Evaluation of the response rate of chemo-radiation and brachytherapy in patients with locally advanced carcinoma cervix in a tertiary care center

Background: Incidence and mortality estimates are used to measure the burden of cancer in a population and survival estimates are ideal for evaluating the outcome of cancer control activities. Survival studies evaluate the quality and quantity of life of a group of patients after diagnosing the disease. The patient survival after the diagnosis of cervical cancer is indirectly influenced by socio-economic factors. The present study was carried out with an aim to evaluate the success rate of chemo-radiation followed by brachytherapy to the patients of locally advanced carcinoma (Ca.) cervix in a tertiary care center.Methods: All cases were staged according to the International Federation of Gynaecologists and Oncologists (FIGO) staging system. To illustrate the observed survival of cancer patients Kaplan-Meier curve was plotted. All the patients, except one, completed chemo-radiation and were retrospectively analyzed for the presence of local residual disease, local recurrence, distant metastases, radiation reactions, disease-free survival, and overall survival.Results: There were 22 patients of Carcinoma cervix reported in the radiation oncology department in the year 2018 and 2019. The overall treatment time ranged from 30 days to 178 days, with a median of 63 days. All the patients had a complete response after the treatment. The median follow-up time for all the patients was 15 months. Three patients had a metastatic recurrence and one patient developed distant metastases as well as local recurrence. Overall survival rate was 100% while the disease-free survival rate was 81.82%.Conclusions: The response to chemo-radiation in the treatment of locally advanced Carcinoma cervix is comparable to historic data and is well tolerated.

Study of eosinophil count in nasal smear and peripheral blood smear in children with allergic rhinitis

Background: Allergic respiratory disorders are the common cases seen in Pediatrics OPD. With an appropriate history and detailed examination, the diagnosis usually may not be problematic and routine investigations may not contribute much for the final diagnosis but may help in ruling other possibilities. The objectives of this study were done to know the eosinophil counts in nasal and blood smear and to assess the feasibility of nasal cytogram which is simple, economical and reliable investigation in patients of allergic respiratory disorders.Methods: A prospective clinical correlation study conducted in outpatient visiting Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Cheluvamba hospital Department of Pediatrics and ENT Department KR hospital. 60 children of age group between 2 to 18 years were selected to estimate the eosinophil count in nasal and peripheral smear in allergic rhinitis. All allergic rhinitis cases based on clinical signs and symptoms were selected and investigated for nasal and blood eosinophilia. The nasal and blood eosinophilia were compared with each other and the clinical findings of allergic rhinitis were studied.Results: In this study peak age incidence is between 6-10 years and there is equal gender distribution. Seasonal variation and pollen allergens were the most common risk factors for allergic rhinitis. Running nose and the nasal obstruction were the most common symptoms in children with allergic rhinitis followed by sneezing and itching. One tenth of the children with allergic rhinitis had bronchial asthma. Nasal eosinophilia contributes to the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis as compared blood eosinophilia. Mild intermittent variety of allergic rhinitis was the most common form of allergic rhinitis.Conclusions: Among various risk factors for allergic rhinitis, seasonal variation and pollen allergens have significant association with the severity of allergic rhinitis. Among various symptomology, only itching had a significant relation to the severity of allergic rhinitis.

Spectrum of prostate gland lesions: a clinico-pathologic study in south-western Bihar, India

Background: Prostate gland is an endocrine dependent organ in males and age-related lesions involve it. Inflammation, benign nodular hyperplasia and tumours are the commonest to involve it worldwide. Occasionally some other pathological changes can also involve it. The study was carried out for the first time to know the spectrum and prevalence of prostate lesions which will be of help to the clinicians in this location.Methods: Retrospective study was carried out for a period of four years and out of surgical cases of males which underwent operative procedure, prostate cases were retrieved and in the department of pathology, haematoxylin and eosin stained slides were evaluated and diagnosed.Results: A total of 138 cases were included and five cases were excluded from this series. Benign nodular hyperplasia (73.9%) was the commonest finding followed by chronic prostatitis associated with hyperplasia (15.2%), atypical glandular hyperplasia (2.9%) and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (2.1%). Malignant tumours were 5.8% constituting adenocarcinoma prostate as the most common (62.5%). A case of hemangiopericytoma was also diagnosed.Conclusions: Benign nodular hyperplasia of prostate is the most common affliction among males starting at age 45 years. Early consultation and screening will be of immense value. Adenocarcinoma prostate may involve at age around 58 years.

