A comparison of immediate postoperative complications in using left internal mammary artery + vein versus only vein as conduit in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objective: The objective of the study is to compare the immediate postoperative cardiac complications in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) using mixed (arterial and venous grafts) versus only venous grafts and to compare the requirement of packed red cell units and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in both the groups. Materials and Methods: This was an observational, analytical, prospective study. Sample Size: Fifty new patients were included in the study. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: Patients diagnosed with triple-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing OPCABG with an ejection fraction (EF) of more than 30%. Patients who have undergone prior CABG, EF <30%, preexisting valvular heart disease, any evidence pulmonary hypertension, preoperative IABP, any history of neurological dysfunction, left atrium size more than 5.5 cm, and history of coagulation disorder was excluded from the study. Results: The most common immediate postoperative cardiac complication observed was atrial fibrillation followed by ventricular arrhythmias in both the groups. There was no statistically significant difference in complication rate between the two groups. Postoperative requirement of IABP and requirements of blood products were also similar in both the groups. Conclusion: Patients undergoing off-pump CABG have similar immediate postoperative complications irrespective of the type of conduit used.

"Vitamin D" as a profile marker for cardiovascular diseases.

Objective: A growing body of research indicates that there exists a correlation between Vit D deficiency and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In addition to being genetically determined, it is strongly influenced by lifestyle factors. In this study, Vit D and its interrelated factors have been studied as profile marker for identifying the risk of CVD in patients. Methods: The present study includes comparison of a total 200 adults CVD patients with the healthy patients as control, by measuring their serum lipid levels and Vit D concentrations with other CVD risk factors. Results: The average serum Vit D in CVD patients and controls are found to be 22.55±6.2 ng/ml and 37.62±3.2 ng/ml respectively, showing that 63% of CVD patients and 35% of controls are Vit D deficient. Serum lipids levels were considered as marker for patients having CVD which include high levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol while low levels of high-density lipoproteins-cholesterol levels. Other risk factors like hypertension, lifestyle, smoking, dietary factors and nutritional status shows significantly correlation for CVD patients compared to controls. Conclusion: Literature supports the relationship between lipid profile and Vit D level by using this as a profile marker for CVD patients. Our study also suggests the same that vitamin D can be used as profile marker for cardiovascular diseases.

Correlation of Serum Nitric Oxide (NO) with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patient: A Study in North India.

Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the key players in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. Limited reports are available about the serum level of NO and their correlation with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score in acute (<24 h) ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. A hospital based, cross sectional study was done in North Indian population to find out correlation of serum NO and GCS in AIS patients. 50 patients of AIS and 25 healthy controls were chosen for the study. Serum NO level was measured by ELISA and GCS scores were assessed by a neurologist. Pearson correlation coefficients were analyzed to look for the relationship between NO and GCS. Statistically highly significant elevation in mean serum NO level was observed in cases as compared to controls (p < 0.01). A negative correlation of NO levels with neurological score of GCS r (48) = -0.144, p > 0.05 was seen. This indicates oxidative stress in acute ischemic stroke may be the result of imbalance in oxidant/antioxidant homeostasis.

Design and synthesis of multiple antigenic peptides and their application for dengue diagnosis.

Major difficulty in development of dengue diagnostics is availability of suitable antigens. To overcome this, we made an attempt to develop a peptide based diagnosis which offers significant advantage over other methods. With the help of in silico methods, two epitopes were selected from envelope protein and three from NS1 protein of dengue virus. These were synthesized in combination as three multiple antigenic peptides (MAPs). We have tested 157 dengue positive sera confirmed for NS1 antigen. MAP1 showed 96.81% sera positive for IgM and 68.15% positive for IgG. MAP2 detected 94.90% IgM and 59.23% IgG positive sera. MAP3 also detected 96.17% IgM and 59.87% IgG positive sera. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study describing the use of synthetic multiple antigenic peptides for the diagnosis of dengue infection. This study describes MAPs as a promising tool for the use in serodiagnosis of dengue.