Association of Triglyceride and C-reactive Protein Level with Severity of Angiographically Defined Coronary Artery Disease.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is considered as a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Inflammatory cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerosis. The aim of the study was to find out the association of C-reactive protein (CRP) and triglyceride (TG) level on the severity of CAD in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). This cross-sectional study was performed in the Department of Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period of March 2018 to February 2021. Total 431 patients with ischemic heart disease were enrolled after taking informed written consent. CRP values were categorized into normal (<6 mg/L), borderline (6-10 mg/L) and high (>10mg/L) and TG level were categorized into normal (<150 mg/dl), borderline (150-199mg/dl) and high (≥200 mg/dl). Patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) were stratified according to CRP value and TG level. Severity of CAD was assessed by the Gensini score. Most of the patients (33.4%) belonged to age 51-60 years. The mean age was 51.31±10.30 years. The majority (74.5%) of patients were male. Among risk factors, the highest 205(47.6%) patients were smokers followed by hypertension 190(44.1%) and diabetes mellitus 175(40.5%). The association of TG and CRP with the whole spectrum of IHD was found statistically significant (p<0.05). Severe CAD was found higher in high TG and high CRP level group compared with the other groups and was statistically significant. Inflammation assessed by high CRP and hypertriglyceridemia associated with the risk and severity of CAD.

Socio-economic inequalities in undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh: is there a gender difference?

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine: (1) the prevalence and socio-economic distribution of undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM); (2) the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled DM; and (3) if this relationship is mediated by gender. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional nationally representative household-based survey. METHODS: We used data from the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey from 2017 to 18. Our findings were based on the responses of 12,144 individuals aged 18 years and older. As a measure of SES, we focused on standard of living (hereinafter referred to as wealth). The study's outcome variables were prevalence of total (diagnosed + undiagnosed), undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled DM. We used three regression-based approaches-adjusted odds ratio, relative inequality index, and slope inequality index-to assess different aspects of SES differences in the prevalence of total, undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled DM. We used logistic regression analysis to look at the adjusted association between SES and the outcomes after gender stratification to see whether gender status moderates the association between SES and the targeted outcomes. RESULTS: In our sample analysis, the age-adjusted prevalence of total, undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled DM was 9.1%, 61.4%, 64.7%, and 72.1%, respectively. Females had a higher prevalence of DM and undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled DM than males. When compared to people in the poor SES group, people in the rich and middle SES groups had 2.60 times (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.05-3.29) and 1.47 times (95% CI 1.18-1.83) higher chance of developing DM. When compared to individuals in the poor SES group, those in the rich SES groups were 0.50 (95% CI 0.33-0.77) and 0.55 times (95% CI 0.36-0.85) less likely to have undiagnosed and untreated DM. CONCLUSIONS: In Bangladesh, rich SES groups were more likely than poor SES groups to have DM, whereas poor SES groups with DM were less likely than rich SES groups to be aware of their disease and obtain treatment. The government and other concerned parties are urged by this study to pay more attention to developing suitable policy measures to reduce the risk of DM, particularly among rich SES groups, as well as targeted efforts to screen for and diagnose DM in socio-economically disadvantaged groups.

A Case Study on Chronic Hepatitis-C Viral infection Associated with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Tertiary Hospital of Bangladesh.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an important reason of liver-related death globally. HCC is the fifth most common cancer, the third most common cause for cancer related death in the world and responsible for approximately one million deaths each year. The incidence of HCC is expected to increase in the next two decades, largely due to hepatitis C infection and secondary cirrhosis. We have reported a case of hepatocellular carcinoma in a 56-year-old man with peritoneal metastasis. Diagnostic imaging (Ultra sonogram & CT-Scan) shown: a large hypo density, irregular outline lesion noted in right lower liver, post contrast image shown patchy enhancement of the lesion. His serum Alpha-Feto Protein (AFP) level was very high with elevated serum alanine amino transaminase (ALT) enzyme and prothrombin time. Histopathological (microscopic) features are compatible with Hepatocellular carcinoma. His Hepatitis C viral DNA load e.g., core protein variants and genotype 1, have been reported. The patient was treated by surgical resection followed by conservative treatment includes sorafenib & interferon alpha. This case report aims to outlines the epidemiology of HCC in chronic HCV, risk factors and pathophysiology that contribute to this disease process, related pathophysiology of patient's clinical features, screening recommendations, and the available statistics on the impact of new direct-acting antiviral treatment on the development on HCC.