Liver function tests to predict the severity of dengue fever in serologically positive children below 18 years of age

Background: Dengue fever presents with a diverse clinical spectrum. Although liver is not a major target organ, hepatic dysfunction is a well-recognized feature. In this study authors attempted to study the pattern of hepatic involvement in children with dengue and its association with disease severity.Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted at Cheluvamba hospital during the period of 1 year. Children <18 years of age with dengue Ns1 Ag and IgM positive were included in this study. After obtaining informed consent, a pre-structured proforma was used to record the relevant information from each subject. After detailed clinical examination and haematological investigation children were categorized into three groups as dengue fever with no warning signs (DNWS), dengue fever with warning signs (DWWS) and severe dengue fever (SDF) according to WHO classification. Statistical analysis was done to know the strength of association between different clinical and biochemical variables and outcome of the disease.Results: The mean age of the study population was 8.65 years with male preponderance. The mean total bilirubin, serum albumin, SGOT, SGPT, ALP, PT and INR were 0.76 mg/dl, 3.8g/dl, 233.18U/L, 118.15U/L, 200.65 U/L, 12.9s and 1.09 respectively. The mean SGOT was significantly higher than SGPT. The degree of deranged LFTs was significantly more in SDF group than DNWS and DWWS groups. Serum albumin was significantly decreased in children with SDF group correlating with disease severity, prognosis and outcome.Conclusions: Hepatic dysfunction was present in all forms of dengue infection, with SGOT rising significantly more than SGPT. All biochemical liver parameters were significantly deranged in patients with severe dengue fever indicating prolonged illness and poor prognosis.

Mid-stream clean catch urine collection in newborns: a non-invasive and safe technique

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the success rate and safety of a non-invasive technique to obtain clean-catch midstream urine samples in newborns.Methods: Prospective bedside clinical study. After obtaining written informed consent,120 consecutive newborns admitted in NICU with no dehydration, poor feeding, need for immediate urine sample by invasive method' for whom urine collection was advised for various reasons who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study with consent being taken from the parents. After adequate milk intake supra pubic and lumbar para vertebral areas were stimulated in repeated cycles of 30 s until micturition began.Results: Success rate in obtaining a midstream urine sample within 5 min. The success rate was 90%. The mean time taken to collect urine was 64.24s, for males it was 62.55s and for females 65.93s.Conclusions: The technique has been demonstrated to be safe, quick and effective. The discomfort and time consumption usually associated with bag collection methods as well as invasive techniques can be avoided.

Immunosuppressant effect of Boswellia serrata extract on CFA induced arthritis in rats

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an immune-mediated arthropathy, so for the treatment disease modifying antirheumatoid drugs are required. In this study we are evaluating the immunomodulatory property of Boswellia serrata extract (BSE) as an alternative medicine.Methods: Complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA), 0.1ml was injected intradermally in the footpad of left hind paw in 36 Wistar rats to induce RA. Animals were divided into 6 groups. BSE in the doses of 45mg/kg, 90mg/kg and 180mg/kg was administered and cyclophosphamide as standard drug. Various parameters as body weight, paw thickness, ankle diameter, paw volume, arthritis index, TNF- ? and histopathological changes were analyzed.Results: Marked reduction in paw thickness, ankle diameter, paw volume, arthritis index and an improved body weight was found in high dose BSE (180mg/kg) group but the effect was lesser than standard drug Cyclophosphamide.Conclusions: BSE has significant potential as an alternative medicine for treatment of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Oculo-facio-cardio-dental syndrome in a girl and her mother.

Congenital heart defects are known to be associated with facial dysmorphism and other congenital anomalies. Oculo-facio-cardio-dental (OFCD) syndrome is one such rare multiple congenital anomaly syndrome inherited as an X-linked dominant condition characterized by congenital cataracts, multiple minor facial dysmorphic features, congenital heart defects and dental anomalies. It is unrecognized by many medical and dental professionals. Only 21 cases have been reported so far. This syndrome is often misrecognized as rubella embryopathy because of association of congenital cataract with cardiac anomalies. It is usually the orthodontists who diagnose the syndrome based on typical findings on dental panoramic radiographs. But we suspected our patient to be having OFCD syndrome based on typical facial dysmorphism, ocular and cardiac defects, and finally it was confirmed after noticing typical dental radiographic findings.

