Influenza and diabetes mellitus

Influenza is an infectious disease of present concern. The situation of influenza infection in diabetic patients is of interest and is hereby the main theme in this short article. Severity and mortality of diabetic patients with influenza is hereby discussed. Also, the influenza immunization for diabetic patients is also mentioned in this short paper.     

Can we trust the hemoglobin A1C measurement by point of care testing analyzer in published papers? A retrospective appraisal

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common endocrine disorder that can be seen in any age groups. At present, many millions of patients with this disorder can be seen around the world. A serious consequence of DM for the patients is the development of diabetic complications that can end up with death. For control of DM, diabetic complication is strongly recommended. Since poorer diabetic control means higher complication, several attempts are introduced for help control of blood sugar of the patients. Focusing on the laboratory investigation, the new concept for measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin is proposed and used at present. Based on the concept of point of care testing (POCT), several new glucometers are developed and circulated in present clinical practice. However, the problem of the “quality” of those meters must be addressed. Here, the author retrospectively appraised on the published papers that used POCT glucometers as tools for measuring hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C). Acceptability of the tool in each report is decided based on the referencing report on the quality of the POCT HbA1C analyzers. It can be seen that not all reports used reliable POCT HbA1C tools which means the doubtfulness of the results and conclusions on many published papers.     

The rate of anti-HIV seropositivity among donated cadavers: experience in a cadaver donation center

Cadavers are crucial for the medical education provided by medical schools. However, currently, donation is the only way to obtain cadavers for education in Thailand. Moreover, some traditional beliefs result in insufficient numbers of cadavers. Apart from finding donors, the occupational health of the workers in the cadaver donation center and the users, the medical students, residents, and staffs should be addressed. Screening for anti-HIV in donated organs is the current trend in transplantation medicine. Therefore, screening for anti-HIV in donated cadavers is useful. Here, we report the rate of anti-HIV seropositivity in cadavers in a 1-year period in our setting, the largest Thai Red Cross Society hospital. Of the total 84 cadavers received, two cadavers (2.4%) were anti-HIV seropositive. With the increasing rate of anti-HIV, screening for anti-HIV serology in donated cadavers for medical teaching is of great benefit.