The sample size for this study was small. However, based on the encouraging results of this proof-of-concept study, longer duration studies in larger population can be conducted to further confirm these findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION DETAILS: Clinical Trial Registry-India URL: http://ctri.nic.in, Registration Number: CTRI/2009/091/001036.

Background:Quality of life is an important aspect in diabetes because poor quality of life leads to diminished self-care, which in turn leads to worsened glycemic control, increased risks for complications, and exacerbation of diabetes overwhelming in both the short run and the long run.Aims:The aim of our study is to examine the health-related quality of life of diabetic patients in rural India.Materials and Methods:This case-control study was done among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending Medicine Outpatient department of a 780-bedded rural medical college located in central India. We used the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire — short version (WHOQOL-BREF) to assess quality of life.Results:The HRQOL among diabetics and non-diabetic controls is comparable to each other with bad physical health, bad psychological health, deteriorating social relationships, and bad environmental conditions affecting the HRQOL of both the groups equally. The overall HRQOL of the total study population (cases and controls) was poor.Conclusion:The finding of this study will help in health promotion in rural medical practice in India. It would beckon the much awaited avenue of holistic care of a diabetic patient with equal importance to the mental wellbeing and quality of life, as compared to physical well being.

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Acid-reducing drugs can cause increased growth of microbes, including fungus, because of high gastric pH. Our purpose was to evaluate the occurrence of mycotic infection in patients with duodenal ulcer on anti-ulcer therapy and to compare the effects of cimetidine, famotidine, and omeprazole. Eighty patients with duodenal ulcer (62 males and 18 female patients, 16-65 years old) were evaluated for mycotic infection before and after 6 weeks of therapy (cimetidine, 20 patients; famotidine, 40 patients; omeprazole, 20 patients). Mycotic infection was diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy from the ulcer edge subjected to smear, culture, and histopathology and by endoscopic brush samples and gastric aspirate. On the basis of these studies, patients were categorized as having no fungal growth, saprophytic growth, or significant fungal growth. Thirty-five (43.8%) patients had evidence of fungus before ulcer therapy, and 16 of the 35 (20%) had significant fungal growth. The fungal isolation rate was higher in older patients (> and = 45 years of age) and in those with an ulcer size > and = 2 cm. While there was no significant increase in the total number of patients with evidence of fungus after therapy (n = 36), there was a significant increase in those with significant growth (n = 27, p < 0.05) compared with pretreatment status. We found that posttreatment gastric pH of > and = 4 was associated with a higher fungal positivity rate (59.4%) than pH values < 4 (32.4%, p < 0.05). However, neither the type of drug used nor the response in terms of ulcer healing correlated with the presence of fungus. Regardless of the type of drug used, acid-reducing therapy is associated with increased significant fungal growth.

Dear Sir, We read with interest the report by Dass et al. [1] wherein they concluded that CE-HPLC-derived C-window peaks in north Indian patients only rarely represent HbC. In their findings, all four non-HbC C-window peaks were due to a hybrid HbQ India ? HbD Punjab , a finding also previously reported by us [2]. We would now like to add three cases of HbM-Saskatoon, an unusual methemoglobinemic variant, to the differential diagnosis of variant hemoglobins that result in C-window peaks. Our first two cases were a father-son duo. The 1.5-yearold boy (Case 1) born from a non-consanguineous marriage was reportedly healthy at birth with a normal birth weight and no obvious congenital anomalies. He was referred to our center for febrile seizures. On examination, central cyanosis, mild pallor and jaundice were noted. Liver was just palpable while the spleen was non-palpable. Cardiovascular and respiratory system evaluations were normal. Hemogram data is presented in Table 1. Blood film showed mild anisopoikilocytosis with normocytic normochromic to macrocytic red cells.

Aim To explore the cytological spectrum of the gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) including its metastatic sites. Material and methods A total of 42 patients (45 sites) diagnosed with GIST or its metastases on fine needle aspiration cytology were studied over a period of 5 years. May‐Grünwald Giemsa‐ and haematoxylin and eosin‐stained smears were reviewed and analysed for the cytomorphological spectrum of GIST. Results Primary GIST alone was seen in 24 cases, E‐GIST in eight cases and metastasis in 11 cases (one patient showing metastasis at two distinct sites), whereas concurrent primary and metastatic lesions were noted in two cases. Amongst primary sites, the most commonly affected location was stomach (n = 22), followed by ileum (n = 2), duodenum (n = 1) and rectum (n = 1). Extra‐GIST was seen in retroperitoneum and pelvis (n = 3 each), omentum and mediastinum (n = 1 each). Fine needle aspiration cytology was done from 11 metastatic sites of GIST which included liver, gall bladder fossa, chest wall, and thigh. The classic spindle cell arrangement was the predominant cytological pattern. About 8.8% cases showed predominant epithelioid cell morphology and 15.5% cases had a mixed cytomorphology comprising of both spindle cell and epithelioid cell patterns. Nuclear pseudoinclusions, perinuclear vacuoles and multinucleation were seen in four cases. Immunocytochemistry on cell‐block sections for confirmation was performed in 18 cases and all these cases showed strong c‐KIT positivity. Conclusion In this largest case series of cytomorphological diagnosis of GIST, we describe the cytomorphology and immunocytochemistry of primary and metastatic GIST. GISTs with predominant epithelioid cell morphology may pose a diagnostic dilemma therefore in all suspected cases of GIST, immunocytochemistry for c‐KIT and/or DOG1 should be employed on cell‐block preparations to confirm the diagnosis of GIST.

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Context and Aim: Molecular testing of thyroid FNA has been advocated in the indeterminate categories of The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) 2018. The utility of cytoscrapes of thyroid FNA samples for BRAF V600E and RAS mutations was evaluated in this pilot study. Methods and Materials: Thyroid FNA samples between 2015 and 2018 from TBSRTC categories 3–6 were included. DNA was extracted from one to two representative smears (cytoscrape). Real-time PCR for BRAF V600E and RAS ( KRAS , NRAS , and HRAS ) gene mutations was performed. Histopathology correlation was available in 44 cases. Statistical Methods: Chi-square test and calculation of sensitivity, specificity, and positive/negative predictive values were performed. Results: A total of 73 thyroid FNA cases and 11 nodal metastases of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) were evaluated. The DNA yield ranged from 1.9 to 666 ng/μl (mean 128 ng/μl) in 80 cases and was insufficient in four cases. Overall, mutations were seen in 45 (56.25%) cases with BRAF V600E, NRAS , HRAS , and KRAS in 21 (46.7%), 19 (42.2%), 4, and 1 cases, respectively. BRAF V600E mutation was seen in PTC (11/18, 61%), nodal PTC metastases (5/10, 50%), and occasionally in TBSRTC category 3 (1/18, 5.5%). NRAS mutations were seen across all categories and were maximum in the AUS/FLUS group (6/18, 33%). BRAF V600E /RAS testing had an overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of 61.7%, 80%, 91.3%, and 38%, respectively, for the detection of malignancy. In indeterminate thyroid nodules, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 56.2%, 80%, 81.8%, and 53.3%, respectively. Conclusion: BRAF V600E/RAS mutation testing from cytoscrapes are useful as a rule-in test for indeterminate thyroid nodules and provide molecular confirmation in nodal metastases of PTC.