Gender difference in socio-epidemiological factors for leprosy in the most hyper-endemic district of Nepal.

Leprosy which has caused stigma and social ostracism for millennium is nearing elimination worldwide as a public health problem, but the leprosy burden in Nepal is still 4.4 times greater than WHO's target level of less than one case per 10,000 population. Although leprosy affects both the sexes, in most parts of the world males are affected more than females at a ratio of 2:1. The general objective of the study was to investigate the gender difference in socio-epidemiological factors for leprosy. The analytic cross-sectional study was carried out in one of the most hyper endemic district- Dhanusa district of Nepal. Stratified random sampling method was applied for the selection of the patients. Chi-square/Fisher's exact test was applied to assess statistically significant differences in values between males and females. There were 580 leprosy patients (385 male and 195 female) aged above 15 years registered for multi drug therapy between April 1, 2001 to March 31,2002 in the 16 main health centers of the district. Out of 580 patients, 273 patients (183 males and 90 females) were included in the study in order to collect the data on socio-demographics, patient's knowledge on leprosy, treatment seeking behaviour, and social problems faced by the patients. Data were collected using a structured interview schedule. The mean age of the male patients was 45.1 years (range 15-77 years) and female patients were 40.3 years (range 15-75 years). Among male patients 93.4% were married while among female patients 70.0% were married. Among male patients 51.9% were illiterate whereas 71.1% were illiterate among female patients. Most of the patients (69.6%) lived in joint family and the rest in nuclear family. Among male patients, 86.9% had good knowledge about the disease compared to 73.3% among females. This study showed that among the female patients 12.2% were facing high level of social problems, while among male patients only 4.4% were facing the same. About 15% patients had poor treatment seeking behaviors (8.2% among males and 27.8% among females). A significant gender differences among leprosy patients have been found in age distribution, educational status, marital status, caste types, family members, and overall knowledge on the general aspect of leprosy, social problems faced by the patients and treatment seeking behaviour.

Gender differences in epidemiological factors associated with treatment completion status of leprosy patients in the most hyperendemic district of Nepal.

The introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT), recommended by WHO, has been a major advance in the treatment of leprosy because of its relatively short treatment course and low rate of relapse. Although leprosy treatment is provided to both sexes equally, in most parts of the world significant differences have been found in treatment status. The main objective of the study was to investigate gender differences in epidemiological factors associated with treatment status of leprosy patients. An analytic cross-sectional study was carried out in the most hyperendemic Dhanusa District, Nepal. Stratified random sampling was applied for selection of the patients. Statistical analysis of the differences in treatment status, between males and females, and among other epidemiological factors of interest was carried out using multiple logistic regression. Chi-square/Fisher's exact test were also used to assess significant differences in values between males and females. There were 580 leprosy patients (385 male and 195 female) aged >15 years registered for MDT between April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002 in the 16 main health centers of the district. Of the 580 patients, a total of 273 (183 male and 90 female) were included in the study, to collect data on clinical type of leprosy, patterns of physical deformity/disability, site of skin lesions, and socio-demographic information. There were 183 male (68.3% on MB-MDT) and 90 female (61.1% MB-MDT) leprosy patients. We found that 79.2% of male patients completed treatment, while 34.4% female patients did not complete within the given time frame. Significant gender differences among leprosy patients were found in the distribution of disability grades and treatment completion status. However, there was no significant gender difference in the distribution of leprosy types and skin lesion sites. The study also found significant associations between treatment completion status and gender (adjusted OR 2.05, 95% CI: 1.07-3.94), educational status (adjusted OR 2.37, 95% CI: 1.12-4.99), disability grade I (adjusted OR 3.14, 95% CI: 1.23-8.04), and disability grade 0 (adjusted OR 2.92, 95% CI: 1.14-7.47) after adjustment for all other leprosy/demographic factors.

Marker assisted detection of gene (1Dx5) and translocation (1B/1R) in wheat genotypes.

Detection of 1Dx5 gene and presence of 1B/1R wheat rye translocation were studied in nineteen elite Indian wheat genotypes using AS-PCR and STS markers, respectively. Fifteen genotypes had 1B/1R translocation whereas ten showed presence of 1Dx5 gene. More than 50 per cent of the genotypes tested were found positive for both 1Dx5 and 1B/1R translocation. The results are in conformity with HMW glutenin SDS-PAGE profile for 1Dx5 and cytological observations for 1B/1R translocation.