women worldwide, is often diagnosed at late stage in Cameroon, with high mortality and dire socioeconomic consequences. We investigated the reasons for breast cancer late diagnosis in Cameroon. Methods: Women (412) were randomly recruited in various locations in the city of Bafoussam, West Region, Cameroon. They self-administered a questionnaire assessing breast cancer awareness. Then, they underwent breast palpation, followed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) when a nodule was found. Results: 65% of the study participants were above 30 years; 80.9% had at least a secondary education; 94.4% had heard about breast cancer and the main source of information was the media (57.3%). Most participants were either uninformed or ill-informed (up to 72%) about breast cancer risk factors, signs, and screening methods, in particular breast self-examination (BSE). Of the 17 women with nodules and other suspect signs, only 6 accepted fine needle aspiration (FNA). Three of the 6 had malignant nodules indicative of Invasive ductal carcinoma low grade (one case) and high grade (2 cases).Conclusions: Women living in Bafoussam are poorly aware of breast cancer screening methods, in particular BSE, and of the importance of early detection. BSE followed by FNA in women with nodules is a simple, yet good screening method to improve early detection and reduce the burden of breast cancer.

Introduction Late diagnosis has been observed as the hallmark of breast cancer in Cameroonian women where over 70% of patients report with either stage III or IV of the disease, with high mortality and dire socioeconomic consequences. The present study was undertaken to assess the awareness of breast cancer, warning signs and screening methods among Health professionals and general population of Douala. Methods Participants included in this study were health practitioners and women randomly selected and enrolled in six health facilities in the city of Douala, Littoral Region, Cameroon. A self-administered questionnaire was designed for each group and aimed at assessing their knowledge about breast cancer, warning signs and screening practices. Then, 616 women underwent breast palpation, followed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) when a nodule was found. Results Out of a total of 737 participants (121 health personnel and 616 women) interviewed, a majority (96.3%) were aware of the disease with the main source of information being the hospital (76.0%), media (47.1%) and vocational training schools (45.4%) for health personnel; medias (39.9%), health professionals (26.1%) and their entourage (21.9%) for the population. Health workforce presented suitable awareness of the risk factors for breast cancer and its clinical signs even though 37.1% of them had misconceptions and myth-based ideas on the origin of the disease. Both the population and health personnel were aware of the possibility of early screening for breast cancer and cited breast self-examination, clinical breast examination and mammography as screening techniques. Nonetheless, screening practice amongst all women is very poor and mainly due to ignorance, high cost of mammography, together with a lack of mastery of the BSE technique and the fear of actually discovering signs of the disease. Conclusion Our findings show lack of awareness and low practice of breast cancer screening amongst women in Douala and highlight the need to raise awareness and provide the right information to the public for early detection of breast cancer., Breast cancer awareness; Screening practices; Fine needle aspiration; Littoral; Cameroon.

Introduction: Various Human papillomavirus (HPV) types cause cervical cancer, and represent the primary cause of cancer death in Africa and the second cause of most common cancers in Cameroon. Herein, we determined the prevalence of high-risk HPV types in women and associated cervical cytologic abnormalities in Yaounde, Cameroon. Methodology: A cross-sectional study targeting HPV-positive women aged 20 and over was conducted between March and June 2020 at the Saint Martin de Porres’ Health Centre in Yaounde. HPV tests were performed by PCR for detection of HPVs 16, 18, 33, and 45. The test was performed on 616 women using exfoliated cell specimens; then, we processed on cytological diagnosis with Pap smears on HPV positive specimens. Results: The HPV types tested were detected in 137 participants, of which 38.7% with multiple HPV infections, and the remaining part with single HPV infections of type HPV 16 (28.5%), HPV 18 (17.5%), HPV 33 (10.2%), and HPV 45 (5.1%). Cervical cytologic abnormalities were found in 69.34% of participants including: LSIL (49.63%), HSIL (15.32%), ASC-US (3.66%) and AGC (0.73%). Co-infections with HPV 16 and HPV 18 were significantly associated with HSIL (p = 0.001) lesions, while HPV 45 was more common in participants with normal cytology (p = 0.001). Cervical lesion occurrence was significantly associated with the number of sexual partners (p = 0.02) and history of oral contraceptive pill use (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Our results suggest that HPV 16 and 18 are predominant in Yaounde, and are associated with more severe precancerous lesions.

