Coats' disease - disease of the eye rarely encountered by pathologists.

Coats' Disease is an idiopathic condition of the eye affecting young children although it can be seen in adults. Most patients present early in life with unilateral decreased vision, strabismus or leukocoria. The most important differential diagnosis is unilateral retinoblastoma. In this study we report a case of coat's disease in an young girl, and evaluate histopathological and clinical findings.

The role of haematological parameters in predicting malaria with special emphasis on neutrophil lymphocyte count ratio and monocyte lymphocyte ratio: A single Institutional experience.

INTRODUCTION: Malaria is a mosquito borne disease which is a major public health problem and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Various haematological parameters have been studied to help predict malaria, such as alteration in the leucocyte count, platelet counts and erythrocyte counts. The neutrophil lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) was found to have a good predictive value in systemic inflammation, particularly in critical care setting. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to study the various haematological parameters and acertain the predictive value of NLCR and MLR in the detection of malaria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cross sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital between the period of August to December, 2014. A total of 200 smear positive malaria patients and a control group of 100 patients who were smear negative for malaria were included. Hemoglobin, Total leucocyte count, Differential leucocyte count, platelet counts and absolute counts were obtained. The NLCR and MLR were obtained from the above data. The data was analysed by statistical tools. RESULTS: A total of 200 smear positive malaria cases were analysed of which, 180 cases were caused by the Plasmodium vivax parasite and 2 cases by Plasmodium Falciparum. Thrombocytopenia and leucopenia were found to have significant association with malaria. In the present study, the NLCR and MLR was not found to have significant association with malaria. DISCUSSION: Although NLCR has been proven to be a useful marker for inflammation in many acute conditions5, it is albeit not of much significance in the prediction of malaria. Similarly we have found no significance of MLR in prediction of malaria.

Intra-Arterial Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia: A Rare Case Report of Peripheral Medium Sized Muscular Artery Involvement.

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) is an uncommon benign vasoproliferative disease with distinct clinical and histopathological features. The most common clinical presentation is dermal and subcutaneous painless nodules in the head and neck region. The involvement of medium sized peripheral muscular artery is uncommon. It predominantly affects Caucasian adults during the third and fourth decades, but is also known to occur in Asians and it very rarely occurs in children. We here by present a case of intravascular ALHE in a 46-year-old female presenting with subcutaneous forearm nodule clinically diagnosed as ulnar artery thrombosis.

Estimation of platelet count in unstained peripheral blood smears in comparison with stained smears and evaluation of its efficacy.

Assessment of platelet count is an important diagnostic parameter in haematology. Automated blood cell counters have largely replaced the manual method. However, all abnormal platelet counts are verified in Leishman's stained peripheral blood smear. Platelets also can be identified in the unstained blood smears. The objective of this study is to compare the unstained peripheral blood smears with the stained smears and determination of the effectiveness of unstained smears in the estimation of platelet count. 250 Venous blood samples sent for blood cell counts were analyzed. Platelets were counted in the unstained smear under 100× objective in 10 fields without placing immersion oil and the average number of platelets was calculated. Same smear was stained by Leishman's stain and platelets were counted under 100× objective after placing a drop of immersion oil. Collected data were analyzed for intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). ICC showed excellent agreement (ICC > 0.85). The unstained smears were found to be as effective as stained smears for platelet count in most of the cases. However, in case of doubt a stained preparation has to be made to confirm the count. The turnaround time was 3-5 minutes compared to 15-20 minutes by stained smear technique, thus this technique may be used as an initial screening method whenever there is large sample load.

Pulmonary hamartoma: Cytological study of a case and literature review.

Pulmonary hamartomas are the most common but rare benign tumor-like lesions of the lung arising from the embryonic rest. They are more common in males and in aged. Majority are asymptomatic and seen as coin lesions with popcorn calcification in the chest radiograph. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) helps to diagnose and distinguish them from the cancerous lesions of the lung. The cytological material is characterized by fibromyxoid stroma, cartilage, bronchial cells, adipose tissue and bone. Bronchial cells with reactive atypia may be a source of false-positive result. Symptomatic cases need surgical intervention such as enucleation or segmental resection. We report a case of a 74-year-old male who had a lung mass that did not progress over 4-year on chest radiograph. The CT-guided FNAC smears showed benign bronchial epithelial cells, fibro-myxoid spindle cell stroma and fat spaces that aided the diagnosis of pulmonary hamartoma avoiding surgical intervention.

Endometrial osseous metaplasia: Clinicopathological study of a case and literature review.

Endometrial osseous metaplasia is an uncommon clinical entity with the presence of bone in the endometrium. Most of the cases clinically present with secondary infertility following an abortion. Various theories have been proposed and the most accepted theory is metaplasia of the stromal cells into osteoblastic cells that produce the bone. It is important to distinguish this condition from the mixed mullerian tumor of the endometrium to avoid hysterectomy. Removal of these bony bits leads to spontaneous conception. We present one such case in a 25-year-old female patient presented with secondary infertility.

Naevus lipomatosus superficialis: clinicopathological study of a case.

Naevus lipomatosus superficialis is an uncommon skin disorder characterized by the presence of fat cells in the dermis. It is clinically benign and said to be a developmental anomaly. The histological features and the theories of histogenesis have been discussed.

Chronic neutrophilic leukemia--a case report.

Chronic neutrophilic leukemia is a rare hematological disorder with hepatosplenomegaly and sustained mature neutrophilic leucocytosis. Increased serum vitamin B12, increased serum urine acid levels and increased leukocyte alkaline phosphatase activity are the associated features in the absence of fever or any other underlying disorder to cause leukemoid reaction. We report one such rare case.