A 45-year-old male patient presented with complaints of dyspnoea, cough with expectoration and haemoptysis since one month. He also had right sided chest pain, generalized weakness and anorexia. The patient suffered from rheumatic heart disease (RHD) for the past ten years and under penicillin treatment every 21 days. He had no past history of tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, trauma or any kind of surgery.On examination, he was thin built. His pulse rate was 90 per minute, blood pressure 110/80 mmHg, respiratory rate 22 per minute and body temperature 98° F. Physical examination revealed bilateral pedal oedema. Examination of the chest revealed diminished breath sounds and dullness to percussion over the right lower lobe region. Examination of the other systems was unremarkable. His haemoglobin was 15.5 gm%, ESR 45 mm/h, total leukocyte count 18,300 /cu. mm with neutrophil 85%. Random blood sugar was 114 mg/dl, serum creatinine: 1.1 mg/dl and blood urea: 40 mg/dl. Chest X-ray revealed right sided pleural effusion and cardiomegaly, 2D echocardiography showed RHD with grossly dilated left atrium with severe mitral regurgitation. The ELISA test for human immunodeficiency virus antibodies was negative.

Groundwater fluoride concentration and fluoride-related health problems were studied in twenty-two villages of Indi taluk of Vijayapura district, Karnataka, India. Present study (2015) was also used to compare groundwater fluoride concentration in same 22 villages with previous government report (2000). Groundwater fluoride concentrations of 62 bore wells of 22 villages were analyzed by using an ion-sensitive electrode. A total of 660 adults and 600 children were screened for fluorosis symptoms and signs. Sixty clinically suspected fluorosis patients' urine samples were further analyzed for fluoride. The mean value (1.22 ± 0.75 mg/L) of fluoride concentration of 62 bore wells and 54.83 % bore wells with ≥1.0 mg/L of fluoride concentrations in Indi taluk indicates higher than the permissible limit of drinking water fluoride concentration recommended for India. Clinical symptoms like arthritis, joint pains, gastrointestinal discomfort and lower limb deformities with high urinary fluoride concentrations in some subjects suggest fluorosis. Results also showed an increase in groundwater fluoride concentration of the same 22 villages between previous and present study. Preliminary arthritis symptom of the villagers could be due to drinking fluoride-contaminated water. Increase in fluoride concentration with time to the bore wells definitely indicates future danger.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to study the clinical and demographic profile of patients infected with HIV infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The prospective study was conducted at a tertiary care referral teaching hospital in Vijayapur, India. The study was conducted on a group of 290 patients confirmed as HIV positive. They were studied for their clinical spectrum and different demographic parameters. RESULTS: The mean age of presentation was 36.32+/-12.42 years and majority of the patients belonged to the age group 31-40 years. Predominant route of transmission seen in these patients was heterosexual contact. The most common symptoms observed in the study group were fever, cough, breathlessness, diarrhea, abdominal pain. Tuberculosis and Oropharyngeal candidiasis were the most common opportunistic infections. CONCLUSION: The initial presentation of HIV-infected patients to health care assistance is occurring at a late stage of the disease, when signs and symptoms of immunodeficiency are already established. Efforts are necessary to construct strategies to make an early diagnosis of these patients, improve the quality of care, and guarantee the benefits of antiretroviral therapy, when it is indicated.

BACKGROUND Raised serum uric acid has been associated with a lot of diseases like hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, peripheral vascular diseases and metabolic disorders. But, the association of serum uric acid levels to that of diabetes mellitus has not been successfully understood. A sincere effort has been put in this study to find out the serum uric acid levels in normal individuals, prediabetics and diabetics and come to a conclusion on the correlation of serum uric acid in diabetes mellitus. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred eighty people who visited the Department of Medicine were selected. The study included ninety males and ninety females and in each group there were thirty non-diabetic, thirty prediabetics and thirty diabetics. Prediabetics were considered as 110 to 125 mg/dL (6.1 mM/L to 6.9 mM/L)-that is WHO criteria was followed. All the subjects were aged between 40-60 years. The correlations were made between the serum uric acid levels and serum fasting glucose, serum postprandial and HbA1c. RESULTS The results show a rise in the serum uric acid levels in the prediabetic and not so much in the non-diabetics and the confirmed diabetics. CONCLUSION The serum uric acid level measurements can be used as a powerful tool in identifying the prediabetic condition and help an individual to make the necessary lifestyle adjustments so that the progression of the diseases can be stopped or maybe infinitely delayed.