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Biomedical subjects

B N Tandon

Publications and source records attributed to B N Tandon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Large volume paracentesis and intravenous dextran to treat tense ascites.

Forty patients with cirrhosis of the liver and tense ascites were randomized to receive either aldactone 400 mg/day and furosemide 80 mg/day (n = 20) or repeated large volume paracentesis (LVP) and infusion of low molecular weight dextran (n = 20). Both treatment groups were similar in clinical and laboratory parameters. Complete mobilization of the ascitic fluid was achieved in all receiving LVP and dextran therapy within 1 week of the treatment, in contrast to the minimal mobilization of the ascitic fluid in patients receiving diuretics even after 2 weeks of therapy. Renal function, the clinical parameters of systemic hemodynamics, serum electrolytes, and hepatic function remained stable in patients receiving LVP and dextran and were similar to those in the diuretic-treated patients. We found no deterioration of these functions in the nonedematous patients treated by LVP and dextran even though the protective effect of edema against LVP was lacking in them. Plasma volume estimation in six nonedematous cirrhotic patients treated by LVP and dextran did not reveal any hypovolemia after complete mobilization of ascites. The frequency of complications and death were similar in the two groups. Dextran infusion is a safe, effective, and low-cost replacement therapy in patients with cirrhotic ascites treated by LVP.

Adult

Prospective controlled study of post-transfusion hepatitis after cardiac surgery in a large referral hospital in India.

We studied the risk of post-transfusion hepatitis (PTH) in recipients of blood collected from voluntary donors screened for HBsAg. Two hundred and fifty patients without any previous history of liver disease or transfusion were followed up for 12 months subsequent to cardiac surgery. Thirty-five of them had closed-heart surgery without receiving transfusion and served as controls. The remaining 215 patients received single-point transfusions (mean 4 +/- 2.4 units). None of the controls and 15 (6.9%) blood recipients developed PTH. Three (20%) patients had hepatitis-B-virus-induced hepatitis while the remainder (80%) had non A, non B (NANB) hepatitis. The number of units of blood transfused and surrogate markers for development of PTH (donor alanine aminotransferase, anti-HBc and anti-HBs antibody) were not associated with the occurrence of PTH (p greater than 0.05). Nine (60%) of the 15 patients developing PTH were asymptomatic. All the patients recovered from the PTH, except one who died of fulminant hepatitis. At the end of 1 year of follow-up, none of the patients had evidence of chronic hepatitis. Only three (25%) of the patients with NANB-PTH developed anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody during the follow-up. We conclude that the incidence of PTH in India is similar to other parts of the world and NANB virus was the major cause of the PTH. The absence of chronicity and lack of seroconversion to anti-HCV antibody in the majority of the patients after 1 year of follow-up may suggest the possibility of a NANB virus other than HCV as the major cause of PTH in India.

Adolescent

Immunization coverage in India for areas served by the Integrated Child Development Services programme. The Integrated Child Development Services Consultants.

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme was launched by the Indian government in October 1975 to provide a package of health, nutrition and informal educational services to mothers and children. In 1988 we studied the impact of ICDS on the immunization coverage of children aged 12-24 months and of mothers of infants in 19 rural, 8 tribal, and 9 urban ICDS projects that had been operational for more than 5 years. Complete coverage with BCG, diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) and poliomyelitis vaccines was recorded for 65%, 63%, and 64% of children, respectively, in the ICDS population. By comparison, the coverage in the non-ICDS group was only 22% for BCG, 28% for DPT, and 27% for poliomyelitis. Complete immunization with tetanus toxoid was recorded for 68% of the mothers in the ICDS group and for 40% in the non-ICDS group. Coverage was greater in the urban and lower in the tribal projects. Scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward communities, and minorities (groups that have a high priority for social services) had immunization coverages in ICDS projects that were similar to those of higher castes.

Child, Preschool

Treating bleeding peptic ulcer with sustained achlorhydria.

