Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hypertension Among Male Police Personnel in Urban Puducherry, India.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an important health issue among high risk occupation groups like police personnel. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and risk factors of hypertension among male police personnel. Method This cross sectional study was conducted among male police personnel residing in urban Puducherry, India. Data on blood pressure (BP), anthropometric measurements, demographic factors, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, stress level, obesity and dietary factors were collected by interview technique using a standard questionnaire. RESULT: About 296 police personnel were participated. Most of them belonged to the age group of 25-39 years (68%). The prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension was 37.8% and 34.5% respectively. Among those with hypertension, 56.86% (58/102) were known hypertensives and 43.13% (44/102) were newly diagnosed. Age group of 50-59 years (AOR=8.472) and 40-49 years (AOR=8.15), currently using alcohol (AOR=1.797), less than 7 servings of fruits in a week (AOR=3.228), moderate stress level (AOR=2.374) and waist circumference more than 90 cm (AOR=4.937) were associated with higher prevalence of hypertension among police personnel. CONCLUSION: Hypertension among Police personnel is comparatively higher than general population in this area. Reduction in alcohol use, increase in fruit servings along with other lifestyle modification measures may help in prevention and control of hypertension.

Hemorrhagic pseudocyst of the adrenal gland causing acute abdominal pain.

Acute abdominal pain is a common clinical entity with varied etiology. Hemorrhagic pseudocysts of the adrenal gland are rare lesions that might be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain. Herein, we report a case of young married female presenting with acute pain abdomen and fever, who was diagnosed to have hemorrhagic pseudocyst of the adrenal gland.

Prevalence of renal involvement in Indian patients with systemic sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Renal involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) either in the form of scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) or nonrenal crisis abnormalities has been reported to be in the range of 60-80%. Renal involvement is thought to be rare in Indian patients with SSc. However, there is paucity of data. AIMS: To study the frequency and pattern of renal involvement in Indian patients with SSc. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A single center prospective, cross sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively evaluated the patients with SSc attending the Rheumatology Clinic. All patients were evaluated for renal involvement. All patients underwent measurement of blood pressure, urine examination, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation using Cockcroft-Gault formula and kidney biopsy when indicated. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 8.0 statistical package. RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients were included in the study from July 2001 to December 2004. Mean age of patients was 36.88 +/- 12.51 years. About 30% of patients had diffuse cutaneous SSc. None of these patients had SRC either at enrollment in the study or during follow-up. Eleven (12.6%) patients had hypertension. Six (6.9%) patients had abnormal urinary findings in the form of either active urinary sediment or significant proteinuria. Only one patient had azotemia (plasma creatinine > 1.8 mg/dl). Calculated GFR CONCLUSION: SRC is very rare in Indian patients with SSc. However, non-renal crisis abnormalities appear to be as common in Indian patients as compared to the western literature.

Dengue fever with acute liver failure.

A virus belonging to the Flaviviridae group causes dengue haemorrhagic fever. Dengue presenting as acute liver failure is rare. Dengue is endemic in India. The last epidemic of dengue occurred in Delhi in 2003. During this epidemic, 2185 confirmed cases of dengue were reported. Dengue virus serotypes 2 and 3 were responsible for this epidemic. A 19-yr-old male presented to our hospital with the complaints of fever for 12 days, during this epidemic. He was diagnosed as having dengue shock syndrome, stage IV with acute liver failure. He had primary dengue infection. He made complete recovery with supportive management.