Background: Lymph nodes are spread throughout the body and are routinely checked for abnormalities. These lymph nodes have the potential to become infected or malignant. The swelling of lymph nodes and the nodes which are abnormal in terms of size and/or number is commonly known as lymphadenopathy. One of the most common causes of lymphadenopathy observed is reactive lymphadenitis followed by granulomatous lymphadenitis. For diagnosis of lymph node biopsies, excisional biopsy and histopathological analysis are considered as the ‘gold standard’. Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive and a cross-sectional study of all the patients with lymph node biopsies seen in Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute from January 2018 till March 2022. Histopathology reports of lymph node biopsies of patients required at Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute were included in the study. Results: The most common diagnosis is of tuberculous lymphadenitis which accounted for 251 (53.2%) of the total 469 cases. Tuberculous lymphadenitis was most commonly observed in females (68.92%) as compared to males (31.07%). Cancer cases which accounted for 83 (17.70%) cases formed the second most common diagnosis in which females (53.01%) accounted for most cases as compared to males (46.99%). Conclusions: Enlarged lymph nodes should undergo fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), truecut biopsy and/or excisional biopsy for correct diagnosis. The diagnostic spectrum ranges from benign reactive to TB and also malignancies.

Background: One of the most common problems associated with the abdomen is appendicitis. The acute cases of appendicitis are generally treated with appendectomy. The surgical process of removal of appendix, that is, appendectomy, helps in diagnosis of appendicitis. However, the appendix which looks normal macroscopically can actually harbour pathological findings when histopathological assessment is done. Appendiceal tumours or any type of parasitic function can occur in a normal looking appendix. Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive and a cross-sectional study of all the patients with appendix biopsies seen in Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute from January 2018 till March 2022. Ethical approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee was obtained for this study. Histopathology reports of appendix biopsies of patients required at Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute were included in the study. Results: Out of the total 359 cases of appendix biopsies, 209 (58.2%) cases of acute appendix were found to be the most common. Males accounted for 216 (60.17%) cases of appendix biopsies which are in majority in comparison to 143 (39.83%) cases of female appendix biopsies. Based on age grouping, the age group of 11-20 showed majority (25.1%) cases of appendix biopsies. Conclusions: All appendix specimens should be sent for histopathological analysis to document the removal of appendix, to know the pathology diagnosis and to rule out malignancy in the appendix.

Background: In India, breast cancer has become a leading cause of cancer death. The indication of a breast lump can be cause of great concern in most patients. While most of the lumps are benign in nature, there is a possibility of an increased risk of developing premalignant lesions. Any breast mass/lump requires histological diagnosis to get a clear picture of the lump associated problems. Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive and a cross-sectional study of all the patients with breast lumps seen in Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute from January 2018 till March 2022. Histopathology reports of breast biopsies of patients required at Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute were included in the study. Results: The total number of cases of breast biopsies available were 449. These cases are grouped into benign and malignant cases which comprise of 276 (61.47%) and 173 (38.53%) cases respectively. The most common benign diagnosis observed was fibroadenoma which accounted for 184 (66.67%) cases. Based on age grouping, the 21-40 age group contained the maximum number of benign cases. The most common malignancy observed was of ductal carcinoma with 163 (94.21%) cases. Based on age grouping, the age group of 41-60 contained the maximum number of malignant cases. Conclusions: It is imperative that all breast lesions should undergo biopsies irrespective of clinical findings for the following reasons: rising incidence of breast cancer, to rule out/confirm malignancy and to complete the diagnostic triad of clinical diagnosis, radiology and pathology.

Factors influencing the quality of life (QoL) of senior citizens are many. We evaluated the factors affecting various domains of quality of life in this vulnerable population. A community-based survey was conducted in the Thane District of Maharashtra state, India amongst 427 individuals above 60 years of age. A pre-validated World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) followed by personal interviews was used.Overall a lower QoL was observed amongst the study participants. Advanced age, female gender, informal education, economically dependence on the family members, low socio -economic status and those with multiple health problems were observed to be associated with poor QoL. We have identified factors significantly associated with poor QoL amongst the senior citizens living in a slum area. Interventions targeting this vulnerable population (particularly with risk factors) should be explored for their utility in improving the QoL.

Care-giving to elderly population is challenging impacting their quality of life (QoL). We carried out the present study evaluating the influence of an intervention targeting this population in improving their QoL. A community-based randomized clinical trial was undertaken targeting the elderly population residing in an urban slum area after evaluating the baseline QoL using pre-validated questionnaire from World Health Organization (WHO QOL-BREF). Intervention involving mainly the interaction with elderly population in facilitating their interaction with the health care providers, and social clubs was carried out in the intervention group. Control group of participants was provided the usual standard of care without any active intervention.: Eight-hundred and fifty-two were included (study group: 426 and control group: 426) with a large-majority in the age range of 60-69 years. Most of the participants were educated, housewives, economically dependent on their family members, with a monthly income ranging between 5001 and 10000 rupees. The demographic characteristics were comparable between the intervention and control groups except for the concomitant diseases that were significantly more in the intervention group. Baseline mean WHO QOL-BREF scores were 40.04 and 45.2 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Post-intervention, the QoL scores were significantly (p < 0.05) greater in the intervention group. Those between 60 and 69 years, male gender, those independant on their family members, and healthy individuals had significantly greater QoL scores post-intervention.We observed that our intervention had significant beneficial effects in improving the QoL among the elderly individuals residing in an urban slum area. We have also identified certain sub-groups of individuals with a greater response. There is an urgent need for evaluating the utility of our intervention using a randomized study.