Background: Abdominal trauma is a major public health problem for all nations and all socioeconomic strata. Aim: This study was designed to determine the incidence and patterns of abdominal injuries in trauma patients. Materials and Methods: We classified and identified the incidence and subtype of abdominal injuries and associated trauma, and identified variables related to morbidity and mortality. Results: Abdominal trauma was present in 248 of 300 cases; 172 patients with blunt abdominal trauma and 76 with penetrating. The most frequent type of abdominal trauma was blunt trauma; its most common cause was motor vehicle accident. Among patients with penetrating abdominal trauma, the most common cause was stabbing. Most abdominal trauma patients presented with other injuries, especially patients with blunt abdominal trauma. Mortality was higher among penetrating abdominal trauma patients. Conclusions: Type of abdominal trauma, associated injuries, and Revised Trauma Score are independent risk factors for mortality in abdominal trauma patients.

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Background: Organophosphorus (OP) poisoning is a major health problem all over the world, particularly in the developing countries. Aim: The present study aims to explore the clinical and epidemiological features found in patients presenting with OP poisoning. Materials and Methods: A 1-year cross-sectional study was conducted on patients presenting with clinical features of OP poisoning in a tertiary care medical college. Results: A total of 968 patients presented during the study period. Poisoning with suicidal intent (82.02%) was more common than the accidental one (17.98%). Majority of the patients were housewives (42%) followed by farmers, shopkeepers, laborers, students. Methyl parathion was the most common poison consumed by the patients (35.74%) followed by diazinon, chlorpyriphos, dimicron. Nausea and vomiting (85.02%) was the most common symptom while miosis was the most common sign observed in 91.94% patients. A total of 56 patients of OP poisoning died (5.78%) with respiratory failure being the primary cause of death followed by CNS depression, cardiac arrest, and septicaemia. Conclusion: The present study showed that majority of the patients were of young age with females outnumbering males. Poisoning with suicidal intent was more common than accidental. Nausea and vomiting was the most common symptom reported by the patients while miosis was the most common sign observed by the treating physicians of the research team.

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Testicular arteries arise from the abdominal aorta and the inferior suprarenal artery from the renal artery. There are reports about variant origin and course of these arteries. Accessory testicular artery is also a common finding but its providing origin to inferior suprarenal artery is an important observation. During a routine dissection of abdomen of approximately 55-year-old male cadaver, unique vascular abnormality was observed. On the left side, a common arterial trunk originating from abdominal aorta immediately branched to give rise to superior testicular and inferior suprarenal arteries, the former after a short course hooked by the left suprarenal vein. In addition, the left suprarenal vein, second left lumbar vein, and left testicular vein joined to form a common trunk which drained into the left renal vein. A sound knowledge of vascular variations in relation to the kidney and suprarenal gland is important to surgeons dissecting the abdominal cavity.

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Background: Effective transfusion and chelation have prolonged the quality and longevity of life in thalassemics, who now survive into adulthood. Hence, adult physicians need to be aware of their clinical and laboratory profile and the problems faced by them. Aim: The present study was aimed to evaluate the clinical profile of adult thalassemics. Materials and Methods: Adult (>18 years) thalassemia major patients (n=19) were evaluated clinically and fasting pretransfusion blood samples were analyzed for complete blood counts, kidney and liver function tests, plasma glucose, serum ferritin, and thyroid hormone levels. Results: Average age was 21.65±2.47 years (range 19-28 years), 42.1% had Body mass index (BMI) <18.5. Splenectomy had been performed in 47.4% before reaching adulthood, males significantly outnumbered females (72% vs. 12.5%). Hemoglobin levels <8 g/dl were observed in 31.6% and none had serum ferritin levels in the recommended range suggesting inadequacy of both transfusion and chelation. Indirect hyperbilirubinemia was observed in 21.1% patients although kidney functions, serum protein, and albumin were normal in all patients. Electrocardiographic abnormalities, diabetes mellitus or hypothyroidism were absent. Five patients (26.3%) had contracted transfusion-transmitted viral infections - 21.1% and 5.3% respectively had antibodies to hepatitis C virus and HIV, while 5.3% were positive for Australia antigen. All patients were receiving chelation therapy - deferiprone alone (78.9%) or along with desferrioxamine (21.1%). Average dose of deferiprone being used was 95±8 mg/kg. Conclusion: Adult thalassemia major patients present with a distinct clinical profile having low BMI, generalized hyperpigmentation, most are splenectomized, have low hemoglobin, inadequate chelation and harbor transfusion-transmitted infections. Adult physician needs to be aware of this profile.

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Background: Oral submucous fibrosis is one of the most commonly occurring potentially malignant disorders in the South-East Asia. Levels of lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde have been recently correlated with clinical grades of oral Submucous fibrosis. Aims: The aims of this study were to estimate the levels of malondialdehyde in serum, saliva and tissue in patients with oral submucous fibrosis, to correlate change in levels of malodialdehyde with the histopathological grading. Materials and Methods: The study group comprised of 65 clinically diagnosed and histopathologically confirmed cases of oral submucous fibrosis, 21 age and sex matched controls were also enrolled into the study. The serum saliva and tissue samples in the study groups were evaluated by the thiobarbutric acid reactive substances. Results: There was a significant difference between the serum and salivary malondialdehyde among the histopathological grades of oral submucous fibrosis. Tissue malonaldehyde levels were significantly higher as the grading progressed but tissue levels in grade 3 oral submucous fibrosis were lower than the controls. Conclusion: This decrease in tissue malonaldehyde could possibly be associated to collagen cross linking occurring during the advanced stages of oral submucous fibrosis.

