Platelet Indices as a Marker of Severity in Non-diabetic NonHypertensive Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients.

Background: Platelet activation & aggregation are critical in pathogenesis of acute ischemic stroke. Mean platelet volume (MPV) & Platelet distribution width (PDW) are markers & determinants of platelet function. Larger platelets are metabolically more active, produce more prothrombotic factors, aggregate more easily & act as index of homeostasis and its dysfunction thrombosis.

Parenteral pentazocine and diabetes mellitus: a double whammy for cutaneous complication.

Pentazocine, a non-narcotic analgesic, though has no addictive potential but abused frequently via parenteral route for its psychological dependence. It causes local sclerosis resulting in non-healing ulcer at injection sites. Diabetes mellitus suppress host immunity, making them vulnerable to various bacterial skin and soft tissue infection among which mkethicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection are predominant.

Distribution and determinants of cytomegalovirus induced end organ disease/s among people living with HIV/AIDS in a poor resource setting: observation from India.

Background: In India, despite well-established anti-retroviral treatment programs, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection-related end-organ diseases (EODs) still remain a major concern resulting in exacerbation of morbidity and mortality among HIV/AIDS patients. A prospective study was designed to understand the distribution and prognosis of CMV associated EODs and to determine a standardized cut-off value for serum CMV viral load associated with the development of EODs amongst HIV/AIDS subjects.

Methods: In a cohort of 400 late-diagnosed HAART naïve HIV/AIDS subjects attending anti-retroviral centers of Kolkata during 2008-2014, the median duration of follow-up was 560 days, and at least 3 visits subsequent to the baseline were mandatory for eligibility.

Unravelling the Gordian knot: diagnostic dilemma in an HIV-positive patient with neurological involvement.

We report a case of a 40-year-old seropositive-HIV patient with a CD4 count of 120 who presented with fever, severe headache and neck stiffness. Suspecting a case of tubercular meningitis (TBM; as tuberculosis is the commonest opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients in India), a lumbar puncture was performed and a cerebrospinal fluid study revealed TBM. The patient was started on combination antitubercular drug therapy from directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) (Cat 1 regimen) along with pyridoxine 40 mg/day and adjunctive corticosteroid therapy.

Incidence and risk factors of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in HIV-TB coinfected patients.

Unlabelled: Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of development of Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in HIV patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Objective: To determine the incidence of IRIS in HIV-TB coinfected patients, and to find out the possible risk factors associated with IRIS.

Materials And Methods: Study commenced with 96 patients adhered to standard antitubercular therapy (ATT) and ART without defaulting, and followed up for six months.

Assessment of efficacy of pamidronate in undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (uSpA): a placebo control trial in a tertiary level center.

Undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (uSpA) is a nonspecific form of spondyloarthropathy where nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs are still mainstay of treatment. We evaluated the efficacy and adverse effect profile of pamidronate, in uSpA patients refractory to NSAIDs therapy. A case series of 87 patients fulfilling the modified Amor criteria for the diagnosis of uSpA, having active disease even after 3-month continuous therapy with two NSAIDs, were selected.

Incidence of multiple Herpesvirus infection in HIV seropositive patients, a big concern for Eastern Indian scenario.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with an increased risk for human herpes viruses (HHVs) and their related diseases and they frequently cause disease deterioration and therapeutic failures. Methods for limiting the transmission of HHVs require a better understanding of the incidence and infectivity of oral HHVs in HIV-infected patients. This study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of human herpes viruses (CMV, HSV 2, EBV-1, VZV) antibodies and to evaluate their association with age, sex as well as other demographic and behavioral factors.

Drug susceptibility profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from HIV infected and uninfected pulmonary tuberculosis patients in eastern India.

HIV is driving the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic in many developing countries including India. This study was initiated to determine the drug resistance pattern of pulmonary TB among 200 HIV seropositive and 50 HIV negative hospitalized patients from different states of Eastern India. The TB positive isolates (120) were screened and characterized by conventional laboratory methods followed by first- and second-line drug susceptibility testing on Lowenstein-Jensen medium by the proportion method.

A rapid immunochromatographic assay for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in pulmonary samples from HIV seropositive patients and its comparison with conventional methods.

As tuberculosis generates a highly heterogeneous antibody repertoire, its diagnosis requires tests based on cocktails of antigens. We describe a new, rapid method called rapid immunochromatographic assay (RICA) for cocktail-based diagnosis, which can detect Mycobacterial antigens in sputum specimens. Six antigenic fractions of pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis were used in combination as the capture antigens in the control line of the flow-through assay.

Leishmanial lipid suppresses tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1beta, and nitric oxide production by adherent synovial fluid mononuclear cells in rheumatoid arthritis patients and induces apoptosis through the mitochondrial-mediated pathway.

Objective: Leishmanial lipid is a strong immunosuppressor of host cells. Inhibition of the inflammatory responses of synovial cells through induction of apoptosis is one of the main targets of therapeutic intervention in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was undertaken to examine the antiinflammatory and apoptosis-inducing effects of leishmanial lipid on adherent synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs) in patients with RA.

Current trends of opportunistic infections among HIV-seropositive patients from Eastern India.

In this report we describe the clinical and laboratory profiles of different opportunistic infections (OIs) among 125 immunocompromised patients admitted to a referral hospital in the eastern part of India. Different pathogens were isolated, identified and characterized using the laboratory gold standard methods. Oral candidiasis (88%) was found to be the most common OI, followed by tuberculosis (57%), enteropathogenic Vibrio (47%), cytomegalovirus infection (45%), cryptosporidial diarrhea (43%), Escherichia coli infection (42%) and other infections among the study subjects.