► CA 125 is the most useful tumor marker for epithelial ovarian carcinoma. ► Very high serum CA 125 level does not necessarily indicate ovarian malignancy. ► Rapidly rising and persistent levels of CA 125 may be consistent with benign disease.

Background and Aims:Regional analgesic techniques are difficult to use in tubercular spine patients due to distorted spinal anatomy and presence of infection. This study was conducted with the aim to evaluate analgesic efficacy of local wound infiltration before wound closure in tubercular spine patients.Methods:This pilot randomised double-blind controlled study was conducted in 32 American Society of Anesthesiologists I-III patients, age ≥15 years, undergoing elective surgery for spinal tuberculosis. All the patients received general anaesthesia using standard technique and intravenous morphine for intraoperative analgesia. They received wound infiltration with either normal saline (group C) or local infiltration analgesia with 0.375% ropivacaine 3 mg/kg, adrenaline 5 μg/mL and dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg in a total volume of 0.8 mL/kg (group LIA) before wound closure. Patient-controlled analgesia using intravenous morphine provided postoperative analgesia. The primary objective was to study 24-h morphine consumption, whereas the secondary objectives included pain scores, complications and patient satisfaction. Repeated measures analysis of variance, Chi-square test and Mann–Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.Results:Morphine requirement was lower in group LIA (6.7 ± 2.7 mg) than in group C (27.7 ± 7.9 mg);P < 0.001. Group LIA also had lower pain scores (P < 0.001), longer time to rescue analgesic (P < 0.001), better patient satisfaction to pain relief (P = 0.001) and lower incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting than group C.Conclusion:Wound infiltration with ropivacaine, adrenaline and dexmedetomidine before wound closure provided good postoperative analgesia with lower morphine requirement.

Objective A prospective cohort study in a teaching hospital to assess the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced carcinoma cervix. Method Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the form of cisplatin 75 mg/m 2 and paclitaxel 135 mg/m 2 on day 1 and repeated at 14 days' interval for up to a maximum of three courses. Results Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cervical cancer was effective in the downstaging of the disease. Downstaging was observed in 19.23 % of patients after two cycles and in 50 % of patients after three cycle of NACT. Operability increases to 33.3 and 38.4 % after two and three cycles of NACT, respectively. Complete pathological response was observed in 37.5 % of patients after NACT. No significant adverse effect in the feasibility of surgery was observed. Conclusion The present study showed that neoadjuvant chemotherapy was an effective and well-tolerated mode of therapy with significantly less morbidity and mortality.

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