Objectives: A wide variety of diseases are likely causes of fever of unknown origin (FUO). No fixed guidelines exist to direct the workup in these cases. We followed a diagnostic protocol to study the causes of FUO in Iraq, and to evaluate the contribution of clinical assessment and various investigations in making the final diagnosis. Methods: From March 2002 to September 2009, fifty five consecutive patients with FUO were admitted in a tertiary referral centre in Mosul, Iraq. The patients underwent a series of clinical and diagnostic evaluation in a prospective study, in an attempt to diagnose the underlying cause of fever. The benefit of history taking and clinical examination as directors of the diagnostic workup and the yield of various laboratory and imaging techniques were assessed. Results: Infections were the commonest causes of FUO (32.7%), followed by non-infectious inflammatory diseases (NIID) (25.4%), malignancies (16.4%) and miscellaneous causes (5.4%). No diagnosis was made in 20% of cases. Of infections, tuberculosis was the most important single cause of fever, while various vasculitides and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were the commonest NIID and malignant disease, respectively. Symptoms of the patients were of little benefit in directing subsequent investigations, but the physical signs were more useful; finding enlarged lymph nodes was significantly associated with malignant diseases (p=0.009). Anaemia, high ESR and elevated liver enzymes were common and bear no significant association with any disease category. Chest radiograph and abdominal ultrasound were helpful initial imaging studies. CT scan of the chest was shown a useful diagnostic procedure. Conclusion: Together with infections, NIID are important causes of FUO in Iraq. Careful physical examination and a systematic approach on investigations are usually rewarding in reaching the diagnosis.

IntroductionLymph node involvement is the most important predictor of prognosis in oesophageal cancer. The present study describes our single-centre experience of lymphadenopathy in oesophageal carcinoma cases at a tertiary care centre in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra state in western India. MethodsThis descriptive study included 31 patients who were operated for oesophageal carcinoma at the State Cancer Hospital in Marathwada from August 2015 to September 2017. Thirty patients underwent three-field lymph node dissections, and one patient underwent Ivor Lewis surgery with two-field lymph node dissections. Three-field lymph node dissections were through a thoracotomy, followed by laparotomy and left cervical incision. The lymphatic metastases were categorised as (a) adjacent node metastases, (b) multiple levels of lymph node metastases, and (c) skip node metastases. The histopathological assessment of the removed specimen and lymph nodes was done. Pathologists evaluated the character and depth of the primary tumour and its invasion and node involvement. The location and numbers of positive and negative nodes were recorded. ResultsA total of 31 patients were included in the study, of which 17 had lymph node involvement. A total of 946 lymph nodes were dissected and examined, and the average number of lymph nodes removed per patient was 30.51. Among the 28 squamous cell carcinoma cases, lymph node involvement was found in 14 cases (50%) whereas, in adenocarcinoma, all the three cases showed lymph node involvement. In 11 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, thoracic lymph nodes were involved, whereas abdominal lymph nodes were involved in nine and cervical lymph nodes in two cases. Thoracic lymph nodes were involved in two cases of adenocarcinoma and abdominal lymph nodes were involved in one case of adenocarcinoma. ConclusionsSquamous cell carcinoma was the predominant type, and lymph node metastasis was observed in 50% of these cases. Thoracic lymph nodes were more commonly involved. Tumour staging T2 and T3 had an increasing percentage of lymph nodes involved. Lymph node involvement was more in moderately differentiated and undifferentiated oesophageal cancers.

Purpose:  To compare the outcomes of conjunctival autograft fixation using autologous serum vs fibrin glue to cover the bare sclera in pterygium excision surgery. Study Design:  Quasi experimental study. Place and Duration of Study:  The study was conducted in Ophthalmology Department of CMH Kharian from April 2018 to November 2018. Material and Methods:  Forty patients with primary pterygium were selected by convenient sampling technique. Patients with recurrent Pterygia and moderate to severe dry eyes, keratitis or secondary to trauma were excluded. The patients were divided into two groups, group A treated with fibrin glue and group B treated with autologous serum technique. All patients underwent pterygium excision under topical anaesthesia. The conjunctival autograft was removed from superior temporal bulbar conjunctiva to cover the scleral bed produced by pterygium excision. Post operatively the patients were followed-up for three months to assess the fixation or otherwise. Data was noted and analysed by using SPSS version 23. Results:  The graft was taken-up nicely in most of the cases. The patients were followed up for three months after surgery. The frequency of graft lost in Group A and Group B was noted as n = 8 (40%) and n = 1 (5%), respectively (p = 0.008). The only other complication was recurrence of pterygium which was n = 5 (25%) and n = 3 (15%), in Group A and Group B, respectively (p = 0.429). No case of infection was noted. Conclusion:  Fixation of conjunctival autograft with autologous serum is a safe and effective method and potential alternative of fibrin glue technique.

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Scleral buckling (SB) has proven to be an effective surgical technique for RRDs especially in patients with uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) not associated with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). Until recently, it was still the most commonly employed surgical technique in dealing with RRDs with a high success rate. with the advent of the modern retinal viewing systems and vitrectomy machines, the trends in dealing with RRD are more inclining towards pars plana vitrectomy. Possible reasons for it are that conventional SB has steeper learning curve and it is assisted by the Indirect ophthalmoscope to view the retina during various steps of the surgery which has smaller inverted image and also its use is cumbersome. with the novel techniques being introduced, the essence of scleral buckling can be preserved and the surgical technique can be made much easier by providing a better viewwith easy localization of retinal breaks. The basic principles and steps of conventional scleral buckling can be well taught and more effectively practiced with the introduction of better illumination and viewing systems. In this study, the efficacy of endoillumination source assisted modified scleral buckling would be determined and compared with the results of conventional scleral buckling. Objective: To compare the functional and anatomical success rates of conventional scleral buckling for RRD with endo-illumination assisted Wide angle viewing system modified scleral buckling in patients with uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Materials and Methods: This is an interventional prospective study being conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Peshawar Medical College (PMC) and Allied hospitals from July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. The study included 40 patients presenting with uncomplicated RRD, 20 in each group, by simple random sampling technique. Outcome measures assessed were primary visual acuity (VA), primary anatomical success, and peri-operative complications. Results: 40 patients (40 eyes) were recruited in this study, 20 in each group (conventional scleral buckling group and modified scleral buckling group), who completed a 3 months follow up. 21 (52.5%) were male patients while 19 (47.5%) patients were female. Mean age was 44.3 ± 12.1. New retinal breaks were identified in 3(15%) patients in the MSB group. Retinal reattachment was achieved in 95% patients in both the groups. Cataract Progression was later found in 1(5%) patient in the MSB group. No other complications were recorded in either of the comparative groups. 1(5%) patient each, in both the groups, underwent additional surgeries. Conclusion: In conclusion, the endolight-assisted scleral buckling using a wide angle visualization system appears to be a promising technique with comparable surgical outcomes to conventional scleral buckling with least complications in specific cases of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. It can be safely used to meet the surgical need and reduce discomfort during surgery. It is particularly useful in cases with pre-operatively undetected retinal tears. Wide angle viewing system assisted modified scleral buckling technique is highly recommended for teaching purposes. Keywords: Scleral buckling; Wide angle viewing system, Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, Modified scleral buckling.