Breast cancer has become a real public health problem in Cameroon, particularly in rural areas due to late diagnosis, resulting partly from the absence of national screening programs. This work is aimed at assessing breast cancer awareness in the North Region of Cameroon. Participants were selected in six health centers surrounding the rural area of Garoua, North Region, Cameroon, and administered a questionnaire aimed at assessing their awareness about breast cancer risk factors and screening. Out of the 475 women (including 37 medical personnel) interviewed, 45.5% attended at least secondary school; 91.3% were aware of the disease with the main sources of information from those around them (64.8%), media (46.5%), and health professionals in health facilities (42.7%). 23.3% had misconceptions and myth-based ideas on the origin of the disease. Ignorance was the main reason preventing the performance of breast self-examination, and the high cost prevents individuals from going for mammography. The highest awareness rate was observed in employed women with higher level of education. Our study highlights the need to raise awareness among the populations in North Region, Cameroon, about the risk factors and clinical signs of breast cancer and the importance of screening practice for early diagnosis of breast cancer.

While the alternative transcription and splicing mechanisms have long been known for some genes like oncogenes, their prevalence in almost all multi-exon genes has been recently realized with the increasing application of high-throughput experimental methods, named Next Generation RNA Sequencing (NGS). Henceforth, understanding the regulation of these processes in comparisons between cell types and cancer requests, sensitive and specific bioinformatics as well as bio-statistic approaches, that is, Cufflinks/Cuffdiff, DEXseq and RESEM, detecting gene transcript/isoforms and exons abundance is necessary. Isoforms and exons expression analysis by NGS is complicated by several sources of measurement variability causing numerous statistical defies. Here, with the purpose of minimizing this statistical challenge, we integrated both Cufflinks/Cuffdiff and DEXseq bioinformatics approaches assessing whole alternative splicing (AS) events, focusing on alternative transcripts regulation and their exons modulation respectively, by processing our previous prepared Estrogen Receptor β (Erβ+ and Erβ-) breast cancer (BC) cells, stimulated by estradiol (E2). Results showed that Estradiol (E2) induced Erβ+ BC (Erβ+E2), exhibited dissimilar reply as opposed to the other’s analyzed BC cell lines in terms of intragenic, exons and junction reads count ratio. Relationship analysis between expressed genes and transcript isoforms, suggested a substantial role of alternative promoters in AS event occurrence in Erβ+ BC as opposed to Erβ- BC. Indeed, merging Cufflinks/Cuffdiff and DEXseq approaches, 79 multi-exon genes were detected as statistically differentially modulated (spliced) in Erβ+ hormone induced BC cell line, and around 38% of these spliced genes claimed to be induced by alternative promoters. The present survey discriminated between several cancer specific alternative splicing genes like LIFR a BC metastasis suppressor, PBX1 a pioneer factor defining aggressive Erβ- BC and PHLPP2 a tumor suppressor, as exhibiting significant exon modulation in early AS occurrence in hormone responsive Erβ+ BC exclusively. Although, our findings supported dissimilar reply comparing both Cuflinks/Cuffdiff and DEXseq approaches called AS events, it is noteworthy to underline their relative agreement, evaluating spliced genes functional annotation as well as their complementarity performing whole AS survey. This study therefore proposed the integration between Cufflinks/Cuffdiff and DEXseq tools as a reasonable complementary methodology assessing full AS pattern in hormone responsive Erβ BC cells. Key words: Cufflinks/Cuffdiff, DEXseq, RNA-Seq, alternative splicing (AS), exons, transcript isoforms, estrogen receptor β (ERβ), breast cancer (BC) cells.

// Paul Takam Kamga 1 , Giulio Bassi 1 , Adriana Cassaro 1 , Martina Midolo 1 , Mariano Di Trapani 1 , Alessandro Gatti 1 , Roberta Carusone 1 , Federica Resci 1 , Omar Perbellini 1 , Michele Gottardi 2 , Massimiliano Bonifacio 1 , Armel Herve Nwabo Kamdje 3 , Achille Ambrosetti 1 and Mauro Krampera 1 1 Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Section of Hematology, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy 2 Division of Hematology, Ca’ Foncello Hospital, Treviso, Italy 3 Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ngaoundere-Cameroon, Cameroon Correspondence to: Mauro Krampera, email: // Keywords : AML, MSC, Notch, chemoresistance Received : February 10, 2016 Accepted : February 25, 2016 Published : March 07, 2016 Abstract Both preclinical and clinical investigations suggest that Notch signalling is critical for the development of many cancers and for their response to chemotherapy. We previously showed that Notch inhibition abrogates stromal-induced chemoresistance in lymphoid neoplasms. However, the role of Notch in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its contribution to the crosstalk between leukemia cells and bone marrow stromal cells remain controversial. Thus, we evaluated the role of the Notch pathway in the proliferation, survival and chemoresistance of AML cells in co-culture with bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells expanded from both healthy donors (hBM-MSCs) and AML patients (hBM-MSCs*). As compared to hBM-MSCs, hBM-MSCs* showed higher level of Notch1, Jagged1 as well as the main Notch target gene HES1. Notably, hBM-MSCs* induced expression and activation of Notch signalling in AML cells, supporting AML proliferation and being more efficientin inducing AML chemoresistance than hBM-MSCs*. Pharmacological inhibition of Notch using combinations of Notch receptor-blocking antibodies or gamma-secretase inhibitors (GSIs), in presence of chemotherapeutic agents, significant lowered the supportive effect of hBM-MSCs and hBM-MSCs* towards AML cells, by activating apoptotic cascade and reducing protein level of STAT3, AKT and NF-κB. These results suggest that Notch signalling inhibition, by overcoming the stromal-mediated promotion of chemoresistance,may represent a potential therapeutic targetnot only for lymphoid neoplasms, but also for AML.

