ABSTRACT
Background/Aims@#Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration is very effective for providing specimens for cytological evaluation. However, the ability to provide sufficient tissue for histological evaluation has been challenging due to the technical limitations of dedicated core biopsy needles. Recently, a modified EUS needle has been introduced to obtain tissue core samples for histological analysis. We aimed to determine (1) its ability to obtain specimens for histological assessment and (2) the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) using this needle. @*Methods@#We retrospectively analyzed consecutive cases of FNB using modified EUS needles for 342 lesions in 303 patients. The cytology and histological specimens were analyzed. Diagnostic accuracy was calculated. @*Results@#Adequate cytological and histological assessment was possible in 293/342 (86%) and 264/342 (77%) lesions, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy of the cytological specimen was 294/342 (86%) versus 254/342 (74%) for the histological specimen (p<0.01). Diagnostic accuracy of the combined cytological and histological assessment was 323/342 (94.4%), which was significantly higher than that of both histology alone (p<0.001) and cytology alone (p=0.001). @*Conclusions@#EUS-FNB with the modified EUS needle provided histologic tissue cores in the majority of cases and achieved excellent diagnostic accuracy with few needle passes.
ABSTRACT
Gout is a debilitating condition that affects millions across the world. In gout, hyperuricemia results in the deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals in joints and soft tissues. IL-1β, an interleukin has been shown to be the most prominent inflammatory marker in the pathogenesis of gout. This study was conducted to assess the IL-1β lowering effect of oral colchicine in gout patients. Forty gout patients were randomly divided into 2 groups and one group was treated with oral colchicine while the other group was treated with NSAIDs for a period of 2 months. Their serum IL1β levels were estimated before and after treatment. Baseline demographics were similar between the groups. It was found that IL-1β levels in the colchicine group were significantly lower than the IL-1β levels of the NSAID group. They also had better symptomatic relief. This study concluded that serum IL-1β was elevated in gout patients and colchicine was effective in lowering it.
ABSTRACT
Background: Preeclampsia is a hypertensive related complication of pregnancy; Parturients with pregnancy induced hypertension may present to the labor and delivery unit with or without a prior diagnosis of preeclampsia and may pose a significant anesthetic challenge. Administration of anesthesia in such cases leads to worse cardiovascular response. Objectives: To determine the efficacy of epidural and spinal anesthesia techniques in preeclamptic parturients. Materials and methods: A total 60 women with severe preeclampsia who required anti-hypertensive therapy and suitable to either spinal or epidural anesthesia were included and were divided in to epidural and spinal groups with equal number of distribution. Results: There were significant differences in SAP at 1 to 15 min (P < 0.0001) and at 16 to 20 min (P < 0.005) and DAP at 1 to 15 min (P < 0.0001) and at 16 to 20 min (P < 0.01) between the 2 groups. There were no significant differences in SAP and DAP at 22 to 30 min between groups. Conclusion: Spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery in severely preeclamptic patients causes slightly more hypotension than epidural anesthesia during the induction to delivery period. The duration of hypotension, however, was short and there was no difference in neonatal status.