Effectiveness of transient evoked otoacoustic emission [TEOAE] test for neonatal auditory screening

Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emission [TEOAE] as screening test for auditory function in neonates

Study Design: A cross-sectional study

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at United Medical and Dental College, Creek General Hospital, Karachi, from July 2106 to May 2017. A total number of 120 newborn babies were screened for hearing loss before discharge from hospital but 20 were lost for follow up and 100 cases were included in this study

Method: TEOAE was done in all neonates born during this period at 3rd day after birth. Those who were found to have hearing loss, TEOAE was repeated at the end of 1st week and again in 6th week after birth. BERA was done in those cases who showed hearing loss on TEOAE on all three occasions. All the 100 cases were followed up regularly for more than one year for appearance of any sign or symptom related with hearing loss or speech development failure

Result: Out of 100 cases included in this study, 96 were found to have no hearing loss on TEOAE and 1 on BERA test. Remaining three cases were found to have hearing loss on both TEOAE and BERA test. True negative cases where no hearing loss was found on TEOAE and subsequent follow up were 96. True positive cases were 3 where hearing loss was found on TEOAE and BERA and also on subsequent follow-up. False positive case was 1, where hearing loss was detected on TEOAE but BERA showed normal hearing and subsequent follow-up also showed normal hearing and false negative result was not detected in any case. Sensitivity of TEOAE was found to be 100%, specificity is 98.9%, accuracy is 99%, positive predictive value is 75% and negative predictive value is 100% in this study

Conclusion: TEOAE was found to be a cost-effective and practicable method of recognizing congenital hearing loss. It should be done in all newborns as routine screening for hearing loss

Postprandial glucose response to mango banana and sapota

OBJECTIVE: Mango and Sapota are two fruits indigenous to Indian subcontinent. The objective of this study was to evaluate postprandial blood glucose response to mango and sapota in comparison to banana in patients with diabetes mellitus Type 2. METHOD: The plasma glucose response to mango, sapota and banana were determined in ten diabetic patients. Blood was tested at 0, 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes following the ingestion of test meal. The results showed that the blood glucose response to these three fruits was not different in terms of area under the curve and postprandial change in blood glucose from baseline. We conclude that glucose response to mango and sapota [fruits indigenous to Indian subcontinent] is no different from banana

Occupational hazards of heavy metals [Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn] in industrial area of Faisalabad

The study was conducted to determine the toxicity of heavy metals [Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn] towards the industrial workers of Faisalabad city as an occupational hazard. For this purpose, 50 blood samples were collected that is 40 blood samples from Crescent Textile Mills, Sargodha Road, Kohinoor Textile Mills Jaranwala Road, Lyallpur Fertilizer and Chemicals, Jaranwala Road, Rashid Engineering works, Samundri Road and 10 blood samples from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad as a control. The concentrations of above mentioned heavy-metals in all blood samples were under safe limits. However, there was significant difference of Cu, Pb and Zn in blood of industrial workers as compared to the control