Electrocardiographic And Echocardiographic Profile of Dilated Cardiomyopathy Patients Attending Tertiary Care Hospital in Vadodara

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy is one of the important causes of congestive heart failure and attributes to 25% of all cases of CHF. Moreover, in majority of cases with DCM, no specific etiology is known. The increasing incidence of DCM is also associated with sig- nificant morbidity and mortality. So, the current study aimed at un- derstanding the electrocardiographic and   echocardiographic profile of DCM patients coming to tertiary care hospital in Vadodara. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 180 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy from the year 2011 to 2014. ECG and 2D Echocardiography was done among all these patients using standard techniques. The data entry and analysis was done in Microsoft excel sheet. Results: Among the 180 study participants having DCM, almost all patients showed changes in ECG and 2D Echocardiography.  The most common ECG changes observed were ST-T changes (93.8%) followed by sinus tachycardia (63.3%). The most common 2D Echo findings observed were left ventricular diastolic dimension > 5.2cm (93%) followed by left ventricular systolic dimension >3.9cm (91%) and reduced left ventricular contractility (85%). Conclusion: Regular echochardiographic and electrocardiographic screening of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy is very important to identify and prevent complications among them

Socio-Demographic and Anthropometric Profile of Diabetic Patients Attending Diabetes Clinic in Tertiary Care Hospital of Central Gujarat

Background: With a rise in non communicable diseases in India, di- abetes has been a modern epidemic showing a rising trend in Gujarat also. A large number of diabetes patients come to the diabetes clinic of our tertiary care hospital in Central Gujarat. The large proportion of patients presenting with this condition prompted us to look at the profile of such patients. Methods: This was a descriptive hospital-record based cross sectional study involving a total of 167 diabetic patients enrolled in the di- abetes clinic from November 2014 to December 2014. The data was entered and then analyzed in Microsoft excel sheet. Results: Among the 167 study participants, we found that 85 were males and 82 were females. It was more common among those above age of 60 years followed by 51-60 years. Almost 60% had uncon- trolled diabetes. Nearly 60% of the diabetic patients were hyperten- sive. Almost 3/4th of the patients had high waist hip ratio and 21% patients were obese. Conclusion: The diabetic patients presenting to this tertiary care hospital belong to both genders and are from lower socioeconomic strata and having limited education in their geriatric age group. There is high proportion of obesity and hypertension among them

Plasmodium Falciparum Versus Plasmodium Vivax: Which Is a Lesser Evil?

Background: With changing spectrum, different grades of biochemical & haematological changes generally found to be more severe with p. falciparum, now frequently seen with p. vivax. Present study intends to find species specific differences in diseases progression & complications. Methodology: A retrospective study of Malaria-patients admitted at GMERS Medical College & Hospital, Vadodara from january-2011to december-2011 was done. p. falciparum, P. Vivax were diagnosed by demonstrating asexual forms of parasites in peripheral blood smear, haematological & biochemical tests were analyzed. Results: Out of 1093 cases, 781 were slide positive, remaining 312 were treated on clinical-ground .Of 781 cases, 443 (56%) p. falciparum, 327 (42%) P. Vivax and 11(2%) were mixed Infection. Male to female ratio was 1.8:1&0.8:1 in p. falciparum & P. vivax, respectively. Fever, Prodroms, GI symptoms, Liver -dysfunction (51%vs47%), Renal- dysfunction (52%vs48%) were equally frequent; whereas Hemolysis, Bleeding tendency, Breathlessness and altered sensorium were more in p. falciparum. Anemia (56%), Thrombocytopenia (60%), Pancytopenia (54%), Hemolysis (65%) was more frequent in p. falciparum. Leucopenia (54%) was more frequent in p. Vivax. Conclusion: In contrast to earlier studies, which have proven p. falciparum to be more fatal & complicated, it was noted in present study that P. Vivax species was frequent cause of overall slide-positive cases causing complications head to head with p. falciparum. Anemia, Hepato-renal dysfunctions were equally frequent, nonfatal leucopenia more in p. Vivax, while hemolysis and thrombocytopenia was more in p. falciparum. If ignored complications can alter clinical course & be equally fatal in p. vivax malaria. Hence p. vivax can no more be considered as benign infection and can be equally lethal