<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> The limited epidemiological and outcome data of acute kidney injury (AKI) is available in developing countries. The current single-center study determined the clinical profile of AKI by attempting to identify the presenting symptoms, etiologies, treatment modalities, and disease prognosis in patients admitted in intensive care unit at a tertiary care center in Mangalore, India.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This retrospective study enrolled 70 AKI patients between October 2001 and October 2003, admitted at Wenlock district hospital, Mangalore, KMC hospital Attawar, Mangalore and KMC hospital, Jyothi circle, Mangalore, having a serum creatinine level greater than 1.4 mg/dl and blood urea greater than 53 mg/dl.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Amongst the enrolled patients, 45.7% of patients were 40-60 years old and 49 were males with no significant (p=0.412) gender difference. The most common presenting symptom was diminished micturition present in 47.1% of patients and the most common etiology of AKI was sepsis found in 27.1% of patients with the highest (17.1%) mortality. Amongst the patients who underwent conservative treatment (n=52) the mortality rate was 42.8%, while in those who underwent hemodialysis (n=18) the mortality rate was 4.2%. The overall survival rate in the study was 52.9%.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The epidemiological data obtained in this study is similar to the previous studies in India with hemodialysis appearing to have better disease outcomes compared to conservative therapy.</p>

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A BS T R A C T BACKGROUNDLeft ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a progressive structural change characterized by thickening of left ventricular wall with or without enlargement. We wanted to evaluate different electrocardiography (ECG) criteria for the assessment of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) using echocardiography as gold standard. METHODSA total of 102 patients with hypertension were included in the study. Presence of LVH was assessed by Sokolow-Lyon criteria (SLC), Cornell Voltage criteria (CVC), and Romhilt -Estes Point Score (REPSS). Echocardiography was used to calculate the left ventricular mass index (LVMI) for the subjects. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values of the three criteria were determined using LVMI calculated by Echo. RESULTSThe study included 80 (78.4%) males and 22 (21.6%) females, aged between 30 and 80 years. LVH by echocardiography was present in 69 (86%) males and 16 (72%) females. The sensitivity and specificity of the ECG criteria for LVH in males were 57% and 33% (SLC), 40% and 67% (CVC) and 37% and 58% (REPSS) respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of the ECG criteria in females were 65% and 60% (SLC), 60% and 100% (CVC) and 20% and 100% (REPSS) respectively. CONCLUSIONSNone of the 3 ECG criteria namely Sokolow-Lyon, Cornell Voltage, and Romhilt -Estes Point Score criteria could qualify as the initial screening test for LVH in a predominantly male hypertensive population. The Sokolow-Lyon criteria had higher sensitivity in both males and females, and the Cornell criteria had higher specificity in both groups. There was no correlation between LVMI by echo and amplitude of QRS voltage calculated as per SLC and CVC. Combining different criteria could improve the diagnostic accuracy of ECG.

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