Study of Hepatic Dysfunction Associated with Dengue Epidemiology in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Kolkata.

Dengue is a common arthropod-borne life-threatening febrile illness. This disease affects liver functions with an imbalance of liver enzymes followed by other clinical manifestations. The dengue serotypes can cause asymptomatic infection to more severe versions of hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome in West Bengal and around the globe. The main aim of this study is to establish how different liver enzymes act in identifying markers for dengue prognosis for the early detection of severe dengue fever (DF). The diagnosis of dengue patients was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and associated clinical parameters [aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, total albumin, total protein, packed cell volume, and platelet count] were analyzed. Furthermore, the viral load estimation was also carried out by RT PCR analysis. The majority of these patients had elevated AST and ALT levels; ALT levels were higher than AST levels, which were partially observed in all non-structural protein 1 antigen- and dengue immunoglobulin M antibody-reactive patients. Almost 25% of patients had very low platelet count or thrombocytopenia. Furthermore, the viral load shows a significant association with all the clinical parameters with a p-value of <0.0001. All these liver enzymes are significantly correlated with an increased level of T.BIL, ALT, and AST. This study depicts that the intensity of hepatic involvement may play a critical role in the morbidity and mortality of DF patients. As a result, all of these liver parameters can be useful early markers for determining the severity of the disease, allowing for early detection of high-risk cases.

Entomophthoromycosis in South Bengal (Eastern India): a 9 years study.

Subcutaneous mycoses caused by the family Entomophthoraceae is very rare type of disease and is being reported sporadically from various Tropical countries including India. Here we report 8 cases of rhinoentomophthoromycosis caused by Conidiobolous coronatus and 7 cases of chronic subcutaneous phycomycosis caused by Basidiobolus ranarum. Cases were detected during a span of 9 years between 1991 to 1999, from 9 districts in and around Kolkata (Eastern India). Former type of lesions were detected among 20 to 65 age group of healthy individuals, predominantly males (7:1). In the latter type, male-female ratio was 2:5, and except for one all cases belonged to below 20 years age group of healthy individuals. Several cases were detected only after examination of repeat biopsy samples. With high degree of clinical suspicion, right approach is needed for laboratory confirmation of diagnosis.