INTRODUCTION Dyselectrolytemia is a common problem affecting elderly hospitalised patients. Although hypo/hypernatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality found in elderly, abnormalities in other electrolytes may also occur in various settings. Information regarding the pattern of electrolyte abnormalities in elderly is lacking in this part of the country. With this background the following case control study was taken up with the following aims and objectives. OBJECTIVES • To study the various patterns of dyselectrolytemia in elderly and compare them with young. • To evaluate and compare the various aetiological factors and comorbid conditions involved in the occurrence of electrolyte abnormalities in these groups of patients. RESULTS The mean age of the study population was 66.174 years (SD-6.512 years) and of the control group was 41.94 years (SD-10.924 years). Hyponatraemia was the most common electrolyte abnormality encountered in both the groups (57% vs. 60%, p-0.61). The incidence of hyperkalaemia was significantly higher in the older age group (19.5% vs. 11.5%, p-0.03). Also, in the elderly, the presence of abnormalities in more than one electrolyte level was significantly higher than the young (25.5% vs. 14%, p-0.005). The average length of hospital stay in the elderly was 10.05 days (SD-4.40 days) whereas in the young was 6.35 days (SD-3.27 days), p <0.0001. The mortality rate was also significantly higher in the elderly group (16% vs. 3.5%, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION Dyselectrolytemia is a common pathological condition encountered in the elderly population which is associated with a very high morbidity and mortality when compared with the young. Hence, elderly patients particularly with associated comorbid conditions should be screened routinely for the presence of associated electrolyte disturbances.

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Background: Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy (MHE) is now increasingly described in patients with cirrhosis without any overt abnormalities on clinical examination. The diagnosis of MHE is based on multiple tests including a combination of paper and pencil tests, computerised tests and neurophysiological tests. Aim of the study: To study the alpha wave patterns in patients with MHE as this has been sparsely reported in the literature. Methods: The study included 70 diagnosed cases of cirrhosis and an equal number of age and sex matched control who were subjected to two paper and pencil tests-NCT-A and DST along with EEG. Results and observations: Of the 70 patients included in the study, 56 (80%) was in CPC-A class. MHE was present in 52 (74.28%) cases of which 38 belonged to CPC-A class. In patients with MHE, alpha wave frequency (10.82 ±0.41Hz) was significantly lower than those in controls (11.52 ± 0.64 Hz) (p< 0.05). Alpha wave amplitude was lower in MHE patients (35 ± 2.78 µV) than in controls (48.18 ± 3.59 µV) (p < 0.05). The frequency and amplitude decreased with higher grades of CPC and higher NCT-A. No difference was noted in the pattern of other wave forms in EEG between patients with MHE and controls. Conclusion: A lower frequency and amplitude of alpha wave along with abnormal NCT-A can be predictive of MHE in cirrhosis.

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection can cause a wide range of symptoms, from asymptomatic infection and mild upper respiratory tract disease to severe viral pneumonia with respiratory failure and multiorgan malfunction. Through this study, effort was put forward to know the COVID-19 in terms of clinical characteristics, risk factors and laboratory parameters which in turn may serve as predictors of severe sickness and negative outcomes of COVID-19. Aim: To study the clinical characteristics, risk factors and laboratory parameters of COVID-19 patients in a part of North Eastern India, and also to compare these parameters between survivors and non survivors. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in Silchar Medical College and Hospital, Silchar, Assam, India. Study included all patients of COVID-19 diagnosed by Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) or Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) admitted from 1st July, 2020 to 31st December, 2020. The data included demographic parameters, presenting symptoms, significant medical, surgical or drug history etc., and laboratory parameters including complete blood count, Random Blood Sugar (RBS), chest x-ray, renal and liver function test, C-reactive protein, Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), serum ferritin, troponin I etc. Data were statistically analysed by unpaired t-test for continuous variables and chi-square test was used for comparing proportions. Results: Out of a total 2262 study subjects, 2066 (91.34%) were discharged from the hospital after recovery and 196 (8.66%) had expired. The various parameters contributing significantly to mortality were male gender, age >60 years, various co-morbid conditions like diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiac illness. The laboratory parameters observed to be significantly associated with mortality were thrombocytopenia, leucocytosis, hyperglycaemia, raised value of lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine, D-dimer, ferritin, C-reactive protein. Radiological findings including ground glass opacities and pleural effusion also were more common in the non survivor group as compared to the survivor group. Conclusion: More than half of the deceased patients were older than 60 years of age. The prevalence of co-morbidities and mean level of laboratory parameters were significantly high among non survivors as compared to those who recovered.