ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine frequency of electrolyte imbalance including sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium levels present in patients with uncontrolled diabetes at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted at Medicine Department, Darul Sehat Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan from March 2017 to October 2017. A total of one hundred and eighty one admitted and OPD patients with uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c more than 7%) were included and their demographics, comorbidities, microvascular complications, drug history, fasting and random blood glucose and serum electrolyte levels were recorded. RESULTS: In uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, decrease in serum sodium and chloride levels were observed to be statistically highly significant (p-value less than or equal to 0.05) while that of potassium and magnesium showed insignificant alterations. Sodium level was also observed to decline with increasing pattern of urine for microalbumin. CONCLUSION: Electrolyte imbalance is markedly present in patients with uncontrolled blood sugars therefore serum electrolytes should be routinely measured in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Serum fasting blood glucose can be used as a predictor for electrolytes.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The levels of adenosine deaminase (ADA) are increased in tubercular pleural effusion and its determination has acquired popularity as a diagnostic test which is inexpensive and is readily accessible. Pleural fluid ADA showed sensitivity (86.36%), specificity (61.54%), diagnostic accuracy (80.70%), positive predictive value (88.37%), and negative predictive value (82.42%) confirmed by pleural biopsy as a gold standard. METHODOLOGY: Our study was a prospective cross-sectional study which was conducted for three years at a tertiary care center in Karachi, Pakistan. The data were collected and analyzed using IBM statistics SPSS vs21. RESULTS: There were 52 patients included in our study. Twenty one were males and thirty one were females. Most patients presented with shortness of breath. There was a significant association found between raised ADA levels and pulmonary tuberculosis (p < 0.05). The ADA levels are 12 times more likely to be raised in tubercular pleural effusion. CONCLUSION: The ADA level is an important marker for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in lymphocytic pleural effusion. It is a convenient and an inexpensive method. The ADA levels assessment is economical when compared to other diagnostic methods.
