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Biomedical subjects

R Kant

Publications and source records attributed to R Kant.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

ECT as a therapeutic option in severe brain injury.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe, highly effective, and rapidly acting treatment for certain major psychiatric illnesses, most notably severe mood disorders. Disturbances in mood and behavior as symptoms of delirium may complicate recovery from traumatic brain injury, but virtually no data exist on the role of ECT as a treatment modality in such clinical situations. We describe a patient with severe, unremitting, agitated behavior following a severe closed head injury from a motor vehicle accident. The initial Glasgow Coma Scale score was 3, with computed tomographic evidence of bilateral frontal and left thalamic contusions. After awakening from a 21-day coma, the patient failed to improve beyond a Ranchos Los Amigos level 4 recovery stage. He exhibited persistent severe agitation with vocal outbursts and failed to assist in performing activities of daily living. His difficulties proved unresponsive to combined behavioral therapy and multiple trials of various psychopharmacologic agents. As an intervention of "last resort," he then received six brief-pulse, bilateral ECT treatments that resulted in marked lessening of his agitation and improvement in his ability to express his needs and participate in his self-care. Also, following the ECT, he showed a markedly enhanced response to psychopharmacologic agents. These findings may have important clinical implications for treatment of prolonged delirium after traumatic brain injury.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1995

Epidemiological observations on malaria in villages of Buhari PHC, Surat, Gujarat.

Investigations were carried out in the villages of Buhari PHC, Surat district, Gujarat to determine factors responsible for high prevalence of P. falciparum. The area is well-known for sugarcane cultivation, industrialization and frequent movement of labourers. The slide positivity rate (44.24%) and P. falciparum infections (95.37%) were significantly high. The children of 5-9 yrs of age group suffered maximum from malaria. The infection in children was found associated with splenomegaly also. High falciparum infection (82.35%) was found in labourers camping near villages out of which 90% afebrile cases were reported which were silent carriers and source of transmission. Chloroquine was effective in 75% cases despite of existence of resistant falciparum strain. Among seven anopheline species encountered, An. culicifacies was predominant and found breeding in most of the breeding sites. The status of the insecticide spray and its receptivity among the community were poor. The investigation led to the conclusion that adequate measures are required to deal with migratory labourers, improper insecticide coverage, poor surveillance and mass ignorance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Role of health education in school-children with particular reference to malaria.

Knowledge and effect of health education in schoolchildren of primary, secondary and higher secondary classes were evaluated. In schoolchildren exposed to different health education activities such as live demonstrations, slide shows and when both events were grouped together a high average of correct score (47.88%) in comparison to that of control group (26.56%) was noticed. Exposed population could answer most of the questions correctly and supported the role of community participation with the help from Government Departments to control malaria. Involvement and role of schoolchildren in disease vector control programme is discussed in this paper.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

A comparative study of serological and biochemical methods for strain differentiation of foot-and-mouth disease type A viruses.

Three serological and three biochemical methods were used to compare five field isolates of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) from Western India with nine reference vaccine strains and five field isolates from other countries. The serological tests (liquid-phase ELISA and virus neutralization) were able to distinguish between the three reference vaccine strains examined, but the five Indian field isolates reacted poorly with antisera produced against these vaccine strains. Analysis of monoclonal antibody (mAb) data was difficult to interpret although clearly the field isolate A/IND/5/87 reacted to a lesser extent with one of the mAb panels (A10/Holland/42) than the other four Indian isolates. The A22/Iraq/24/64 mAbs did not react with any of the Indian field isolates and only significantly with one of the reference vaccine strains, A/IND/57/79. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis distinguished the reference vaccine strains from each other and from the field isolates. Additionally, one of the Indian isolates (A/IND/5/87) could be differentiated from the other four. Electrofocusing showed similarities between the reference vaccine strain A22/Iraq/24/64 and three of the Indian field isolates (A/IND/1/87, A/IND/2/87 and A/IND/3/87), however, A/IND/4/87 and A/IND/5/87 were distinct. Nucleotide sequencing showed that the isolates A/IND/1/87, A/IND/2/87 and A/IND/3/87 were very closely related to each other and related to A/IND/4/87, however, A/IND/5/87 was different.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Hepatic metastases: interstitial laser photocoagulation with real-time US monitoring and dynamic CT evaluation of treatment.

