Role of Peptic Ulcer Perforation (PULP) score to Predict the Outcome in Patients with Perforated Peptic Ulcer

Background: Peptic ulcer disease is a global burden of disease associated with potentially life-threatening complications, including bleeding, perforation and obstruction. Perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) is a frequent emergency condition worldwide with associated morbidity and mortality. Variations in the clinical presentation, as well as delay in diagnosis and work-up at admission to the hospital, may potentially cause a worsening of symptoms and a deterioration of the clinical condition, with a detrimental outcome. Therefore, accurate and early identification of high-risk surgical patients with perforated peptic ulcers (PPUs) is important for triage and risk stratification. Currently, the ASA score and the Boey score are the most frequently used prognostic scoring systems in patients with PPU. Yet, the ASA score is a general surgical risk score not intended for PPU patients in particular. Moreover, the external validation of the Boey score is uncertain. PULP score appears to have the greatest predictability of the outcome of perforated PUD. Aim of the study: The objective of the study was to evaluate the role of the PULP score in the prediction of outcomes in patients with a perforated ulcer.Material & Methods:It is an observational cross-sectional study, carried out in the Department of Surgery, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka. Ethical approval was obtained from the Dhaka Medical College ethical review board. Patients aged 18 to 60 years admitted to the emergency department with a clinical diagnosis of perforated peptic ulcer disease, confirmed by different investigation modalities, e.g, imaging, sonography, laboratory test, etc were enrolled in the study. The data regarding sociodemographic, clinical, biochemical, radiological and surgical profiles were recorded. The operation was done by upper midline incision under general anesthesia. A modified Graham’s patch technique was used to repair the duodenal ulcer. Postoperative follow up was conducted meticulously. Patient outcome was assessed during their hospital stay and then OPD follow-up or by telephone interviews up to 30 days after the intervention. All the information is recorded in the data collection sheet. All collected questionnaires were checked very carefully to identify the error in the data. Data processing work consisted of registration schedules, editing computerization, preparation of dummy tables, and analyzing and matching data. Data was processed and analysed with the help of the computer program SPSS and Microsoft excel. Quantitative data are expressed as mean and standard deviation and qualitative data as frequency and percentage. The comparison was done by tabulation and graphical presentation in the form of tables, pie charts, graphs, bar diagrams, histograms &charts etc.Results:Present study demonstrates that the maximum number of patients (43.0%) was between 51-60 years of age group, mean age of the patient was 49.35 ± 11.7 years. The male and female ratio was 3.54:1. Maximum (57%) patients came from urban, (36%) rural and (7%) urban non-slum areas. In this study, the most common signs were tachycardia (100%), abdominal tenderness (100%), abdominal rigidity (100%), absence of vowel sound (86.2%), and obliteration of liver dullness (78.7%), dehydration (67.5%). The time lapse between the onset of symptoms and admission to the hospital varied from 4 hours to 4 days. Most of the patients (76.0%) were admitted after 24 hours. In this study, PULP score was assessed according to the operational definition of optimal cut-off point 7, below this considered as low-risk patients. in this study 85% were 0-7 PULP scores and 15% were PULP scores 8-18. Patients’ condition after proper treatment, symptoms, degree of abnormalities or dependence on the daily physiological activity and the clinical outcome had evaluated and measured by follow up and close monitoring. The study shows that 69.0% of the patients recovered completely, but 24.0% of patients had developed complications. The mortality rate in this study was 7.0%. Finally, a correlation of the PULP score with mortality of perforated PUD was carried out. Among the 7 expired cases the, PULP score was correlated with 6 cases like high risk. In 93 cases of recovered, the PULP score was predicted in 84 cases as low risk. So the effectiveness of PULP has proven significant in the prediction of mortality in perforated PUD patients. The Sensitivity and Specificity of the Peptic Ulcer Perforation (PULP) score was 85.7% and 90.3% respectively. Similarly, the positive predictive value and accuracy rate for the same was 40.0% and 90.0% respectively.Conclusion: Patients with perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) often present with acute, severe illness that carries a high risk for morbidity and mortality. Several prognostic scoring systems have been suggested to identify high-risk surgical patients with perforated peptic ulcers accurately and early. The present study demonstrates that the PULP score can be used to predict 30-day mortality accurately in patients operated for PPU. The prognostic predictors included in the PULP score can be readily identified prior to surgery. The PULP score can assist in the accurate and early identification of high-risk patients with PPU.

Is depression a concern among medical students: a cross sectional study in different academic years of a private medical college in Bangladesh

Background: Depression is not uncommon among medical students all over the world. Few studies have been conducted so far in Bangladesh to depict its actual prevalence and severity. So, the aim of this study was to assess the severity of depression and the level of difficulty faced by medical students in different academic years.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in North East medical college of Bangladesh from January 2018 to June 2018 involving 443 students from 1st year to 5th year. Students were instructed to fill up the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) which incorporates diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV) depression diagnostic criteria categorized as no, mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression and also evaluates their level of function.Results: The prevalence of depression was quite high (79.68%). 196 (44.24%) and 157 (35.44%) students had mild and major depression respectively, while 90 (20.32%) showed no depression. Students with major depression were scored as moderate depression 24.38%, moderately severe depression 8.35%, and severe depression 2.71%. Moderate depression was significantly higher in year 1 and year 2 students in comparison to year 3, 4 and 5. Students from year 1 to year 5 with mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression experienced varying degree of difficulty in their daily activities. Almost all the students in all years with severe depression found themselves very difficult or extremely difficult to cope.Conclusions: High prevalence of depression among medical students is really alarming and underlying factors need to be addressed.

