Background With the proposed pathophysiologic mechanism of neurologic injury by SARS CoV-2, the frequency of stroke and henceforth the related hospital admissions were expected to rise. This paper investigated this presumption by comparing the frequency of admissions of stroke cases in Bangladesh before and during the pandemic. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of stroke admissions in a 100-bed stroke unit at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital (NINS&H) which is considerably a large stroke unit. All the admitted cases from 1 January to 30 June 2020 were considered. Poisson regression models were used to determine whether statistically significant changes in admission rates can be found before and after 25 March since when there is a surge in COVID-19 infections. Results A total of 1394 stroke patients took admission in the stroke unit during the study period. Half of the patients were older than 60 years, whereas only 2.6% were 30 years old or younger. The male to female ratio is 1.06:1. From January to March 2020, the mean rate of admission was 302.3 cases per month, which dropped to 162.3 cases per month from April to June, with an overall reduction of 46.3% in acute stroke admission per month. In those two periods, reductions in average admission per month for ischemic stroke (IST), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and venous stroke (VS) were 45.5%, 37.2%, 71.4% and 39.0%, respectively. Based on weekly data, results of Poisson regressions confirm that the average number of admissions per week dropped significantly during the last three months of the sample period. Further, in the first three months, a total of 22 cases of hyperacute stroke management were done, whereas, in the last three months, there was an 86.4% reduction in the number of hyperacute stroke patients getting reperfusion treatment. Only 38 patients (2.7%) were later found to be RT-PCR SARS Cov-2 positive based on nasal swab testing. Conclusion This study revealed a more than fifty percent reduction in acute stroke admission during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether the reduction is related to the fear of getting infected by COVID-19 from hospitalization or the overall restriction on public movement or stay-home measures remains unknown.

Background: Infection is an important cause of mortality in burns. Rapidly emerging nosocomial pathogens and the problem of multi-drug resistance necessitates periodic review of isolation patterns and antibiogram in the burn ward. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to see the frequency of bacteria in burn wound with their antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Method: This cross sectional study was conducted in the laboratory of Department of Microbiology at Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka and samples were collected from the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka. Bacterial isolates from 108 wound swabs taken from burn patients were identified by conventional biochemical methods and antimicrobial susceptibility was performed. Result: Out of 98 bacteria E. coli (20.4%) was most common and 25.0% of these bacteria were ESBL producer. Out of 14 Klebsiella species ESBL producer was in 6(42.9%). ESBL producing Proteus species (21.4%) and Pseudomonas species (14.9%) were also detected. Klebsiella (33.91%) was the predominant organism closely followed by Pseudomonas (31.84%). Conclusion: E. coli is the most common ESBL producing bacteria causing the burn wound infection. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsf.v10i2.17959 J Sci Found, 2012;10(2):63-69

Background: To investigate the relative contributions of cerebral cortex and basal ganglia to movement stopping, we tested the optimum combination Stop Signal Reaction Time (ocSSRT) and median visual reaction time (RT) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) and compared values with data from healthy controls. Methods: Thirty-five PD patients, 22 AD patients, and 29 healthy controls were recruited to this study. RT and ocSSRT were measured using a hand-held battery-operated electronic box through a stop signal paradigm. Result: The mean ocSSRT was found to be 309 ms, 368 ms, and 265 ms in AD, PD, and healthy controls, respectively, and significantly prolonged in PD compared to healthy controls (p = 0.001). The ocSSRT but not RT could separate AD from PD patients (p = 0.022). Conclusion: Our data suggest that subcortical networks encompassing dopaminergic pathways in the basal ganglia play a more important role than cortical networks in movement-stopping. Combining ocSSRT with other putative indices or biomarkers of AD (and other dementias) could increase the accuracy of early diagnosis.

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Background: The management of Guillain-Barré Syndrome is very crucial for the outcome of the patient. Objective: The aim of the study was to compare efficacy of IvIg(Intravenous Immunoglobulin) versus PE(Plasmaexchange) in treatment of mechanically ventilation adults with GBS in neuro-intensive care unit of Bangladesh. Methodology: Thiswas a prospective, observationalcohort study, in a Neuro-ICU from 2017 to 2018. We included all patients with GBS who required mechanical ventilation (MV). We defined two groups: group 1 (group treated by IvIg: 0.4 g/kg/day for 5 days) and group 2 (group treated by PE: 5 PE during 10days, every alternate day). We collectedclinical and therapeutic aspects and outcome. Results: A total number of 49 patients (34 in group 1 and 15 in group 2) were enrolled. The mean age was 37.4±9.2 years, with a male predominance (65.3%). on electrophysiological findings, in 4(32.7%) patients had acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) and acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) in 26 (53.1%) patients and acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN) was 3(6.1%)and NCS was not done in 4(8.2%) cases. The mean length of ICU stay was 20±19.10 days and 46.60±30.02 days in IVIG and PE group respectively. The ICU stay was significantly shorter (p = 0.001) in the IvIg group than PE group. Patients receiving IvIg were early weaned of MV (p = 0.002) compared to those receiving PE with a statistical significance. Also, duration of M/V (P=.002), Need of tracheostomy (p=.005) and over all surval rate (p=.007) was significantly in favoue of IvIg group than PE group. Out of 49 patients, total 3 patients were died and they all were AMAN variety. Conclusion: Our work reveals a meaningful difference for the MV duration, ICU stay, weaning and excellent recovery in IvIg group compared to PE group in terms of less complcations. Journal of National Institute of Neurosciences Bangladesh, 2019;5(2): 118-122