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Abstract Introduction Twenty-four-hour multichannel intraluminal impedance with double probe pH monitoring (MII-pH), though considered the most sensitive tool for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is invasive, time consuming, not widely available, and unable to detect non-acid reflux. In contrast, the presence of pepsin in the saliva would act as a marker for reflux, considering that pepsin is only produced in the stomach. Objective To evaluate the predictive value of salivary pepsin in diagnosing laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) as suggested by the results of reflux symptom index (RSI > 13), reflux finding score (RFS > 7), and positive response to treatment with a 4-week course of proton-pump inhibitors. Methods This prospective study was done at a tertiary care hospital on 120 adult patients attending ENT OPD with clinical diagnosis of LPR. The presence of pepsin in their pharyngeal secretions and saliva using a lateral flow device, the Peptest, was compared with RSI, RFS, and with the response to medical treatment using the Chi-squared test. Results Salivary pepsin was found to be positive in 68% of the patients, with 87.5% of them showing positive response to treatment. Chi-squared analysis showed a significant association between positive salivary pepsin and RFS > 7, RSI >13, a combination of RFS > 7 and RSI > 13 as well as with response to treatment (p < 0.0001). Conclusion When considered along with the clinical indicators of RFS and RSI of more than 7 and 13, respectively, and/or with a response to treatment, a positive salivary pepsin test indicates statistically significant chance of presence of LPR.

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the major health problems and leading cause of death worldwide. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the cardiovascular diseases which has high mortality in early hours of presentation and hence early and accurate diagnosis is important to reduce the morbidity and mortality. Troponin I and CKMB (Creatine Kinase-Myocardial Band) activity are the routine biomarkers used for early diagnosis of AMI. Since there is a high degree of instability in the measurement of CKMB activity and also there are frequent noncorrelation with the Troponin I levels, we aimed to estimate and compare the levels of CKMB mass and CKMB activity in patients with and without AMI. METHODS This comparative study included 40 cases and 40 controls. Cases were adult patients between the age group of 30 -70 years diagnosed with AMI by electrocardiogram (ECG) and positive troponin I, and controls were who presented with non myocardial infection (MI) chest pain. Blood samples were collected to estimate CKMB activity and CKMB mass. RESULTS The median value of CKMB activity in controls was 21 IU/L (IQR 13.25-27.75) and that in cases was 40 IU/L (IQR 30.25-94.25) and this difference is statistically significant. The median value of CKMB mass in controls was 5 ngmL (IQ 4-6) and that in cases was 19.50 ng/mL (IQR 6-61.50) which is also statistically significant in differentiating both. In Spearman correlation test, both showed a better statistical significance and correlation in cases (r = 0.787). It was evident that the median value of CKMB activity in controls was higher than that of the normal range for CKMB activity which is 8-16 IU/L, but the median value of CKMB mass in controls was well within the normal range of 5- 10 ng/mL, considering it to be a better marker for eliminating false positive results. CONCLUSIONS CKMB mass can be considered as a better marker than CKMB activity for accurate diagnosis of AMI along with troponin I. KEYWORDS Cardiovascular Diseases, Biomarker, Acute Myocardial Infarction, CKMB Mass, CKMB Activity

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BACKGROUND Metformin is considered as a cornerstone in the treatment of diabetes and is the most frequently prescribed first line therapy for individuals with T2DM. Metformin use in type 2 diabetes mellitus has shown to cause vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency. Besides these, B12 deficiency related neuropathy may mimic and/or aggravate the underlying diabetic neuropathy. Furthermore, there have been lack of consensus regarding the universal routine screening of serum B12 levels among metformin users with T2DM, and similar studies from India are also limited. So, we wanted to study the relationship between metformin use and serum B12 in T2DM patients. METHODS The study included a total of 104 subjects of which 52 are T2DM affected individuals who are only on metformin therapy for at least 3 months, served as cases and 52 are newly diagnosed T2DM age and sex matched individuals yet to be medically treated, served as controls. Their blood samples were collected to estimate vitamin B12 and other parameters. RESULTS The median B12 levels in cases 213.5 pg/mL (IQR 136.25-301.0) were found to be significantly lower (P < 0.05) when compared to median levels of controls 240 pg/mL (IQR 214-303.25). B12 levels also showed a significant fall in their levels with increasing duration of T2DM. CONCLUSIONS Metformin induced vitamin B12 deficiency plays a major role in developing life risks in T2DM patients. Routine screening and supplementation of B12 may be required in T2DM patients KEYWORDS Metformin, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Vitamin B12