Comparative study of closed (needle) biopsy and open biopsy in bone tumour at Yangon Orthopedic Hospital

Sixty patients with clinically suspected bone tumour admitted to Yangon Orthopedic Hospital from 1992 March to 1993 July were examined by closed (Trephine needle) biopsy. The results of closed (needle) biopsy were compared with open biopsy results. Of the (60) cases, (30) were benigh and (30) were malig-nant including osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma and metastatic carcinoma of bone. (97 percent) sensitivity, (93 percent) specificigy, (4 percent) false negative, no false positive and (95 percent) accuracy for closed (needle) biopsy of bone tumour were statistically analysed from this study. A good discrimination could be made between benign and malignant lesions and at times it is very useful to diagnose inflammatory conditions. Inspite of the drawbacks of inadequate samples and false negative results, it is found that closed (needle) biopsy is a simple, safe and reliable diagnostic method and is valuable in diagnosis of bone tumour and subsequent management.

Comparative study of fine needle aspiration cytology and histopathology in diagnosis of superficial lymphadenopathies

A series of (100) enlarged superficial lymph nodes involving cervical, submandibular, supraclavicular and axillary regions was examined by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). The results of FNAC were compared with histological results. Three smears were inadequate for study and excluded from data analysis. Of the remaining (97), (50) were cytologically benigan and (47) were malignant including (42) cases of metastatic tumor and (5) of malignant lympho-mas. (97 percent) sensitvity, (100 percent) specificity, (3 percent) false negative, false positive and (98 percent) accuarcy for FNAC of enlarged lymph nodes were statistically analyzed from this study. A good discrimination could be made between benign and malignant lesions. However, FNAC cannot be used as specific tool to differentiate the various benign lesions. The diagnosis of metastatic malignancy of lymph nodes would have been definitely obtained by cytology with high accuracy without the need for biopsy. This simple, reliable, inexpensive techniques would be of immense benefit in diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma in superficial lymphadenopathies. However, the cytological evaluation of the type of metastasis would not always be possible even upon re-examination of the smear.

Calcium and phosphate homeostasis among normal Myanmar people, patients with pathologic bone fractures and recurrent renal stones

The serum calcium, phosphaye, alkaline phosphatase and urinary exdretion of calcium and phosphate were measure to judge the homeostasis status among apparently healthy Myanmar, pathologic bone fractures and recurrent renal stones. The calcium and phosphorus homeostasis was found to be the same as in literature among apparently healthy Myanmar of various age groups ranging from 10-90 yr of both sexes. The values decreased with advancing age and a rise was found around menopause in females. The levels of serum and urinary calcium, phosphorus, and serum akaline phosphatase found in the pathologic bone fractures suggested that high risk due to low bone density and malformation of matrix plays a major role, instead of hyperparathyroidism, in causing the fractures. The cause of recurrent renal stones in the majority of the subjects with normocalcemia and normocalceuria were found to be due to low GFR.