Immature Teratoma with Somatic Tumor-Type Sarcoma: A Case Report.

Teratoma is a germ cell tumor seen mainly in neonates and young adults; it contains elements derived from all three germinal layers, with its usual site of occurrence being the ovary and testis and less common sites being several extragonadal locations. This case is of a 10-year-old boy who presented with an asymptomatic mass, heterogenous on ultrasonography and showing enhanced solid areas along with nonenhancing cystic areas on contrast enhanced computed tomography. Cytological diagnosis of malignant mesenchymal tumor was made; however, exact categorization could not be done. After surgical excision, histological and immunohistochemical studies yielded the diagnosis of immature teratoma with somatic malignancy – sarcoma. Teratomas with malignant transformation refer to a form of germ cell tumor in which a somatic teratomatous component becomes morphologically malignant and develops aggressively. These are associated with chromosomal abnormalities i (12p) reflecting germ cell tumor clonality. The occurrence of an identifiable sarcomatous component is a well recognized but distinctly uncommon phenomenon.

Incidence of neural tube defects of Lucknow over a 10 year period from 1982-1991.

Open neural tube defects (NTD) in babies, occurring over a 10 yr period (1982-91), in four major maternity hospitals of Lucknow, were identified to analyse the incidence of this disorder. The overall incidence of NTD was found to be 3.9/1000. It was significantly higher in the teaching hospital compared to non-teaching hospitals. But there was no significant difference in the incidence of NTD between the Government and Private hospitals. During the decade (1982-91) under study there was no decline in NTD births. These data could serve as base-line for the incidence of NTD in north India, as NTD is expected to decline with the introduction of folic acid for the prevention of NTD.

Prevalence & spectrum of congenital malformations in a prospective study at a teaching hospital.

A prospective survey for congenital malformations at birth, at a teaching hospital, over a period of two and half years on 9405 consecutive single births has shown that prevalence of major congenital malformations in live births was 1.6 per cent and in still births 16.4 per cent. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of congenital malformations between Hindus (2.0%) and Muslims (2.7%) but amongst Muslims with consanguinity the prevalence of congenital malformation was 4.6 per cent compared to 2.3 per cent in non-consanguineous Muslim spouses (P less than 0.05). Open neural tube defect was the single most common anomaly (31.7% of all malformations) occurring at a rate of 4.7 per 1000 single births, with equal prevalence of anencephaly and meningomyelocoele. Case control study showed that history of concomitant medical illness, drug intake during the first trimester, threatened abortion, hydramnios and pre-eclamptic toxaemia in the current pregnancy were significantly associated with the occurrence of congenital malformations.

Health status of nurses and yoga. I. Baseline data.

In this ongoing ICMR project on "Effect of Yoga on the Health of Nurses", some baseline data on the health of nurses of Nehru Hospital, P.G.I., Chandigarh are reported. This was obtained before the start of yoga therapy in selected cases and collected with the help of six psychological tools. Out of a total of 501 nurses, 452 (90.2%) could be contacted and studied. Mean age was 30.43 years and mean years of service 9.93 years. Mean scores on the psychological tests indicated poor health status of nurses, average neuroticism, depressive tendencies and role stress. Sense of Well-Being was high in them. The data is discussed in the light of researches in this area. This is the first of a series of three articles to be published in the Journal.

Simple hematological tests for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.

Simple hematological tests, TLC, DLC, mESR, platelet count, were performed in 128 neonates of which 50 were controls and 78 were cases of suspected septicemia. Thirty three had positive blood cultures and were taken as 'proved' and remaining as 'probable' sepsis. A band cell neutrophil (B/N) ratio of greater than 0.2 was most sensitive index (92%) followed by raised mESR of greater than 8 mm for 1st hour, whereas leukopenia of greater than 5 x 10(3)/mm3 was most specific index (88%) for the diagnosis of sepsis. Thrombocytopenia of less than 1.5 x 10(5)/cu mm was also taken as positive test for sepsis. A combination of three positive tests had highest positive predictive accuracy (94%) for early diagnosis of sepsis, when compared to single test or two positive test combinations. The best combination of tests was B/N ratio, leukopenia and mESR which can be easily done in a side laboratory.