Histomorphological Spectrum of Duodenal Pathology in Functional Dyspepsia Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Functional Dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common causes of gastrointestinal symptoms aetiology of which is poorly understood. AIM: To study duodenal histomorphological features and their relationship with Helicobacter pylori (H Pylori) infection in patients of FD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case control study included 50 cases of FD patients selected according to Rome III criteria and 30 age and sex matched controls. These were subjected to oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy, rapid urease test for detection of H. pylori on gastric antral biopsy and duodenal biopsy from second part of duodenum for histopathological evaluation by light microscopy. Ten antral urease positive cases of FD with highest Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Count (IEL) were subjected to Immunohistochemistry (IHC). RESULTS: Duodenal inflammation was an invariable feature noted in FD. Morphological spectrum consisted of increased IEL in 72%, increased duodenal eosinophils in 92%, presence of focal villous atrophy in 16%, lymphoid aggregates, colonic metaplasia, and duodenal H. pylori infection in 4% each. Gastric H. pylori positivity was noted in 48% cases of FD. Increased duodenal IEL count and duodenal eosinophilia was noted in 75%, 87.5% such cases. Same was noted respectively, with 61.5% and 95.15% cases with gastric H. pylori negativity. In cases of FD, duodenal IEL and eosinophil count in lamina propria showed statistically significant rise when compared with control and had positive correlation with gastric H pylori infection. On IHC, increased expression of CD 8 was noted in duodenal IEL and lymphocytes in lamina propria as compared to CD4. CONCLUSION: Our study provided some insight in pathogenesis of FD and role of H. pylori in its aetiology.

Role of Immunofluorescence in Adult Onset Nephrotic Syndrome-A Study in a Tertiary Care Centre of Western India.

INTRODUCTION: Study of renal Immunofluorescence (IF) is an ancillary but essential technique in evaluation of renal biopsies in glomerulopathies and also it enlightens on the pathogenesis of nephrotic syndrome. AIM: To determine the role of IF in evaluating definite subtyping and diagnosis of adult onset nephrotic syndrome and attempting clinicopathological correlation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 52 patients of adult onset nephrotic syndrome were evaluated clinically and with pertinent investigations; and subjected to USG guided percutaneous renal biopsy which was processed and stained for light microscopy and for immunofluorescence by direct method (DIF) using antibodies against IgG, IgM, IgA and C3. RESULTS: The predominant age group affected was 18-47 years (78.85%). Male:female ratio was 1:0.63. The most frequent glomerular lesion encountered was Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS, 36.54%) followed by lupus nephritis (26.92%) and IgA nephropathy (9.62%). The most common glomerular lesion in males was FSGS and that in females was lupus nephritis. DIF was mainly coarsely granular whenever present. One case of lupus nephritis and diabetic nephropathy, showed non specific IF. It was negative in all cases of FSGS, Minimal Change Disease (MCD) and renal amyloidosis. The IF helped in differentiating eight cases that were normal on light microscopy as IgA nephropathy (n=5) and authentic MCD (n=3). It helped in endorsing 19 cases of FSGS to be a progression of MCD. It was also of help in sub-typing all cases of Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis (MPGN) (n=3) as MPGN-Type I. CONCLUSION: IF was of great help in diagnosing exact type of glomerulopathy in adult onset nephrotic syndrome and provided insight in its pathogenesis.

Utility of squash smear cytology in intraoperative diagnosis of central nervous system tumors.

BACKGROUND: Central nervous system (CNS) squash cytology (CSC) has established itself as a technically simple, rapid, inexpensive, fairly accurate, and dependable intraoperative diagnostic tool. It helps neurosurgeons immensely when management is dependent on it. AIMS: This study aimed at finding out the utility of CSC as an intraoperative diagnostic tool from a neurosurgeon's perspective. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty prospectively registered patients with clinical diagnosis of CNS tumors were enrolled in the study. All the patients were subjected to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Intraoperative CSC was performed and smears were stained with Leishman and rapid Hematoxylin and Eosin (H and E) stain. The diagnosis of CSC was compared with MRI diagnosis and histopathological diagnosis. The CNS tumors were categorized based on clinical and therapeutic implications. Diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value of MRI and CSC were calculated by using appropriate formulae. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The age range of the CNS tumors included in the study was 2 to 68 years. There was a slight female preponderance. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of preoperative MRI were 90.47%, 82.76%, 79.17%, and 92.31% respectively. These values of utility parameters for CSC were 100% for each of the clinical and therapeutic implications. It helped neurosurgeons in optimizing surgical procedure in 12 cases of meningioma. It influenced surgical management in 1 case of infratentorial pilocytic astrocytoma, and helped in the diagnosis and management of 9 unexpected tumors missed on MRI.