A 35 Year Old Bangladeshi Lady with Hereditary Mucinous Ovarian Cancer, Complicated with Omental Metastasis.

Approximately 80% ovarian tumors are benign, and these arise mostly in young adult females. Malignant tumors are more prevalent in ageing women, between the ages of 45-65 years. Mucinous ovarian cancer represents about 5% of epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC). We have reported a case of mucinous cystadenocarcinoma in 35-year-old lady with metastasis to momentum. Imaging (Radiograph & CT scan) studies showed a large right sided pelvic mass with probable origin in the right ovary. Cancer antigen-125 was elevated, while carcinoembrionic antigen and alpha-fetoprotein were normal. Mutational profiles shown distinct finding, as KRAS mutations positive nevertheless p53 and BRCA mutations are absent. She had undergone total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salphingo-oopherectomy along with pelvic dissection for removal of lymph nodes at the age of 35. She was given 3 cycles of chemotherapy with cisplatin and paclitaxel. To the best of our knowledge, this is the one of the little cases of ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma being reported at a relatively young age and the first case being reported from Bangladesh.

Pattern and Extent of Tricuspid Valve Involvement in Chronic Rheumatic Heart Disease.

Rheumatic heart disease causes a significant number of morbidity and mortality in Bangladesh. Although the mitral and the aortic valve are the two most involved valves in rheumatic heart disease, the tricuspid valve disease is not uncommon secondary to, or in association with, mitral or aortic valve disease, but receives less attention as compared to the primary left-sided valve disease. Appropriate treatment of the tricuspid valve disease may improve long-term functional outcome. But the pattern and extent of the tricuspid valve involvement was not studied recently. This study was carried out to observe the pattern and extent of tricuspid valve involvement in Rheumatic Heart Disease patients. This observational analytical study was undertaken in the department of Cardiology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from December 2010 to September 2011. Considering all ethical issues, data were collected from 173 subjects who underwent Echocardiography for their Chronic Rheumatic heart disease. Pattern of tricuspid valve involvement was observed by using Transthoracic Echocardiography by 2D, M mode and Doppler assessment. One hundred seventy three (173) patients with Rheumatic Heart disease was studied, out of these, 36 patients had evidence of tricuspid valve involvement based on echocardiographic findings. Fifteen (15) patients had Tricuspid stenosis and 36 patients had Tricuspid Regurgitation in the patients with TV involvement. All the patients with TV involvement had thickened leaflets. Doming, restriction of motion and calcification were present in different proportions. From this study, it can be concluded that organic tricuspid valve involvement in RHD is not uncommon in our country.

New ray tracing method to investigate the various effects on wave propagation in medical scenario: an application of wireless body area network.

The advent of technology with the increasing use of wireless network has led to the development of Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) to continuously monitor the change of physiological data in a cost efficient manner. As numerous researches on wave propagation characterization have been done in intrabody communication, this study has given emphasis on the wave propagation characterization between the control units (CUs) and wireless access point (AP) in a hospital scenario. Ray tracing is a tool to predict the rays to characterize the wave propagation. It takes huge simulation time, especially when multiple transmitters are involved to transmit physiological data in a realistic hospital environment. Therefore, this study has developed an accelerated ray tracing method based on the nearest neighbor cell and prior knowledge of intersection techniques. Beside this, Red-Black tree is used to store and provide a faster retrieval mechanism of objects in the hospital environment. To prove the superiority, detailed complexity analysis and calculations of reflection and transmission coefficients are also presented in this paper. The results show that the proposed method is about 1.51, 2.1, and 2.9 times faster than the Object Distribution Technique (ODT), Space Volumetric Partitioning (SVP), and Angular Z-Buffer (AZB) methods, respectively. To show the various effects on received power in 60 GHz frequency, few comparisons are made and it is found that on average -9.44 dBm, -8.23 dBm, and -9.27 dBm received power attenuations should be considered when human, AP, and CU move in a given hospital scenario.

Hydrogeochemical quality and suitability studies of groundwater in northern Bangladesh.

