Evaluation of role of computed tomography scan brain in children with generalized seizures

Objective: To evaluate the role of computed tomography (CT) scan brain in children over the age of 1 year with generalized seizures.Design: Prospective, hospital-based study. Materials and Methods: Children of 1-12 years presenting with generalized seizuresin pediatric outpatient department and emergencies were subjected for CT scan brain with contrast along with other appropriateinvestigations after stabilization. Results: A total of 101 cases of children with generalized seizures underwent CT scan brain, 36 cases(35.64%) were found to have CT brain abnormalities. Conclusion: CT brain should be considered in children with generalized seizuresin health care settings where magnetic resonance imaging is either unavailable or unaffordable

Comparison of total serum immunoglobulin E and absolute eosinophil count levels among asthmatic and non-asthmatic children

Background: Immunoglobulin E (IgE) and associated cellular responses such as absolute eosinophil count (AEC) are responsible for allergic airway diseases. A hypersensitivity reaction initiated by immunological mechanisms, mediated by IgE antibodies, and eosinophils occur in allergic asthma. Objective: To compare the total serum IgE level and AEC levels among asthmatic and non-asthmatic children. Methods: The present study was conducted in the department of pediatrics and TB and Chest of a Medical College of North India from October 2015 to November 2016. Children from 3 years to 18 years, 30 with bronchial asthma and 30 healthy children were included in this study randomly. Results: The mean total serum IgE level in children with bronchial asthma was significantly higher (700.97±571.01 IU/ml) than that in healthy children (189.33±14.29 IU/ml). The mean AEC was also significantly higher in cases (746.63±492.02 cells/mm3) as compared to healthy children (220.23±121.69 cells/mm3). In bronchial asthma group, mean AEC increased with the increasing severity of asthma. Conclusion: The elevated level of total serum IgE and AEC may demonstrate the allergic etiology of asthma and hence, estimation of serum IgE and AEC levels can be considered as laboratory investigations in diagnosing cases of bronchial asthma

Oral fenofibrate in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: A randomized controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the role of oral fenofibrate for lowering neonatal hyperbilirubinemia as compared to placebo. Design: Doubleblind,randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Setting: NICU of tertiary care hospital of North India. Subjects: 50 neonates with neonatalhyperbilirubinemia. Neonates (≥35 weeks of gestation), birth weight (1.5-3.5 kg), jaundice beginning at day 3-11 after birth, totalbilirubin level between 15 and 21 mg/dl, and clinically stable vital signs. Intervention: Neonates were assigned randomly to receiveeither single dose of oral fenofibrate at 10 mg/kg/dose on day 1 of admission and distilled water on the following next day or a singledose of oral glucose solution on day 1 and distilled water on the following next day. Malloy-Evelyn method was used to estimatethe serum total bilirubin levels. All newborns enrolled in this study, received phototherapy. The cases were divided into two groups,i.e. study (fenofibrate) group and control group. Measurement of Primary Outcome: Duration of phototherapy. Results: Mean valuesfor total serum bilirubin in fenofibrate group at 36 and 48 h after starting of phototherapy were significantly lower in the study groupthan those in the control group (p<0.00001). The mean time needed for phototherapy was also shorter in the study group than controlgroup (p<0.0002). No side effects of fenofibrate were observed after a single dose administration. Conclusion: Fenofibrate appears tobe an effective and safe drug for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. This decreases the duration of phototherapy and thusshortens the length of hospital stay

Blood transfusion practices in obstetrics and gynecology: study of indications as a measure to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality

Background: This is a study of rational use of blood transfusion in a tertiary care center. So, this study was done to find out the indications of blood transfusion in department of obstetrics and gynaecology and measures to minimize the requirement of blood transfusion to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.Methods: This is a retrospective study in department of obstetrics and gynaecologyin Muzaffarnagar Medical College, Muzaffarnagar, U.P. in collaboration with the department of pathology including blood bank for the duration of 1 year i.e. 1st January, 2017 to 31st December, 2017.  Total transfusions in 1 year were 706 of which 406 were in obstetrics and 300 were in gynecology.Results: In our study maximum 16.20% blood transfusions were given during cesarean section in third trimester in unbooked cases who came with severe anemia in labour. Others were APH (12%) and abortions (13.05%). This shows that anemia is still a major cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in India. In Gynecological cases blood transfusion was more in third parity and above indicating that perimenopausal women were also more susceptible for anemia due to disease of perimenopausal age group like AUB and fibroid.Conclusions: Maximum number of transfusions specially PRBC in obstetrics were of moderate to severe anemia, mainly to the patients who were term or in labor and of high-risk pregnancies, who were unbooked with no antenatal care. In Gynecology cases, blood transfusion was of perimenopausal or menopausal group with moderate anemia. This comes to the conclusion that all preventive measures should be taken in females from womb to tomb to correct anemia and this will indirectly help to prevent maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality

Marriage in epilepsy: The impact of the question in knowledge, attitude, and practice surveys.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) questionnaire-based surveys have captured negative attitudes towards marriage involving people with epilepsy (PWE). The attitudes may vary according to the nature of the question posed, whether personal or generic, in addition to many other covariates. METHODS: We carried out meta-proportion and -regression analyses of epilepsy-related KAP surveys published between 1970 and 2016 in the medical literature analysis retrieval system online (MEDLINE) database. RESULTS: The pooled estimate of the proportion of those responding positively to the marriage question was 0.45 (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.35 to 0.54; I2res = 99.89%). The pooled proportion of positive responders to a personal question (0.40; 95%CI: 0.35 to 0.46) was significantly lower than those responding positively to a generic question (0.64; 95%CI: 0.57 to 0.70) (P = 0.001). When modeled individually in regression analyses, only the continent of origin of the survey (P = 0.001; tau2: 0.06; I2res: 99.8%; adjusted R2: 11.4%) and subject population type (P = 0.02; tau2: 0.07; I2res: 99.9%; adjusted R2: 4.2%) were associated with the pooled estimate of positive responders to the question on marriage. CONCLUSIONS: Personal questions probing the possibility of marriage of self or family members to someone with epilepsy bring about negative attitudes more often than generic questions inquiring the marriage-worthiness of PWE

