Microbiological Evaluation of Otitis Media: An Institutional Based Study

Background: Otitis media is defined as an infection of themiddle ear fluid and is the second most common diagnosis inthe emergency department following upper respiratoryinfections. Hence; under the light of above mentioned data, weplanned the present study to assess microbiological profile ofpatients with otitis media.Materials & Methods: A total of 100 patients with otitis mediawere included in the present study. From the diseased ear ofall the patients, ear discharge was obtained use sterilizedswabs. All the swabs were inoculated in 5% sheep blood agar(BA), MacConkey's agar and chocolate agar (CA) andSabouraud Dextrose Agar with chloramphenicol (0.05%),followed by incubation at 28°C and 37°C. The slants were laterexamined for gross and the microscopic morphology of thefungi.Results: Among aerobes, the predominant species identifiedwere Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Kebsiella penmoniae,Escherichia coli and Diptheoides. Among anaerobesClostridium species, Peptococcus speciesand Peptostreptococcus species were the most commonlyidentified species. Among fungal isolates, the most commonlyisolated species were that of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillusfumigatus and Candida species.Conclusion: Aerobic bacteria are the most common isolatesamong otitis media patients.

Diphtheria, Pertussis, And Tetanus Vaccine-Induced Extensive Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis: A Case Report

Transverse myelitis (TM) has been reported in association with vaccination, including post-diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPTw) vaccination. Here, we report the case of a 21-month-old female child presented with loss of neck control with a history of DPTw booster vaccination approximately 4 weeks before this illness. The child was referred to the tertiary care service hospital. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine revealed longitudinally extensive TM in the cervical segment. Extensive investigation effectively excluded causes other than vaccination-associated TM. Following treatment with corticosteroids and intravenous immune-globulin, the child had a complete recovery. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment with immunotherapy are associated with a good outcome

Seroprevalence of HIV in blood donors at tertiary care center, M.Y.H. Indore, India

Background: Transfusion of blood has become an important mode of transmission of infections such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B to the recipients. Blood transfusion is a boon in medical era if properly screened. The aim of study was to determine the seroprevalence of HIV donors in blood bank at M.Y.H. Indore.Methods: The study was conducted in the blood bank, M.Y.H. Hospital, Indore. Total 115775 donors attending blood bank were included in the study. All the donor samples were screened for detection of antibodies for human immunodeficiency virus by microwell Enzyme Linked Immunosorption Assay (ELISA) method. The seroprevalence of HIV infection among the donors was determined over a period of five years since January 2013 to December 2017.Results: Total 115775 blood donors were recorded. Out of total 115775 blood donors included in the study, replacement donor were 10766 (9.29%) while voluntary donor were 105009 (90.70%). In the duration of five-year study period, total 80 cases (0.06%) were reactive to HIV. Out of total 115775 blood donors included in the study, maximum cases i.e. 22 (0.08%) cases were found to be positive for HIV infection in year 2017. Out of 10766 replacement donors included in the study, 64 cases (0.59%) were reactive to HIV infection. While out of 105009 voluntary donors, 16 cases (0.01%) were found to be reactive to HIV infection. Voluntary donors are more as compared to the replacement donors. Number of HIV positive patients were found to more in replacement donor as compared to the voluntary donors.Conclusions: The seroprevalence of HIV is low in this study and hence it is concluded that the more the number of voluntary donors, the less the number of HIV positive cases. Voluntary donors can be motivated by proper health education and high quality screening programs.

Association of CTG repeat polymorphism in carnosine dipeptidase 1 (CNDP1) gene with diabetic nephropathy in north Indians.

