Indranil Chakrabarti; Swapan Kumar Sinha; Nilanjana Ghosh; Bidyut Krishna Goswami
Volume 7, Issue 1 , January 2012, , Pages 19-26
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Beta-thalassemia continues to be a cause of significant burden to the society particularly in the poorer developing countries. Although sophisticated methods of screening have become available, a hunt for a cheap, rapid, objective screening method still remains elusive. Thus, ...
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Background and Objectives: Beta-thalassemia continues to be a cause of significant burden to the society particularly in the poorer developing countries. Although sophisticated methods of screening have become available, a hunt for a cheap, rapid, objective screening method still remains elusive. Thus, the objectives are to study the validity of Naked-Eye-Single-Tube-Osmotic-Fragility-Test (NESTROFT) in detection of beta-thalassemia carrier state, to assess the prevalence of beta-thalassemia trait among antenatal mothers in the region and also to find out the effect of concurrent iron deficiency on the hematological parameters in these cases.
Materials and Methods:A total of 500 antenatal mothers in a rural tertiary care hospital were selected for the study. Their blood samples were subjected to NESTROFT, complete hemogram, reticulocyte counts and hemoglobin variant studies by electrophoresis and by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Serum ferritin estimation was done in cases diagnosed as beta-thalassemia trait. The results were analyzed statistically.
Results: A prevalence of 3.4% of beta-thalassemia trait and 0.6% of E-beta-thalassemia were observed among the study population. NESTROFT showed an overall sensitivity and specificity of 95% and 95.8% respectively in detection of heterozygous and double heterozygous states of beta-thalassemia. The various RBC indices were significantly (P <0.05) lower in carriers with concurrent iron deficiency. A co-existent iron deficiency did not preclude a diagnosis of beta-thalassemia carrier state.
Conclusions: NESTROFT appears to a valid test in rural setting with financial constraints. The hematological parameters in iron deficient beta-thalassemic carriers significantly differed from their iron replete counterparts but did not cause problem in diagnoses.
Indranil Chakrabarti; Anuradha De; Amita Giri
Volume 6, Issue 3 , June 2011, , Pages 147-152
Abstract
Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of kidney is an extremely rare renal neoplasm with only about fifty reported cases in literature. Presumably,of neural crest origin, these tumors behave aggressively and ...
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Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of kidney is an extremely rare renal neoplasm with only about fifty reported cases in literature. Presumably,of neural crest origin, these tumors behave aggressively and carry a poor prognosis. We report a case of 22-year old female patient complaining of left loin pain with recurrent hematuria for last 3 months. On clinical examination, the abdomen was soft and no palpable mass was felt. She underwent ultrasonography and com puted tomography, which revealed a left renal mass. A left radical nephrectomy was performed. Histopathological examination of the nephrectomy specimen showed features of primitive neu roectodermal tumor arising from left kidney, which was confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The patient was treated with post-nephrectomy chemotherapy and was symptom-free at six-month follow-up.
Indranil Chakrabarti; Nilanjana Ghosh
Volume 6, Issue 3 , June 2011, , Pages 153-157
Abstract
Giant cell glioblastoma is an extremely rare variant of Glioblastoma (WHO grade IV) which is characterized by a predominance of bizarre, multinucleated giant cells. These tumors comprise of 0.8% of brain tumors and up to 5% of glioblastomas. In pediatric age group, these tumors are still uncommon with ...
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Giant cell glioblastoma is an extremely rare variant of Glioblastoma (WHO grade IV) which is characterized by a predominance of bizarre, multinucleated giant cells. These tumors comprise of 0.8% of brain tumors and up to 5% of glioblastomas. In pediatric age group, these tumors are still uncommon with only around 53 published cases since 1952. Here, we report a case of a 12-year old female patient who presented in outpatient clinic with a short period history of headache and seizures. A CT scan showed a large right sided frontal space occupying lesion with areas of calcification. The patient was operated and subsequent histopathology revealed a high-grade astrocytic tumor with increased cellularity, atypical mitosis, bizarre multinucleated giant cells along with large areas of ischemic necrosis and calcification. A diagnosis of Giant cell glioblastoma (WHO Grade IV) was made. The patient was symptomatically well at 3-month follow-up.