A controlled randomized study and a subsequent prospective therapeutic trial have demonstrated the efficacy of an intensive therapy comprising hourly intravenous injections of 100 mg of cimetidine along with a continuous nasogastric infusion of a liquid antacid at the rate of 0.5 ml per minute in achieving achlorhydria and controlling bleeding in patients with bleeding peptic ulcer. We recommend that this regimen should be routinely employed for treating patients with bleeding peptic ulcer, at least in center that do not practise topical therapeutic modalities for control of bleeding.

Adult

Hepatitis C virus infection is the major cause of severe liver disease in India.

The present study describes the status of hepatitis C virus infection in 167 patients with severe forms of liver diseases in India. The anti-HCV positivity rate was recorded as 43%, 47%, and 42% in patients with FHF, SAHF, and CAH respectively. HBV and HCV coinfection was recorded in 28% of FHF, 43% of SAHF and 75% of the CAH cases. Superinfection of HCV in HBsAg carriers was recorded in the 54% cases of FHF, 60% of SAHF and 42% of the CAH. None of these 167 patients was positive of HAV-IgM. Further, 27.7% of FHF, 26.4% of SAHF and 15.2% of CAH cases were neither HBV nor HCV markers positive. These can be labelled as non-A, non-B and non-C infections.

Hepatitis B

The role of sustained achlorhydria in bleeding peptic ulcer.

Twenty-five patients with bleeding peptic ulcers were randomized to receive either ranitidine 50 mg 8 hourly i.v. (control group) or a continuous nasogastric antacid infusion at the rate of 0.5 ml/min along with an i.v. injection of cimetidine 100 mg/h (treatment group). Twelve patients were included in the control group and 13 in the treatment group. The mean gastric pH on therapy was significantly higher in the treatment group (7.88 +/- 0.37) than in the control group (5.00 +/- 0.55) (p less than 0.001), and the gastric pH was noted to be greater than 7 on 95% of the occasions in the treatment group and on 8.6% of the occasions in the control group. An overall control of bleeding was achieved in 92.3% of the patients in the treatment group and 50% of the patients in the control group (p less than .05). Thus, the failure of therapy was significantly more common in the control group than in the treatment group (p less than 0.05), and more patients of the control group had to undergo emergency surgery than that in the treatment group. None of the patients in the treatment group, but 16.6% of the patients in the control group, died during the study period in the hospital stay. We conclude that in patients with bleeding peptic ulcer an intensive medical therapy comprising hourly injections of cimetidine (or presumably of other H2 blockers) and continuous nasogastric antacid infusion can achieve sustained achlorhydria, better control of bleeding, and reduce the need for emergency surgery.

Adult

Prevalence of HBsAg & anti-HBs in children & strategy suggested for immunisation in India.

The prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HBs was studied in sera from 982 children of different age groups below 5 yr. HBsAg was detected in 0.9, 2.3, 4.1, 2.3 and 1.6 per cent children of 0-1, 2-6, 7-12, 13-36 and 37-60 months age groups respectively. Anti-HBs in these five groups was noted in 17.0, 12.9, 18.4, 14.2 and 13.7 per cent children, respectively. The findings suggest that the carrier pool is built up in the preschool age group, particularly, below the age of 6 months. Perinatal transmission and the relative role of transplacental need re-evaluation. Cost analysis does not permit inclusion of HBV in the Expanded Programme of Immunisation.

Age Factors

Hepatitis B virus replication in patients with chronic liver diseases.

One hundred and seventy five subjects with chronic liver diseases which included patients with chronic active hepatitis (90), liver cirrhosis (31) and asymptomatic hepatitis B carriers (54), were included in the study. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) specific DNA-polymerase activity and HBe-markers were tested as markers of HBV-multiplication. In HBsAg positive samples, DNA-P activity was positive in 44.4% of the HBV carriers, 52.9% of the patients with chronic active hepatitis and 81.8% of the patients with liver cirrhosis. The corresponding figures for the presence of HBeAg in these groups were 18.5, 26.5 and 45.5% respectively. Virus multiplication was also observed in 41.1 and 44.4% patients with chronic active hepatitis and liver cirrhosis respectively, in the absence of HBsAg. The results of the present study show that hepatitis B virus is the most important etiological factor of chronic liver diseases in India. Most of our patients of chronic liver diseases seems to have contacted HBV infection as young adults and the mode of transmission is likely to be horizontal rather than vertical. The virus replicating markers correlate well with the severity of the liver injury and decreased with the age. DNA-P activity is a more sensitive marker of viral multiplication than HBeAg. Viral multiplication was also found to occur in the absence of the usual HBV markers. Continued viral multiplication in patients with chronic active hepatitis and liver cirrhosis is implicated in continued liver injury and progressive liver disease.