Background & objectives: CNDP1 gene, present on chromosome 18q22.3-23, encodes carnosinase, the rate-limiting enzyme in hydrolysis of carnosine to β-alanine and L-histidine. Linkage of CTG trinucleotide (leucine) repeat polymorphism in CNDP1 gene with diabetic nephropathy has been observed in several populations. However, this association is conflicting and population-dependent. We investigated this association in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with and without nephropathy in north India. Methods: A total of 564 individuals [199 T2DM without nephropathy (DM), 185 T2DM with nephropathy (DN) and 180 healthy individuals (HC)] were enrolled. CNDP1 CTG repeat analysis was done by direct sequencing of a 377 base pair fragment in exon 2. Results: The most frequent leucine (L) repeats were 5L-5L, 6L-5L and 6L-6L. 5L-5L genotype frequency was reduced in DN (24.3%) as compared to DM (34.7%, P=0.035) and HC (38.4%, P=0.005). Similarly, 5L allele frequency was lower in DN (46.8%) as compared to DM (57.3%, P=0.004) and HC (60.5%, P<0.001). The genotype and allelic frequencies were similar in DM and HC groups. No gender specific difference was observed in the genotype or allelic frequencies between groups. Interpretation & conclusions: Compared to healthy individuals and those with diabetes but no kidney disease, patients with diabetic nephropathy exhibited lower frequencies of 5L-5L genotype and 5L allele of CNDP1 gene, suggesting that this allele might confer protection against development of kidney disease in this population.

Survey of nitrogen use pattern in rice in the irrigated rice-wheat cropping system of Haryana, India.

Seeing the sustainability of rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, adequate crop nutrition in general and nitrogen (N) in particular holds the key to sound crop management. The excessive application or insufficient management of N means an economic loss to the farmer and may lead to yield penalties and environmental problems. Improving N management in consonance with other nutrients is much important to break yield plateaus as breeding for high yielding is not happening in recent years. Findings from farm survey are used to evaluate the on-farm N management practices in rice crop of the study area. The crop management practices (especially time of sowing/transplanting and irrigation requirement) and resource base of the farmers decided the N use pattern of the farmers. The N Physical optimum and N economic optimum exceeding the recommended levels revealed the apparent need for the revalidation of the existing recommendations. Paddy yield increased significantly within different rice types. This study generated comprehensive data on N use pattern in rice in the study area.

Computed tomography in blunt chest trauma.

Objective. To assess the role of multidetector spiral CT in patients with blunt chest trauma. Methods. Forty-two patients (38 males and four females), age range from 6 to 80 years, of blunt chest trauma were evaluated with multidetector computed tomogram (MDCT) after initial radiographs and the results were tabulated. Results. The most common mode of injury was motor vehicle accidents (64%). On computed tomography (CT), major injuries were haemothorax (83.33%), consolidation (66.6%), rib fractures (61.90%), pneumothorax (54.76%), diaphragmatic injury (30.95%), lung contusions (28.57%), spinal injury (16.66%), lacerations (9.52%), tracheo-bronchial injury (4.76%), mediastinal haematoma (4.76%), thoracic-aortic injury (4.76%) and oesophageal injury (2.38%). Operative intervention was performed in 11 (26.19%) patients. Of these, diaphragmatic rent repair was done in seven patients (63.63%), exploratory laparotomy alone was done in two (18.18%) and resection and anastomosis and polytetrafluoroethylene graft in one patient each. Three patients each with chest wall injury, thoracic vascular injury and diaphragmatic injury died; while only one patient with lung injury died. Conclusion. Multidetector computed tomogram is the modality of choice for rapid assessment of emergency chest trauma patients.

Polymerase chain reaction in rapid diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.

In a prospective study a total of hundred neonates who fulfilled the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology's (ACOG) criteria for probable sepsis admitted to NICU of tertiary care armed forces hospital were investigated for evidence of sepsis. The investigation protocol included sepsis screen, blood culture and 1 mL of venous blood for molecular analysis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for bacterial DNA component encoding 16 s RNA in all cases. 100 newborns with probable sepsis were studied to evaluate the molecular diagnosis of sepsis using PCR amplification of 16 S RNA in newborns with risk factors for sepsis or those who have clinical evidence of sepsis. We compared the results of PCR with blood culture and other markers of sepsis screen (total leucocyte count (TLC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), immature/total neutrophil count ratio (I/T ratio), peripheral blood smear, micro ESR and C reactive protein (CRP). Controls consisted of 30 normal healthy newborns with no overt evidence of sepsis. Sepsis screen was positive in 24 (24%) of cases in study group with sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 83.5% respectively. Blood culture was positive in 09(9%t) with sensitivity of 69.2% and specificity of 100%. PCR was positive in 13(13%) of cases (9% are both blood culture and sepsis screen positive and 4% are positive by sepsis screen); the sensitivity of PCR was 100% and specificity was 95.6%. Blood culture is the most reliable method for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Polymerase chain reaction is useful and superior to blood culture for early diagnosis of sepsis in neonates.