Prevalence of hepatitis B & C infections in prospective blood donors deferred due to history of jaundice

Background & objectives: As per national guidelines, prospective blood donors with a history of jaundice of unknown cause are deferred permanently to prevent the transmission of hepatitis B and C. The validity of this guideline was tested by comparing prevalence rates of hepatitis B and C in prospective blood donors deferred due to a history of jaundice, with that of donors who were found fit. Methods: Blood samples of 212 consecutive donors (male, n=203) deferred due to a history of jaundice were studied for hepatitis B and C by rapid test kits as well as by chemiluminescence (n=115) or ELISA (n=97). Consecutive healthy donors (n=549; male, n=518) were also studied by ELISA (n=266) or chemiluminescence (n=283). Results: The cumulative prevalence detected by rapid test kit and ELISA/chemiluminescence tests of hepatitis B (n=10) and C (n=2) among donors deferred due to a history of jaundice (n=212) was 5.7 per cent [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.9, 9.9]. The prevalence of reactive results among healthy donors (n=549) by ELISA/chemiluminescence tests was 3.3 per cent (95% CI: 1.9, 5.2), which included hepatitis B (n=15) and hepatitis C (n=3) cases. Compared to healthy donors, the odds of seropositivity among jaundice-deferred donors was 1.7 (95% CI: 0.8, 3.6), P=0.15. For rapid test-negative deferred donors, the odds of seropositivity by ELISA/chemiluminescence declined to 0.4 (0.1, 1.5), P=0.19. Interpretation & conclusions: The prevalence rates of hepatitis B and C in prospective blood donors deferred due to a history of jaundice of unknown aetiology did not differ significantly from that in healthy donors. The current practice of permanently deferring such donors depletes valuable donor pool. A strategy of rejecting only those donors who are found reactive on pre-donation testing by rapid test needs further validation.

Effect of Septoplasty on Mean Platelet Volume in Patients of Deviated Nasal Septum.

Background: Mean platelet volume corresponds to average size of platelets and studies proved that large platelets are enzymatically and metabolically more active and have prothrombotic potential. Chronic upper airway like marked nasal septal deviation leads to higher Mean platelet volume and vice versa septoplasty operation lowers the volume of the platelets over a period of time and hence reduces other associated comorbidities. Objectives: This study was done with an aim to analyze the effect of Septoplasty on Mean Platelet Volume Levels in patients with Marked Nasal Septal Deviation. Methods: A prospective study was done in a total of 50 patients who were selected from ENT OPD and ENT Ward of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh after proper history and examination. Results: Data obtained from preoperative and postoperative blood investigation were analysed using paired t-test and it was statistically proved that after Septoplasty, Mean Platelet Volume was significantly lowered in patients who had Marked Nasal Septal Deviation. Conclusion: Septoplasty plays an important role in reducing the MPV value in cases with Marked nasal septal deviation and thus other comorbid conditions can be prevented by doing septoplasty in these patients.

Role of Imprint Cytology in Diagnosis of Lymph Node Lesions.

Introduction: Imprint cytology is proved to be rapid inexpensive tool in the diagnosis of various lymph node lesions. Objective: The present study was conducted to correlate the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of imprint cytology of various lymph node lesions with histopathological diagnosis. 102 cases were included in the study comprising inflammatory lesion, tubercular lymphadenitis, lymphomas and metastatic carcinomas. Material and Method: From 102 cases of lymph node excision, imprint smears were taken and stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin and Papanicolaou stains. The findings of imprint cytology were then compared with final histopathological diagnosis. Result: When compared with final histopathological diagnosis, imprint smears showed overall diagnostic accuracy of 97.8% with sensitivity and specificity of 95.05% and 98.69% respectively. Accuracy rate for metastatic lymphadenopathy was 100%, whereas, for tubercular lymphadenitis it was 98.04% and for lymphomas 96.04%. Conclusion: Imprint cytology proved to be very useful for diagnosis of metastatic tumour as it gave 100% diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Imprint cytology is also considered to be useful in superficial ulcers to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions without surgical intervention.

Microfilariae in Testicular Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy.

Filariasis due to Wucheria bancrofti is endemic to Southern Asia. While the laboratory diagnosis has been conventionally made by demonstrating microfilariae in peripheral blood smears, these have also been occasionally diagnosed on aspiration cytology of various organs. This paper reports the finding of microfilariae in material obtained from the testicular mass in an eighteen year old male by fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology.

Serum immunoglobulin levels in neoplastic disorder of breast.

Serum IgG, IgA and IgM were estimated in 42 cases of carcinoma and 12 cases of fibroadenoma of breast. The results were compared with 20 healthy female controls. Results showed increased levels of serum IgA in carcinoma breast cases. This increase was statistically significant (p = 0.001) when compared with healthy controls while IgG and IgM values were found to be insignificant. Values of IgG, IgA and IgM in cases of fibroadenoma breast when compared with the controls were found to be insignificant. Statistically significant increased value of IgA was also observed in medullary carcinoma and non-metastasizing tumours when viewed separately, suggestive of good prognostic index of serum IgA level estimation in the case of carcinoma breast.