Xpert Carba-R Assay on Flagged Blood Culture Samples: Clinical Utility in Intensive Care Unit Patients with Bacteremia Caused by .

Introduction And Background: Rapid molecular diagnostics to predict carbapenem resistance well before the availability of routine drug sensitivity testing (DST) can serve as an antimicrobial stewardship tool in the context of high rates of Carbapenem-resistant (CRE).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective observational study of patients more than 18 years of age on whom Xpert Carba-R (FDA approved for rectal swab specimen) was done on gram-negative bacteria (GNB) flagged blood culture samples, in an Indian intensive care unit between January 2015 and November 2018. We analyzed the performance of Xpert Carba-R in comparison with routine DST.

How Reliable Is Automated Urinalysis in Acute Kidney Injury?

Objective: Examination of urine sediment is crucial in acute kidney injury (AKI). In such renal injury, tubular epithelial cells, epithelial cell casts, and dysmorphic red cells may provide clues to etiology. The aim of this study was to compare automated urinalysis findings with manual microscopic analysis in AKI.

Recurrent genetic abnormalities detected by FISH in adult B ALL and association with hematological parameters.

Background: Recurrent genetic abnormalities influence prognosis in B lymphoblastic leukemia. BCR-ABL rearrangement is associated with higher leukocyte counts and older age at presentation. Among adults, BCR -ABL - is the commonest recurrent abnormality whereas, IgH rearrangements are rare.

EGFR mutations and ROS1 and ALK rearrangements in a large series of non-small cell lung cancer in South India.

Background: Driver mutations are seen in 80% of lung adenocarcinomas, and they influence prognosis and choice of therapy.

Aim: Aim of this study was to analyse the frequency of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, ALK and ROS1 rearrangements and their association with age and gender in non-small cell lung cancer reported from a tertiary care center in South India.

Methods: Tumors from patients with non-small cell carcinoma of lung were evaluated for EGFR mutations, ALK and ROS1 rearrangements and their association with age and gender were studied.

Cytogenetic Abnormalities in Multiple Myeloma Patients at a Tertiary Healthcare Center in India.

Objective: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous plasma cell neoplasm. The prognosis of MM patients is dependent on several factors including the patient’s age, the stage of disease and genetic alterations. This study aimed to determine the frequency of common chromosomal abnormalities and their significance in MM patients referred to a tertiary healthcare center in India.

Fatal aspergillosis of the renal vasculature in a combined liver-kidney transplant recipient.

Invasive aspergillosis remains a problem in solid organs and haematopoietic stem cell transplants. We report a case of 12-year-old female with primary hyperoxaluria with regular haemodialysis for the end-stage renal disease. She underwent a combined liver and renal transplantation which got infected by aspergillosis.

Can Platelet Distribution Width Be Used to Predict the Possibility of Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms?

Platelet distribution width (PDW) and mean platelet volume are markers of platelet activation and have prognostic value in coronary heart diseases, as well as in cancers of solid organs. In this study, we evaluated the possibility of using PDW to predict chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms by comparing platelet indices obtained by automated analyzers in chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms with those in control specimens. We found that PDW greater than 66.

Utility of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in diarrhea-An Indian perspective.

Background: Infective diarrhea causes morbidity worldwide. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based pathogen diagnostics of diarrheal stool specimens are shown to be highly sensitive and rapid as opposed to conventional diagnostics.

Methods: We analyzed the performance of FilmArray gastrointestinal (GI) panel, one such multiplex PCR test, on stool specimens in patients presenting with diarrhea to our hospital from March 2016 to September 2017 and compared the results with conventional diagnostic tests.

Cytogenetic Profiling of Myelomas, Association With Complete Blood Count: Study of 180 Patients.

Objectives: To analyze the most common primary and secondary cytogenetic events in myelomas using a probe panel designed in our laboratory, and to associate those events with hematological and biochemical findings.

Methods: Blood specimens from patients diagnosed with myeloma were processed to determine complete blood count and levels of albumin, creatinine, and beta-2 microglobulin. We evaluated bone-marrow specimens for plasma-cell percentage by light microscopy and for cytogenetic abnormalities by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Outcome of allo simple limbal epithelial transplantation (alloSLET) in the early stage of ocular chemical injury.

Purpose: To analyse the outcome of allo simple limbal epithelial transplantation (alloSLET) in eyes in the early stage following ocular chemical injury to achieve rapid epithelialisation.

Patients And Methods: Records of 18 eyes of 17 patients who underwent alloSLET between April 2013 and Jan 2016 were analysed retrospectively. Patients with grade 4 or worse Dua's classification for chemical injury, who presented within a month of the injury or with a non-healing epithelial defect since the injury despite earlier medical or surgical interventions, were included in the study.