A Rare Case of Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome Accompanying Late Postpartum Eclampsia or Hypertensive Encephalopathy-A Clinical Dilemma

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) refers to a clinic-radiologic diagnosis. Clinically it is characterized by non specific symptoms such as headache, confusion, visual disturbances and seizures. The radiological findings in PRES are thought to be due to vasogenic oedema, predominantly in the posterior cerebral hemispheres, and are reversible with appropriate management. We report a case of reversible encephalopathy diagnosed by MRI scan occurring in atypical areas like the caudate and lentiform nuclei of the brain following an uneventful lower segment caesarean section in a normotensive patient, who was successfully treated with antihypertensives, anticonvulsants and supportive treatment. The differential diagnosis of convulsions in the post-partum period is discussed

Mapping of pathways of care, assessment of delays and gap analysis in provision of care following road traffic injury among patients in selected tertiary hospitals in urban Karnataka, South India

Background: Evidence-based public health advocates decision making based on best available scientific evidence, hence it is important to gather evidence of current scenario of trauma care. Aim & Objective: To determine pathways of care and delays among Road Traffic Injury patients and assess gaps in resources. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted in selected tertiary care hospitals in Mangaluru taluk, Karnataka. Methods and Material: Participants were administered validated proformas on prehospital and hospital care. WHO trauma care checklist was used for capacity assessment and gap analysis. Statistical analysis used: Time intervals are expressed as measures of central tendency and dispersion. Descriptive analysis is given as percentages and proportions. Results: Median pre-hospital time was 30 minutes. Overall, 67.5% of the patients reached within golden hour. Majority (64.1%) were directly transported to current hospital. All patients received first aid, but only 0.8% received it at the RTI site. First aid was mostly administered by doctors (68.7%) or nursing staff (31.1%) and none by bystander. Insurance coverage was 32.8% and 87.9% incurred out of pocket expenditures. Scores were low in GP level hospital. Conclusions: Although transport was within the golden hour, pre-hospital care was poor. Out of pocket expenditures were high

Flow with PMD: Past and Future

Measurements of azimuthal distribution of inclusive photons using the fine granularity preshower photon multiplicity detector (PMD) at CERN SPS are used to obtain anisotropy in the azimuthal distributions. These results are used to estimate the anisotropy in the neutral pion distributions. The results are compared with results of charged particle data, both for first order and second order anisotropy. Assuming the same anisotropy for charged and neutral pions, the anisotropy in photons is estimated and compared with the measured anisotropy. The effect of neutral pion decay on the correlation between the first order and the second order event plane is also discussed. Data from PMD can also be used to estimate the reaction plane for studying any anisotropy in particle emission characteristics in the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. In particular, we show that using the event plane from the PMD, it will be possible to measure the anisotropy in Jpsi absorption (if any) in the ALICE experiment.Comment: Invited talk in the Fourth International Conference on the Physics and Astrophysics of Quark Gluon Plasma, 26-30 Nov.2001, Jaipur, Indi