Demographic and Clinical Features of Left Atrial Tumors in South Indian Population: A Case Series

Myxomas are the most common type of primary cardiac tumor. They cause a variety of clinical manifestations depending on size and anatomical location. Sometimes, manifestations are atypical challenging differential diagnosis and the therapeutic approach. Left atrial myxomas are commonly missed clinically and often lead to grave consequences. We present here a series of 6 cases of left atrial myxomas with demographic and clinical characterization of the patients that were managed successfully.

Mutations of TFAP2B in congenital heart disease patients in Mysore, South India.

Background & objectives: Cardiac malformations in the young constitute a major portion of clinically significant birth defects. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a common congenital cardiac birth defect, affecting nearly 1 per cent of all live births. Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is clinically significant foetal circulation anomaly, second most common form of CHD which constitutes approximately 10 per cent of total CHDs. The study aimed to screen for TFAP2B mutations in CHD patients of Mysore. Methods: With informed consent, 100 clinically diagnosed CHD patients and 50 healthy controls in Mysore, south India, were recruited for the analysis of screening of mutations. MassARRAY analysis of 5 prominent mutations of TFAP2B was performed. Results: The analysis did not show any of the five mutations of TFAP2B screened by massARRAY in patients and controls, indicating that these mutations were not involved in the manifestation of CHD in the patients at Mysore, south India. Interpretation & Conclusions: The findings suggest the lack of involvement of known mutations of TFAP2B with syndromic or nonsyndromic CHDs in Mysore patients.

Essential hypertension in early and mid-adolescence.

OBJECTIVES: To detect prevalence of essential hypertension in early and mid adolescents and to identify various risk factors. METHODS: Blood pressure was recorded in 503 apparently normal school students in 10 to 16 yr age group as per standard guidelines. Detailed clinical examination was done in all cases. A detailed questionnaire was sent to parents. RESULTS: 6.16% of adolescents had high blood pressure at the end of fourth screening. Both systolic and diastolic hypertensions were documented. Increased body mass index and reduced consumption of vegetables and fruits were found to be statistically significant risk factors for hypertension. CONCLUSION: Multiple blood pressure recordings are essential for accurate diagnosis of hypertension. There is a high prevalence of essential hypertension amongst adolescents in Mysore city with modifiable risk factors for hypertension.

Self abortion of attacks in patients with Hot Water Epilepsy.

A cross sectional hospital based study was undertaken to find out the various clinical aspects and management of Hot Water Epilepsy (HWE) in children. Of the 71 cases analysed, 67.6% had onset of seizures in the first decade of life. Seizures occurred frequently towards the end of head bath (71.8%). In 14.1% cases, seizures were precipitated with cold-water head bath also. Complex partial seizures (60.6%) and generalized atonic seizures (21.1%) were common. Spontaneous non-reflex epilepsy was seen in 47.9% cases. Self-induction and self-abortion of seizures were seen in 16.9% and 12.7% patients respectively. Family history was available in 32.4% of cases. Majority had good response to continuous prophylactic treatment with antiepileptic drugs. We conclude that high incidence of spontaneous seizures and generalized atonic seizures seem to be peculiar to our geographical area. "Self abortion of attacks"may be of immense help in controlling the attacks.

Myotonia congenita--a successful response to carbamazepine.

Myotonia congenita is a rare disease of skeletal muscle characterized by painless myotonia, generalized muscular hypertrophy and a non-progressive course. We report a 10-year-old girl with myotonia, "Herculean appearance" and electromyographic confirmation of myotonic discharges. There was a dramatic response to carbamazepine. The aim of this report is to make the readers aware of this entity which can be easily controlled with medication and also prevented by genetic counseling.

Prevalence of congenital heart diseases in Mysore.

Background: Prevalence studies on Congenital heart Diseases (CHDs) have been done several times world wide and such studies are very limited in Indian populations. A few earlier studies in India have reported an increased prevalence of CHDs ranging from 2.25 to 50.89 per 1000 live births. Aims and Objective: To study the prevalence of congenital heart diseases in Indian population. Materials and Methods: Data on the prevalence of CHDs were collected and analyzed from the three major hospitals of Mysore, Cheluvamba Hospital, CSI Holdsworth Memorial Hospital and J.S.S Hospital from the year 2000 to 2004. Results: The prevalence of CHDs for five years in Mysore hospitals ranges from 6.6 to 13.06 per 1000 live births. The most frequent type of CHD was found to be VSD (40.47%) followed by ASD (19.06%), TOF (13.38%) and PDA (9.53%). It is clear that the maximum CHDs were detected in the first year of life when compared to the later years of life. The prevalence of CHDs in Mysore is increasing from 2000 to 2004 which might be due to the improvement of diagnosis, attention or awareness among the medical authorities on the disease. Conclusion: The prevalence of CHDs in Mysore is not very high as reported in other parts of the country, however; it is an important disease which needs an immediate medical attention.

Transection of common bile duct following blunt injury to abdomen.

Isolated complete transection of the common bile duct due to blunt abdominal trauma is rare. We report such a case following an assault.