ABSTRACT
Background: Repeated blood transfusion is the main life line support for thalassaemic children and so they are more prone to be infected with HBV. In Bangladesh the main source of blood for transfusion is the professional donors and so the possibility of HBV infection is higher. Objective: To assess the frequency of HBV among children who received more than 3 blood transfusions. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional analytical study was conducted in Pediatrics ward of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka during the period of July 2003 to June 2004. Ninety five children aged less than 15 years, suffering from b thalassaemia major and Hb E b thalassaemia having blood transfusion more than three times and 20 controls of similar age and sex were included in this study. Seromarkers of HBV were tested and the results were analyzed using SPSS version Windows 11.0. Results: Out of 115 children 68 were b thalassaemic (mean age 6.8 ± 2.84 yrs and male:female is 4.2:1), 27 were Hb E b thalassaemic children (mean age 8.78 ± 2.99 yrs and M:F 1.4:1) and 20 were nontransfused, age and sex matched controls (mean age 6.23 ± 1.88 yrs and M:F 1:2.3). Out of 95 thalassaemic children 21 (22.1%) were positive for HBsAg. Among them 13 were b thalassaemic and 8 were Hb E b thalassaemic. None of the controls showed HBsAg positivity indicating a significant statistical difference (p=0.033). 28 (29.5%) children were positive for anti-HBc. Among them 23 were b thalassaemic and 5 were Hb E b thalassaemic and there was no core antigen positivity among the controls showing a significant statistical difference (p=0.022). Four (4.2%) patients showed HBeAg positivity, out of whom 3 were b thalassaemic and 1 was Hb E b thalassaemic. But this antigen was not found in any control and thereby, no statistical significant difference was observed (p=0.637). Among 20 controls, 2 were positive for anti-HBe antibody, but none of the thalassaemic children was positive for this antibody showing statistically significant difference (p=0.008). Conclusion: A significantly higher sero-prevalence of hepatitis B viral marker was observed among the multitransfused thalassaemic children.
ABSTRACT
Eosinophilic fasciitis is an uncommon disorder of unknown aetiology and poorly-understood pathogenesis. Since 1974, over 250 cases of eosinophilic fasciitis have been reported worldwide. The first case of eosinophilic fasciitis from Bangladesh is reported here. The challenges of diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, including family and social support, are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Knowledge regarding nutrition is an essential part in Medical Education. Several studies indicate that physicians have little knowledge of nutrition. The present study was carried out to determine the knowledge of nutrition of physicians at Sylhet in Bangladesh. For this purpose, the research data was collected by mean of a questionnaire including multiple choice questions. The questionnaire was pretested in a pilot survey. The survey was conducted among randomly selected physicians. The analysis shows that the response rate of the physicians was 60.3% and some of the physicians (26.49%) were experienced below 5 years. Only 15% of the physicians were females. The average correctly answered questions was 55.2%. The analysis also shows that most of the physicians (55%) have ‘poor’ knowledge of nutrition and that of only 10% was good. The physicians were generally aware of nutrition information which has been publicized in the medical press.
ABSTRACT
The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Bangladesh is 35% among all liver diseases. Sonographic examinations were performed for the evaluation of 38 cases of HCC; then, CT examinations were done of these cases subsequently. Expert opinion was taken in each case for both modalities. Age, sex, clinical features, location of the hepatic lesion, multiplicity, echo-character, CT density, and, contrast enhancement were evaluated in all cases. Histocytopathology reports were collected from the patients and were correlated with the ultrasonography and CT findings. Thirty five cases were detected as HCC on ultrasonography and 36 cases in CT scan. In ultrasonography, most of the lesions (82.9%) were found in right lobe, maximum lesions (45.7%) were hypoechoic and lesion showed mosaic pattern in 68.6% cases, lateral shadowing in 34.3% and posterior acoustic enhancement in 45.7% cases. Significant difference found between mosaic pattern and lateral shadowing (p<0.05). On CT scan, majority of lesions (50%) were hypodense, 91.7% lesions were contrast enhanced. Pattern of enhancement was mostly heterogeneous. Both of the modalitics found sensitive but CT was found more sensitive, specific and accurate than ultrasonography in detecting HCC.
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
A total of 60 eyes with primary progressive pterygium were selected. They were randomly divided into two groups ie, group A and group B each consisting of 30 eyes. Group A patients were treated with pteryglum excision with ipsilateral conjunctival-limbal autografting. Group B patients were treated with pterygium excision followed by mitomycin C 0.02% for two minutes. Both groups were followed up for one year postoperatively to document recurrence rates and postoperative complications. In group A recurrence rate was 3.0% with minimal ocular complication after one year follow-up. But in group B recurrence rate was high as 10.0% and ocular complications were significant after the same period of postoperative follow-up. Both conjunctival-limbal autograft and intra-operative mitomycin use are effective method of surgical treatment of pterygium but considering the rate of recurrence and other postoperative ocular morbidity conjunctival-limbal autografting seems to be the best method of pterygium treatment.