Evaluation of spot urinary albumin - creatinine ratio as a screening tool in the prediction of pre-eclampsia in early pregnancy: a pilot study

Background: Pre-eclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in India. Objective of this study was to establish whether a spot urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) measured between 18-28 weeks of gestation can predict subsequent pre-eclampsia in asymptomatic pregnant women.Methods: A prospective observational study involving 50 registered antenatal cases visiting the obstetrics outpatient department between 18-28 weeks of singleton pregnancy with nil proteinuria upon dipstick measurement were included. ACR was determined from random single midstream urine sample. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi square test and Student’s t-test.Results: Of the study group, 10 patients had high ACR value, with 8(80%) developed pre-eclampsia and 2(20%) remained normotensive. ACR had a sensitivity of 80%, specificity 97.56%, positive predictive value of 88.89%, diagnostic accuracy of the test being 94.12%.Conclusions: The spot urinary protein creatinine ratio is a reliable predictor for pre-eclampsia in pregnancy.

Meningitis due to Rhodotorula glutinis in an HIV infected patient.

Rhodotorula spp, though considered a common saprophyte, recently has been reported as causative agent of opportunistic mycoses. We present a case of meningitis in an immunocompromised human immunodeficiency virus infected patient who presented with longstanding fever. He was diagnosed as a case of chronic meningitis. Diagnosis was confirmed by cell cytology, India ink preparation, Gram staining and culture of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample. CSF culture grew Rhodotorula glutinis. Therapy with amphotericin B was successful in eliminating the yeast from CSF and the patient was discharged after recovery.

Rare presentation of leucocytosis.

We present the case of a 44 years man who presented to us with persistent leucocytosis. Following relevant investigations, we diagnosed him to have Chronic Neutrophilic Leukaemia (CNL); a rare haematological disorder. Ten months later, he remains non-responsive to standard line of treatment.