Cytology of Paediatric lesions: a tertiary care centre experience during COVID-19

Background: Paediatric lesions are worrisome and need immediate attention with early diagnosis. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is safe, cost effective, minimally invasive method which helps in diagnosis and guides for treatment of various paediatric lesions.Methods: This was an observational study done during the pandemic of COVID-19 at department of pathology in Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam from March 2020 to October 2020 .The total number of cases were 91 who underwent fine needle aspiration (FNA) during this period. USG guided aspiration and fluids are also included in the study. Slides were fixed in 95% isopropyl alcohol and stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin. May Grunwald Giemsa stain, CBNAAT for acid fast bacilli and correlation with histopathology was done wherever required and results were tabulated.Results: In the present study the lesions were more common in female children (68.13%) and in the age group of 11-15 years (35.16%).Benign lesions (80.91%) were more common than malignant lesions. Majority of benign lesions were reactive lymphadenitis (32.5%) followed by tuberculous lymphadenitis (23.75%). The common malignant lesions were lymphoblastic and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST), Langerhans cell Histiocytosis and Ewing’s sarcoma.Conclusions: Extra pulmonary tuberculosis in children is highly variable in severity and rate of progression with long term sequelae. The spectrum of malignancies in children is variable and region based. FNAC helped in early diagnosis and management of these cases

A clinico-haematological study of hereditary hemoglobinopathies: a tertiary care centre experience

Background: Hemoglobinopathies are the cause of concern in India for not only its effect on the quality of life in patients but also for their inheritance patterns. Tribal population of Visakhapatnam district has a high chance of inheriting hemoglobinopathies due to their culture of consanguineous marriage. Aim and objectives of current study were to know the distribution of various abnormal haemoglobins in cases with clinical suspicion of hemoglobinopathies.Methods: This hospital-based observational study was conducted for a period of 10 months in the department of pathology, Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam. A total of 151 cases with suspected hemoglobinopathies, their parents, and siblings were screened for the presence of hemoglobinopathies. 3ml of venous blood was collected to perform complete blood count, peripheral smear, reticulocyte count, sickling test and High Performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results: In the present study, out of 151 cases, 55 cases (36.42%) were adults, and 96 cases (63.57%) cases were children. 67cases (44.37%) were asymptomatic and 84 (55.62%) were symptomatic. The most common symptom of subjects are fever (23 cases, 27.38%) and dyspnoea (22 cases, 26.19%). 85 cases (56.29%) had normal HPLC, and 66 cases (43.70%) had abnormal hemoglobin variants. The most common hemoglobinopathy detected by HPLC was sickle cell trait (36 cases, 23.84%) followed by homozygous sickle cell anemia 15 (9.93%). Other hemoglobinopathies detected were beta-thalassemia trait; 8 cases (5.29%) and compound heterozygous sickle beta-thalassemia 3 cases (1.98%).Conclusions: Endemic areas for hemoglobinopathies has to be screened with HPLC along with complete hemogram in suspicious cases for the better diagnosis and management of the condition

A rare cause of acute breathlessness in a nulliparous female

Dyspnea in a woman of reproductive age group is a common condition encountered in clinical practice. Neoplasms of the female genital tract may also present with dyspnea creating diagnostic dilemma. A detailed history and thorough evaluation helps to clinch the diagnosis in such cases. We report the case of a reproductive-aged nulliparous woman who presented with dyspnea having multiple pulmonary solid nodules diagnosed with invasive mole by histopathology

Retroperitoneal desmoplastic small round cell tumor in 3-year-old child: Report of a rare case and review of literature

Round cell tumors are group of tumors exhibiting hyperchromatic round nucleus, scant cytoplasm, and high nuclear–cytoplasmic ratio in histopathological examination. These tumors need the application of immunohistochemical panel for accurate diagnosis. We are presenting a rare case of small round cell tumor in retroperitoneum in a 3-year-old male child because of rarity in this site and age