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<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> The limited epidemiological and outcome data of acute kidney injury (AKI) is available in developing countries. The current single-center study determined the clinical profile of AKI by attempting to identify the presenting symptoms, etiologies, treatment modalities, and disease prognosis in patients admitted in intensive care unit at a tertiary care center in Mangalore, India.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This retrospective study enrolled 70 AKI patients between October 2001 and October 2003, admitted at Wenlock district hospital, Mangalore, KMC hospital Attawar, Mangalore and KMC hospital, Jyothi circle, Mangalore, having a serum creatinine level greater than 1.4 mg/dl and blood urea greater than 53 mg/dl.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Amongst the enrolled patients, 45.7% of patients were 40-60 years old and 49 were males with no significant (p=0.412) gender difference. The most common presenting symptom was diminished micturition present in 47.1% of patients and the most common etiology of AKI was sepsis found in 27.1% of patients with the highest (17.1%) mortality. Amongst the patients who underwent conservative treatment (n=52) the mortality rate was 42.8%, while in those who underwent hemodialysis (n=18) the mortality rate was 4.2%. The overall survival rate in the study was 52.9%.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The epidemiological data obtained in this study is similar to the previous studies in India with hemodialysis appearing to have better disease outcomes compared to conservative therapy.</p>

Introduction: With marked growth of the population, rapid urbanization, inappropriate sanitisation and proliferating trend of mosquitoes, there is substantial increase in dengue infections. The fatality rate due to dengue shock syndrome (DSS) can be brought down to as low as <0.2% with careful management. Understanding the factors which are responsible for progression of the disease to the severe stage and death is essential in determining the triage and management steps. Material and methods: All patients suspected to have probable dengue / probable dengue fever with warning signs were admitted in government hospital attached to Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore and were given an option of enrolment in the study. After obtaining informed consent, all potentially eligible patients were screened for enrolment. All necessary blood samples needed to confirm dengue fever and other causes of fever were drawn on the first day. Platelet counts were done every day till they reach stable levels or till discharge. Results: Out of 105 cases (Dengue Fever without complications), platelet counts (median values) were taken as a parameter. It was observed that the platelet counts are at a lowest level on day 2 and day 3 and later on day 4 and day 5 it improved. Friedman's test value = 228.612 and p value <0.001 which was highly significant. Discussion: Thrombocytopenia is a distinctive feature of dengue and it has been described that its intensity correlates with the degree of viremia and with the magnitude of the immune response. It has been suggested that a progressive decrease in platelets may anticipate the severe form of dengue.

Introduction: Hyponatremia is a state of electrolyte imbalance with a high prevalence rate, it is one of the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in our settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features and etiology of hyponatremia in patients admitted in our government hospital. Material and methods: A 1-year prospective cross-sectional observational study was conducted on adult patients with moderate-to-severe hyponatremia admitted to the hospital. Patients demographics were recorded and investigations were documented. Data were analyzed using independent sample t-test. Results: Vomiting (28) followed by confusion (26) was the most common complaint. Confusion was significantly high in patients with severe hyponatremia as compared to patients with moderate. Increased urine sodium levels were observed in these patients Conclusion: Patients with hyponatremia secondary to an infectious cause should be meticulously screened and timely and effective treatment of hyponatremia is determined by the effective understanding of pathophysiology and associated risk factors of hyponatremia.