Absolute Lymphocyte Count as a Surrogate Marker of CD4 Count in Monitoring HIV Infected Individuals: A Prospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: CD4 cell count has been proposed to be substituted by Absolute lymphocyte count in monitoring HIV infected individuals as methods of CD4 cell count and plasma viral estimation require expensive, specialized equipments and highly trained personnel. AIM: To assess the clinical utility of the Absolute Lymphocyte Count (ALC) to serve as a surrogate marker for predicting a CD4 count < 200 cells/µl in patients with HIV infection in resource poor countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study of 61 patients with HIV/AIDS was conducted. Sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of various ALC cut-offs were computed for CD4 cell count < 200 cells/µl for age < 30 or age ≥ 30 years. Pearson correlation, Linear regression and Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC), were used. RESULTS: For patients aged ≥ 30 years, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of ALC <1200 cells/µl to predict CD4 cell count < 200 cells/µl were 34.48%, 67.5%, 43.48%, 58.69% respectively. For subjects aged < 30 years, these values were 27.27%, 67.5%, 18.75%, 77.14%, respectively. A ALC < 1643 was found to have maximal sensitivity for predicting a CD4 cell count <200/ µl. CONCLUSION: Our data revealed good correlation between ALC and CD4 cell counts but ALC cut-off of 1200 was not a surrogate marker for CD4 cell count < 200 cells/µl. As we increase the cut-off to <1643/ µl it could be the cost-effective surrogate marker for CD4 cell counts < 200 cells/µl in resource limited settings.

Endometrial aspiration cytology in gynecological disorders.

CONTEXT: Endometrial aspiration is not a popular modality for the study of the endometrium despite its simplicity and potential utility. AIM: The present study was aimed at evaluating the utility of endometrial aspiration in various gynecological disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this diagnostic accuracy study, 55 prospectively registered women with various gynecological disorders were evaluated clinically and subjected to endometrial aspiration cytology and study of endometrial histology. Endometrial aspiration was performed by infant feeding tube in 10 cases and intra cath cannula in 45 cases. The slides were stained with rapid Papanicolaou (PAP) stain and Leishman stain. RESULTS: Endometrial aspiration cytology showed 90% and 94.6% sampling adequacy with infant feeding tube and intra cath cannula, respectively. Intra cath cannula was very convenient to handle and superior to infant feeding tube in aspirating the endometrium. Of the two stains used, rapid PAP stain was less time-consuming and superior to Leishman stain in studying the nuclear details. Leishman stain was helpful in detecting cytoplasmic vacuoles of secretory endometrium. Overall diagnostic accuracy of endometrial cytology was 90.4% while that for morphological hormonal evaluation was 97.6%. It enjoyed a sensitivity of 91.66%, a specificity of 88.23%, positive predictive value of 94.28%, and negative predictive value of 83.33%. CONCLUSION: Intra cath cannula emerged as an inexpensive, effective, and convenient device for endometrial aspiration. Endometrial aspiration proved to be a fairly effective, simple, and informative diagnostic modality.

Histopathological study of cutaneous manifestations in HIV and AIDS patients.

