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Biomedical subjects

P W Kandoth

Publications and source records attributed to P W Kandoth.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus in Mumbai, and immunogenicity and safety of hepatitis A vaccine.

OBJECTIVES: Since epidemiologic trends of hepatitis A are changing worldwide, we studied its seroprevalence in Mumbai, which is thought to be a high-endemicity area. The immunogenicity and safety of a hepatitis A vaccine were also studied. METHODS: Six hundred and seventy subjects (456 men; age range 6 mo-60 y) answered a questionnaire on social and medical history. Qualitative analysis of total anti-HAV was performed in all subjects by ELISA. One hundred and seven of 147 anti-HAV negative subjects received hepatitis A vaccine at months 0, 1 and 6. Subjects were followed up (months 1, 2, 6, 7) to look for side-effects and seroconversion. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of HAV was 523/670 (78%); 38% of children < 5 years were anti-HAV negative. Seroprevalence rates of 80% were reached by 15 years. Prevalence was lower in the higher socio-economic group (151/234; 64.5%) compared with the lower socio-economic group (372/436; 85%) (p < 0.001). One month after doses 1, 2 and 3 of the hepatitis A vaccine, seropositivity was 92%, 99% and 100%, respectively. Minor self-limited side-effects occurred in 19.5% of subjects; there were no major side-effects. CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of anti-HAV is high in Mumbai. Seroprevalence is lower in the higher socio-economic groups. The hepatitis A vaccine is safe and immunogenic.

Adolescent↗

Acute renal failure in children requiring dialysis therapy.

A prospective study over two and a half years analysed 48 children of acute renal failure requiring dialysis therapy. The mean age was 3 years 9 months and M:F ratio was 1.8:1. Renal causes predominated, accounting for 65%, with prerenal and postrenal causes responsible for 19% and 16%. Acute glomerulonephritis was seen in 13 cases, hypovolemia secondary to gastroenteritis in 9, tubular necrosis in 6, and hemolytic uremic syndrome in 5. A delay in seeking medical attention was present in as many as 48%, and was especially common with female children. All had oligo-anuria, with fluid overload present in 18.7%, hypertension in 23%, hypotension in 16.6%, neuropsychiatric manifestations in 20%, and infections in 47%. Peritoneal dialysis was carried out in 95%, and hemodialysis in 6.2%. Urine output and renal function returned to normal within 1.5 to 16 days (mean 5.9) in the survivors. Of the 28 who survived, 19 were followed up regularly for a mean of 4.25 months and all except one had normal renal function. Factors associated with a poor prognosis included female sex, age < 1 year, neurological manifestations, and hypotension, though these were not statistically significant. Mortality in our series was 41.5%. While etiological factors have shown changing trends, mortality still remains high inspite of dialysis.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

Experience with brain abscesses.

Brain abscesses were studied in 47 patients. Thirty-four (72%) of them were between 5-15 years and 9 were infants. Otogenic source (34%) was the commonest predisposing factor, followed by scalp and face infection (21.3%) and congenital cyanotic heart disease (12.8%). Twenty (42%) patients had multiple abscesses. Supratentorial abscesses were commonest (75.9%). Predominant clinical features were fever (87.2%), raised intracranial tension (78.7%) and altered sensorium (53.2%). A total of 38.3% presented with focal neurological deficit and 34% were admitted in Grade III or IV coma. Diagnosis of abscess and monitoring of its evolution was done principally by CT scanning. Causative organisms were isolated in 54.8% of cases and Staphylococci, Proteus and Pseudomonas were the common pathogens. Therapy was most often a combination of surgical aspiration with or without excision in addition to antimicrobial therapy. The overall mortality in our series was 44.7%. Bad prognostic factors were Grade III/IV of coma at admission, age below 2 years and multiple abscesses.

Adolescent↗

Prevalence of bacteriuria in febrile infants.

