Nutrition in dialysis patients.

Adequate nutrition is very important for dialysis patients for a better overall outcome. Protein energy malnutrition is highly prevalent (25-50%) among dialysis patients and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Causes of malnutrition in dialysis patients include anorexia (inadequate calorie or protein intake), metabolic acidosis (stimulation of amino acid and protein degradation), and infection/inflammation (stimulation of protein degradation). Anorexia resulting into decreased intake is probably the most important factor. Nutritional assessment can be done by anthropometric measurements, laboratory parameters, subjective global assessment, dialysis malnutrition score, near infra-red interactance and other methods. Subjective global assessment is currently the most accepted one and classifies patients into three nutritional categories: Well nourished, moderately malnourished, and severely malnourished. Prevention of malnutrition by proper dietary counselling and adequate dietary intake starting from redialysis days is probably the most effective therapeutic approach. Other therapeutic approaches include adequate dialysis delivery, avoidance of acidaemia, aggressive treatment of catabolic illnesses and food supplements: Oral, enteral or parenteral, particulary intradialytic parenteral nutrition. Experimental approaches for treatment of malnutrition in dialysis patients include amino acids in peritoneal or haemodialysate, appetite stimulants and use of recombinant human growth hormone and insulin like growth factor I. There are few randomised controlled trials unequivocally proving the efficacy of any treatment modality. Large scale, randomised trials are urgently needed to establish effective therapy for malnutrition in dialysis patients. This applies more so for Indian patients.

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube. A clinicopathologic study.

Five cases of primary fallopian tube carcinoma were located in 30 years retrospective study (1965-1994) from the Department of Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka. Abnormal vaginal bleeding was the presenting symptom in all the cases. Pelvic mass was palpable in four cases. The diagnosis was not suspected preoperatively in any case. All patients underwent surgical treatment. Laparotomy revealed the presence of a macroscopic growth in the fallopian tube which was confirmed to be adenocarcinoma histopathologically in all the cases. In three cases follow-up is available. Only one patient received postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Outbreak of neonatal septicemia with multidrug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.

A nosocomial outbreak of neonatal septicemia due to K. pneumoniae occurred in nursery during June-July, 1991. Klebsiella pneumoniae (Klebocin type 314) was recovered from blood of 33 (70.2%) of 47 neonates with septicemia. Multiple drug resistance was observed in all the cases. The same strain of K. pneumoniae was recovered from the neonates and environment of nursery and labour room as well. The outbreak was attributable to environmental dissemination.