Agriculture, rapid urbanization and geochemical processes have direct or indirect effects on the chemical composition of groundwater and aquifer geochemistry. Hydro-chemical investigations, which are significant for assessment of water quality, were carried out to study the sources of dissolved ions in groundwater of Dinajpur district, northern Bangladesh. The groundwater samplish were analyzed for physico-chemical properties like pH, electrical conductance, hardness, alkalinity, total dissolved solids and Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, CO3(2-), HCO3(-), SO4(2-) and Cl- ions, respectively. Based on the analyses, certain parameters like sodium adsorption ratio, soluble sodium percentage, potential salinity, residual sodium carbonate, Kelly's ratio, permeability index and Gibbs ratio were also calculated. The results showed that the groundwater of study area was fresh, slightly acidic (pH 5.3-6.4) and low in TDS (35-275 mg I(-1)). Ground water of the study area was found suitable for irrigation, drinking and domestic purposes, since most of the parameters analyzed were within the WHO recommended values for drinking water. High concentration of NO3- and Cl- was reported in areas with extensive agriculture and rapid urbanization. Ion-exchange, weathering, oxidation and dissolution of minerals were major geochemical processes governing the groundwater evolution in study area. Gibb's diagram showed that all the samples fell in the rock dominance field. Based on evaluation, it is clear that groundwater quality of the study area was suitable for both domestic and irrigation purposes.

Association of serum uric acid with ischemic stroke.

The present study has examined the association between ischemic stroke and hyperuricemia in Bangladeshi population. This age and sex matched case control study was carried out in the Department of Neurology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period of January 2007 to December 2008. A total of 120 subjects were included in this study, among them 60 were cases and another 60 were controls. Data were collected purposively. Multiple logistic regressions were done to identify the risk factors for ischemic stroke. In this study 68.3% were male and 31.7% were female in both the groups. Male and female ratio of stroke patients was 2.16:1. Mean±SD of serum uric acid level of case and control group was 4.94±1.76 and 3.72±1.09 respectively. Among the case group 76.7% had normal and 23.3% had abnormal serum uric acid level. On the other hand, 93.3% respondents of control group had normal and 6.7% had abnormal serum uric acid (SUA) level. Significant differences was found between case and control group in term of SUA level (p<0.05). Since SUA level is a quantitative numerical variable, an increase in 1mg/dl has a 47.0% (95% CI 1.0% to 2.16%) increase in odds ratio (OR) of having ischemic stroke. This 47.0% is obtained by taking OR for uric acid-1. Elevated serum uric acid level is not significant for ischemic stroke among the Bangladeshi population.

Community acquired pneumonia in diabetic and non-diabetic hospitalized patients: presentation, causative pathogens and outcome.

Both community acquired pneumonia (CAP) and diabetes mellitus are common in Bangladesh. Though hospitalization of diabetic patients with CAP is increasing, data regarding their clinical presentation, microbial characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility and outcome are lacking. This study was aimed at finding any difference in clinical presentation, bacterial causes, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of isolated bacteria and outcome in diabetic and non-diabetic hospitalized patients with CAP. In this study total 47 diabetic and 43 non-diabetic adult hospitalized patients with CAP were enrolled. Clinical presentation of CAP differed in diabetics and non-diabetics. Frequency of atypical presentation and CURB-65 score were significantly higher in diabetics. Pleural effusion with multilobar infiltration was also common feature for CAP in diabetic patients. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most frequent causative pathogen for CAP in diabetic patients, whereas Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most frequent causative agent for non-diabetic patients. Bacteria isolated from sputum sample of diabetic patients with CAP were resistant to almost all recommended antibiotics used for CAP but 100% of isolates were sensitive to Carbapenems. Pulmonary complications were relatively more in diabetics than in non-diabetics. Hospitalized diabetics with CAP required referral to intensive care unit more than that of non-diabetics. So, diabetic patients with CAP need extra attention.

Pattern of cancer in young adults at National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH), Bangladesh.

This is an analysis of 1624 young adults (20-44 years) new cancer patients who attended Out Patient Department of NICRH in 2005 from 01 January to 31 December. This study was carried out to know the age and sex distribution and types of cancer they are suffering from. Histologiacally or cytologically confirmed patients or those patients having radiological or clinical evidence of malignancy were included in the study. There were 42.9% male and 57.1% female with male to female ratio of 0.75: 1.00. Female populations of this age group were the most cancer sufferers. Mean age of young adults was 34.47 (SD+/-6.33) years. Muslims (93.4%) were in majority and 36.5% were illiterate. This study revealed that the top five cancers found in both sexes were breast cancer (19.2%), female genital organ cancer (17.7%), GIT cancer (13.5%), head & neck cancer (12.2%) and respiratory tract cancer (7.9%). Breast cancer and GIT cancer ranked top among females and males respectively.