Pyomyositis: a diagnostic problem.

A case of a 45-year-old lady presenting with symptoms suggestive of pancreatitis is described. Initially the findings on Imaging were ambiguous while the enzyme studies were against the diagnosis of pancreatitis. Recurrence of symptoms and with Increased intensity prompted repeated imaging and further investigations. Finally, by a combination of CT scan, MR imaging and muscle biopsy the rare diagnosis of pyomyositis was established. The fact that this case was difficult to diagnose because of its rarity and its mimicking pencreatitis is discussed.

Male urethral cancer.

A 55 years old man presented with long standing voiding obstructive symptoms like poor stream, frequency of micturition, straining at micturition and a sense of incomplete evaluation since 2002. He was clinically diagnosed a case of stricture urethra. Later he developed a swelling in the penoscrotal region with retention of urine in March 2005 and was treated by dilatation. But on removal of the catheter he developed retention again for several times and ultimately for gross periurethral sepsis, urinary diversion was required in May 2005. In October 2005, biopsy from the scrotal abscess wall established the diagnosis of urethral carcinoma. In November 2005 extensive penoscrotectomy was done followed by chemo-radiotherapy. But the prognosis was so bad that the patient died in November 2006. Urethral carcinoma is a rare disease diagnosed in the department of urology, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, the prognosis of which is also poor even after extensive operations.

Leiomyoma of the urinary bladder.

Benign mesenchymal tumors of the bladder are rare and comprise less than 1% of the all bladder neoplasms. Leiomyoma is the most common type and comprises 35% of these tumors. These tumors may develop in submucosal (63%), intramural (7%) or subserosal (30%) layer, at any region of the bladder. The clinical presentation is varied and may include obstructive symptoms(50%), irritative symptoms (38%) and hematuria (11%). There are asymptomatic cases (19%), which make the diagnosis more difficult. Occurs more frequently in women than in men (3:1). The most common diagnostic investigations are ultrasonography, intravenous urography, computerized tomography scan and the magnetic resonance imaging. A 66 year old man presented with long standing voiding obstructive symptoms. Various examinations were performed in the last 2 years and was diagnosed either prostatic enlargement or bladder tumor. Cystoscopy was not available for confirming the diagnosis. The surgical exploration revealed a well-circumscribed mass at the bladder neck with moderate enlargement of the prostate. The pathological examination revealed a leiomyoma of the bladder. The post operative period was uneventful and the patient is doing well, without recurrence of the symptoms.

Effect of body temperature on mortality of acute stroke.

OBJECTIVES: The exact relation between body temperature and mortality of acute stroke victims is poorly understood. However, body temperature can affect the outcome of stroke cases in relation to mortality. In the initial (4-12 hrs) hours of stroke, the temperature rise is often neurogenic in origin and mortality is also higher with raised body temperature. Though the anatomical lesion or nature of lesion along with other established risk factors influence the mortality of stroke cases, change in temperature does affect the outcome of stroke cases. We sought to find out the significance of stroke victim's body temperature (within 4-12 hrs) with respect to short-term mortality rate in our study. METHODS: We selected 100 ischemic and 100 hemorrhagic stroke patients proved by CT scan of brain and 2-hrly oral temperature was strictly recorded for the initial 4-12 hrs of admission. RESULTS: It was evident from the study that hyperthermia (>37.5 degrees C) was associated with highest mortality rate in both hemorrhagic (51.78%) and ischemic (56.66%) cases. In normothermic group, mortality was 13.5% and 8.8% in hemorrhagic and ischemic group respectively, whereas hypothermia (<36.5 degrees C) was associated with 0 % mortality. CONCLUSION: Hyperthermia in acute stroke victim carries a bad prognostic parameter in short term basis.

Role of ultrasonography and urinary cytology in diagnosing recurrence of superficial urinary bladder cancer compared to cystoscopy.

Urinary cytology, ultrasonogram of the urinary bladder and cystoscopy were done in 99 cases of urinary bladder cancer patients in the department of urology of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Dhaka, during the period from January 1997 to December 1998. Pre transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT), urinary cytology was positive in 20.20% cases and ultrasound scan was positive in 96.9% cases. Histopathological examination revealed 95.96% as transitional cell carcinoma:- Grade I (3.0%), Grade II (62.6%) and Grade III (34.4%). During follow-up urinary cytology was positive in only one case whereas ultrasound scan was positive in 53.5% cases of whom only 21.6% patients had actual recurrent bladder tumours proved by cystoscopy. Statistical analysis of the three tests and histopathology showed significant variation though by Chi-square test the ultrasound scan is found superior to urinary cytology. We conclude when ultrasonography of the urinary bladder shows any suspected lesion it should be examined by cystoscope and biopsy should be taken from the suspected area for confirmation. Neither urinary cytology nor ultrasound scan can replace cystoscopic examination.

Coordinate production of cephamycin c and clavulanic acid by Streptomyces clavuligerus.

Production of cephamycin c and clavulanic acid by Streptomyces clavuligerus was investigated using different media in shake flask condition. Highest cell growth (3.8 g/L) was observed in glycerol, sucrose, proline and glutamic acid (GSPG) medium. Although, GSPG medium supported maximum growth, it was least effective for the synthesis of both cephamycin and clavulanic acid. Yield of cephamycin and clavulanic acid was maximum in dextrin and K medium, respectively. High and low level of constituents of dextrin medium, affected production of both cephamycin and clavulanic acid. Biosynthesis of clavulanic acid was associated with production of cephamycin c.

Distribution of phage type of Vibrio cholerae O1 biotype ElTor in Indian scenario (1991-98).

During the period 1991-98, distribution of biotype, serotype and phage type of V. cholerae O1 strains isolated from different parts of the country and referred to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Calcutta were studied. Of the 8101 strains received, 5613 (69.2%) were subjected to phage typing. All these strains belonged to the biotype ElTor and Ogawa was the predominant serotype (96.08%). The strains were clustered into only two types--types 2 and 4 and around 10 per cent strains remained untypable. However, using the new scheme, all these strains were found to be typable and 8 major types were recognized of which type number 27 was the predominant type (66.12%). The distribution of a common type throughout the country suggests that a particular clone of V. cholerae O1 is probably circulating all over India. A constant monitoring through phage typing is necessary to observe the emergence of any new clone of V. cholerae O1 in India.

Validity of new phage typing scheme against Vibrio cholerae 01 biotype ElTor strains.

A total of 538 strains of V. cholerae 01 biotype ElTor were phage typed by the conventional Basu and Mukerjee and also the new typing scheme developed at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Calcutta. The strains could be clustered into seven types by the new scheme as against only two by the conventional method. The results provide conclusive evidence on the validity of the new scheme for phage typing of V. cholerae strains.