Tracheal bronchus presenting with recurrent haemoptysis in an adult female

  Abnormal bronchus arising directly from the trachea or the main bronchus is a rare developmental anomaly of the tracheobronchial tree. In general, tracheal bronchus has been reported in less than 1% of adult patients undergoing bronchoscopy with a male predominance. Tracheal bronchus is classified as — ‘displaced’ and ‘supernumerary’, the former being the most common type reported. Most patients are asymptomatic; however, cases presenting with cough, haemoptysis or recurrent lung infections are not uncommon. The diagnosis is usually made through computed tomography or bronchoscopy. Awareness of this anomaly may help in timely identification or prevention of perioperative complications during general anaesthesia or resectional thoracic surgery. Herein we report a case of right-sided displaced tracheal bronchus in an adult female presenting with recurrent haemoptysis.

Quality of life and well-being of dermatology patients: Influence of associated anxiety and depression in relation to satisfaction of care

© 2024 Industrial Psychiatry Journal. Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow under a Creative Commons licence: https://journals.lww.com/inpj/fulltext/9900/quality_of_life_and_well_being_of_dermatology.44.aspxBackground: Many patients attending dermatology clinics have mental health problems which may affect their well-being. Aims: It was intended to study the influence of anxiety and depression on well-being and quality of life (QOL) in relation to satisfaction of dermatological care in an out-patient setting. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, dermatological patients were assessed for well-being (WHO-5 Well-Being scale), overall QOL, anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder, GAD-7), and depression (Patient health questionnaire, PHQ-9). Satisfaction of care in the dermatology clinic (1: not at all satisfied to 10: very satisfied) and the likelihood of recommending it (1: not at all likely to 10: very likely) were assessed on a 1 to 10 scale. Demographic and clinical variables were also collected. Results: The sample (n = 150) covered a range of dermatological diagnoses including allergy/eczema (53.3%), inflammatory/infective diseases (19.3%), sexually transmitted diseases (10.0%), psycho-somatic diseases (9.3%), and auto-immune diseases (7.3%). A clinically relevant level (moderate degree or above) of depression (12.7%) and anxiety (8.0%) was present in considerable proportions of patients, suggesting that overall 18.7% of patients had anxiety, depression, or both. The satisfaction and recommendation scores were at an appreciable level; however, they did not influence the anxiety and depression scores. Anxiety and depression were negatively correlated with well-being and overall QOL. Conclusion: Anxiety and depression present in a considerable proportion of dermatological patients significantly impaired their well-being and QOL despite high satisfaction and likelihood of recommendation of care in the dermatology clinic. Identifying and supporting psychiatric problems of dermatological patients are needed

Actively caseating endobronchial tuberculosis successfully treated with intermittent chemotherapy without corticosteroid: a report of 2 cases

Tuberculous infection of the tracheobronchial tree confirmed by microbiological or histopathological evidence with or without parenchymal involvement is known as endobronchial tuberculosis. Chronic cough is the predominant symptom. Expectorated sputum examination for acid fast bacilli is often negative leading to delay in diagnosis. Therefore, bronchoscopy is crucial for early diagnosis and evaluation of the extent of disease. Bronchostenosis is a significant complication of endobronchial tuberculosis that may be present at the time of diagnosis or develops during the course of treatment. Previously, corticosteroids have been used along with antitubercular therapy to prevent or reduce the extent of bronchostenosis; however, their role is debatable as bronchostenosis often develops despite the use of corticosteroids. Furthermore, the duration of treatment varied from 6–9 months of daily therapy in previous series and little is known about efficacy of intermittent antituberculous therapy. Here we report two cases of actively caseating endobronchial tuberculosis successfully managed with six months of intermittent oral antitubercular therapy without corticosteroids

Effectiveness of sertraline in treatment of depression in a consecutive sample of patients with acute myocardial infarction: six month prospective study on outcome

BACKGROUND: A considerable proportion of patients suffer from depression following acute myocardial infarction. Information regarding this prevalence in Indian patients and response to treatment is lacking. METHOD: Prevalence of major depression was studied in 50 consecutive in-patients with acute myocardial infarction following DSM-IV criteria. In a comparative study outcome of treatment with sertraline in terms of recovery from depression, change in Hamilton Depression Rating scale score and occurrence of cardiac events were ascertained for a 6-month period, which were compared with a group of patients who did not receive sertraline. RESULTS: Major depression was diagnosed in 34% of patients. Female patients were more affected than the males. Hamilton Depression Rating scale scores gradually decreased in both the groups over the study period; however it became significantly less for patients treated with sertraline. Significantly more number of patients who received sertraline recovered from depression. There were no dropouts due to non-response or side effects. Cardiac events were reported less in this group than those who continued only cardiac treatment as usual. CONCLUSION: A considerable proportion of acute myocardial infarction patients have major depression. Sertraline is efficacious and safe in these patients. Antidepressant treatment might be associated with reduction of cardiac events

Highly Promising Method for the Decontamination of Europium from Americium Using an Extraction Chromatography Resin Containing a Tripodal Diglycolamide and SO₃Ph-BTP as Eluent

Separation of Am3+ from Eu3+ was demonstrated by extraction column chromatography using a tripodal diglycolamide ligand (T-DGA). A clean separation was achieved by selective complexation of Am3+ in the feed with 2,6-bis(5,6-di(sulfophenyl)-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridine (SO3Ph-BTP) with a separation factor of about 2000. The extraction chromatography resin material with particle size in the range of 175-250 μm contained only 7.4% T-DGA ligand (53 μmol/g) and is one of the most efficient materials used for this purpose until date. Parameters such as feed acidity and SO3Ph-BTP concentration were varied, while keeping the other parameters constant for getting the best optimized condition for the separation of Am3+ from Eu3+ ions. The optimized feed condition was 0.1 M HNO3 containing 10 mM SO3Ph-BTP for the clean separation of Am3+ from the Eu3+ fraction. In the feed solution containing Eu3+ and Am3+, the latter was complexed with SO3Ph-BTP and, therefore, was not retained on the column, whereas the uncomplexed Eu3+ could be efficiently held onto the column. Finally, the loaded Eu3+ from the column was eluted with 0.1 M HEDTA (N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine-N,N′,N′-triacetic acid), giving a sharp and narrow elution curve. The radiation stability of the resin was excellent up to 1000 KGy gamma dose, and an identical separation efficiency of the resin was noted with the irradiated resin column, as was obtained with the pristine resin.</p