Analgesic and antihyperglycemic activity evaluation of Bambusa vulgaris aerial parts.

Bambusa vulgaris, also known as ‘Ora Bansh’ in Bangladesh is grown throughout the country for housing and scaffolding purposes. As part of our analgesic and antihyperglycemic plants of Bangladesh screening program, it was of interest to evaluate the analgesic and antihyperglycemic potential of aerial parts of the plant. Methanolic extract of aerial parts (MEBV) at doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg per kg significantly reduced the number of writhings in acetic acid-induced pain model Swiss albino mice by 25.9, 29.6, 37.0, and 44.4%, respectively compared to reductions of 40.7 and 51.9%, respectively, obtained with 200 and 400 mg per kg of a standard analgesic drug, aspirin. MEBV, at doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg per kg also significantly lowered blood glucose levels in mice, respectively, by 32.8, 45.8, and 55.3% compared to control mice. A standard antihyperglycemic drug, glibenclamide, when administered at a dose of 10 mg per kg lowered blood glucose level by 50.8%. Taken together, the results indicate that the aerial parts of the plant possess considerable analgesic and antihyperglycemic potential, which can possibly be attributed to the presence of alkaloids and saponins in the extract.

Prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria and its consequences in pregnancy in a rural community of Bangladesh.

This was a cross-sectional followed by cohort type of study conducted among the pregnant mothers of second trimester in the rural areas of Rajshahi district. Initially 1800 pregnant mothers ofsecond trimester were selected from 18 unions applying 2-stage random sampling. A total of 216 pregnant mothers with asymptomatic bacteriuria were paired among the rest of the healthy pregnant mothers (without bacteriuria) on the basis of age, gravida and economic status for cohort study to relate asymptomatic bacteriuria with the incidence of symptomatic bacteriuria, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP) and pre-term delivery. The matched paired pregnant mothers werefollowed monthly interval up to delivery. The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria was 12% among the pregnant mothers in rural Rajshahi. E. Coli was the commonest causative agent of both asymptomatic and symptomatic bacteriuria. The results of this study suggest that asymptomatic bacteriuria were more prone to develop symptomatic bacteriuria, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and pre-term delivery than that of the healthy mothers (without bacteriuria). Screening of bacteriuria in pregnancy and proper treatment must be considered as an essential part of antenatal care in this rural community.

Aetiology of diarrhoea in a birth cohort of children aged 0-2 year(s) in rural Mirzapur, Bangladesh.

The incidence of aetiology-specific diarrhoea and the pathogenicity of infectious agents in a birth cohort (n=252) in rural Bangladesh were determined. Stool specimens or rectal swabs were collected from diarrhoeal cases over two years and routinely on a monthly basis. Stool samples from children with diarrhoea were compared with stool samples from children without diarrhoea to calculate rates of isolation and pathogenicity of agents. In total, 1750 stool specimens from diarrhoea patients and 5679 stool specimens from children without diarrhoea were tested. An infectious agent was identified in 58% of the stool specimens from diarrhoea patients and 21.6% of the stool specimens from children without diarrhoea. The most commonly-isolated pathogens from all specimens were enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), enteroadherent E. coli, Shigella, Campylobacter jejuni, Giardia, and rotavirus. ETEC (ST and LT-ST toxin), enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis, Shigella, and rotavirus were associated more with disease than with asymptomatic infections. Aetiology-specific infections were associated with acute episodes. The isolated enteropathogens were essentially the same as those found in other tropical rural settings. Enterotoxigenic B. fragilis was also identified as a pathogen. Ongoing vaccine efforts focusing on Shigella, rotavirus, and ETEC would be useful.

Management of dengue by the WHO guided national guidelines.

A total of 90 adult patients of Dengue admitted in Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital, Dhaka during the period from July 2002 to December 2002 were studied to see the presentation, spectrum of disease and outcome of management. Majority (52%) of cases was in the age group 21-30 years. Out of 90 patients 74 patients (82.22%) were male and 16 (17.78%) were female. Maximum number of cases (43%) was found in the month of August. Most of the cases (77%) were from Dhaka City. Classical type of Dengue fever was the commonest (80%) variety. Thrombocytopenia was found in 80% cases. Platelet count came down below 10000/cumm only in 1.1% of the patients. The patients were diagnosed mainly by clinical criteria. Serological tests were done only in selected cases. Majority (80%) of the patients was managed by sponging, paracetamol and Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS). Blood transfusion was required in 18% cases and platelet concentrate was given only in 1.1% cases. There was no mortality in this study.

Detection of Mycobacterium leprae by Polymerase Chain Reaction.

The improved procedure based on Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for detection of M. leprae has been developed. The sensitivity and specificity of this method were tested using different concentration of genomic DNA of M. leprae Thai 53 and genomic DNAs from mycobacterial species and related microorganisms respectively. Application of this method to biopsy samples obtained from Bangladesh was conducted and detected M. leprae DNA in 7 of the 10 clinical specimens. Acid fast bacilli were not detected in four of the seven positive cases under the microscopic observation. It was concluded that this method was sensitive and specific for detection of M. leprae in clinical specimens and also simple to detect in only one step of PCR.