Identification of various Candida species isolated from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis attending a tertiary care hospital in North India

Background: Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) is a condition diagnosed in a large proportion of women presenting with complaints of abnormal vaginal discharge. The risk of VVC is high in women with diabetes mellitus, pregnancy, using oral contraceptives or broad-spectrum antibiotics and those having Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection.Objective of the present study was to identify the various species of Candida isolated from patients with Vulvovaginal Candidiasis.Methods: A cross-sectional study was done from January to June 2018. A total of 69 clinically suspected VVC cases were included in the study whose high vaginal swabs were collected and subjected to direct microscopy and cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA). Creamy white pigmented colonies on SDA were confirmed as Candida by doing Gram抯 staining. Speciation of positive cultures was confirmed by conventional methods like Corn Meal agar culture, Germ tube test (GTT), Candida CHROM Agar Medium (CAM), sugar assimilation and fermentation test.Results: Out of 69 clinically suspected VVC cases included in the study, only 14 cultures were positive for Candida species. All the 14 isolates were found to be Non-albicans Candida (NAC). Most common species isolated were Candida glabrata 7(50%), followed by Candida tropicalis 3(21.4%), Candida lusitaniae 3(21.4%), and Candida parapsilosis 1 (7.1%).Conclusions: Candida albicans was known to be the most common causative agent of VVC as it was isolated in 90% cases. However, this study showed that all isolates from VVC were Non-albicans Candida. Therefore, species identification should be done in all microbiology laboratories for accurate diagnosis of VVC.

Association Between Indexes of Insulin Sensitivity/ Resistance and Serum Magnesium Levels in Overweight Diabetic Subjects.

Objective: To study the association of serum magnesium level and indexes of insulin sensitivity/resistance in overweight diabetic subjects and evaluate the relationship of serum magnesium level with body mass index (BMI) in overweight diabetic subjects. Study design: This case-control study was conducted on 50 overweight type 2 diabetic patients. The overweight diabetic subjects were defined as (BMI ≥ 25.0-30.0 kg/m2) according to the criteria of World Health Organization (WHO), 2004. Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus was made according to the criteria recommended by the American Diabetes Association standards - 2012. Material and methods: The study was conducted on 50 overweight type 2 diabetic patients of either gender attending/admitted in OPD/wards of the Dept. of General Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Associated Group of Hospitals, Ajmer, Rajasthan over a period of 12 months. Results: In overweight diabetic subjects, serum magnesium level were found to be low, HOMA-IR was high and QUICKI values was found to be low in comparison to normal weight nondiabetics. Serum magnesium significantly inversely correlated with BMI, plasma glucose, HbA1C, serum insulin, HOMA-IR and a positive correlation of serum magnesium with QUICKI (overweight subjects) was found in our study. Conclusion: Poor glycemic control in hypomagnesemia patients has been observed in the present study when compared with normomagnesemia patients. Hypomagnesemia may aggravate insulin resistance state in overweight subjects. This can predispose them to metabolic complication of diabetes mellitus.

Foliar application of Zn at flowering stage improves plant’s performance, yield and yield attributes of black gram.

Black gram plants subjected to varying levels of Zn supply (0.01 to 10 µM Zn) showed optimum growth and dry matter yield in plants receiving 1 µM Zn. The dry matter yield of plants decreased in plants receiving 0.01 and 0.1 µM Zn (deficient) and excess levels of Zn (2 and 10 µM Zn). The plants grown with Zn deficient supply showed delayed flowering, premature bud abscission, reduced size of anthers, pollen producing capacity, pollen viability and stigma receptivity resulting in poor pod formation and seed yield. Providing Zn as a foliar spray at pre-flowering stage minimized the severity of Zn deficiency on reproductive structure development and enhanced the seed nutritional status by enhancing seed Zn density, seed carbohydrate (sugar and starch content) and storage proteins (albumins, globulins, glutenins, and prolamines).

Cutaneous Metastasis :A rare Clinical Entity.

An interesting and rare case of cutaneous metastasis in xiphisternal region is being reported. The patient presented with a fungating nodule in xiphisternal region of 3 months duration. The biopsy showed metastatic carcinomatous deposits (Keratin ising Squamous cell carcinoma). Primary lesion was later localised in the right lung.