Safety and efficacy of ketamine use in patients with vaso-occlusive crisis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by acute episodes called vaso-occlusive crises (VOC). VOC is marked by severe pain due to blocked blood vessels by sickled cells. Ketamine has been reported to be effective and safe in managing VOC in SCD patients.

Rotational thromboelastometry in critical phase of dengue infection: Association with bleeding.

Background: The critical phase of dengue carries a high risk of bleeding. Associations of coagulation test parameters and the risk of bleeding in the critical phase is unclear. This study examines the association of rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM and ROTEM ) with bleeding risk of patients with dengue in the critical phase.

Antioxidant activity of banana flesh and antiproliferative effect on breast and pancreatic cancer cells.

Bananas, one of the most widely consumed fruits worldwide, are a rich source of valuable phytochemicals. In this study, the antioxidant and the anticancer potential of banana flesh was investigated. Of the four kinds of banana flesh extracts, the hexane extract (HE) had the highest total polyphenol content (2.

Applicability of Western protocols in resource-limited setting: Real-world data of long-term outcome of intensive treatment of adult acute myeloid leukaemia in Sri Lanka.

There are no published data on long-term survival and applicability of treatment protocols from developed countries in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in Sri Lanka. Eighty-seven AML patients were reviewed; there were 56 newly diagnosed patients between 18 and 65 years. Thirty-one out of 33 who started treatment achieved complete remission after first cycle of treatment.

Nutritional and medicinal properties of Star fruit (): A review.

Star fruit (), a popular fruit in many parts of the world, is considered to have many beneficial nutritional and medicinal effects. However, harmful nephrotoxic and neurotoxic effects have also been described. In this review, we have discussed the reported beneficial effects of star fruit, explored the potential mechanisms for such beneficial effects, and outline factors that may affect the safe level of consumption.

Reference values for selected hematological, biochemical and physiological parameters of Sprague-Dawley rats at the Animal House, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Background: Lack of available reference values in a research setting under local conditions can be a drawback for beginners, as the accuracy of data from control samples cannot be checked at the beginning of a research project. This affects comparisons with data from test samples. To avoid these complications in their research projects, beginners tend to have a greater number of animals in the control group compared to test groups in order to have control group measurements within 2 SDs of the mean.

Preliminary survey on animal research statistics in Sri Lanka from 2010 onwards.

Background: Animal research is conducted in many countries across the world. However, concepts of recording and reporting the numbers of animals used vary. In the context of animal studies, inadequate reporting raises both ethical and scientific concerns.

History and development of laboratory animal science in Sri Lanka.

The Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo (UCFM), is the forerunner in the laboratory animal science (LAS) field in Sri Lanka. Here laboratory animals such as rats, frogs and rabbits were used in medical education to demonstrate physiological principles in the early 1950s. The establishment of the first animal house in 1969 at UCFM better facilitated the use of laboratory animals in medical education and research.

A novel mutation in the NAGLU gene associated with Sanfilippo syndrome type B (mucopolysaccharidosis III B).

Homozygous or compound heterozygous mutation in the gene encoding -alpha-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGLU) on chromosome 17q21 results in Sanfilippo B, resulting in excess accumulation of intralysosomal glycosaminoglycans (mucopolysaccharides) in various tissues. We wish to report a novel homozygous variant in a child with features of Sanfilippo syndrome B.

Nonhealing scrotal ulceration-an unusual manifestation of TB epididymo-orchitis: case report and review of literature.

The clinical presentation of genitourinary tuberculosis (TB) may be variable and a high index of suspicion is required for a timely diagnosis, especially in endemic areas. Recurrent scrotal ulcers associated with epididymo-orchitis even without other constitutional symptoms should alert the clinician of a possible diagnosis of TB.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the esophagus presenting with hematemesis and melaena: a case report and review of literature.

Esophageal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMT) are extremely rare, and the understanding on the clinical presentation is limited. IMT of esophagus should be considered as a differential diagnosis in the context of unexplained upper gastrointestinal bleeding and rapidly progressing dysphagia in young patients.