Most patients who come to a general hospital in a developing country are poor. The most important prohibiting factor for use of polypropylene mesh in hernia repair is its exorbitant cost. Hence, research workers have been on the lookout for an equally effective but economically affordable mesh. Worldwide, surgical repair of inguinal hernia is the most common general surgery procedure performed at the present. Lifetime risk of groin hernia is 15% in males and 5% in females. Most of the patients who visit a general hospital are from either lower middle class or poor socioeconomic strata. The most important prohibiting factor for use of polypropylene mesh in hernia repair for the common man is its exorbitant cost. The aim of this study is to document the feasibility, safety and cost-effectiveness of the use of polyethylene mesh. A single blind, prospective, randomized controlled study, comparing 35 patients of two groups was conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital over a period of 5 years. The patients in both groups underwent inguinal hernioplasty, and were administered similar antibiotics and analgesics. The postoperative course with regard to pain, seroma formation, infection, hospital stay, recurrence and scar quality was evaluated and compared. Statistical analysis was performed with Chi square test. The properties of both meshes were the same with respect to ease of handling, pain score, seroma formation, infection rate, resumption of daily activities, scar quality and mesh rejection. Recurrence rate was zero for both groups. Polyethylene mesh was 2,808 times cheaper than the commercially available polypropylene mesh. This study proved the safety, simplicity, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of polyethylene mesh for inguinal hernia meshplasty, insuring economical, accessible health care for the financially weak section of the population.
Carbuncles are debilitating skin infections commonly seen in diabetic patients. Excision of these infective lesions leads to large defects that require prolonged hospital stay and repeated dressings with ensuing pain and bleeding. This study is an attempt to cover the wounds resulting from excision of carbuncle with primary skin grafting so as to decrease the hospital stay and frequency of dressings.
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic heavy metal, and the reported effects of exposure on liver function continue to be inconsistent. The objective of our study was to identify correlations between high blood Hg levels and liver enzymes in a pan-India population including adults ≥19 years of age. This retrospective study analyzed the data from 95,398 individuals tested for blood Hg levels and liver enzymes in our national laboratory. Testing for blood Hg was done by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, while testing for liver enzymes—aspartate aminotransferase (AST/SGOT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT/SGPT), and gamma-glutamyl transferase—was done by automated photometry systems. Data from all the individuals inclusive of 52,497 males and 42,901 females were studied. The frequency of high blood Hg levels (>5 µg/L) was found to be 0.6%, and the difference between males and females was not found to be significant. Further correlation by linear regression analysis found no relationship between high blood Hg levels and liver enzymes among females. However, among males, there was a significant correlation between high blood Hg levels, and increased AST as well as ALT. Our report suggested that for males but not females, Hg exposure may be one of the differentials for elevated liver enzymes.
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