Background: Neonatal thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 1.5 lac/µl) is the commonest haematological abnormality encountered in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Thrombocytopenia if not detected can result in devastating complications. Determining the risk factors of thrombocytopenia enables us to prevent the inevitable and irreversible complications. The present study highlights the pattern, severity and risk factors of neonatal thrombocytopenia in our hospital.Methods: Prospective observational study was conducted on 200 neonates with thrombocytopenia admitted in NICU of our hospital. Maternal and neonatal risk factors were recorded. Neonates were grouped based on the severity of thrombocytopenia. The risk factors were compared with severity of thrombocytopenia.Results: 200 neonates with thrombocytopenia were divided into three groups based on severity of thrombocytopenia. 81% of babies had moderate to severe thrombocytopenia. The most common maternal predisposing factors were pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and anemia.62.5% babies were low birth weight babies and they had severe thrombocytopenia. 56% babies had late onset neonatal thrombocytopenia and 44% had early onset thrombocytopenia. The most common neonatal risk factors were sepsis in 48.5% babies and birth asphyxia in 20% babies.Conclusions: The severity of neonatal thrombocytopenia in our NICU was moderate to severe type. PIH, PROM and anemia were the commonest maternal risk factors. Preterm and low birth weight babies had severe thrombocytopenia. Sepsis and birth asphyxia were the commonest neonatal risk factors. Birth asphyxia was associated with early onset neonatal thrombocytopenia and sepsis was associated with late onset thrombocytopenia. Severe thrombocytopenia can be used as a prognostic indicator in sick neonates.

Background: With the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM), vitamin D (vit D) deficiency and vascular calcification is frequently observed in DM and is an indicator of diabetic peripheral vascular disease with variable implications. Due to the current limited understanding, this research was initiated. Aims and objective was to critically assess the prevalence and severity of vitamin D deficiency in patients with diabetic foot infection, the association between vascular calcification and vitamin D deficiency and effect on healing in diabetic foot patient with and without vitamin D deficiency.Methods: This observational study was conducted on 50 patients with diabetes mellitus. A detailed clinical history was recorded. Infection was confirmed by culture positivity and Doppler was used to detect vascular calcification. A follow-up for 3 weeks was done after which wound healing rate was assessed by change in wound surface area. Data was analyzed by Chi-square test and multivariate regression analysis.Results: 58% patients were diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency. 40% of patients found to have VC associated with DM. 100 % association of VC was found in patients with severe vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency significantly correlated with vascular calcification (p=0.0001). A significant difference was observed in wound healing between the patients with and without vitamin D deficiency i.e.  3.14±2.04mm.sq and 4.36±1.39mm.sq.Conclusions: This study opens up an issue of recognizing vitamin D deficiency as a possible risk factor for diabetic foot infections and suggests the need for vitamin D supplementation.

Background:The low birth weight (LBW) infant remains at much higher risk of mortality than the infant at normal weight at birth. In the neonatal period when most infant deaths occur, the proportion of low birth weight infants is the major determinant of the magnitude of mortality rates. Mortality and morbidity among low birth weight babies are a major public health problem in our country. It is important to identify risk factors associated with LBW babies. Methods: Prospective observational study was conducted on 222 neonates with low birth weight admitted in Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Sawangi Meghe, Wardha from September 2015 to August 2017. Maternal risk factors and neonatal morbidities were recorded. The study was designed to assess the risk factors of LBW babies and their short-term outcome. Results: 222 low birth weight babies were studied, among which 36(16.22%) were weighed less than 1500 grams and 186 (83.78%) were 1500-2500 grams. The most common maternal risk factors which were associated with very low birth weight were low socio-economic status, occupations with more strenuous activity, low maternal educational status, poor antenatal care, poor pregnancy weight gain and chronic illnesses. Anemia was present in 99 (44.595%) mothers. Among other risk factors during pregnancy oligohydramnios was present in 43 (19.369%) mothers, followed by preeclampsia in 42 (18.918%) mothers and pyrexia in 31 (13.963%) mothers. 166 (74.76%) babies are small for gestational age (SGA) babies. Overall mortality rate was 40.54%. Conclusions: Most of LBW babies are SGA babies. Low socio-economic status, low maternal educational status and poor antenatal care were the important risk factors. Morbidity and mortality of low birth weight babies could be reduced considerably by proper health education, improved antenatal care, prompt identification of high risk pregnancies, proper referral, better nursing care and management.

Background: Breast cancer is the commonest cancer of urban Indian women and the second commonest in the rural women. The clinical management of this tumor relies on various prognostic factors, most importantly lymph node stage, tumor size and histologic grade. There have been attempts at integration of these factors into meaningful indices. The most widely used of these is the Nottingham prognostic index (NPI), this study was aimed to evaluate the NPI in a group of breast cancer patients and to correlate NPI with other clinical and histo-morphological features.Methods: This was a two-year prospective, observational study was done in the Department of Surgery, Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of Maharashtra, India. A total of 50 patients who presented with invasive carcinoma of breast from October 2016 to October 2018 were enrolled.Results: Most of the patients belonged to the age group of 41 to 50 years (34%) and the mean age of patients in study was 51.18±11.93 years. Left breast was more affected (62%) than the right breast (38%). Majority of the cases had tumor size of <5 cm (70%) and the mean size of was 4.65±1.89 cms. Majority of the patients (62%) belonged to Bloom Richardson (BR) Grade II and 24% of the patients were ER and PR positive. Lymphovascular invasion was present in 74% of the patients. There was significant positive correlation between tumor size and lymph node involvement. Significant correlation was noted between NPI score and tumor size, positive lymph nodes and BR grade. The mean NPI scores in patients with lymphovascular invasion were noted as 4.92±1.05, compared to 4.83±0.93 among the patients in whom lymphovascular invasion was absent (p=0.779). The mean NPI scores in patients with ER-, PR- were slightly high (4.91±0.94) compared to ER+, PR+ patients (4.76±1.19) (p=0.778).Conclusions: NPI is an essential and valuable prognostic indicator, which should be incorporated in breast cancer reporting by the histopathologists and also primary tumor size, lymph node stage and histological grade which provides further guideline to treating clinicians to choose treatment modalities for the patient and in deciding to follow up plan as well.

Introduction:Surgical site infection (SSI) comes as third most common healthcare related infection which produces morbidity and deaths at large. Still many authors believe that it is better not to use prophylactic antibiotics in simple and uncomplicated cases. Laparoscope, now-a-days is a much used instrument for abdominal surgeries. Even after new aseptic techniques SSI remains to be a major problem.Aims and Objectives:To study the effect of antibiotics on superficial SSI in the cases of open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Observation and Results:One hundred patients were enrolled for cholecystectomy. The patients were divided into two groups, A and B. Group A consisted of patients in whom laparoscopic cholecystectomy was done and group B in whom open cholecystectomy was done. The male female ratio was 1: 2.23. The mean age of patients in Group A was 46 years and in Group B was 44; Standard deviation (SD) for age was 14.8% and 13.8% in groups A and B respectively; t-value was 0.654 and P value was 0.515 and they were not significant. The number of males and females was 16 and 26 respectively in Group A and 11 and 31 in Group B. The Chi square X2 = 1.36 and P value was 0.248 and both were insignificant. The rate of superficial surgical site infection was 2.63% in both the groups.Conclusion:Our study concludes that there is no difference in the outcome of patients in cases of open as well as laparoscopic cholecystectomy. There is no significant difference in the surgical site infection rate in cases of open as well as laparoscopic cholecystectomy.