Sayeedul Hasan Arif

Thrombocytopenia and bacterial sepsis in neonates.

Thrombocytopenia is one of the common hematological problems encountered in the neonatal period particularly in the sick newborns, premature babies and neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care units and usually indicate an underlying pathologic process. Thrombocytopenia is reported in neonates with bacterial, fungal, rickettsial, protozoal and viral infection. Some patients with bacterial septicemia may develop coagulopathy associated with DIC. The presence of thrombocytopenia is seen frequently in early sepsis with or without laboratory evidence of overt DIC. This study was conducted on 85 neonates admitted in NICU with clinical diagnosis of septicemia and 50 age and weight matched neonates served as control. Thrombocytopenia was seen in 83.5% cases where as bacterial culture was positive in only 41.1% cases. Further it was noted that, in gram negative (Gm −ve) septicemia, thrombocytopenia was more severe as compared to gram positive (Gm +ve) septicemia. It is concluded that thrombocytopenia is early predictor of septicemia but other causes of neonatal thrombocytopenia should also be ruled out.

Smear patterns and spectrum of premalignant and malignant cervical epithelial lesions in postmenopausal Indian women: a hospital-based study.

Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among women but can be prevented through simple cost‐effective measures, such as creating awareness, and regular screening with the Pap smear, both in the premenopausal and postmenopausal age group. This study was carried out to study the cervical smear patterns and type of cervical epithelial lesions in a group of postmenopausal Indian females and the relationship with clinical profile of patients. Pap smears were taken from 320 postmenopausal Indian females and meticulously screened. Lesions were classified according to type of postmenopausal pattern. 120 smears showed varying degrees of premalignant and malignant changes, which were classified using the Bethesda system. The findings were correlated with duration of menopause, parity, and duration of sexual activity and significance was derived. Histopathological correlation was conducted in those cases where biopsies were available. It was found that as the age of the patients increased, the incidence of low‐grade and high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and carcinoma also increased with the relationship being statistically significant. The occurrence of these lesions also showed an association with increasing parity and period of sexual activity. Thus, it can be concluded that it is important to create widespread awareness about the necessity of regular screening, including the postmenopausal period. Conventional cytology or the Pap smear is a cost‐effective and efficient method for screening of patients but requires training and experience to minimize errors. It is suitable for developing regions where costlier techniques are not in routine use. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2012.

The Evaluation of Blood Donor Deferral Causes: A Tertiary Care CentrebasedStudy

Blood safety is a major issue all over the world in transfusion medicine. For this, donor selection is necessary in addition to the screenings of blood bags for infectious diseases. Deferrals lead to loss of precious blood/ components available for transfusion. For preventing this, we should be having knowledge of causes of deferral and their frequency. In this study, causes of donor deferral were evaluated retrospectively from January 2007 to December 2011 in the blood bank of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), ALIGARH (India). Analysis of the deferrals showed that temporary deferral was more common than permanent deferral. Most common cause in permanent deferral was HBsAg positivity. Causes among temporary deferral were anemia (Hb<12.5 gm%), malaria in last 3 months, jaundice, alcohol intake in last 3days, weight <45 kg, age <18 yrs, patients on antibiotic, previous donation in last 3 month, typhoid in last 1 year, dog bite etc.

Metastatic adenocarcinoma of the mandible-a rare entity.

Metastasis of the liver and lung malignancies to the jaw bones is very rare and the mandible is the commonest site of involvement. The frequent primary sites for metastasis to jaw bones are breast in females and lungs in males. This is a case report of the metastatic adenocarcinoma of the mandible which originated from liver or lung. Diagnosis of such metastatic lesions is difficult and challenging to identify the primary site.

Basosquamous carcinoma in an Indian patient with oculocutaneous albinism

A middle-aged man with type IA OCA presented to us with a large ulcerated plaque of three year duration over the forehead. Histopathology showed basosquamous carcinoma in the form of distinct areas of basal and squamous differentiation. Metastasis workup was negative. Complete surgical excision, strict photoprotection and regular follow-up were advised. A timely recognition of this potentially aggressive neoplasm is the key to curative treatment.

Role of septoplasty in reducing the incidence of comorbidities associated with elevated levels of mean platelet volume

Aim The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of septoplasty on mean platelet volume (MPV) levels in patients with marked nasal septal deviation (MNSD). Setting and design This is a prospective study that was carried out in a Government Medical College and Hospital. Materials and methods A total of 50 patients were selected after proper history and examination. Statistical analysis The data entries were entered into SPSS software and the paired t-test was applied. Results Data obtained from preoperative and postoperative blood investigation were analyzed and it was statistically proved that, after septoplasty, the MPV was significantly lowered in patients who had MNSD. Conclusion Septoplasty plays an important role in reducing the MPV value in cases with MNSD, and thus other comorbid conditions can be prevented by performing septoplasty in these patients.

Epithelioid cell cluster in cerebrospinal fluid: An unusual finding in tubercular meningitis

Tubercular meningitis is one of the serious manifestations of tuberculosis. It remains a significant contributor to the morbidity and mortality in children. Meningeal involvement in tuberculosis is detected by physical, chemical and cytological examination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The cytological picture of CSF in tubercular meningitis is quite similar to that of viral meningitis showing a mixed population of lymphoid series cells. The presence of epithelioid cell cluster is very rare finding. We present here such a case of 2½ yr old boy who presented with fever off and on for 2 months and altered sensorium along with vomiting for 2–3 days. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2009.

Sickle cell disease and malaria

Malaria is most common infectious disease spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes especially in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. It is reported by WHO as a 4th leading cause of death in children across the developing countries. Unfortunately no vaccine is currently available. Sickle cell trait (HbAS) patients provide some resistance for malaria over normal persons (HbAA) or their homozygous state (HbSS) due to various reasons.