Epidemiology and Spectrum of lymphoma in a single tertiary care hospital of North India

Background: Non-Hodgkin抯 Lymphoma is a common hematological malignancy. Its incidence and distribution in India are slightly different from developed nations. The study was initiated to obtain the epidemiological, clinical and histopathological spectrum of lymphoma in a single tertiary care hospital of North India. Methods: 104 eligible consecutive cases of lymphoma were retrospectively analyzed from January 2016 to March 2020. Morphology and immunohistochemistry were performed and clinical details were captured from hospital information system. Cases were reclassified according to WHO classification of Tumors of Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissue 2017 and also clinically as nodal and extra nodal lymphomas and analyzed. Results: Among the included patients 14.4% patients are diagnosed as Hodgkin抯 lymphoma (HL) while 85.5% belonged to non-Hodgkin抯 lymphoma (NHL). Median age for NHL is 52.5 years. Male outnumbered females in both NHL and HL with ratio of 1.87 and 1.5. Majority of NHL are mature B-cell neoplasm (83.1%), while mature T-cell and NK cell neoplasm are less (14.6%). Most common subtype found is Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (52.8%) followed by Primary diffuse large B cell lymphoma of CNS (15.7%). Primarily nodal Vs extranodal involvement is seen in 51.9% and 48% of cases. Most common extranodal site is CNS followed by GIT and spine. Conclusion: In the present study DLBL is the most common subtype seen in 52.8% of cases in concordance with other studies but the sticking difference here is low incidence of follicular lymphoma and CLL/SLL and a much higher incidence of Primary DLBCL of CNS. There is an Inherited selection bias because the cases are collected from single institution; however, causes and reasons should be more extensively investigated.

Serum Interleukin-6 Levels in Children with Febrile Seizures

Objectives: To compare levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) in children with febrile seizures andfebrile controls. Methods: Study conducted in a tertiary-care hospital in Northern India fromNovember 2013 to April 2015, enrolling 160 children (80 each with febrile seizures and febrilecontrols), aged 6 – 60 months. Serum IL-6 estimated by ELISA method. Iron study done asper standard technique. All the cases of febrile seizure were followed up at 1 week, 3 monthsand 6 months for recurrence of seizures. Results: The mean serum IL-6 levels in childrenwith febrile seizures was 62.0 (63.9) pg/mL and febrile controls was 86.9 (70.6) pg/mL(P=0.025). Conclusion: Serum IL-6 levels were significantly lower in children with febrileseizures as compared to febrile controls.

Bacteriology of Acquired Dacryocystitis In A Tertiary Care Hospital of North India.

The aim of the study was to identify the organisms responsible and to determine the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the bacterial isolates from conjunctiva and nasal mucosa in case of acquired dacryocystitis in a tertiary care hospital settings in North India. A prospective study of 30 patients of acquired dacryocystitis were included in this study and age, gender, microbiological isolates from the conjunctival and nasal swabs and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns were studied in accordance with the Clinical and Laboratory StandrdsInstitute guidelines. 30 patients clinically diagnosed as acquired dacryocystitis including 3 with bilateral involvement were studied. Majority (19) were females and largest number of patients were in the age group 31-40. Out of 33 samples, culture were positive in 17(51.6%) with 13 being gram organism. Staph albus was the most commonly isolated organism(18.2%) followed by staph aureus. Majorito the organisms isolated were sensitive to Tobramycin and other commonly used antibiotics

Effect of stress on academic performance in medical students – a cross sectional study.

Introduction- Stress, a universal phenomenon, affects an individual’s productivity either by increasing it (‘eustress’) or decreasing it (‘distress’). It is widely acknowledged that the medical fraternity is predisposed to enormous stress. The same may be true for the budding medicos- the undergraduate medical students. In our study we attempted to identify situations that predisposed the medical students to stress and their effects on academic performance and to suggest certain coping mechanisms. Objectives- firstly to explore common sources of stress in medical students, secondly to establish correlation of stress, gender, attendance, and academic performance if any. Method- 114 medical undergraduates were assessed for the common sources of stress and the level of stress using semi structured Performa and stress scale. The results were compared and correlated with various variables like attendance, demographic factors, average marks etc. Pearson correlation coefficient was used for statistical correlation amongst different variables. Results & Conclusions- Stress shows beneficial effects in females when compared to males. High attendance and better day to day performance in female medical students was associated with more amount of stress when compared to male students. Thus, stress among medical students should be acknowledged and attempts should be made to alleviate it.

Outcome of Dacryocystorhinosotomy With Silicone Intracystic Implant In Patients With Chronic Dacryocystitis.

The present study evaluated the outcome of Dacryocystorhinostomy with silicone intracystic implant in patients with chronic dacryocystitis, in terms of Operative time involved, Success rate achieved (patency of the tract) and Complications on an out patient basis in the Postgraduate department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College, Hospital, Jammu during the year 2010-2011. A group of 40 patients with obstruction of nasolacrimal duct were treated with DCR with silicone intracystic implant. Maximum no. of patients(65%) were <65yrs of age, the youngest patient being 20yrs old with a Female:Male ratio of 2.3:1. The disease was more common on the left side with Left: Right ratio of 1.6:1. The success rate of the procedure was 90% which was statistically and clinically significant.

Usefulness of automated cell counter in detection of malaria in a cancer set up-Our experience.

Background: Malaria diagnosis presents a challenge to all laboratories. In malaria-endemic areas, there is a need for rapid, sensitive and cost-effective method to effectively screen all samples, especially when the workload is very high. Various hematology analyzers have been investigated for detection of malaria in the past. Here, we present our experience of malaria detection in a cancer hospital where a large number of complete blood count requests are received either before or during chemotherapy. Fever, being a very common symptom in cancer patients, causes a suspicion of malaria. Aim: This study was conducted to assess the usefulness of hematology cell counter, viz. WBC-DIFF and WBC/BASO scatter plots and the flaggings generated in malaria-positive cases. The occurrence of pseudoeosinophilia as reported by previous studies was also assessed. The parasitic index was determined and its correlation with the abnormalities found on the Hematology analyzer was also studied. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 80 out-patient department and inpatients with various solid as well as hematological malignancies, who presented with acute febrile illness during September 2010 and January 2012, and for whom complete blood cell analysis and peripheral smear for malaria parasite had been requested. Results: Of the 80 patients who presented with fever and suspicion of malaria, 29 patients were positive for malaria and 10 cases were diagnosed incidentally by the findings on the cell counter and were confirmed by Giemsa-stained blood smears. The sensitivity and specificity of the abnormalities detected in the WBC-Diff channel in detecting malaria is 82% and 100% respectively. Using WBC-BASO channel abnormality for initial diagnosis the sensitivity and specificity is 50% and 92.5% respectively. The sensitivity and specificity with respect to pseudoeosinophilia is 18% and 100% respectively. The most common WBC and PLT flags were leukopenia, atypical lymphocytes, lymphopenia, WBC abnormal scattergram, platelet clumps, thrombocytopenia, platelet abnormal distribution flag. Conclusion: The instrument provides significantly valuable diagnostic parameters in detecting acute Plasmodium vivax malaria; however, it is not very useful for acute falciparum malaria infection. It is suggested that the laboratories using the hematology analyzers should be aware of such specific parameters, even in the absence of a clinical request.