Medical Journal, Armed Forces India

BACKGROUND: Childhood traumatic (CT) events are more frequent in Bipolar Affective Disorder (BD) than in healthy individuals. As per existing studies, telomere shortening might be associated with psychiatric illnesses and aging-related disorders. One basis could be CT in BD aiding in telomere shortening. METHODS: 100 BD patients and 100 healthy controls (HC) were matched for age and sex. All the participants were administered Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)...

BACKGROUND: RAM cannula is used as interface for delivering nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) in many neonatal care units though the bench to bedside evidence for its use in clinical settings in lacking. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study from tertiary care neonatal care unit, the primary objective was to determine the rate of CPAP failure using RAM interface, within 72 h of starting of therapy and secondary objective was to look for the incidence and severity of nasal trauma with the use of RAM interface for CPAP delivery...

BACKGROUND: Phlebitis is one of the most common complications of the peripheral venous catheter (PVC) and adversely impacts future venous access, and bacterial phlebitis may lead to bloodstream infection. The objective of the study was to reduce the to reduce the incidence of infusion-related phlebitis in children admitted to the pediatric critical care unit. METHODS: This Quality Initiative was implemented in the pediatric critical care unit of a tertiary care hospital between November 2019 and April 2020...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Prediction of fluid responsiveness in hypotensive patients is a challenge. The correlation between a novel noninvasive dynamic indicator, Pleth Variability Index (PVI ®), and a gold-standard Systolic Pressure Variation (SPV) as a measure of fluid responsiveness was assessed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Operation Theatre (OT) in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A prospective experimental study was conducted over a span of one year on 100 mechanically ventilated patients with hypotension...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Traumatic retrobulbar hemorrhage may be rapidly progressive, converts to a sight-threatening emergency with potentially devastating complications. Assisted-escape systems in fast jet aircraft can lead to the pilot's facial/orbital injuries at any stage of the ejection sequences, which may result in retrobulbar hemorrhage. Orbital traumas are common and rarely result in retrobulbar hemorrhage and orbital compartment syndrome. However, early diagnosis and urgent out-of-the-hospital lateral canthotomy with cantholysis were recommended to save the patient's vision...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: The use of thoracic epidural analgesia in infants and children could attenuate the stress response and thereby improve the outcomes associated with cardiac surgery. METHODS: This study is a prospective observational study conducted on 118 patients admitted for cardiac surgery. All patients received thoracic epidural analgesia. Laboratory investigations including inflammatory markers, markers for different organ functions, and intensive care unit parameters were collected at different time points (preoperative, immediate postoperative, on day 1, and day 2)...

Patients with dilated cardiomyopathy who have developed mitral valve regurgitation (MR) with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and are too sick to undergo any surgical repair or replacement are being treated worldwide through catheter-based percutaneous intervention techniques to treat MR like MitraClip system®. There are very few case reports especially from India on anesthetic management during MitraClip device implantation and its specific considerations. We present a case of a 48-year-old male patient, diagnosed as post-myocarditis dilated cardiomyopathy with poor left ventricular ejection fraction (30-35%) and severe MR who underwent mitral clip implantation with fluoroscopy and transesophageal echocardiography guidance under general anesthesia...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Cervical epidural hematoma (EDH) is a rare but very serious cause of acute neurologic compression that needs early diagnosis and rapid intervention. Acute hemiparesis is an infrequent presentation of cervical EDH and often mimics cerebrovascular accident. In this case, we describe the management of a case of cervical EDH presenting as acute hemiparesis in an elderly female patient which mimicked as thrombosis of intracranial flow diverter in situ. The report emphasizes that cervical EDH should be considered as differential diagnosis in patients who present with acute hemiparesis especially, who are on antiplatelets or anticoagulants...

Congenital choanal atresia results from the developmental failure of the nasal cavity to connect posteriorly with the nasopharynx. Although congenital choanal atresia is a well-recognized developmental disorder, it is an uncommon condition with an overall incidence of approximately 1 per 10,000 live births. The authors aim to highlight that in very preterm neonates, early diagnosis of bilateral congenital choanal atresia needs a high index of suspicion to avoid life-threatening events. It is considered as one of the neonatal emergencies, and repair is recommended in the first few weeks of life...

Oral diseases are a burden for developing countries such as India where owing to socioeconomic conditions cost is a factor in selecting the type of treatment. Dental care in India is provided at various levels of care including standalone clinics run by individual dental surgeons, multi-speciality dental centres providing specialist care under one roof including paediatric, prosthodontics, and so on and dental centres affiliated with hospitals having facilities for provision of operation theatre and anaesthesia services...

Despite significant advancements in medical research, sepsis persists as a leading cause of mortality in intensive care units (ICUs). Sepsis intricately contributes to organ failure, amplifying both morbidity and mortality. In these instances, a comprehensive comprehension of the physiology of each organ is imperative for accurate diagnosis and effective management. Within the context of an ICU clinical scenario, a meticulous evaluation and monitoring of six pivotal organ systems cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, neurological, hematological, and hepatic are essential...

Ultrasonography (USG) has become an invaluable tool in the assessment of neurocritical patients in the operating theaters and critical care units. Due to its easy availability, reliability, safety, and repeatability, neuro-intensivists and neuro-anesthesiologists utilize USG to make a diagnosis, assess prognosis, and decide upon treatment. In neurocritical care units, USG has myriad indications for use, both systemic and neurologic. The neurological indications include the assessment of stroke, vasospasm, traumatic brain injury, brain death, acute brain damage, optic nerve sheath diameter, and pupillary reflexes to name a few...

In recent years, a lot of controversies have emerged regarding conservative versus liberal oxygen therapy in critically ill patients. While neurologically injured patients might have higher oxygen demand due to high cerebral metabolism, recent studies have clearly shown that hyperoxia may not be beneficial in improving the neurological outcome in traumatic brain injury, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and acute ischemic stroke. Rather, hyperoxia might worsen neurological outcome in such conditions by various mechanisms like direct cerebral vasoconstriction or by increased excitotoxicity, which in turn leads to lipid peroxidation and generation of harmful reactive oxygen species...

Battlefield injuries result in acute and severe uncontrolled pain, which can be reduced with the early use of analgesia. Apart from pain, battlefield injuries may also cause significant morbidity and a prolonged period of absence from active duty. Traditionally available opioids are known to cause various undesirable side effects such as respiratory depression that may worsen the condition of an already injured combatant. Nalbuphine is an opioid agonist-antagonist and has been increasingly used for postoperative analgesia over the last decade...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Colonic lipomas are benign adipose tumors and are mostly asymptomatic. They may cause symptoms when their size becomes more than 2 cm. Giant colonic lipoma (GCL) is a rare finding in endoscopy which presents with or without macroscopic ulceration and may lead to iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). The choice of treatment of symptomatic large colonic lipomas has been controversial. Here we are presenting a case of GCL presenting with occult bleeding causing iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). It was removed endoscopically using a combination of noradrenaline, endoloop ligation, and snare cautery technique (modified hybrid technique)...