Efficacy of Itraconazole in the Prevention of Recurrence of Tinea Versicolor: A Three Year Follow Up.

Pityriasis versicolor (PV) also known as tinea versicolor, which is chronic and superficial fungal skin disease caused by Malassezia yeasts. A permanent cure may difficult to achieve and this may explain the long-term nature of the disease. Consequently, a preventive treatment regimen may help to prevent the recurrence of pityriasis versicolor. Whether, the recurrence of tinea versicolor could be prevented by monthly itraconazole treatment regimen after a short course of itraconazole therapy. Open treatment followed by a randomized, single blind placebo control trial. Multi-center trial was characterized by an open, active treatment phase with itraconazole followed by a randomized placebo controlled treatment for prevention of recurrence. A total 200 patients (150 male and 50 female) were included in this study and was given 200mg itraconazole daily for 7 days (treatment phase). Patients in whom tinea versicolor was mycologically cured divided into Group A and Group B. Active open treatment was followed by preventive itraconazole treatment 200mg twice daily in Group A and placebo in Group B monthly for 6 consecutive months. The patients were diagnosed clinically and confirmed by Wood's lamp examination and KOH microscopy. Clinical improvement in 90%, negative Wood's lamp examination in 86.5% and Mycological cure in 85.5% were found at the end of open treatment. The mycological cure, 171 subjects were taken into this study for preventive treatment phase and divided into two groups- Group A & Group B. Preventive treatment was given in Group A and placebo in Group B. After the preventive treatment, the end point (After 6 months), clinical improvement, negative Wood's lamp examination and mycological cure were found in 81(90%), 76(84.4%) and 75(83.3%) in Group A and 44(55%), 41(51.3%) and 42(52.5%) in Group B respectively. In preventive treatment phase, 1 patient in Group A did not complete the study. No patient experienced any serious adverse effects. Prevention of recurrence of Pityriasis versicolor with itraconazole is as effective as treatment.

Effect of pain reduction on postural sway, proprioception, and quadriceps strength in subjects with knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether alleviation of knee pain influences quadriceps function, proprioceptive acuity, and postural stability in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: A crossover, within-subject, double blind study design involving 68 subjects with painful knee OA. Each subject received an intra-articular injection into one or both knees (both if symptomatic) of either 5 ml 0.5% bupivacaine or 5 ml 0.9% saline. Two weeks later they received an injection of the alternative agent. Subjects and observer were unaware of the order of injection, which was randomly assigned. Knee pain (100 mm visual analogue scale), static postural sway, knee proprioceptive acuity, maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), and percentage activation of the quadriceps were assessed immediately before and one hour after each injection. RESULTS: Significant pain reduction was achieved one hour post-bupivacaine (mean difference as a percentage change 56.85, 95% CI 31.01 to 73.65; p<0.001) and post-saline (mean difference as a percentage change 41.94, 95% CI 11.57 to 76.66; p< 0.001), with no significant difference between the two. Both MVC and activation increased significantly post-bupivacaine (mean percentage differences 18.83, 95% CI -31.79 to -0.26, and -11.90, 95% CI -39.53 to 2.97, respectively; both p<0.001) and post-saline (mean percentage differences -7.64, 95% CI -21.96 to 4.73, and -10.71, 95% CI -25.19 to 2.60 respectively; both p<0.001). Proprioception worsened after bupivacaine (mean percentage difference -28.15%, 95% CI -83.47 to 19.74; p=0.009), but there was no effect on postural sway; saline injection had no effects. There was no order effect, and comparison of median percentage changes showed no significant differences between injections for change in MVC, activation, proprioception, or sway. CONCLUSION: Reduction in knee pain through either peripheral (local anaesthetic) or central (placebo) mechanisms resulted in increased MVC. This increase, however, did not result in improvements in proprioception or static postural stability, suggesting that other mechanisms play a part in these functions, at least in this acute model.

Influence of elastic bandage on knee pain, proprioception, and postural sway in subjects with knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether a "standard" sized (that is, a size that would be prescribed by a physiotherapist) elastic bandage (S-bandage) around the knee of subjects with knee osteoarthritis (OA) would, in the short term (a) reduce pain, (b) improve knee joint proprioception, and (c) decrease sway in comparison with a looser (L-bandage). METHODS: In a cross over, within-subject study, 68 subjects (49 women, 19 men; mean age 67.1, range 36-87) with symptomatic and radiographic knee OA were randomly assigned to either an S-bandage or an L-bandage. Two weeks later they were assigned to the opposite bandage size. Knee pain (10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS)), knee proprioception, and static postural sway were assessed for each bandage two weeks apart. During each visit assessments were performed at baseline, after 20 minutes of bandage application, and immediately after bandage removal. RESULTS: The S-bandage did not have any effect on knee pain, proprioception, or postural sway. The L-bandage reduced knee pain significantly (pre-bandage application: median VAS 4.36, IQR 3.84 -4.90; after 20 minutes of bandage application: median VAS 3.80, IQR 3.3-4.3, p<0.001), improved static postural sway (pre-bandage: median sway 4.50, IQ range 3.5-6.4; bandage applied: median sway 4.45, IQ range 3.4-6.3, p=0.027), but had no significant influence on knee proprioception. CONCLUSIONS: In subjects with knee OA application of an elastic bandage around the knee can reduce knee pain and improve static postural sway. This outcome depends on the size of applied bandage.

