Giant single left coronary artery with right ventricular fistula diagnosed in early childhood.

We present an unusual case of an 18-month-old boy, who presented with dyspnea and recurrent respiratory tract infections. Echocardiography and subsequent angiography were suggestive of a fistula from a coronary artery to the right ventricle. Finally, only on table could the actual diagnosis of a single left coronary artery with right ventricular fistula be made. Surgical treatment was successfully performed with off-pump ligation and the patient was well with no residual fistula on echocardiogram when seen at 3 month follow-up.

Comparison of efficacy of three commercially available antibiotic discs.

A study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of commercially available antimicrobial discs manufactured by Oxoid, UK, HiMedia Laboratories, Mumbai and Span Diagnostics, Surat. The discs were evaluated for their performance on the basis of percentage of coefficient of variation (%CV) which is a measure of reproducibility, mean zone diameters which is a measure of accuracy and range of zone diameter using both standard ATCC strains and clinical isolates. The data showed variation for all three manufacturers and therefore routine and regular quality control of discs as well as meticulous following of good laboratory practices is strongly advocated in clinical laboratories.

Unilateral hypopyon in a child as a first and sole presentation in relapsing acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Ocular manifestations form a part of the spectrum of varied clinical presentations in leukemias. Most of the ophthalmic manifestations are related to central nervous system leukemia and bone marrow relapse. We report a case of acute unilateral hypopyon uveitis as an initial presenting feature of relapsing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in a pediatric patient. Anterior chamber paracentesis was performed in a four-year-old male child presenting with unilateral treatment-resistant hypopyon after remission of ALL. Examination of aqueous humor aspirate revealed presence of malignant cells. Atypical hypopyon, even unilateral can be an indication of relapsing ALL in a child.

Evaluation of adjunctive tests for cervical cancer screening in low resource settings.

BACKGROUND: Visual inspection of cervix after application of acetic acid (VIA) is an effective screening tool for cervical cancer in low resource settings, but its low specificity leads to high referral rates. Adjunctive testing may overcome this drawback. AIMS: This pilot study was aimed to assess test performances of VIA, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and Pap smear, individually and in simulated combinations, to determine the probable best screening option. SETTING AND DESIGN: Gynecology outpatient department (OPD); cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred women with complaints of irregular vaginal bleeding or discharge, post coital bleeding or unhealthy cervix on examination underwent Pap smear, HPV testing, VIA, colposcopy and biopsy, if indicated, in this screening order. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each of the tests with a biopsy result of > or =HSIL taken as the gold standard. Simulated parallel and sequential combinations for VIA/Pap, VIA/HPV and HPV/Pap were calculated and compared with individual test performance. RESULTS: Prevalence of abnormal Pap smears was 5%, VIA positive 51% and HPV positive 16%. Sensitivity and specificity of VIA were 100% and 53.3% respectively. For HPV and Pap tests corresponding figures were 85.7%, 89.7% and 50%, 98.9% respectively. The best simulated combination with a balance of sensitivity and specificity was of VIA followed by HPV testing (sensitivity 85.7%, specificity 95.4%). CONCLUSION: Addition of HPV testing to VIA can increase the specificity of VIA, thereby reducing the referral rates without compromising the sensitivity of the test.

Osteogenesis imperfecta.

Osteogenesis imperfecta is an inherited disorder of the connective tissue. The extreme bone fragility seen in patients suffering from osteogenesis imperfecta pose a series of problems with regard to behavior management and rendering of quality dental treatment. Presented here a case of a four year old child suffering from osteogenesis imperfecta.

Non-syndromic paucity of interlobular bile ducts.

A 3 1/2-month-old male infant presented with cholestatic jaundice. Peroperative cholangiogram showed a gall bladder and small but patent extrahepatic bile ducts. Liver histology showed paucity of interlobular bile ducts. The child is being treated medically for his symptoms.

Prognostic utility of silver stained nucleolar organiser region counting in non Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Silver stained Nucleolar Organiser Region (AgNOR) counting is a well established method of estimating the proliferative activity of a tumour. Their utility in prognostication in Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) has not been fully investigated. We analysed hundred cases of NHL, all of which had a minimum of two and a half years of follow up, using histology by International Working Formulation (IWF) and their AgNOR scores. We found the IWF grading to have a good correlation with the outcome. The two and a half year survival for low grade NHL was 90 percent, for intermediate grade NHL was 47 percent and for high grade NHL was 30 percent. AgNOR scores correlated well with IWF grading and classification, with average AgNOR score of 1.82 (SD 0.34) in low grade NHL; 4.47 (SD 2.25) in intermediate grade NHL and 7.07 (SD 4.40) in high grade NHL. Over histology, AgNOR counting yielded additional prognostic information only in the diffuse small cleaved cell NHL (DSC), where finely dispersed NORs were seen. Of the 22 case of DSC included, 11 cases with AgNOR scores less than three had a much better outcome with 75 percent survival at two and a half years. Cases of DSC with AgNOR scores greater than three had a significantly worse outcome with only 25 percent survival at two and a half years (p=0.0103). Such sub-stratification could not be done in any other catergory of NHL using AgNOR scores. Thus, counting of AgNORs in lymphomas with finely dispersed NORs as in DSC is of prognostic value.

Small volume plasma exchange in Guillain-Barre syndrome: experience in 25 patients.

The impact of small volume plasma exchange (PE) on the treatment of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) was studied by comparing 25 patients treated with PE since 1982 with 25 historic controls treated without PE prior to 1982. Small volume PE was done by removing 10-15 ml plasma/kg body weight daily till the progression of the disease was arrested or recovery started. The PE group started recovering earlier (median 3 days, compared to 17.5 days in controls, 2P = 0.01), attained better clinical grades at the end of the 1st and 3rd months (2P = 0.001), and took much shorter time to recover by one clinical grade (median 15 days, compared to 53 days in controls, 2P = 0.01). The median duration of ventilation among the surviving patients was shorter in the PE group (8 days compared to 24.5 days, 2P = 0.10) and total number of complications was less in the PE group (15 events compared to 22 in the controls, 2P = 0.05). Three months after the onset of neuropathy, 13/25 controls were still bed bound, whereas only 4/25 in the PE group remained in that grade (2P = 0.02). There was no significant difference in the mortality rate in two groups (2P = 0.09), but the difference was significant in the subgroup of patients who were ventilated (2P = 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)