ABSTRACT
Background: Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common endocrine cancer and has been increasing over the past decades worldwide. A notable finding is that Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram ranks the first among men and the second highest among women in the incidence of TC in India. Reasons for this increase have not been established. Objectives: Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal pattern of TC incidence in Thiruvananthapuram. Materials and Methods: TC incidence data (n = 1937) of Population Based Cancer Registry Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, between 2012 and 2016, were analyzed for identifying geographical patterns by spatial methods, temporal methods for studying spatial variation in TC incidence, distribution of age, gender, and histology in lowland (coastal), midland, and highland. Results: Spatial clustering of TC incidence was identified consistently near the coastal region based on all geospatial analyses. 56.9%, 23.9%, and 19.2% of TC cases were observed in the coastal, midland, and highland areas, respectively. A significant clustered pattern of TC incidence was revealed by Moran’s index I (0.49), high-high clusters by local Moran’s, hotspot by Getis-Ord-Gi* (P < 0.05), point pattern analysis by nearest neighbor ratio and kernel density estimation. The relative risk of the significant cluster was obtained as 1.60 (95% confidence interval: 1.03–1.84) by SaTScan analysis. Conclusion: This study identified spatial variations in the pattern of TC cases with significant clusters near the coastal region of Thiruvananthapuram. This would help to pinpoint the high-risk geographical areas of TC and for more effective cancer control programs.
ABSTRACT
Background: Moderate sedation is required for out-patient transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Our objective was to compare the effect of Ketofol and dexmedetomidine for outpatient procedural sedation in diagnostic TEE with a hypothesis that Ketofol would be as effective as dexmedetomidine. Patients and Methods: Fifty adult patients of age group 18-60 years with atrial septal defect, rheumatic valvular heart disease undergoing diagnostic TEE in the outpatient echocardiography laboratory were randomized into two groups, group D and group KF. GROUP D: Dexmedetomidine infusion -200 μg in 20 ml normal saline. GROUP KF: Ketofol infusion: (ketamine: propofol, 1mg: 3 mg in 20 ml syringe). Loading dose of drug at 1ml/kg/hour IV till Ramsay sedation score (RSS) ≥ 3 achieved followed by maintenance infusion at 0.05 ml/kg/hour till end of procedure. Results: The primary outcome - time to achieve Ramsay sedation score ≥ 3 was significantly lesser with Ketofol as compared to Dexmedetomidine 260[69] seconds vs 460 [137], (p value<0.05).Conclusion: In out-patient setting, ketofol is favourable over dexmedetomidine for sedation regimen for diagnostic TEE as lesser time is taken to achieve optimal sedation with lesser hemodynamic perturbations, post procedure complications and better cardiologist satisfaction.
ABSTRACT
Tumefactive demyelinating (TDL) lesions are focal zones of demyelination in the central nervous system and they often mimic the neuroimaging features of an intraxial neoplasm. In this report we describe the clinical, neuroimaging and neuropathological features of six cases of TDL. Only in two patients the neuroimaging features in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans were suggestive of TDL while in the other four cases a diagnosis of glioma was suggested. In order to establish a confirmatory diagnosis neuronavigation/stereotactic biopsy was undertaken and the diagnosis of TDL was established in all six cases at histopathology. Two out of six patients did not respond to the conventional corticosteroid therapy and they were treated with plasma exchange. It is being concluded that neuronavigation biopsy, though provide only a small amount of tissue, and is extremely useful in making the diagnosis of TDL.