BackgroundStroke can affect a variety of cognitive, perceptual, and motor abilities that are important for safe driving. Results of studies assessing post-stroke driving ability are quite variable in the areas and degree of driving impairment among patients. This highlights the need to consider clinical characteristics, including stroke subtype, when assessing driving performance.MethodsWe compared the simulated driving performance of 30 chronic stroke patients (>3 months), including 15 patients with ischemic stroke (IS) and 15 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and 20 age-matched controls. A preliminary analysis was performed, subdividing IS patients into right (n = 8) and left (n = 6) hemispheric lesions and SAH patients into middle cerebral artery (MCA, n = 5) and anterior communicating artery (n = 6) territory. A secondary analysis was conducted to investigate the cognitive correlates of driving.ResultsNine patients (30%) exhibited impaired simulated driving performance, including four patients with IS (26.7%) and five patients with SAH (33.3%). Both patients with IS (2.3 vs. 0.3, U = 76, p < 0.05) and SAH (1.5 vs. 0.3, U = 45, p < 0.001) exhibited difficulty with lane maintenance (% distance out of lane) compared to controls. In addition, patients with IS exhibited difficulty with speed maintenance (% distance over speed limit; 8.9 vs. 4.1, U = 81, p < 0.05), whereas SAH patients exhibited difficulty with turning performance (total turning errors; 5.4 vs. 1.6, U = 39.5, p < 0.001). The Trail Making Test (TMT) and Useful Field of View test were significantly associated with lane maintenance among patients with IS (rs > 0.6, p < 0.05). No cognitive tests showed utility among patients with SAH.ConclusionBoth IS and SAH exhibited difficulty with lane maintenance. Patients with IS additionally exhibited difficulty with speed maintenance, whereas SAH patients exhibited difficulty with turning performance. Current results support the importance of differentiating between stroke subtypes and considering other important clinical characteristics (e.g., side of lesion, vascular territory) when assessing driving performance and reinforce the importance of physicians discussing driving safety with patients after stroke.

Aims and objective of the study is to find ABO blood group association with secretor status in peptic ulcer disease patients. ABO blood grouping by direct agglutination test and secretor status by agglutination inhibition test. 50 controls and 50 endoscopically diagnosed PUD patients were selected. Blood group O is associated with duodenal ulcer but no association with secretor status was found.

A study plan was designed to estimate the coagulation parameters like Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), fibrinogen level and fibrinogen degradation products (FDPs). In this study, coagulation parameters were compared in combined oral contraceptives (COCs) and control group. 40 subjects of COCs with 20 normal females without hormonal contraceptive were included in this study. Blood samples were collected for special coagulation parameters. FDPs were significantly elevated in subjects using COCs as compared to normal control. PT and APTT were shortened in COCs. Fibrinogen levels were increased significantly in COCs when compared with control groups.

Seventy Five subjects were selected. Fifty subjects were breast cancer patients and 25 healthy control subjects were included. FDPs and D-dimers were performed by using commercially available kits. Results obtained were analyzed by using chi-square (X2) test and level of significance was done. A significant increase in the levels of FDPs and D-dimers were found in patients with breast cancer.