Evaluation of safety of ultrasound-guided aspirations and fine needle aspiration biopsies

To evaluate the safety of ultrasound-guided aspiration and fine needle aspiration biopsies. An observational study. The study was carried out in radiology department of Combined Military Hospital Kharian from Oct 2001 to Nov 2003. A total of 143 ultrasound-guided procedures [106 aspirations and 37 FNAB] were performed in patients of both sexes and different age groups. Caliber of needle was decided according to type of procedure and nature of lesion. Most of Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsies [FNAB] were done with 22G needles. Cyst aspirations were performed using 20G to 22G needles. Abscess aspirations were done with 16G to 20G needles. No immediate or late complications were observed in any FNAB. In one patient of liver abscess, intra-abscess haemorrhage occurred during aspiration with 16G needle. All other aspirations were unremarkable. Complication rate was found to be 0.7%. Ultrasound-guided aspirations and FNAB are safe procedures when optimum needle gauge and proper needle guidance technique is used

Epidemiological investigation of an outbreak of food poisoning traced to yogurt among personnel of a military training center

A food borne outbreak is usually suspected when there is a history of ingestion of a common food, attack of several people simultaneously and similarity of signs and symptoms in the majority of cases. One such incidence happened in a military training centre where a lunch attended by 110 personnel was arranged. After about three hours, 57 of them reported sick to a local military hospital. A prospective study was performed to probe into the facts under which this outbreak erupted. A sample of 90 personnel who attended the lunch was interrogated for eating of food that was served. Mean age of the participants was 22 years while the range of incubation period was 3-5 hours. By examining the attack rates for consumers of various foods it was found that eating yogurt was significantly associated with the causing of outbreak. Exposure rates among those who ate yogurt was 94.7% P <0.001 while odds ratio showed [13.2] almost causative association. The epidemiological findings points out to the need of having check on the purchasing of food items from outside sources