Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzyme level, which is routinely measured at clinical laboratories, increases in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and hepatitis patients. This study investigated the difference in ALP level among ESRD and hepatitis patients. ALP level was measured in sera of patients suffering from ESRD, HCV and HBV infections, as well as patients suffering from comorbidity of these diseases, then the obtained values of ALP level were statistically compared to a control group. The results of three-Way ANOVA revealed that the mean of ALP level increased significantly (P-value< 0.05) in all types of diseases compared to the control group, with the highest increase in case of ESRD patients infected with Hepatitis B and C. Also, it was found that the interaction of group-gender significantly (P-value< 0.05) altered ALP level in patients suffering from HCV or HBV infections, while the interaction of group-age, gender-age, group-gender-age were found not to significantly alter it. In conclusion, ESRD patients with HBV/HCV coinfection may have a higher risk of liver-related morbidity and mortality than ESRD or HBV or HCV patients. arabic 25 English 103
HA Alemam, A Bashein(1-2020)

Background and Aims: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is an autosomal recessive disorder, characterized by increased intestinal absorption of iron. Excessive amount of iron accumulates in the liver, pancreas, and heart, etc., and eventually leading to organ failure due to iron toxicity and death if untreated. The most common causes of HH are the C282Y and H63D mutations in HFE gene. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of H63D and C282Y alleles among the Libyan population in Tripoli region and to compare the results with other published data. Materials and Methods: This study included 300 randomly selected unrelated Libyan male blood donors, aged between 18 and 50 years. In‑house hydrolysis probe real‑time polymerase chain reaction and high‑resolution melting analysis protocols were developed and employed as screening tools for H63D and C282Y genotyping, respectively, and direct DNA sequencing was used to confirm the results. Results: Seven subjects (2.33%) were detected as homozygous H63D mutation and 72 (24%) were detected as heterozygous, and only one subject was detected as a heterozygous C282Y mutant (0.33%) and no homozygous C282Y mutation was detected. Conclusion: In Libyans residing in Tripoli region, the allele frequency of C282Y was very rare and allele frequency of H63D was common arabic 17 English 89
Laila Mohamed Elghawi, Abdulla Bashein(7-2021)

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is spreading rapidly worldwide, with devastating consequences for patients, healthcare workers, health systems, and economies. As it reaches low- and middle-income countries, the pandemic puts healthcare workers at high risk and challenges the abilities of healthcare systems to respond to the crisis. This study measured levels of knowledge and preparedness regarding COVID-19 among physicians and nurses. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare workers in Libya between February 26 and March 10, 2020. We obtained 1,572 valid responses of a possible 2,000 (78.6%) participants from 21 hospitals, of which 65.1% were from physicians and 34.9% from nurses. The majority of participants (70%) used social media as a source of information. A total of 47.3% of doctors and 54.7% of nurses received adequate training on how to effectively use personal protective equipment. Low confidence in managing suspected COVID-19 patients was reported by 83.8% of participants. Furthermore, 43.2% of healthcare workers were aware of proper hand hygiene techniques. Less than 7% of participants received training on how to manage COVID-19 cases, whereas 20.6% of doctors and 26.3% of nurses felt that they were personally prepared for the outbreak. Awareness and preparedness for the pandemic were low among frontline workers during the study. Therefore, an effective educational training program should be implemented to ensure maintenance of appropriate practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. arabic 19 English 107
Muhammed Elhadi, Ahmed Zaid(1-2020)