Assessment of Awareness towards Pap Smear among Nursing Staff – Experience at A Tertiary Care Hospital.

Cancer of the cervix, is second most frequent cancer among the Indian women. To bring down the burden of cancer, in addition to opportunistic cervical cytology along with Mass screening programs, it is imperative to involve nursing staff & paramedical personnel in educating the masses. This cross sectional study describes findings of a pilot screening program, undertaken among nursing staff of a tertiary care hospital. It was found that even among the educated nursing staff there is low level of awareness for usage of pap testing. Cervical cytology revealed wide variety of inflammatory lesions. With the low doctor to population, involvement of the nursing personnel for Periodical cytological screening for prevention of cervical cancer would go a long way in early detection of various cervical abnormalities and increasing awareness among them.

Leishmaniasis in a patient with HIV co‑infection: Diagnosis on fine needle aspiration cytology.

Leishmaniasis is a vector borne parasitic disease caused by obligate intracellular protozoa Leishmania and is transmitted by the bite of sand fly. The disease typically presents in visceral, cutaneous and mucocutaneous forms and is endemic in some states of India. Cases with atypical presentation are seen when patient has co- infection with HIV. We report a case of Leishmaniasis occurring in a HIV seropositive expectant mother diagnosed initially on fine needle aspiration cytology. The patient was resident of non endemic area and had presented with isolated cervical lymphadenopathy and fever without spleenomegaly. Characteristic morphological features of Leishmania seen in the fine needle aspiration smears from the neck nodes were identified and definitive diagnosis of Leishmaniasis could be given. Cytological features were not suggestive of any other disease. Timely diagnosis of the disease facilitated proper management in our patient.

Tuberculous neuritis: A rare sequel of a common disease.

Tuberculosis (TB), a disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an infectious disease that continues to be a significant health problem in a developing country like India. The cause of peripheral neuropathy associated with tuberculosis is controversial. Possibilities include the toxic effects of antituberculous chemotherapy (especially, rifampicin, streptomycin & ethambutol), immune mediated neuropathy, direct invasion of nerves, vasculitic neuropathy, compressive neuropathy, and meningitic reaction. This report describes an unusual fi nding of tuberculous granulomas in the peripheral nerve (Greater auricular nerve) of a patient ,who presented with a painful neck swelling. Granulomas were present in Greater auricular nerve (C2,C3) biopsy specimen associated with tuberculous peri-neuritis, but with no more specifi c indications of the mechanism of the neuropathy.