Scan to discover onlineBackground & Objective: Coronavirus is an enveloped RNA virus that mainly causes respiratory infection. Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab is the confirmatory diagnostic test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) infection. The relationship between SARS-COV-2 and body fluid parameters is still not known. There have been few studies regarding the correlation between urine biochemical parameters and SARS-COV-2 infection. The aim of the study is to determine the importance of urinary biochemical parameters in SARS-COV-2 infection and whether these parameters can be used to predict the severity of the infection.Methods: This was a retrospective observational study consisting of total of 285 patients diagnosed with SARS-COV-2 infection. The patients were divided into three groups according to the severity of infection as mild (120 cases), moderate (110 cases) and severe (55 cases). During the study period 72 healthy persons were enrolled as controls. Analysis was done to find any relationship between various urine biochemical parameters and the severity of SARS-COV-2 infection.Results: Urinary occult blood (U. Blood) and Urinary protein (U. Pro) have higher positive rates in SARS-COV-2 patients as compared with healthy controls. Among the severities of SARS-COV-2 infection (mild, moderate and severe), both these parameters were significantly higher. Glucose (Glu) and Ketone (Ket) positivity rate was more in moderate cases of SARS-COV-2 than mild cases.Conclusion: Urinary biochemical parameters are very useful in identification of SARS-COV-2 infection and also have the advantage in evaluating the progression in patients infected with SARS-COV-2. Among the different parameters, Urinary Occult Blood and Urinary protein are significant in the differentiation of SARS-COV-2 severity.

Aims:To create a normative data for lea grating (LG) in the Indian population and to compare LG with Cardiff Acuity Card (CAC).Settings and Design:Normative Data was acquired from normal children between 6 months-3 years coming to the ‘Immunisation Clinic’ and ‘Well-Baby Clinic’ at a Civil Hospital. To compare LG with CAC, normal and amblyopic children between 6 months-3 years were evaluated,Materials and Methods:Monocular and binocular visual acuity (VA) was measured using LG and then CAC. VA and time taken to perform the test were compared.Statistical Analysis Used:Pearson's Correlation Coefficient to compare VA and Student paired t-test (significance P<0.005) to compare time.Results:Two standard deviations of VA of 100 normal children overlapped with that published by Lea. Of the 30 amblyopic children aged 18.32 ± 10.5 months (2-36), 18 were females. VA was 0.95 ± 0.3 logMAR (0.7–1.2) and 1.0 ± 0.6 logMAR (0.5–2.1) binocularly and 1.32 ± 0.08 logMAR (0.2-0.6) and 1.15 ± 0.15 logMAR (0.88-1.48) monocularly on CAC and LG respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.98 and 0.63 for binocular and monocular assessment respectively. Time taken to perform LG monocularly and binocularly was significantly less (P<0.001) than CAC.Conclusion:Normative data acquired in Indian pre-verbal children is similar to that published by Lea. Though VA by CAC is better than LG, the two tests are comparable.

Introduction: Reduced numbers of all three types of peripheral blood cells characterise the hematologic condition known as pancytopenia. Practical distinction among various causes of pancytopenia is usually clear but some processes are so closely related that the diagnosis may get complicated and bone marrow examination aids in diagnosis of such cases.It is important to recognise marrow failure syndromes causing pancytopenia. Pancytopenia is a common finding, its explicit discussion is lacking even in major textbooks and has led many authors to highlight the spectrum of causes of pancytopenia. Aim: To evaluate the various causes of pancytopenia and to evaluate clinical signs and symptoms, hematological parameters along with bone marrow cellularity and other morphological features on aspiration and trephine biopsy in patients presenting with pancytopenia. Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional study for a period of 3.5 years from August 2018 to April 2022, a total 157 patients were included having pancytopenia in a tertiary care centre, Pune, Maharashtra, India. Clinical history was taken for all the cases of pancytopenia. The blood samples were collected for hematological analysis including hemogram and Peripheral Blood Smear (PBS) examination; also Bone Marrow (BM) samples were collected. Aspirates were stained with Leishman and Giemsa. Special stains like myeloperoxidase (MPO) and Periodic acid schiff stain (PAS) were used wherever required. Bone marrow biopsy was fixed in Bouin’s fluid and processed and stained with Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and reticulin stain after decalcification. Results were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 26.0) and calculated as frequencies and percentages. P-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 157 patients, majority (n=120) belonged to adult age group (18-86 years) (76.43%), with the mean age of 40.68±23.34 years. The male to female ratio was 1.34:1. Study showed megaloblastic anaemia encompassing majority of the causes of pancytopenia followed by acute leukemia, hypersplenism, hypocellular marrow, Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and Aplastic anaemia. Out of 86 (54.78%) of total majority of hypercellular bone marrow patients, 51 (59.3%) had haemoglobin levels of <7 g/dL, while 45 (52.32%) hypercellular bone marrow patients had platelet count of <50000 cells/cumm. Patients with low TLC weresignificantly associated with hypo (p=0.0067) and hypercellular marrow (p=0.0291) compared to normocellular marrow. For reticulocyte count an increasing trend with low reticulocyte count was seen from normocellular (n=4, 6.9%) to hypocellular (n=12, 20.7%) to hypercellular (n=19, 32.8%) bone marrow,though it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: It was concluded in the present study that megaloblastic anemia was the most common etiology of pancytopenia and the commonest clinical symptoms observed was fever.

Introduction: Prostate adenocarcinoma is the most commonly occurring cancer in men. Differentiation of prostatic adenocarcinoma from prostatic mimickers sometimes difficult on the sole basis of histologic findings. Diagnosis of carcinoma is based on Immunohistochemistry (IHC) by negative immune reaction with p63 and positive staining with Alpha Methyl Acyl CoA Racemase (AMACR). Aim: To evaluate the utility of p63 and AMACR in the prostatic mimickers. Materials and Methods: In this analytical observational study, all prospective prostatic mimickers with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsies received in the pathology department of Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College, Pune, India in a tertiary care hospital from July 2020 to July 2022 were studied. 70 cases were collected, studied and analysed which included 38 Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) specimens and 32 TRUS guided tissue biopsies. The Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) stained slides of all the cases were examined and divided into three categories-malignant (08 cases), prostatic mimickers (53 cases) and suspicious for malignancy (09 cases). Furthur, these cases were subjected to IHC for p63 and AMACR. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 software was used for data analysis using chi square test along with p-value. Results: Out of the 53 cases of prostatic mimickers and 09 cases were suspicious for malignancy, 56 were positive for p63 and 06 were negative for p63. There was a statistically significant association between p63 IHC staining and the differentiation of benign cases from malignant prostatic lesions (p<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of p63 were 93.3% and 100% respectively. There were 08 cases of prostate adenocarcinoma stained with AMACR, all were positive. The sensitivity and specificity being 100%. Results revealed that there was a significant statistical association between the positive IHC staining of AMACR and prostatic adenocarcinoma (p<0.001). Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of p63 and AMACR proves to be significant in differentiating between the mimickers of prostatic lesions and adenocarcinoma. IHC is recommended to reduce diagnostic error in suspected cases.

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