Ultrasonography in the diagnosis of obstructive jaundice.

Ultrasonography was employed in the diagnosis of obstructive jaundice. In a group of 38 patients who were studied, Ultrasonography was found to be reliable in confirming the diagnosis. In majority of the cases it was also found to be reliable in revealing the cause of obstruction. Nineteen of these patients were examined by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) and there were 100 per cent correlation with Ultrasonography. Twelve of these patients underwent operation and the findings were in good agreement with those of Ultrasonography.

Study of thyroid functions in protein energy malnutrition.

Thyroid functions were studied in eight children suffering from PEM. The assessment of thyroid functions were done by measuring serum T3 and T4 levels by radioimmunoassay. Both T3 and T4 levels in serum were significantly (P less than 0.001) reduced in PEM as compared to normal healthy children. These results suggest that thyroid functions are affected in PEM. The impairment of such functions may possibly be due to a deficiency of protein or to a blockade in the incorporation of iodine into thyroid hormone at some stage after iodide transport into the gland. The possibility of alteration of some biochemical or metabolic changes induced by PEM during biosynthesis of thyroid hormones cannot be excluded.