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Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), an autoimmune disorder, is the most prevalent cause of subclinical or overt hypothyroidism in areas with sufficient iodine intake. The gland is often diffusely enlarged, and the parenchyma is coarsened, hypoechoic, and often hypervascular on ultrasonograpy. Histopathologic appearance of HT includes lymphocyte aggregates with germinal centers, small thyroid follicles, presence of Hurthle cells, and variable fibrosis. We present a case of a 40-year-old female with suspected follicular neoplasm on fine-needle aspiration cytology of neck swelling. Intraoperatively, thyroid gland was found having four lobes separated from each other. Total thyroidectomy was done and histopathology from all four lobes revealed HT. At present, there is no literature to support the fact that such distorted thyroid anatomy may be due to the underlying disease. If we consider it as thyroid gland anomaly, no such anomaly has been mentioned in the literature till date.

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The problem of finger in the patient with diabetes mellitus is important consideration in diabetology. Generally, peripheral neuropathy that manifests with finger paresthesia is common. However, some recent reports mention the concern on trigger digits in diabetic patients. In this brief article, the authors focus review and discussion on this specific topic. The searching of standard database, PubMed, on available publication on this area selecting by keywords trigger digits and diabetes mellitus was done and all derived papers were extracted and further synthesized in this review article. Epidemiology and management of the condition are the mainly focused reviewed areas and presented in this article.

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Background: The AFCo1 cochleate is a potential novel adjuvant derived from Neisseria meningitidis B proteoliposome. Aim: The aim was to assessing the safety of AFCo1 by single and repeated doses in Sprague Dawley rats. Materials and Methods: Rats were grouped for treatment with AFCo1, placebo formulation or control. The first study was a single intranasal dose of 100 μl and monitoring body weight, water, and food intakes as well as clinical symptoms. Fourteen days later the rats were killed and anatomopathological studies were conducted. In a second study, four similar doses of the test substance were instilled every 5 days. Clinical observations were carried out as for the single dose study and a number of rats from each group were killed 3 and 14 days after the last dose in order to conduct hematological, hemochemical, and anatomopathological studies. Results: No variable showed differences of toxicological relevance; the histological changes found were mild and similarly frequently in the three groups. According to the irritability index calculated form histology of the nasal region, AFCo1 was also classified as nonirritating. Conclusion: AFCo1 is potentially safe for human use by nasal route as evidenced by the absence of local and systemic signs of toxicity in Sprague Dawley rats.

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Background: CD4 lymphocyte cells are often used as prognostic markers for monitoring the progression of immunosupression such as HIV infection. Aim: This study was conducted to assess the distribution of CD4 lymphocytes among apparently healthy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seronegative and seropositive populations in a Nigerian state. Materials and Methods: A total of 1520 apparently healthy subjects aged 18-64 years, composed of 800 males and 720 females attending some selected health institutions in the state, participated in the study. Ten milliliters of blood was collected from each subject; 5 ml of this was used for HIV antibodies sero-typing while the remaining 5 ml was anticoagulated and used for CD4 lymphocytes level determination. Only samples tested positive both with Capillus and Determine HIV test kits were further differentiated into sero-types with a standard diagnostic HIV test kit. The CD4 lymphocyte levels of all the sample were determined; mean CD4 levels of 205.1±0.09 and 287.4±0.3 cells/μl were recorded among females seropositives and seronagatives respectively. Statistical analysis by the Student t-test showed a significant difference in the mean CD4 lymphocyte count by gender. Results: Findings showed a mean CD4 level of 311.7±1.2 cells/μl among seropositive males while 399.3±0.6 cells/μl was recorded among seronegatives (t=5.86). The study also recorded a CD4 lymphocyte range of 232-464 cells/μl among apparently healthy seronegative population in this locality. Conclusion: The findings showed a significantly higher mean CD4 lymphocyte count among adult male HIV seronegatives (χ²⁼ 9.22) and seropositives (χ²=15.07) than their female counterparts. Further research work using the automation technique is suggested to confirm this new range for monitoring HIV subjects on antiretroviral therapy.

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This case is presented to explain that developmental dyslexia and related autistic spectrum disorders have solely pathological origins. There is a general consensus of opinion which supports the phonological theory. However, this largely ignores the biological basis for all aspects of the brain's development and function, and hence, for its dysfunction. A unified explanation must take into account all salient features including cognitive dysfunction, encephalograph (EEG) frequencies, neural networks, physiological systems, autonomic nervous system and the function of the cerebellum. It must explain the significance of the brain waves and neurons and their normally synchronized or coherent function. This article builds upon an earlier article by the authors, which incorporates a review and discussion of the prevailing theories or models for developmental dyslexia. It looks at the issues from a top-down 'systems biology' perspective. It concludes that it may be only the body's biochemistry and, in particular, the onset of pathologies that explain the phenomena which we recognize as developmental dyslexia. Pathologies experienced in the early prepubescent years influence neural development. They influence the speed and coherent transmission of data between the senses and neural centers. It is proposed that this explains the nature and occurrence of what we recognize as developmental dyslexia.

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