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Biomedical subjects

A Mukhopadhya

Publications and source records attributed to A Mukhopadhya.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Tropical malabsorption.

Malabsorption is an important clinical problem both in visitors to the tropics and in native residents of tropical countries. Infections of the small intestine are the most important cause of tropical malabsorption. Protozoal infections cause malabsorption in immunocompetent hosts, but do so more commonly in the setting of immune deficiency. Helminth infections occasionally cause malabsorption or protein-losing enteropathy. Intestinal tuberculosis, chronic pancreatitis and small-bowel bacterial overgrowth are important causes of tropical malabsorption. In recent years, inflammatory bowel disease and coeliac disease have become major causes of malabsorption in the tropics. Sporadic tropical sprue is still an important cause of malabsorption in adults and in children in South Asia. Investigations to exclude specific infective, immunological or inflammatory causes are important before considering tropical sprue as a diagnosis. This article briefly reviews the management of tropical sprue and presents an algorithm for its investigation and management.

Bacterial Infections↗

Enteric pathogens in southern Indian HIV-infected patients with & without diarrhoea.

This study was undertaken to determine the carriage rate of various enteric pathogens in southern Indian patients with HIV infection, both with and without diarrhoea. Stool from 111 consecutive HIV-positive patients (50 without and 61 with diarrhoea) was examined by microscopy and culture. Jejunal biopsy and fluid examination were carried out if diarrhoea persisted, with negative stool examination. Enteric pathogens were detected from stool in 57.4 per cent of diarrhoeal patients compared to 40 per cent of those without diarrhoea (P > 0.05). Jejunal biopsy and fluid examination provided 11 additional diagnoses. Protozoa accounted for 71.8 per cent of all pathogens isolated. Isospora was significantly more common in patients with (11/61) than in those without (2/50) diarrhoea (P < 0.05). Bacterial pathogens were isolated more commonly from patients with diarrhoea (12/61 compared to 2/50, P < 0.05). Isolation rate of pathogens was higher from patients with diarrhoea for more than 2 wk, compared to those with less than 2 wk duration. Remission of diarrhoea either spontaneously or with symptomatic therapy was observed in 22 patients with acute diarrhoea. A high enteric carriage of a number of pathogens was noted in HIV patients without diarrhoea, but I. belli and bacterial enteropathogens were more likely to be associated with diarrhoea.

Adult↗

Trends of smoking among medical students.

The overall smoking prevalence among male medical students between the years 1955 and 1988 in a medical college in South India was 39.51 per cent. The trends of smoking appeared to be in three phases. An initial phase comprising of a steady rise to a peak in the late sixties and seventies, followed by a plateau of the prevalence in the next ten years and ultimately a sharp fall in the last five years. Study based on a mailed-in questionnaire to ten batches of students selected randomly, to study the factors affecting initiation and quitting of smoking showed that the peak period of initiation seemed to be in the two years before and after joining the course. There was a significant relationship between the presence of a smoker in the family and picking up the habit. Conversely, no significant relationships were found with respect to quitting.

Education, Medical↗

Hepatopulmonary syndrome: clinical perspectives.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome consists of a triad of chronic liver disease, pulmonary gas exchange abnormalities and pulmonary vascular dilatation in the absence of detectable cardiopulmonary disease. Patients usually present with symptoms of liver disease and the clinical recognition of this condition is a challenge. Newer non-invasive tests facilitate the diagnosis. Therapeutic strategies for this condition are still dismal. Liver transplantation is a possible curative option for a subgroup of patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome.

Hepatopulmonary Syndrome↗

Toxic megacolon in a renal allograft recipient with cytomegalovirus colitis.

We report a 35-year-old man, a renal allograft recipient, who presented with toxic megacolon. Segmental biopsies from the colon were consistent with cytomegalovirus colitis. Serum polymerase chain reaction for cytomegalovirus DNA confirmed the diagnosis. He was treated with ganciclovir but, though his abdominal condition improved initially, he worsened later and succumbed to his illness.

Adult↗