In the year 2000, a wide campaign of screening and treatment of the dysplastic lesions of the cervix was initiated in Cameroun. The precancerous lesions of the cervix are the most important demonstration of gynecological infection by the AIDS. As these lesions remain little documented in Cameroun, we carried out a study which the goal was to determine the prevalence of the precancerous lesions among positive AIDS women. It is about a descriptive study with a retrospective collection of data carried out between 2010 and 2016 among 253 positive AIDS women having carried out a consultation in the Hospital complex and University of Yaounde aged from 18 to 80 years. The analysis of the data was essentially carried on: the age, clinical Factors data of risk of the precancerous lesions, anatomo-pathological search of precancerous lesion. AIDS status and/or the catch the antiretroviral one. The Software SPSS was used for the analysis of data. The test of Chi2 for the comparison of the variables. A variable was considered significant if P

Background : Cervical cancer is a major cause of women death worldwide. The reduction of the mortality and morbidity of this pathology depends on the early detection based on powerful suitable screening methods, that will lead to optimal treatment strategies. However in some rural region of developing countries, it is very difficult to get access to standard screening methods, alternative screening methods, cheaper and easy to handle are then useful. Objective : The aim of this work was to test the sensitivity and specificity of VIA (Visual inspection with acetic acid) and VILI (Visual inspection with lugol iodine) as a diagnostic test of cervical cancer compared to the Pap Smear, evaluating the feasibility in health formation in the North Cameroon region, of implementing epidemiological surveillance of cervical cancer based on early diagnosis using the VIA-VILI association Method : 309 women age 20 to 62 years were recruited in this study, 307 were included in the statistical analyzes. Each woman was screened for cervical cancer by a conventional Smear and visual inspection with acetic acid 5% and the lugol solution. Results : We found in our study a prevalence of precancerous lesions of cervix at 12.70%. The risks factors of cervical cancer identified are age, matrimonial status, age of first sexual intercourse and parity. The association of VIA and VILI showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value respectively about 93.58%; 97.01%; 82.01%, 99.04%. Conclusion : Compared to PAP Smear, VIA or VILI could be used as an alternative screening methods for cervical cancer in developing countries, where it is difficult to access to more accurate test such as colposcopy and biopsy.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) reside in many organs including lung, as shown by their isolation from fetal lung tissues, bronchial stromal compartment, bronchial-alveolar lavage and transplanted lung tissues. It is still controversial whether lung MSCs can undergo mesenchymal-to-epithelial-transition (MET) and possess immune regulatory properties. To this aim, we isolated, expanded and characterized MSCs from normal adult human lung (lung-hMSCs) and compared with human bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-hMSCs). Our results show that lung-MSCs reside at the perivascular level and do not significantly differ from BM-hMSCs in terms of immunophenotype, stemness gene profile, mesodermal differentiation potential and modulation of T, B and NK cells. However, lung-hMSCs express higher basal level of the stemness-related marker nestin and show, following in vitro treatment with retinoic acid, higher epithelial cell polarization, which is anyway partial when compared to a control epithelial bronchial cell line. Although these results question the real capability of acquiring epithelial functions by MSCs and the feasibility of MSC-based therapeutic approaches to regenerate damaged lung tissues, the characterization of this lung-hMSC population may be useful to study the involvement of stromal cell compartment in lung diseases in which MET plays a role, such as in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy remain a major call for concern owing to their increasing incidence, gravity and associated complications. In Cameroon, the epidemiological reality of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy remains unknown in the majority of regions. Objective: This study aimed to identify the determinants of hypertensive disorders among pregnant women in a hospital milieu in Ngaoundere town. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital, the reference hospital facility of the Adamawa Region of Cameroon from May to June 2014. Results: In total, 160 pregnant women were examined during the period of study, among which 75 recorded a high blood pressure thus fulfilling our inclusion criteria. Age (P=0.013), previous twin pregnancy (P=0.013) and preeclampsia (P=0.013) were found to be significantly predictive of chronic hypertension. Religion (P=0.004) and multiparity (P=0.001) were identified as significant independent predictive risk factors of preeclampsia, History of preeclampsia (P=0.025) was identified as predictive risk factor for superimposed preeclampsia. Conclusion: Independent predisposing factors associated with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy in our milieu, which include advanced age, the notion of preeclampsia and history of twin pregnancy for chronic hypertension, parity and religion for preeclampsia, and history of preeclampsia for superimposed preeclampsia.

