Search

Introduction: Chest computed tomography (CT) is used for the screening and diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia. The aim of the study is to study the prevalence of residual lung parenchymal CT changes in COVID-19 patients and its association with common predictors. Methods: Longitudinal study conducted at Shree Birendra Hospital in which diagnosed COVID-19 patients with initial CT scan showing COVID-19 related changes were retrospectively enrolled after ethics approval. The study period was from 15 February 2020 to 15 November 2021. Chest CT changes were evaluated and CT scan severity score (CT SS) assigned. Data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed in SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 16. Results: Males were more common (72.6%) among the 62 enrolled participants with the mean age 53.63 ± 15.05 years. Median interval between two scans was 137 days. Residual lung parenchymal CT changes were seen in 43 (69.4%) participants. Hypertension (25, 40.3%) and GGO (55, 88.7%) were the most common comorbidity and CT features respectively. The mean initial and final CT SS was 10.84 ± 5.87 and 3.55 ± 4.58 respectively (Total score 25, p = 0.001). Age was significantly associated with severity of CT score (p = 0.04). Conclusions: A large percentage of COVID-19 patients have chest CT changes after three months of initial chest CT scan. CT SS reduced significantly in the second scan. Similar studies with long term serial CT follow up of patients is recommended to be carried out in future.

Physiological Society of Nepal, with support from the South Asian Association of Physiologists (SAAP), organized the 5th Biennial Conference of the South Asian Association of Physiologists in conjunction with the 2nd Annual Conference of Physiological Society of Nepal. The purpose of this conference is to bring the scientists, researchers, and students from the South Asian countries in one platform to share and discuss the recent advances and achievements in the field of physiology. Since physiology is the backbone of medical science which deals with the functions of the human body, the theme of the conference was given as "Redefining health in nature." Giving the emphasis on this theme, the conference was organized on November 10-14, 2016, in Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Nepal. A total of 300 participants from 15 countries including the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Non-SAARC countries participated in the conference. The scientific program of main conference, which ran for 2 days, was divided into 7 symposia - neuroscience, cardiopulmonary physiology, cellular and integrative physiology, health and lifestyle, role of physiology and medical education, endocrine and reproductive physiology, and high altitude and respiratory physiology - to highlight the latest progresses made in the field of physiology around the globe. Neuroscience symposium held on the second day consisted of 7 advance lectures and 3 young scientist presentations and poster session. Post-conference workshop on system neuroscience was held in BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.

Background: Negative results in bronchoscopic sampling techniques increase costs and delay treatment. We analyzed if addition of transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) increases the diagnostic yield of bronchoscopy. Materials and Methods: Patients with endobronchial abnormalities in whom a full set of sampling techniques (lavage, TBNA, biopsy and brushing) were done and had a confirmed diagnosis of lung cancer by one or more methods were included. The positivity rates of each of the sampling techniques and their various combinations were studied. We compared the positivity rates of bronchoscopy with and without TBNA. We also studied if TBNA was more valuable in any specific type, histology or position of endobronchial abnormalities. Results: The overall positivity rate of TBNA was 56%. It was higher than lavage and brushing but lower than biopsy. The addition of TBNA to the routine combination of sampling tachniques (lavage, biopsy and brushing) increased diagnostic yield from 76% to 86.6%. Contrary to previous reports, the increase in diagnostic yields did not differ significantly between types (exophytic vs submucosal), side or location of the endobronchial lesions. TBNA was found to have a significantly better positivity rates in small cell carcinoma than in non-small cell carcinoma cases. Conclusion: TBNA is a safe sampling technique for endobronchial abnormalities during bronchoscopy. It increases the diagnostic yields of bronchoscopy and this increase seems to be uniform amongst different types, histologies and locations of endobronchial abnormalities. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v4i7.10324 Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2014) Vol.4, 565-569

Background: Esophageal manometry is mandatory for localization of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) in patients undergoing ambulatory esophageal pH-metry for proper positioning of the pH-sensing catheter. Manometry not only gives the location of LES but also provides its tone in terms of basal lower esophageal sphincter pressure (BLESP) in mm Hg. Aims and Objectives: To study the LES pressures in cases of gastroesophageal reflux disease and to evaluate its significance by determining correlation between LES pressures and DeMeester score. Materials and Methods: In the study, 54 subjects with clinical diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux participated. Manometry was performed using pneumohydraulic water perfused system, followed by a 24-h ambulatory esophageal pH-metry. The data were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS software, version 22. Results: The mean BLESP was 13.68 ± 3.93 mm Hg, and DeMeester score was 16.94 ± 9.57. A significant negative correlation with a Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) of -0.632 (p < 0.001) was seen between BLESP and DeMeester score. Conclusion: High DeMeester score as in cases of gastroesophageal reflux is found to be significantly negatively correlated with low values of BLESP.

Introduction: Supracondylar fractures of the humerus are the commonest upper limb fractures in children, accounting for up to 70% of all pediatric elbow fractures. Supracondylar fractures of the humerus can be managed in outpatient setting but are often complicated by neurovascular injury. Methods: Retrospective study including 187 patients who had presented with supracondylar fracture of humerus with 47 neurovascular injuries during the period of July 2007 to June 2011. Out of 142 patients with Gartland type III fracture 107 underwent immediate open reduction, exploration and internal fixation. Results: Vascular injury is commonly associated with type II supracondylar fracture with posterior displacement. Twenty two patients had vascular injury and all of them had satisfactory outcome after surgery. Conclusion: A careful clinical evaluation, urgent surgical treatment and adequate fracture reduction can prevent lifelong handicap. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/joim.v34i3.8909 Journal of Institute of Medicine, December, 2012; 34:12-16

Background: The relationship of pulmonary functions and running performance has always been a topic of debate among the fraternity of physiologists. The relationship of submaximal exercise with lactate threshold, respiratory muscle fatigue, and echocardiography has also been widely studied. But these tests are equipment and lab intensive. Aims and Objective: To study relationship between run timings for short distance and variables of pulmonary function tests (PFTs). Materials and Methods: In the present study 142 healthy males participated who were non - sedentary and non-athletically trained. They performed a 400m distance run and time taken to finish the run was recorded in seconds. These same set of subjects also underwent PFT and data was recorded as % of predicted values. Results: The recorded variables were subjected to statistical analysis and their Mean, SD, Pearson’s correlation were derived. Time taken to finish 400-m run were correlated with percentage predicted values for forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), FEV1/FVC, and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), and the r-values were obtained: - 0.12 (- 0.27 to - 0.32); - 0.15 (- 0.30 to - 0.01); - 0.09 (- 0.25 to 0.06); - 0.07 (- 0.15 to 0.06); - 0.12 (- 0.17 to 0.02), respectively. Conclusion: A negative correlation was found between the PFT variables and 400-m run finish timings. Therefore, evaluation of pulmonary functions may be used to screen potential athletes. This may also be used an additional criterion to monitor progress in level of physical fitness of selected athletes during the course of their supervised training period.