Symptoms of psychological distress reported by women from indigenous communities in South India: implications for methodology and future studies

Archives of Women's Mental Health - ‘Indigenous peoples’ across the globe suffer a disproportionate burden of mental illness. However, this burden is not fully explored in India...     

Spontaneous OHSS in a Young Adolescent: A Diagnostic Dilemma

The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India -     

Comparison of levels of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli in children with nursing bottle caries,rampant caries,healthy children with 3-5 dmft/DMFT and healthy caries free children

Ten children from each group of nursing caries, rampant caries, 3-5 dmft/DMFT and caries free children were selected and plaque samples from carious lesion, early carious lesion, sound tooth surface as well as salivary sample were collected. The levels of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli were estimated at all the sample sites. The result further supported the role of mutans streptococci in the initiation and of lactobacilli in the progression of the dental caries.     

MYD88 L265P mutation in intraocular lymphoma: A potential diagnostic marker

Purpose:Vitreoretinal lymphoma (VRL) is the most common intraocular lymphoma (IOL). This can be either primary or secondary to the central nervous system lymphoma. The diagnosis of primary intraocular lymphoma (PIOL) currently relies on clinical diagnosis and cytological analysis of the vitreous or subretinal biopsy. Although most cases are diagnosed without much issue, the limited amount of vitreous fluid, subjectivity in cytological reporting, and special expertise in ocular pathology make the diagnosis challenging. MYD88 L265P mutation has been implicated to have diagnostic utility in PIOL. In this study, we screened consecutive vitreous biopsies for the presence of MYD88 L265P mutation to understand its diagnostic utility compared to conventional cytological analysis.Methods:Cytological analysis and MYD88 L265P mutation by PCR-based sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were carried out on consecutive vitreous and subretinal biopsies collected from 21 patients. The diagnostic utility of the cytology and MYD88 L265P mutation analysis were compared.Results:Out of the 21 patients, 15 had clinical suspicion of having PIOL. Out of these suspected cases of PIOL, nine were confirmed on follow-up, while six were diagnosed as other intraocular pathologies. Diagnostic utility of MYD88 L265P mutation analysis revealed a sensitivity of 88.9%, specificity of 91.6%, positive and negative predictive value of 88.9% and 91.7%, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy of 90.5% was achieved with the mutation analysis that shows the superiority of MYD88 in both ruling in and ruling out PIOL. The diagnostic utility of MYD88 L265P mutation was superior to conventional cytological analysis.Conclusion:The analysis of MYD88 L265P mutation is reliable and efficient in the diagnosis of PIOL.     

Allelic resolution NGS HLA typing of Class I and Class II loci and haplotypes in Cape Town,South Africa

The development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods for HLA genotyping has already had an impact on the scope and precision of HLA research. In this study, allelic resolution HLA typing was obtained for 402 individuals from Cape Town, South Africa. The data were produced by high-throughput NGS sequencing as part of a study of T-cell responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in collaboration with the University of Cape Town and Stanford University. All samples were genotyped for 11 HLA loci, namely HLA-A, -B, -C, -DPA1, -DPB1, -DQA1, -DQB1, -DRB1, -DRB3, -DRB4, and -DRB5. NGS HLA typing of samples from Cape Town inhabitants revealed a unique cohort, including unusual haplotypes, and 22 novel alleles not previously reported in the IPD-IMGT/HLA Database. Eight novel alleles were in Class I loci and 14 were in Class II. There were 62 different alleles of HLA-A, 72 of HLA-B, and 47 of HLA-C. Alleles A123:17, A143:01, A129:11, A168:27:01, A101:23, B114:01:01, B115:10:01, B139:10:01, B145:07, B182:02:01 and C108:04:01 were notably more frequent in Cape Town compared to other populations reported in the literature. Class II loci had 21 different alleles of DPA1, 46 of DPB1, 27 of DQA1, 26 of DQB1, 41 of DRB1, 5 of DRB3, 4 of DRB4 and 6 of DRB5. The Cape Town cohort exhibited high degrees of HLA diversity and relatively high heterozygosity at most loci. Genetic distances between Cape Town and five other sub-Saharan African populations were also calculated and compared to European Americans.     

Supracondylar skeletal traction and open interlocking nailing for neglected fracture of the shaft of femur – Retrospective study

BackgroundNeglected trauma is a common problem faced by Orthopaedic surgeons practicing in developing countries. Nothing much in English literature is available regarding the practical difficulties and guidelines for treating neglected trauma of long bones.MethodsIn our institution from November 2003 to October 2009 we treated 25 cases of neglected fracture of shaft of femur. Patients underwent either of three types of management protocols depending upon the preoperative manual traction radiographs. The fracture was fixed with open interlocking nail. Primary bone grafting and bone shortening procedures were not performed in any of the patient.ResultsThe fractures united in all patients at an average duration of 17 weeks. Two patients had limb length discrepancy.ConclusionCareful preoperative evaluation is mandatory for good results. Preoperative skeletal traction and two stage surgical procedure may be required to avoid limb length discrepancy and neurovascular complication.     

Bacterial colonization of peripheral intravenous cannulas in a tertiary care hospital: A cross sectional observational study

BackgroundThe use of intravenous (IV) cannulas is an integral part of patient care in hospitals. These intravenous cannulas are a potential route for microorganisms to enter the blood stream resulting in a variety of local or systemic infections. Studies showing the actual prevalence of colonization of peripheral IV cannulas and its role in BSI are lacking. Hence, this study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of colonization of the injection ports of peripheral IV cannulas.MethodsThis cross sectional study was conducted on patients admitted in ICU and wards in an 800 bedded tertiary care hospital. Swabs were taken from lumens of peripheral IV cannulas and cultured. Patient demographic data and practices followed for maintenance of IV line were noted.ResultsA total of 196 injection port samples were taken, out of which 11 tested positive for microbial growth (5.61%). Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant organism contributing 64% of the microbial growth. A significant association was seen between presence of local signs, old age and positive cultures. Flushing IV cannula every 6 h was associated with negative cultures.ConclusionPeripheral IV cannulation has significant potential for microbial contamination and is largely ignored. Most of the risk factors associated with growth of microorganisms in the injection ports of peripheral intravenous cannulas (which has a potential to cause catheter-related blood stream infections) can be prevented by improving protocols for management. To prevent infection from occurring, practitioners should be educated and trained about the care and management of IV.