Evaluation of efficacy of topical and systemic antihistaminic drugs in children with allergic rhinitis

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of topical and systemic antihistaminic drugs in children with allergic rhinitis (AR). Methods: Thisprospective, hospital-based study was conducted on children aged 6-18 years attending pediatric and ENT OPD. The childrenwith a clinical diagnosis of AR were selected for study and were divided into two groups randomly. Group A children receivedoral second generation antihistamine levocetrizine and Group B children received intranasal antihistaminic drug azelastine. Bothgroups received medications for 4 weeks. A post therapy response was recorded in the form of symptomatic and histopathologicalresponse. Results: There was better symptomatic response for sneezing and rhinorrhea with levocetrizine than azelastine but betterresponse for nasal blockage with azelastine. There was no significant difference in histopathological response of both groups.Conclusion: Levocetrizine was showing better symptomatic response as topical azelastine and also showing better acceptability

A New Cosmological Model: Exploring the Evolution of the Universe and Unveiling Super-Accelerated Expansion

In this paper, we present a cosmological model designed to study the evolution of the universe based on a new parametrization of the deceleration parameter. The model considers a spatially flat, homogeneous, and isotropic Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) universe filled with radiation, dark matter (DM), and dark energy (DE). We derive the Friedmann equations and the energy conservation equation for the universe, accounting for separate conservation equations for radiation, DM, and DE. Our proposed deceleration parameter is given by a formula involving constants $H_{0}$, $\Omega_{r0}$, $\Omega_{m0}$, $q_{2}$, $q_{1}$, $q_{0}$, $\alpha$ and $\beta$. which we subsequently fit to observational data. To assess the model's viability, we compare it with a diverse range of observational data, including cosmic chronometers, type Ia supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, and cosmic microwave background measurements. Employing the chi-square statistic and a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, we estimate the best-fit values for the free parameters and investigate the constraints imposed by observational data on the model. Our results indicate that our cosmological model provides an excellent fit to the observed data and exhibits a remarkable agreement with the standard $\Lambda$CDM paradigm at higher redshifts. However, the most intriguing discovery lies in the model's prediction of a super-accelerated expansion in the distant future, in contrast to the de Sitter phase predicted by $\Lambda$CDM. This implies the presence of dark energy driving the universe's accelerated expansion. These findings suggest that our proposed cosmological model offers a compelling alternative to the $\Lambda$CDM paradigm, shedding new light on the nature of dark energy and the future fate of the cosmos.Comment: 10 figures, 2 table

Mesonephric-like adenocarcinoma of the ovary with co-existent endometriosis: A case report and review of the literature

© 2020 The Authors Introduction: Mesonephric-like adenocarcinoma (MLA) is a rare malignant gynecologic neoplasm occurring in the uterine corpus and ovary. The morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of MLA closely resemble that of cervical mesonephric adenocarcinomas, but whether they share a common histogenesis remains unclear. Two main theories for histogenesis of MLAs include the origination of these neoplasms from mesonephric remnants, as is the case for cervical mesonephric adenocarcinoma, versus the differentiation along a mesonephric pathway from Mullerian lesions. Case: A 67-year-old presented after a right salpingo-oophorectomy for a complex ovarian mass revealed a mesonephric-like adenocarcinoma of the ovary and endometriosis. She underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy, pelvic lymphadenectomy, and infra-colic omentectomy, and diagnosed with Stage IA mesonephric-like adenocarcinoma of the ovary. At 18 months post-operatively, the patient developed flank and abdominal pain and was found to have multiple sites of recurrent disease. She was referred to medical oncology for chemotherapy as she was not a candidate for surgical cytoreduction. Discussion: This case demonstrates the aggressive nature of ovarian MLA and the need for a multidisciplinary approach when determining the treatment. In addition, this case provides further evidence to support the theory that at least a subset of MLAs arises from a Mullerian lesion which then differentiates down a mesonephric pathway

Analyzing a higher order q(t)q(t) model and its implications in the late evolution of the Universe using recent observational datasets

In this research paper, we explore a well-motivated parametrization of the time-dependent deceleration parameter, characterized by a cubic form, within the context of late time cosmic acceleration. The current analysis is based on the $f(Q,T)$ gravity theory, by considering the background metric as the homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann Lema\^itre Robertson Walker (FLRW) metric. Investigating the model reveals intriguing features of the late universe. To constrain the model, we use the recent observational datasets, including cosmic chronometer (CC), Supernovae (SNIa), Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO), Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB), Gamma Ray Burst (GRB), and Quasar (Q) datasets. The joint analysis of these datasets results in tighter constraints for the model parameters, enabling us to discuss both the physical and geometrical aspects of the model. Moreover, we determine the present values of the deceleration parameter ($q_0$), the Hubble parameter ($H_0$), and the transition redshift ($z_t$) from deceleration to acceleration ensuring consistency with some recent results of Planck 2018. Our statistical analysis yields highly improved results, surpassing those obtained in previous investigations. Overall, this study presents valuable insights into the higher order $q(t)$ model and its implications for late-time cosmic acceleration, shedding light on the nature of the late universe