Objective Evaluation of Cerebral Venous Sinus Attenuation on Plain CT Brain and Detecting Anemia. Noticing the "Unnoticed".

CONTEXT: Plain computed tomography (CT) of the brain is an important first-line investigation of choice in an acute neurologic setup. Unless clinically suspected concealed areas like the confluence of venous sinuses often go unnoticed. Diagnosing anemia, thrombosis, or polycythemia correlating the CT attenuation values might prove to be fruitful in early patient management where the mode of varied clinical presentations causes a clinical dilemma. AIMS: 1) To determine the objective correlation between CT attenuation of the cerebral venous sinus and hemoglobin (Hb) as well as hematocrit (HCT) value and 2) to detect anemia from measuring venous sinus attenuation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: An exploratory study design of 200 patients, who had plain CT of the head and Hb and HCT levels obtained within 24 h of the scan. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Two-tailed unpaired t-test was used to test the difference between two independent samples. Correlation and regression analyses were used to assess the correlation between two quantitative variables. RESULTS: A significant correlation was observed between the Hb-Hounsfield unit (HU) and HCT-HU. The simple linear regression model revealed that HU (P value < 0.001) was significantly correlated with Hb and the regression model was, Hb = 2.1 + 0.2 × HU. Similarly, HU (P value < 0.001) was significantly correlated with HCT and regression model was HCT = 6.2 + 0.7 × HU. CONCLUSIONS: Objective attenuation values of dural sinuses on plain CT can be positively correlated with Hb and HCT values. Considering the cutoff of 35.5 HU, we were able to show the specificity of 100% for the detection of anemia.

Radiographic findings in COVID-19: Comparison between AI and radiologist.

CONTEXT: As the burden of COVID-19 enhances, the need of a fast and reliable screening method is imperative. Chest radiographs plays a pivotal role in rapidly triaging the patients. Unfortunately, in low-resource settings, there is a scarcity of trained radiologists. AIM: This study evaluates and compares the performance of an artificial intelligence (AI) system with a radiologist in detecting chest radiograph findings due to COVID-19. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The test set consisted of 457 CXR images of patients with suspected COVID-19 pneumonia over a period of three months. The radiographs were evaluated by a radiologist with experience of more than 13 years and by the AI system (NeuraCovid, a web application that pairs with the AI model COVID-NET). Performance of AI system and the radiologist were compared by calculating the sensitivity, specificity and generating a receiver operating characteristic curve. RT-PCR test results were used as the gold standard. RESULTS: The radiologist obtained a sensitivity and specificity of 44.1% and 92.5%, respectively, whereas the AI had a sensitivity and specificity of 41.6% and 60%, respectively. The area under curve for correctly classifying CXR images as COVID-19 pneumonia was 0.48 for the AI system and 0.68 for the radiologist. The radiologist's prediction was found to be superior to that of the AI with a P VALUE of 0.005. CONCLUSION: The specificity and sensitivity of detecting lung involvement in COVID-19, by the radiologist, was found to be superior to that by the AI system.

Prayers and beliefs among relatives of children admitted in pediatrics wards.

CONTEXT: Spirituality/Religion is important to many parents and they may call upon God to make the child healthier and normal. AIMS: We surveyed parents/relatives of children admitted to in-patient services for their praying practices and beliefs thereof. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey in 150 parents/relatives of patients admitted to pediatric ward, pediatric intensive care (PICU) unit, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) (50 each). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected demographic, praying practices' information and asked them to fill a Prayer Questionnaire Score Chart which classified the individual's religiosity. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, independent t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used for analysis. RESULTS: Hindus constituted 126 (84%) participants. In 118 (78.67%) cases, mothers responded to survey. Average time of prayer in PICU (159 min) was more than NICU (109 min) and pediatric ward (114 min). Average frequency of prayer before admission (10.49) was less significant than frequency of prayer after admission (13.64) (P value < 0.001). Most of the people, 91 (60.67%), prayed by standing near statues of God or praying silently while recalling God's images. Almost all people, 149 (99.33%), believed that both medical care and prayer were required for recovery of patient. According to patient's relatives, average 52% recovery of patient was due to medicine. CONCLUSIONS: Prayer was an integral component of parents/relatives' daily spiritual/religious ritual that was directed toward the admitted child's recovery. Statistically significant increase in frequency of praying after admission indicates the importance of prayers and spirituality in their minds as a part of treatment.