A Case report: Rare Complication of a common procedure- Pneumocephalus after Epidural Injection

Our patient 26 yrs. an old female patient 47 kg, ASA II , GDM on insulin was given lumbar epidural for labor pain relief using loss of resistance to air technique with 3 ml of air. After 10 h, she developed sudden loss of consciousness. An urgent CT scan was done which revealed pneumocephalus. Our goal is to report the case of a patient who presented Pneumocephalus after Epidural Injection

Hospital based infectious disease related proportional mortality study

Objective: To understand the temporal trends in mortality in Rural Central India. Design: Retrospective review of physician issued death certificates from a rural teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: Physician issued death certificates from 1979 to 2008, available with a rural teaching hospital were analyzed and information on age, gender, date, and cause of death was abstracted. We estimated cause-specific, proportional mortality ratio (PMR) stratified by age, and gender. We compared the difference in PMR in first fifteen years of the study period (period A, 1979-1993) with the later (period B, 1994-2008). Results: We found 20494 death certificates between 1979 and 2008. Proportion of infectious disease related mortality declined from 35% in 1979-1983-26% in 2004-2008. In the same periods, injury related mortality increased from 4.6% to 13.4%, and chronic disease mortality from 19% to 28%. The absolute difference in PMR (per 1000 deaths) was statistically significant between period B and period A, for infections (a decline of 80.67 [95% CI 66.97-94.03]), chronic diseases (an increase of 45.85 [95% CI 33.49-58.55]), and injuries (an increase of 42.98 [95% CI 33.87-52.26]). Conclusion: Temporal trend in mortality from a single hospital in rural Central-India over the past three decades shows decline in infectious diseases, and rise in injuries and chronic diseases

Effect of polycarbosilane addition to a mixture of rice husk and coconut shell on SiC whisker growth

In this paper, we report the synthesis of SiC whiskers by the carbothermal reduction of a mixture of rice husk (RH) and coconut shell (CS). Addition of polycarbosilane (PCS) to the mixture of RH and CS led to extensive growth of the whiskers. The phase and microstructural analysis of the synthesized whiskers were carried out by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic techniques, respectively. The synthesized whiskers were single crystals of β-SiC, grown on a (111) plane along the 〈111〉 direction. The vapor–solid and vapor phase mechanisms played a more dominant role in massive whisker growth than the vapor–liquid–solid mechanism. The increased SiO gas concentration, due to the evolved SiO and CO gases from the highly reactive SiOC ceramics formed from the PCS, facilitated the extensive growth of SiC whiskers. The whisker growth was more on the CS surface than on the RH surface, and attributed to the higher surface area and the carbon reactivity of the CS. The Raman spectroscopy showed the presence of 4H-SiC, 6H-SiC and 15R-SiC type stacking faults in 3C β-SiC

Stroke intracerebral multiple infarcts: Rare neurological presentation of honey bee bite

Honey-bee bites which require urgent hospitalization is very rare. It is mainly seen as occupational hazards in farmers, tree dwellers and honey collectors. Common clinical presentation includes minor localized reactions in form of swelling and redness sometimes anaphylactic reaction. Infrequent major complications reported from different studies include rhabdomyolysis, acute renal failure (ARF), acute pulmonary edema, intravascular coagulation, encephalopathy and very rarely cerebral haemorrhage. Stroke due to multiple intra- cerebral infarcts along with rhabdomyolysis in patient of honey-bee bite is rare neurological complication. We report a case of 70 year man with honey-bee bite and multiple intracerebral infarcts presented as stroke, and rhabdomyolysis and ARF. When a patient presented with honey-bee bite, one should suspect serious complications. Despite advances in the understanding of pathophysiology its complications remains enigmatic and in some instances may be multifactorial. Various therapeutic interventions if started early after diagnosis reduces the possible consequences as potential reversibility of the illness