Static postural sway, proprioception, and maximal voluntary quadriceps contraction in patients with knee osteoarthritis and normal control subjects.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether subjects with knee osteoarthritis (OA) have reduced static postural control, knee proprioceptive acuity, and maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the quadriceps compared with normal controls, and to determine possible independent predictors of static postural sway. METHODS: 77 subjects with symptomatic and radiographic knee OA (58 women, 19 men; mean age 63.4 years, range 36-82) and 63 controls with asymptomatic and clinically normal knees (45 women, 18 men; mean age 63 years, range 46-85) underwent assessment of static postural sway. 108 subjects (59 patients, 49 controls) also underwent assessment of knee proprioceptive activity and MVC (including calculation of quadriceps activation). In patients with knee OA knee pain, stiffness, and functional disability were assessed using the WOMAC Index. The height (m) and weight (kg) of all subjects was assessed. RESULTS: Compared with controls, patients with knee OA were heavier (mean difference 15.3 kg, p<0.001), had increased postural lateral sway (controls: median 2.3, interquartile (IQ) range 1.8-2.9; patients: median 4.7, IQ range 1.9-4.7, p<0.001), reduced proprioceptive acuity (controls: mean 7.9, 95% CI 6.9 to 8.9; patients: mean 12.0, 95% CI 10.5 to 13.6, p<0.001), weaker quadriceps strength (controls: mean 22.5, 95% CI 19.9 to 24.6; patients: mean 14.7, 95% CI 12.5 to 16.9, p<0.001), and less percentage activation of quadriceps (controls: mean 87.4, 95% CI 80.7 to 94.2; patients: mean 66.0, 95% CI 58.8 to 73.2, p<0.001). The significant predictors of postural sway were knee pain and the ratio of MVC/body weight. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with age and sex matched controls, subjects with symptomatic knee OA have quadriceps weakness, reduced knee proprioception, and increased postural sway. Pain and muscle strength may particularly influence postural sway. The interaction between physiological, structural, and functional abnormalities in knee OA deserves further study.

Aspiration pneumonia in pediatric age group: etiology, predisposing factors and clinical outcome.

INTRODUCTION: Aspiration pneumonia in children is an important disease in terms of the morbidity and mortality associated with it. The objective of this study is to characterize the cases of aspiration pneumonia on the basis of the predisposing factors, types of aspiration syndromes, materials aspirated and their clinical outcome. METHODS: A total of 107 patients diagnosed as having aspiration pneumonia, were included in this study. Cases were between 0-15 years of age, admitted to the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) over five years. RESULTS: The most common form of aspiration syndrome seen was chemical pneumonitis (52.1%). The three most common factors predisposing to pulmonary aspiration were accidental ingestion (37.4%), altered consciousness (34.6%) and neurologic disorders (29%). Children who aspirated oropharyngeal flora were at higher odds to require mechanical ventilation than those aspirating inert fluids and particulate matter (OR = 6.4, 95% CI: 1.5-29.2, p = 0.003). Milk (31.8%), kerosene (21.5%) and oral secretions (19.6%) were the most common materials aspirated. Betel nuts were the most commonly aspirated foreign body. Patients aspirating oral secretions and milk were seen to have a relatively worse clinical outcome than those aspirating kerosene oil. CONCLUSION: Aspiration pneumonia is a relatively uncommon clinical entity at AKUH in children. However, it does cause significant morbidity and mortality.

Acute phase protein levels as an index of severity of physical injury.

Inflammation resulting from any form of tissue injury causes an increase in plasma concentration of a number of liver-derived proteins (the acute phase reactant proteins), the measurement of which provides an indication of the magnitude of the inflammatory response. C reactive protein (CRP) is an example of an acute phase protein. Although concentrations increase particularly dramatically in response to inflammation and reflect the degree of ongoing tissue damage, this method has yet to be used to assess severity of injury in traumatology and forensic medicine. The rate at which the acute phase protein response occurred after injury was therefore explored in a series of 16 patients with maxillofacial skeletal injuries and in a series of 22 age- and sex-matched control patients. Increases in the plasma concentration of CRP were not detected until 6-12 h after injury and peaked at 48-72 h. Concentration of CRP was less than 10 mgm/l in all control patients. There was significant relation between peak levels and Abbreviated Injury Scale and Injury Severity scores. Results suggest that this method of assessing the severity of traumatic injury deserves further investigation and may be of use clinically, medico-legally and in relation to compensation awards.