Adolescent

Significance of anti-pre-S antibodies in patients with fulminant hepatic failure.

Anti-pre-S antibody was tested in 38 sera from patients with fulminant hepatitis (positive for HBsAg and/or IgM anti-HBc) using a specific solid phase enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anti-pre-S activity was detected in 50 percent sera samples positive for HBsAg but negative for IgM anti-HBc. There were 12.5% sera positive for both HBsAg as well as IgM anti-HBc and 75% sera negative for HBsAg but positive for IgM anti-HBc. The prevalence of HBV-specific DNA-polymerase activity was high in all the three groups whereas anti-HBs positivity was low. Anti-pre-S activity was observed both in the presence as well as in the absence of DNA-polymerase activity. High-anti-pre-S level in fulminant hepatitis B patients was assumed to be implicated in the fast clearance of HBsAg from circulation.

Hepatic Encephalopathy

Animal transmission of enteric non-A, non-B hepatitis infection to Macaca mulatta by faeco-oral route.

M. mulatta monkeys were inoculated faeco-orally by enteric non-A, non-B virus to study the development of clinical, biochemical, histopathological and serological changes in the blood and liver. Pooled stool samples positive for putative non-A, non-B viral antigen by micro-ELISA and aggregated viral particles by immune electron microscopy, were administered in two M. mulatta monkeys. Biochemical, histopathological and serological changes were seen in the blood and liver and excretion of 27 nm virus like particles around 27 days of inoculation in the experimental monkey but not in the control animal.

Animals

An enzyme-linked immunoassay for the possible detection of non-A, non-B viral antigen in patients with epidemic viral hepatitis.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay has been developed by using IgM antibodies from the acute stage as a source to capture the antigen in stools of patients with epidemic non-A, non-B (NANB) viral hepatitis. 29/69 (42.3%) of the patients and 3/9 (33.3%) contacts were positive for a suspected NANB viral antigen. However, only 1/27 (3.7%) of the negative controls drawn from amongst the patients with amoebiasis, giardiasis, hepatitis due to virus A and healthy individuals was positive for NANB antigen in the stool. The suspected NANB viral antigen was more frequently detected in stools collected between the 14th and 18th day of icteric hepatitis. The study suggests that IgM antibodies from patients with acute viral NANB hepatitis react with an antigen present in the stools of a high proportion of patients with epidemic NANB viral hepatitis. This serological test may be useful to establish the etiological diagnosis of non-A, non-B (fecal-oral) viral hepatitis. ELISA-positive stools contained 27 nm viral particles.

Antigens, Viral

Hepatitis virus non-A, non-B: the cause of a major public health problem in India.

Serological studies of hepatitis viruses A and B were carried out on 362 patients with acute viral hepatitis, 130 with fulminant hepatitis, and 56 with subacute hepatitis, and on samples of serum from 230 subjects during epidemics of viral hepatitis. A diagnosis of non-A, non-B viral hepatitis was made when serological tests showed that anti-HAV IgM and anti-HBc IgM were absent. Hepatitis virus non-A, non-B was the causative agent responsible for 58% of cases with acute viral hepatitis, 58% with fulminant hepatitis, 87% with subacute hepatitis, and 66% with epidemic hepatitis. A considerable proportion of patients (6-32%) were infected with both hepatitis virus non-A, non-B and hepatitis virus B. Viral hepatitis non-A, non-B is probably transmitted by infection of drinking-water and is the principal cause of hepatitis in India.

Antigens, Viral