OBJECTIVES: Most human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients develop various skin diseases. These skin manifestations not only act as markers but also reflect the patient's underlying immune status. Investigating CD4 counts is costly and not always possible. Thus, the potential value to be gained by using skin manifestations as predictors of low CD4 counts and disease progression should be explored. The present study attempted to correlate the association of various cutaneous disorders found in HIV patients with CD4 and CD8 counts, the CD4 : CD8 ratio and stage of HIV infection. METHODS: This was a prospective study involving 61 patients who were HIV-positive and demonstrated skin lesions. Punch biopsies of skin were taken for histopathological diagnosis. CD4 and CD8 T cell counts were performed. RESULTS: The study sample included a majority of male patients, most of whom were aged 21-40 years. Pruritic papular dermatitis was the most common skin manifestation, followed by molluscum contagiosum, eosinophilic folliculitis, and Hansen's disease. Most of the lesions were associated with CD4 counts of <220/µl (n = 38). All skin lesions associated with HIV or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) showed a CD4 : CD8 ratio of <0.50. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings demonstrate an inverse relationship between CD4 counts and the occurrence of skin lesions. The majority of lesions were associated with stage 3 or stage 4 infection. Thus, specific cutaneous manifestations can be considered as good clinical indicators for predicting underlying immune status in resource-poor countries.

Pleural fluid analysis with traditional and additional parameters.

36 patients with pleural effusion were studied clinically with pertinent investigations and pleural fluid analysis. The pleural fluid analysis was done with routine protocol including study of traditional parameters like protein and cell count and additional parameters like pleural LDH, GOT(AST) and their ratio with serum LDH and GOT respectively. The utility of these parameters was studied critically. Amongst the isolated parameters cell count enjoyed highest (100%) specificity and positive predictive value. LDH ratio had highest (79.1%) sensitivity. Pleural LDH showed highest (52.6%) negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy (69.4%). Amongst the combination of two parameters protein with LDH ratio had highest (87.5%) sensitivity, cell count with LDH ratio showed highest specificity (100%), positive predictive value (75%) and diagnostic accuracy (88.9%). Amongst the combination of three parameters pleural protein and cell count with LDH ratio and GOT ratio respectively enjoyed best sensitivity (87.5%), specificity and positive predictive value (100%), negative predictive value (80%) and diagnostic accuracy (90.6%). Similarly competent were the combinations offour parameters namely p rotein and cell count with LDH and its ratio and GOT and its ratio respectively. Combination of all parameters exhibited similar degree of utility.

Gaucher's disease: report of 4 cases.

Review of records for last 5 years has shown 4 cases of Type I Gaucher's disease in our institute. The cases were diagnosed on bone marrow aspiration, examination of splenectomy specimen, liver biopsy and post mortem in one case. The age range was 2 years to 22 years. Male to female ratio was 3:1. Splenectomy was performed in one case and one case received enzyme replacement therapy with high dose, low frequency regimen for six months without any favorable effect. All were Hindus. Family history of similarly affected and treated twin brother was available in one case. The predominant clinical presentation was pancytopenia and splenohepatomegaly with splenomegaly greater than hepatomegaly. Remarkable constitutional inferiority was noted in one case, which succumbed to death following acute illness and bleeding diathesis. Post mortem performed showed infiltration of spleen and liver with Gaucher cells, fibrosis and myeloid metaplasia in liver and lung.

Aortic dissection and bicuspid aortic valve: an autopsy study.

Medico-legal post-mortems referred to the Department of Pathology, for the histopathological examination, revealed six cases of acute aortic dissection--two in isolation, three in combination with congenital bicuspid aortic valve; and one isolated case of congenital bicuspid aortic valve. One case of isolated aortic dissection was associated with Marfan's syndrome; and one case of aortic dissection with bicuspid aortic valve was associated with polycystic kidneys. History of hypertension could be elicited in two cases. Cystic medial degeneration of aorta was seen in three cases; one of which was associated with Marfan's syndrome. All five cases of aortic dissection belonged to type II of DeBakey classification.

Tay Sachs disease: an autopsy case report.

This report describes a case report of a postmortem performed on a 5-year old patient of Tay-Sachs disease, presenting with failure to thrive, muscular flaccidity, and cherry-red spots on macula on fundoscopy. There was no history of similarly affected sibling or any other family member. The diagnosis was confirmed by enzyme studies. At postmortem, there was no organomegaly. The brain, on microscopy, showed vacuolated swollen neurons.