Urine samples from 129 admitted febrile infants were collected using the suprapubic aspiration technique, and subjected to routine urinalysis, culture, and antibiotic sensitivity testing. Most of the infants suffered from respiratory tract infections (n = 80) and gastroenteritis (n = 25). Sixty nine patients were male and sixty female. In all, 7 patients had positive cultures (5.4%), indicating a high yield (> 5%). Six of these were female and occurred in patients with gastroenteritis (p < 0.05 for both by chi 2 and Z test). Four patients showed pus cells and organisms on smear, and all of them were culture positive. Another three had only pus cells, but were also culture positive. One patient each, who had pus cells only or organisms only on smear had no growth on culture. E. coli was grown in 6 of these cases, and Klebsiella in one. All cultures were sensitive to ciprofloxacin. Variable sensitivity was seen with gentamicin, streptomycin, and furadantin. The organisms were uniformly resistant to ampicillin and chloramphenicol. The procedure of suprapubic aspiration was safe with no complications. Our findings indicate that bacteriuria is not uncommon in febrile infants even with clinical evidence of other illnesses and that female children, especially those with gastroenteritis, are at most risk. Routine urine cultures in such patients would appear justified.

Bacteriuria↗

Antibodies to N-acetylglucosamine and heparin in acute and remission phases of rheumatic fever.

The etiology of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is believed to involve an immunological response to group A streptococcal antigens. Antibodies to group A carbohydrate (A-CHO) have been reported in ARF and rheumatic heart disease patients. As N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) units form the major immunodominant regions in A-CHO antigens, we investigated levels of antibodies to GlcNAc and heparin (with repeated sequences of GlcNAC) in rheumatic fever (RF) patients. Serum samples from 26 acute cases (ARF), 18 remission cases and 17 normal healthy subjects were analyzed for IgG and IgM levels of antibodies to GlcNAc and heparin. High titres of IgG antibodies to heparin and GlcNAc were observed in the ARF group in comparison with controls (p less than 0.0025 and 0.0125 respectively). There was no difference in the levels of IgM antibodies. Remission group demonstrated low titres of IgG to heparin and GlcNAc (p less than 0.01 and 0.0125 respectively) in comparison with ARF group. Heparin antibodies of IgM class was comparatively lower in remission group (p less than 0.005). While the role of these antibodies in different phases of RF needs to be investigated, we conclude that GlcNAc antibodies do not play any role in the pathogenesis of RF or rheumatic heart disease.

Acetylglucosamine↗

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte functions in patients with acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.

Polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell function was assessed in 30 children with active rheumatic fever (ARF) (Group I), 30 cases with active rheumatic heart disease (RHD) (Group II), 28 cases of ARF and RHD in remission (Group III) and 34 adults with quiescent RHD along with their age matched controls. All the groups showed normal spontaneous and chemotactic movement. Phagocytosis of yeast particles was significantly reduced in groups II (P less than 0.0005), III (P less than 0.025) and IV (P less than 0.005). The opsonic activity of disease sera was low in all 4 groups (P less than 0.0005). The intracellular metabolic activity was moderately elevated in Group III. Phagocytosis and opsonic activity were thus persistently low in all the groups including the remission and quiescent group.

Adolescent↗

Comparative evaluation of antipyretic activity of ibuprofen and aspirin in children with pyrexia of varied aetiology.

The antipyretic activity of ibuprofen and aspirin was compared in sixteen children with pyrexia due to upper respiratory tract infection and in twelve with fever due to other causes. All 28 children received ibuprofen (7 mg/kg of body-weight) and aspirin (15 mg/kg of body-weight) in a single dose on 2 consecutive days in a crossover manner. Rectal temperature was recorded prior to and at regular intervals up to 8 hours after drug administration. Analysis of the results indicate that ibuprofen and aspirin effectively lower temperature and the two drugs are comparable in their antipyretic activity. In conclusion, significant antipyretic activity, good tolerance profile and availability in syrup form make ibuprofen a useful substitute for aspirin in children with fever.

Aspirin↗