Hypercalcemia in a patient with tuberculous mediastinal lymphadenopathy.

We describe the case of a 48 year old Indian female with hypercalcemia due to tuberculosis. She presented with symptoms of hypercalcemia and chest radiographs showed bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy with normal lung fields. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was made histologically from biopsy of the enlarged hilar nodes. Her hypercalcemia resolved following one month of anti-tuberculous treatment. The prevalence of hypercalcemia in tuberculosis has been reported to be high in western series. There is, however, a paucity of local data on the subject. The presence of 1-alpha-hydroxylase-like activity in pulmonary alveolar macrophages with resulting increased formation of active vitamin D metabolites is the postulated mechanism of tuberculosis associated hypercalcemia.

Hookworm infection and reinfection following treatment among Orang Asli children.

In hookworm endemic areas where sanitation is often wanting, reinfection of treated children is a problem. This study was conducted to enumerate the prevalence and the reinfection rate of hookworm in 193 Orang Asli children following treatment with stat dose of 400mg of albendazole at 2 and 4 months post-treatment. All samples were examined using the Kato-Katz and Harada Mori techniques. The overall initial prevalence was 31.0%, with 27.0% in males and 34.0% in females although there was no statistical difference. Only 7.0% of the children had moderate intensity of infection. The overall infection rate at 2 and 4 months post-treatment was 11.0% and 8.0%. New cases were detected at 1.0% and 5.0% at 2 and 4 months post-treatment period. Reinfection rate 2 months post-treatment was 24.0%, and it was 30.0%, 4 months after treatment. All infection at 2 and 4 months post-treatment were light. Long-term strategies incorporating health education on personal hygiene, provision of toilets and safe water supply need to be adopted in these Orang Asli villages to control rapid reinfection.