A study of femoral bicondylar angle in Udaipur, India zone

Background: Human body consists of 206 bones; among which femur. The thigh bone is considered as the biggest and strongest bone of the body. The bone contains a femoral bicondylar angle which helps in maintaining the balance and certain movements of the body. Those movements are essential to stand upright and erect; therefore, helps in balancing the posture of the body. Bicondylar angle shows various gestures and characteristics essential for describing the necessary ailments of the human skeleton. Thus, the present study is designed with an aim to measure and compare the bicondylar angle of femur both in males and females in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India zone.Methods: Totally, 96 bones were studied- 48 males and 48 females’ bones in 2 years duration. The study was carried out in the Department of Anatomy of Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital and R.N.T. Medical College. The bicondylar angle was measured with a suitable apparatus comprising of compass, Digital Vernier Calliper, scale and protector (Figure 1) along with osteometric board. Bicondylar angle of male and female bone was calculated using SPSS software.Results: The study shows that the bicondylar angle of left femur was greater than right femur in both the genders, but their side differences was statistically insignificant (p>0.05).Conclusions: Hence, the bicondylar angle of female is larger than in comparison to males and these results can put emphasis/light on the orthopaedic clinicians and surgeons to know the etiology of osteometric diseases.

Emergence of dengue in tribal villages of Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Background & objectives: Dengue (DEN) is a rapidly spreading arboviral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Although it is endemic in India, dengue virus (DENV) infection has not been reported from tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh. Investigations were conducted to establish the aetiology of sudden upsurge of cases with febrile illness in June 2013 from tribal villages of Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Methods: The rapid response team of the National Institute for Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur, conducted clinical investigations and field surveys to collect the samples from suspected cases. Samples were tested using molecular and serological tools. Collected mosquitoes were identified and tested for the presence of virus using semi nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR). The sequences were analysed to identify serotype and genotype of the virus. Results: of the 648 samples collected from 18 villages of Mandla, 321 (49.53%) were found to be positive for dengue. The nRT-PCR and sequencing confirmed the aetiology as dengue virus type 2. Eighteen per cent of patients needed hospitalization and five deaths were attributed to dengue. The virus was also detected from Aedes aegypti mosquito, which was incriminated as a vector. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the dengue virus 2 detected belonged to cosmopolitan genotype of the virus. Interpretation & conclusions: Dengue virus serotype 2 was detected as the aetiological agent in the outbreak in tribal villages of Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. Conducive man-made environment favouring mosquitogenic conditions and seeding of virus could be the probable reasons for this outbreak. Urgent attention is needed to control this new threat to tribal population, which is already overburdened with other vector borne diseases.

Maternal substance abuse.

The epidemic of substance abuse, which has swept through much of the world, has left behind a trail of devastated lives and families. Alcohol and substance abuse by women during pregnancy has also been reported to be widespread and can affect the unborn fetus with the potential for life-long disabilities. While the magnitude of the perinatal substance abuse has been the focus of much discussion in the West, the problem is greatly underestimated in other parts of the world. In this article, the author has focused on five highly-abused substances and explored the effects of the drugs on the fetus and the newborn. There is a constant need for evaluating the epidemiology and the consequences of perinatal substance abuse so that health programs can target measures to eliminate the preventable morbidity that results from this practice.

Thorny foreign bodies of upper airway.

Twenty cases of unusual thorny foreign bodies (seeds of Xanthium strumarium) in laryngo-pharynx area are reported. The aetiopathogenesis, clinical features and management are briefly discussed.