The present study was aimed at optimizing the transfusion security of the patients, we determined the seroprevalence of transferable infections by the blood transfusion notably the HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and the syphilis among the blood donors at the blood bank of regional hospital of Bertoua to reduce meaningfully their impact in hospitable environment. We performed a prospective transversal survey on 429 Blood donors from the 1st January 2013 to 1st January 2014. We included 371 men (86.48%) and 38 women (13.52%). During this survey, we noted that, the most large part of blood donation was given by family members of patients with a seroprevalence of 58.04% compared to volunteers donors (23.78%) and remunerated donors (18.18%). The infections seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Syphilis has been estimated to 5.13%, 6.76%, 4.2% and 0.46% respectively. These results showed that it was necessary to put an accent on the pre-donation stages; cross-examination of the blood donor (research of information able to annul the blood donation), verification of the biological parameters (blood type rhesus, the hemoglobin rate and research of the infectious makers) to reduce the residual risks of these infections by the blood transfusion.

The present study aimed at evaluating the nutritional state impact on liver detoxification function in patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus under antiretroviral drugs. We performed a retrospective and prospective transversal survey on the patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus, under antiretroviral drugs at the Bertoua day hospital. The retrospective period of our survey went from October 24, 2014 to February 24, 2014 (4 months) and the prospective shutter of the survey went from February 24, 2014 to August 24, 2014 (6 months), a total period of 10 months. We also analysed the socio-demographics parameters (Age and Sex), Biological parameters (HIV type, CD4, Transaminases) and the therapeutics parameters (Therapeutic protocol, Evolution). The hepatic affection has been judged by the remarkable increase of the rate of transaminases (>3N) and by the appearance of hypersensitivity signs (Skin rashes, Fever…). During this survey, 38 hepatic-toxicity cases caused by the intake of ARV drugs were collected. We included 12 men (31.58%) and 26 women (68.42%) with a sex-ratio of 0.46 in favor of the women. The average age was 45.68±13.13 year with age ranging between 10 to 65 years. Age group of 50 years and above was most represented with a percentage of 42.10. The majority of the patients were infected by the HIV 1 (86.85%) against 10.52% for the HIV 2 and 2.63% for the HIV 1+2. The most prescribed therapy was the association of 2 INTI+1 INNTI (Tenofovir+Lamivudine+Nevirapine) and the AIDS stage represented 7.89%. Prior to the antiretroviral therapy, the 38 patients had normal transaminases that followed modifications of the initial therapeutic protocol after a remarkable increase during the antiretroviral therapy. We noted during this survey that the hepatotoxicity intervention of our patients under ARV drugs was correlated to their Body Mass Index (BMI) that allowed us to evaluate the nutritional state of our patients. The intervention of the hepatotoxicity during the antiretroviral therapy, among the HIV patients having a good nutritional state (normal BMI), was very weak in the absence of the predisposing factors.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of serum sodium, potassium and chlorine disorders on anaemic patients and to assess their effects and measures of managing it. A prospective study was conducted on 110 patients at the Biyem-Assi District Hospital (Yaounde, Cameroon). Normal serum concentrations of sodium, potassium and chlorine were considered as 136 – 145 mEq/l, 3.5 – 5.0 mEq/l and 96 – 106 mEq/l respectively. The variables were considered significant when P < 0.005. Out of the total number of people recorded, there were 81 females (73.64 %) and 29 males (26.36 %). The prevalence of sodium imbalance hyponatremia, and hypernatremia are 20 (18.18 %) and 0 (0 %) respectively. The prevalence of potassium imbalance hypokalemia and hyperkalemia were 12 (10.91 %) and 14 (12.73 %) respectively. The prevalence of chloride disturbance, hypochloremia and hyperchloremia were 2 (1.82 %) and 21 (19.09 %) respectively. Amongst the variables chosen, only three variables had p-values that were significant that is sodium and level of education, potassium and occupation, and potassium and diarrhoea, but some were not significant for the study. Hyponatremia and hyperkalemia were highly prevalent in anemic patients. The severity of serum sodium, potassium and chlorine disturbances on anemic patients remains a significant predictor of mortality. Thus, correcting electrolyte disturbances in these anemic patients is important. Serum chloride levels showed no particular pattern or significant difference on the various variables.