Case Report: A child with acute lymphocytic leukaemia

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Risk factors for orofacial clefts in India:A case-control study

BACKGROUND: Orofacial clefts (OFC) are linked with several genetic and environmental factors. The aim of this study was to explore the association of potential risk factors with OFCs in India. METHODS: This was a hospital-based, matched case-control (1:4 ratio; matching done for parity) study conducted in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi-National Capital Region. Cases (nonsyndromic clefts) were recruited from treatment centers, while controls (live births) were recruited from maternity centers. Information on exposures was collected during personal interviews. Exposures of interest included folic acid supplementation during the peri-conceptional period, consanguineous marriage, exposure to drugs, infections during pregnancy, family history of OFC, and dietary factors. RESULTS: A total of 785 participants were included in the study: 157 cases and 628 controls. A family history of cleft lip/palate (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 15.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.36-54.96; p value = 0.001), exclusive vegetarianism (AOR, 4.47; 95% CI, 1.83-10.98; p value = 0.001), and delayed first conception (AOR, 2.55, 95% CI, 1.25-5.21, p = 0.01) were found to be strongly associated with higher risk of OFCs. Supplementation with folic acid during first 3 months of pregnancy was not found to be protective against OFCs (AOR, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.59-2.58; p value = 0.56). CONCLUSION: Our study confirmed the importance of family history as a risk factor for OFC. Our study did not show an association with folic acid supplementation but was underpowered to detect small effects. Our finding of higher risk among vegetarians requires replication. Birth Defects Research 109:1284-1291, 2017. © 2017 The Authors. Birth Defects Research Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Quality of life of patients with schizophrenia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: An observational study

Background: Quality of life (QOL) is a novel and holistic parameter in measuring health outcome. Recently, the concept is gaining importance as an outcome measure in illnesses, with a chronic and progressive course. Schizophrenia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are psychological and physical illnesses, respectively, which share this characteristic. Studies comparing the QOL of psychological and physical illnesses are few. The extant literature did not reveal any studies comparing the QOL of schizophrenia and COPD. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the QOL of patients with schizophrenia, a chronic psychiatric disorder, and COPD, a chronic physical illness. Materials and Methods: The study was cross-sectional in design. The QOL of thirty patients each with schizophrenia and COPD, from a tertiary care teaching hospital, was assessed using the WHO Quality of Life Assessment-BREF scale. Comparison was done between the two groups. Results: The QOL of patients with schizophrenia was significantly better in the physical domain (Z = 2.75, P = 0.006) and overall perception of life (Z = 3.25, P = 0.001). Overall perception of health was also better in schizophrenia (Z = 1.94, P = 0.052). The social domain was the only one in which COPD patients had a better score than schizophrenic patients, though it was not statistically significant (Z = 0.17, P = 0.86). Conclusion: The QOL of schizophrenic patients is slightly better compared to that of COPD patients. Only in the social domain was the QOL of schizophrenic patients inferior to that of COPD patients. Therefore, in schizophrenic patients, priority interventions to improve the social deficits are important because these determine their QOL vis a vis, a chronic physical illness

Bone marrow aspiration in hematology and oncology-10cc versus 50cc syringe

Aims: To compare efficacy of Bone Marrow Aspiration (BMA) using 10cc syringe versus 50cc syringe in hematology and oncology. Introduction: Bone Marrow Aspiration is an important investigation in diagnostic hematology and oncology. While the procedure of BMA has been standardized, the optimal size of the syringe to be used is still uncertain. Methods: It is a retrospective analysis involving 300 patients undergoing diagnostic Bone Marrow Aspiration (BMA) at our institute over a period of two years.10 cc syringe was used in 149 patients and 50cc syringe in 151 patients. The results were analyzed using MEDCALC version 7.5 for WINDOWS software. Results: 65 patients (43%) in the 50cc arm and 60 patients (40%) in 10cc arm had adequate volume of aspirate which resulted in a conclusive report suggesting that the 50cc syringe may be better than 10cc syringe.The use of 50cc syringe also resulted in lesser number of inadequate aspirate, inconclusive reports and dry taps. The differences between the 10cc and 50cc arms were not statistically significant though. Conclusion: Bone Marrow Aspiration (BMA) using 10 cc syringe was as effective as BMA using 50cc syringe in diagnosis of hematology and oncology