ABSTRACT
Novel corona virus epidemic started in Dec 19 in Wuhan, China and soon it spread globally and became an international emergency Our objective was to study the role of hematological and biochemistry markers in assessing the disease severity and prognosis of laboratory confirmed, hospitalized Covid 19 patients. 130 patients were included in this cross- sectional retrospective study and divided into mild/moderate and severe/critical group. Correlation analysis was done for laboratory biomarkers.We found that mean age, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), S. ferritin, urea, uric acid, D-dimer and S.creatinine of severely ill patients were significantly higher than those of patients with non-severe illness. Leucopenia and neutropenia were also associated with disease severity. Males were affected more than females with both mild and severe illness. Following parameters like S. Ferritin, LDH, TLC, neutrophil % can help in identifying the progression of disease from mild to severe and help in adopting appropriate measures in the management so that progression can possibly be prevented. Rising levels of some parameters like D.dimer, urea, uric acid and creatinine also help in explaining the prognosis of patient.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: -thalassemia is the most frequent single genedisorder in the world. As a result of repeated transfusions,significant hepatic fibrosis develops over time and itsprogression is directly related to degree of iron overload. In thepresent study we investigated the relationship between theextent of hepatocellular injury as reflected by liver functiontests (LFTs) and serum ferritin.Materials and Methods: It was an analytical cohort studycarried out during the time period from January 2017 to June2018 from High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)confirmed -thalassemia patients, dependant on regular bloodtransfusion.Results: Our study included 58 (58%) male patients and 42(42%) female patients. Level of Hemoglobin and Packed cellvolume (PCV) increased after 6 months of chelation therapycompared to pre-chelation levels. Whereas, the S. Ferritin andLiver enzymes levels decreased after 6 months of initiation ofchelation therapy.Conclusion: High S. ferritin is a sensitive predictor of hepaticdysfunction, hence, it is a good and reliable non-invasivescreening test for iron overload but it is not a good indicator ofdisease progression, as it has low specificity above levels of2500 ng/ml. Combination therapy with deferiprone anddeferasirox is more effective than either drug alone.
ABSTRACT
Background: Febrile seizure (FS) is the most common cause of seizure in children, occurring between 6-60 months. It coincides with peak age of incidence for Iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Iron is required for optimal growth and development and its deficiency is associated with numerous problems including persistent cognitive and motor delays. The objective was to study the role of IDA as a risk factor for simple febrile seizure and its recurrenceMethods: A case control study was conducted among 90 febrile children - 45 cases with simple febrile seizure and 45 cases with febrile illness, between the age group of six months to five years of age at Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Pondicherry, between September 2013 and June 2015. The hematological parameters like Hemoglobin, Serum ferritin and RDW were compared between the two groups with respect to fever and different temperature intervals, recurrence of FS.Results: Hb and Serum Ferritin levels were found to be significantly associated with simple febrile seizure, with p value of <0.002 and 0.001 respectively. Similar association was found at different temperature intervals. However, there was no association of hematological parameters with FS recurrence.Conclusions: IDA is a significant risk factor for FS in children while same may not have any effect on the recurrence of FS.
ABSTRACT
Background: Thalassemia major is a chronic hematological disorder. Regular blood transfusion is the only modality of long-term survival for these patients. This leads to iron overload, the heart being the most severely affected organ. The gold standard for detecting myocardial iron deposition is cardiac MRI. However, very few patients can afford this investigation. Hence, authors carried out this study to find out whether early iron overload can be detected by echocardiography which is a simple and less expensive tool. The objective of this study was to document echocardiographic changes of cardiac iron overload in patients of thalassemia major even before appearance of symptoms.Methods: A comparative cohort study conducted from January 2018 to October 2018 in the Department of Paediatrics of SSG Hospital, and Government Medical College, Vadodara. The case group consisted of 35 patients of Thalassemia major. 35 age and sex matched normal children were selected as controls. Relevant blood investigations were performed in cases. 2-Dimensional M-Mode Echocardiography was performed in both patients and controls. Thalassemia major patients were compared to normal healthy children for various parameters in echocardiography indicating the systolic and diastolic function. Proportion and percentage were calculated for descriptive analysis. Independent t-Test was applied between two groups to find out significance level.Results: For all parameters except End systolic volume and fractional shortening, p values were less than 0.05 which is significant. 85% (30/35) had increase in interventricular septal dimensions (IVSD), 97%(34/35) had increase in posterior wall dimensions (PWD),' 82%(29/35) had' increased left ventricular internal diameter diastole(LVIDD), 88%(31/35) had increased left ventricular internal diameter systole (LVIDS), 80%(28/35) had increased E/A RATIO .Ejection fraction was affected in 77%(27/35).This shows that patients of thalassemia major have significant cardiac dysfunction; possibly because of cardiac iron overload.Conclusions: Echocardiography is an effective tool for screening cardiac iron overload in patients of thalassemia major and should be done periodically in all patients.