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Background and Aims: Rheumatic Fever, Rheumatic Heart Disease and Congenital Heart disease are the most common cardiac problems in school children. Prior studies have reported different prevalence rate of Rheumatic Heart Disease among different groups of population of Nepal. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Rheumatic Fever, Rheumatic Heart Disease and Congenital Heart Disease among school children in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. Methods: Cardiac screening of 34,876 school children from 115 randomly selected public schools from two cities of Kathmandu Valley (Kathmandu and Lalitpur) was done. Cases with abnormal findings in auscultation underwent echocardiography and the diagnosis was confirmed. Results: The prevalence of Congenital Heart Disease was noted to be 1 per thousand and prevalence of Rheumatic Heart Disease was found to be 0.90 per thousand (in the age group 5-16 years) with the most common lesion being Mitral Regurgitation. No significant statistical difference was noted between male and female students in both the cases of Rheumatic Heart Disease and Congenital Heart Disease. No cases of Acute Rheumatic Fever were noted. Conclusion: The prevalence of Rheumatic Heart Disease among school children in Kathmandu valley was noted to be lower than reported in similar previous studies. Primary and secondary prevention programs of RF/RHD have been effective in Nepal and are needed to be strengthened and expanded to further reduce the burden of these diseases. Nepalese Heart Journal | Volume 10 | No.1 | November 2013| Pages 1-5 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njh.v10i1.9738

Introduction: Semi-industrialized countries  like Nepal have  high  mortality and disability rates due to cerebrovascular accident, representing  for more than 80% of all stroke deaths globally. Stroke is the most common neurological disorder requiring prolonged hospital stay. Aims of our study was to evaluate the role of computerized tomography in evaluation of cerebrovascular accident by differentiating ischemia from hemorrhage and proper identification of negative cases. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional  study of total 155  patients, clinically diagnosed as stroke,  referred to our department of radiology  for computerised tomography evaluation during six month period, were enrolled  into study. The clinical information, proper history, computerised tomography  findings  were properly documented and analysed in  SPSS version 20 software. Results: Out of total 155 patients, 85 cases (55 %)  were males and  70 cases (45 %) were  females with male: female  ratio of 1.2:1. The mean age of the patients was 63±15 years. There was significant  correlation between clinical with neuroradiological findings as evidenced  by p value of 0.000.  Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of clinical findings when correlated  to CT in diagnosing ischemic infarction were 84.3%, 67.3%, 82.6%, 70%. Similarly, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value in diagnosing hemorrhagic infarction were 67.3%, 84.3%, 70%, 82.6% respectively. Conclusions: Computerised tomography is the first line reliable imaging modality for diagnosis, management of cerebrovascular accident and exclusion of stroke mimicker lesions. Education regarding prevention and control of  modifiable risk factors can minimize the incidence of  stroke.

Objectives: In order to determine the prevalence of multi-drug resistance along with AmpC and metallo-β-lactamase producing P. aeruginosa, a six month cross-sectional study was carried out at Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center.Methods: A total of 756 clinical specimens were analyzed for bacteriological profile. The bacterial isolates were identified by cultural and biochemical techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. MDR isolates were screened and tested for MBL and AmpC production. Ceftazidime resistant isolates were tested for MBL and Cefoxitin resistant isolates for AmpC.Results: Among all the clinical samples analyzed, P. aeruginosa was detected in 75 samples (9.92%). Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed Imipenem as the most effective drug with susceptibility of 76% followed by Piperacillin-Tazobactam (74.7%) and Piperacillin (41.3%). Out of 75 P. aeruginosa isolates, 53 (70.6%) of them were found to be resistant to at least three out of four anti-pseudomonal agents, thus were considered as MDR. Out of 53 multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa (MDRPA), all were resistant to ceftazidime whereas 85% (45/53) were resistant to cefoxitin. Out of 53 isolates, 11 (20.75%) showed positive result for MBL. Similarly, 7 out of 45 i.e. 13.2% were found to be AmpC producers.Conclusion: This study signified the high prevalence of MDRPA which is an alarming rate. Also multiple β-lactamase producing P. aeruginosa were detected which can further complicate the treatment options. Regular monitoring of antibiotic susceptibility and rational use of antibiotics would be helpful in eliminating the outbreaks of multiple β-lactamase producing MDRPA.

Background and Aims: Incidence of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is increasing in Nepal. We aim to describe the presentation, management, complications, and outcomes of patients admitted with a diagnosis of STEMI in Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre (SGNHC), Nepal. Methods: Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre-ST-elevation registry (SGNHC-STEMI) registry was a cross sectional, observational, registry. All the patients who were admitted with the diagnosis of STEMI from January 2018 to December 2018 were included. Results: In this registry, 1460 patients out of 1486 patients who attended emergency were included. The mean age of patients was 60.8±13.4 years (range: 20 years to 98 years) with 70.3% male patients. Most of the patients (83.2%) were referred from other hospitals and 16.8% of patients directly attended the SGNHC emergency. During the presentation, smoking (54%) was the most common risk factor, followed by hypertension (36.6%), diabetes mellitus (25.3%), and dyslipidemia (7.8%). After admission, new cases of dyslipidemia, HTN, Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG), and Type 2 DM were diagnosed in 682 (51.3%), 182 (20.1%), 148 (10.3%) and 95 (8.9%) respectively. At the time of presentation, 73.3% were in Killip class I and 26.3% were above Killip class II with 5.1% in cardiogenic shock. Thirty-one percent of the cases received reperfusion therapy (Primary percutaneous intervention in 25.2% and fibrinolysis in 5.8%). Inferior wall MI was the most common type of STEMI. Among the patients who underwent invasive therapy, the multi-vessel disease was noted in 46.2% cases and left main coronary artery involvement in 0.7% cases. In-hospital mortality was 6.2% with cardiogenic shock being the most common cause. Aspirin (97.8%), clopidogrel (96.2%), statin (96.4%), ACEI/ARB (76.8%) and beta-blocker (76.8%) were prescribed during discharge. Conclusion: The SGNHC-STEMI registry provides valuable information on the overall aspect of STEMI in Nepal. In general, the SGNHC-STEMI registry findings are consistent with other international data.