Introduction: Thyroid swellings are easily picked up on general physical examination. Due to various cosmetic concerns, there has been a steady increase in thyroid surgeries in recent years. Many epidemiological risk factors have been attributed to the development of various thyroid lesions and malignancies. The present study was carried out to evaluate the epidemiology and histopathological distribution of various thyroid lesions. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 130 patients presenting with visible thyroid swelling to our tertiary care institution. The post-operative specimens of the thyroid were fixed in 10% formalin, processed, embedded in paraffin blocks, 3-5μm sections cut and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin. Results: Out of the 152 cases of thyroid lesions analyzed, 12 (7.9%) were simple goiter, 15(9.9%) were multinodular goiter, 47 (30.9%) were adenomas, 52 (34.2%) were papillary carcinomas, 1 (0.6%) was medullary carcinoma. About 96% of the participants had a positive dietary history, 50% of them had a positive family history. Papillary carcinoma and its variants were the most commonly diagnosed lesion accounting for about 34.2% of the cases. Conclusion: Thyroid biopsy rates are on the rise because of increased awareness. Therefore, the detection of thyroid malignancies is also on the rise. The diagnosis and management of thyroid tumors require a collective outlook on the part of the clinician and pathologist. Despite advances in imaging technology pathologists' role is very important in the diagnosis of thyroid neoplasms and in predicting the prognosis and patient outcome.

Blood transfusion is an essential part of modern health. Indiscriminate use of blood components is on the rise due to easy availability of sophisticated blood banking services. The aim of this study was to evaluate appropriate usage of Fresh frozen plasma (FFP). Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a tertiary care centre. A total of 4236 blood request forms were analyzed in this study over a period of 12 months out of which 8.2% (n=349) were for FFP. Number of units requested were noted and appropriateness of requested transfusions was assessed according to the National guidelines on transfusion. Results: A total of 4236 blood request forms were analyzed in this study, out of which 8.2% (n=349) were for FFP. Out of these 349 FFP requests, 53.9% (n=188) requests were considered appropriate, 29.8% (n=104) were considered inappropriate and 16.3% (n=57) requests could not be assessed since PTINR values were not available. Out of the 29.8% inappropriate transfusions, in 13.8% (n=48) transfusion was appropriate but number of units transfused were inappropriate and in 16% (n=56) transfusion was considered inappropriate. Conclusion: This indicates that significant number of inappropriate transfusions were noted. This issue has to be addressed and inappropriate transfusions should be avoided. This can be achieved by regular CME programmes, educational visits to various departments and development of hospital transfusion guidelines which has to be agreed and followed by clinicians.

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