Profile of endoscopic removal of foreign bodies from upper gastrointestinal tract at a tertiary care hospital in North India

Background: Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a common clinical problem seen in medical practice. Its size can range from a pin head size to coin size. The aim of this study is to report the outcome of patients coming with FBs in their gastro intestinal tracts (GIT) using upper GI endoscopy (UGIE).Methods: The records of all the patients who presented to the department of gastroenterology and who underwent UGIE between May 2015 to May 2017 were reviewed with details on age, sex, type of FBs and its anatomical location and outcome.Results: A total of 31 patients with history of FB ingestion, were subjected to UGIE, over a period of 2 years. The patients were in the age group of 3 years to 100 years. The mean age was 51.27±20.63 years, with males constituting 74.19% of the patients. Most patients were in the age group of 41-60 years (41.9%) followed by 21-40 years age group (22.58%). The majority of FBs found were pieces of bone (n=9) and meat bolus (n=7), making 29.03% and 22.58% respectively. The other FBs included food bolus, coins, dentures, fruit seeds and round worm impaction.Conclusions: It is recommended that all those patients with a history of FB ingestion should be evaluated and if it is located in the upper gastrointestinal tract, should be subjected to UGIE for endoscopic removal

Non-invasive markers for prediction of varices in patients with portal hypertension

Background: The incidence of esophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis ranges from 35 to 80%. Thus, screening all cirrhotic patients with upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy to detect the presence of varices implies a number of unnecessary endoscopies, which increase the workload of endoscopy units and UGI endoscopy has its own limitations. The present study was conducted to investigate series of non-invasive biochemical and radiological markers for prediction of esophageal varices in patients with portal hypertension.Methods: Patients of either sex, aged 18-80 years with diagnosis of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, extrahepatic portal vein obstruction or any other cause of portal hypertension were studied. Patients were subjected to UGI endoscopy within 2 weeks of investigation of laboratory parameters. All patients were subjected to detailed clinical history and physical examination and biochemical and radiological investigations. Endoscopy was done with an olympus gastroscope using 20% xylocaine spray.Results: Out of 51 patients in the study, esophageal varices were seen in 34 (66.67%) patients and absent in 17 (33.33%) patients. On multiple logistic regression analysis, the variables independently linked to the presence of esophageal varices were; spleen diameter [odds ratio (OR): 1.137, 95% confidence interval: 1.033-1.255; p=0.009] and Portal vein size [odds ratio (OR): 41.531, 95% confidence interval: 1.858-928.304; p=0.019].Conclusions: Non-invasive prediction for varices by biochemical and radiological methods are reliable methods for screening of cirrhotics patients because of increasing patient overload, when a major chunk of these patients do not show any evidence of varice.

Cerebellar ataxia as presenting feature of hypothyroidism

SUMMARY Symptoms and signs of the hypothyroidism vary in relation to the magnitude and acuteness of the thyroid hormone deficiency. The usual clinical features are constipation, fatigue, cold intolerance and weight gain. Rarely it can present with neurologic problems like reversible cerebellar ataxia, dementia, peripheral neuropathy, psychosis and coma. Hypothyroidism should be suspected in all cases of ataxia, as it is easily treatable. A 40 year-old male presented with the history facial puffiness, hoarseness of voice and gait-ataxia. Investigations revealed frank primary hypothyroidism. Anti-TPO antibody was positive. Thyroxine was started and patient improved completely within eight weeks. Hypothyroidism can present with ataxia as presenting feature. Hypothyroidism should be considered in all cases of cerebellar ataxia as it is a reversible cause of ataxia. Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2016;60(2):183-

Cerebellar ataxia as presenting feature of hypothyroidism

SUMMARY Symptoms and signs of the hypothyroidism vary in relation to the magnitude and acuteness of the thyroid hormone deficiency. The usual clinical features are constipation, fatigue, cold intolerance and weight gain. Rarely it can present with neurologic problems like reversible cerebellar ataxia, dementia, peripheral neuropathy, psychosis and coma. Hypothyroidism should be suspected in all cases of ataxia, as it is easily treatable. A 40 year-old male presented with the history facial puffiness, hoarseness of voice and gait-ataxia. Investigations revealed frank primary hypothyroidism. Anti-TPO antibody was positive. Thyroxine was started and patient improved completely within eight weeks. Hypothyroidism can present with ataxia as presenting feature. Hypothyroidism should be considered in all cases of cerebellar ataxia as it is a reversible cause of ataxia

Tevatron Combination of Single-Top-Quark Cross Sections and Determination of the Magnitude of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa Matrix Element Vtb\bf V_{tb}

We present the final combination of CDF and D0 measurements of cross sections for single-top-quark production in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The data correspond to total integrated luminosities of up to 9.7 fb$^{−1}$ per experiment. The t-channel cross section is measured to be σ$_t$=2.25$_{-0.31}^{+0.29}$ pb. We also present the combinations of the two-dimensional measurements of the s- vs t-channel cross section. In addition, we give the combination of the s+t channel cross section measurement resulting in σ$_{s+t}$=3.30$_{-0.40}^{+0.52}$ pb, without assuming the standard model value for the ratio σ$_s$/σ$_t$. The resulting value of the magnitude of the top-to-bottom quark coupling is |V$_{tb}$|=1.02$_{-0.05}^{+0.06}$, corresponding to |V$_{tb}$|>0.92 at the 95% C.L

Combined Forward-Backward Asymmetry Measurements in Top-Antitop Quark Production at the Tevatron

International audienceThe CDF and D0 experiments at the Fermilab Tevatron have measured the asymmetry between yields of forward- and backward-produced top and antitop quarks based on their rapidity difference and the asymmetry between their decay leptons. These measurements use the full data sets collected in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of s=1.96  TeV. We report the results of combinations of the inclusive asymmetries and their differential dependencies on relevant kinematic quantities. The combined inclusive asymmetry is AFBtt¯=0.128±0.025. The combined inclusive and differential asymmetries are consistent with recent standard model predictions