Fifty-five liver metastases in 21 patients were treated with interstitial laser photocoagulation (ILP). Tumors were irradiated with a neodymium yttrium aluminum garnet laser via optical fibers passed through 19-gauge needles inserted under ultrasound (US) guidance. Heating of the tumor was evident at real-time US as an expanding and coalescing echogenic zone around the needle tips. After ILP, dynamic computed tomography (CT) showed laser-induced necrosis as a new area of nonenhancement. Necrosis of tumor volume was more than 50% in 82% (45 of 55) of the tumors, and 100% necrosis was achieved in 38% (21 of 55). Metastases smaller than 4 cm in diameter were treated more effectively and required fewer treatment sessions than did those larger than 4 cm. Complications were minor and included severe pain in four cases, persistent pain for up to 10 days in 11 cases, and asymptomatic subcapsular hematoma (four cases) and pleural effusion (six cases) seen with CT. ILP is safe and effective for liver tumor destruction, and US and CT are useful in different aspects of treatment monitoring.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Seasonal prevalence and succession of rice field breeding mosquitoes of central Gujarat.

Studies on seasonal prevalence and succession of mosquitoes in rice fields, revealed the dominance of Anopheles culicifacies and An. subpictus in newly transplanted fields during early months of rice cultivation, which was later replaced by the species like An. annularis, An. barbirostris, An. nigerrimus and An. tessellatus with the growth in plant height. Among culicines, except Cx. quinquefasciatus other species were prevalent during growing and later stages of the rice crop. Larval density was found inversely proportional to the height of plants, whereas species diversity maximized during growing phase due to equitable number of specimen among species.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1989

Outcome of laminectomy for civilian gunshot injuries of the terminal spinal cord and cauda equina: review of 88 cases.

Case records of 88 patients with low-velocity gunshot injuries of the terminal spinal cord and cauda equina treated by laminectomy at Cook County Hospital between 1969 and 1987 were reviewed. Sixty-one patients were operated upon within 72 hours of injury, 29 of whom (47.5%) experienced neurological improvement or pain relief. Twenty-seven patients were operated upon at a later time for associated injuries, 13 of whom (48.1%) experienced neurological improvement or pain relief. When laminectomy was delayed for more than 2 weeks, either arachnoid adhesions (15%) or occult abscesses (17%) were observed. From this review as well as from the literature, it appears that the timing of laminectomy for gunshot injuries of the thoracolumbar and lumbosacral spine is not essential to neurological recovery. It appears, however, that adequate debridement of these injuries, performed as soon as the patient is stable from any associated injuries, may help to mitigate the late sequelae of arachnoiditis, infection, and pain syndromes in the lower extremities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Anterior cervical debridement and strut-grafting for osteomyelitis of the cervical spine.

A retrospective review of the surgical experience in treating 18 patients with osteomyelitis of the cervical spine is reported. The patients ranged in age from 20 to 60 years and all complained of neck pain upon admission. Ten patients had a prior history of intravenous drug abuse, three had previously suffered penetrating injuries of the neck, and one had an extraspinal site of osteomyelitis. Bacteria were isolated in 13 cases and tuberculosis in three. Neurological abnormalities were present in over one-half of the patients, consisting of myelopathy (nine cases) or radiculopathy (four cases). Plain cervical spine films and polytomography demonstrated vertebral and end-plate destruction, spinal instability, and increased paravertebral soft-tissue shadow in all cases. Computerized tomography and, more recently, magnetic resonance imaging have proven helpful in detecting bone involvement and the presence of epidural extension associated with cervical osteomyelitis. The risk of vertebral body collapse, kyphosis, and myelopathy in the osteomyelitic cervical spine has standardized the management of this problem in this institution to consist of skeletal traction, needle aspiration or blood culture for organism identification, anterior cervical debridement, autogenous iliac graft fusion, and intravenous administration of antibiotics. Spinal stability and neurological improvement were achieved in all 18 patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Bioluminescence assay of calcium with a liquid scintillation counter.

The luminescence produced by Ca aequorin reaction in dilute solutions decays exponentially over a relatively prolonged period of time. The concentration of total Ca and of free Ca in Ca-EGTA buffers could be determined by measuring the decay of luminescence in a liquid scintillation counter. The method is also suitable for determining total Ca concentration in small tissue samples.

Aequorin↗