Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B Nagi.
Pancreatitis is one of the presentations of pancreas divisum. Endoscopic treatment by dorsal pancreatic duct stenting relieves symptoms in a majority of patients. We report a patient with pancreas divisum and calcific chronic pancreatitis in whom successful drainage of the dorsal duct with a stent through the minor papilla relieved the pain.
Esophagocutaneous fistula due to tuberculosis is a distinctly rare entity, with only two cases reported over the past 25 years. We report this unusual complication in an 85-year-old, human immunodeficiency virus-negative man and review the relevant literature.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is considered to be rare in India. The aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence, clinical profile and outcome of PSC seen in a tertiary care centre. Over a period of 10 years (July, 1984-June, 1994) 18 patients of PSC were diagnosed at cholangiography (14 patients by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, two patients by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and two patients by both methods). The presence of secondary causes, such as choledocholithiasis, biliary tract surgery, congenital biliary tract anomalies, cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic diseases, were excluded. These patients were evaluated retrospectively with respect to their clinical presentation, radiological findings, presence of associated idiopathic ulcerative colitis (IUC), treatment instituted and outcome. The mean (+/- s.d.) age at diagnosis of PSC was 39.0 (+/- 16.1) years with a male:female ratio of 1.57:1. Nine (50%) patients had associated IUC. The diagnosis of the IUC preceded that of PSC in all but one case. Fifteen (83.3%) patients had cholestatic jaundice at presentation, while three (16.7%) patients had asymptomatic rise of alkaline phosphatase. Three (16.7%) patients had recurrent cholangitis and five (27.8%) patients developed portal hypertension during the course of the disease. At cholangiography, intrahepatic radicles were involved in all and extrahepatic radicles in 12 (66.6%) cases. Patients were managed with steroids (n = 7), colchicine (n = 3), ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA; n = 2) and methotrexate (n = 1), along with symptomatic measures. Mean duration of follow up available in 11 (61%) patients was 20.1 months (range: 1 month-8 years). Four (36.4%) patients died. Steroids and colchicine did not have any effect while the one patient on UDCA and one on methotrexate showed improvement. In conclusion, in India PSC does not seem to be a rare entity. Its clinical profile and outcome are somewhat similar to those seen in Western countries.
We describe a case of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with multiple polyps of the gastrointestinal tract. The patient presented with fever, abdominal mass, ascites, diarrhea, generalized lymphadenopathy, anemia, and marked peripheral eosinophilia. She had multiple polyps in the colon, as well as in the stomach and duodenum. Histology of a colonic polyp showed involvement by angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy. The patient responded initially to combination chemotherapy, with total disappearance of polyps. However, she succumbed later to infections. Angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy, although rare, should be included as a cause of lymphomatous polyposis of the gastrointestinal tract.
AIM: To study the frequency and significance of pancreas divisum. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all pancreatograms carried out between July 1989 and June 1994. RESULTS: The 809 pancreatograms performed included 207 in patients with pancreatitis (acute 74, chronic 133), 330 with biliary disease, 238 with obscure abdominal pain and 34 with pancreatic malignancy. Of these, 30 patients (3.7%) were diagnosed to have pancreas divisum - 26 had type I variant, one had type II variant and three had type III variant. Accessory papillary cannulation was attempted in 10 patients; 8 were successful, with dorsal ductography confirming pancreas divisum in all of them. Two of these 8 patients had changes of chronic pancreatitis in the dorsal duct. The frequency of pancreas divisum in patients with pancreatitis (19 of 207, 9.2%) was significantly higher than in patients with biliary diseases and those with obscure abdominal pain (11 of 568, 1.9%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pancreas divisum is not an uncommon condition in India and its frequency in patients with idiopathic pancreatitis is higher than that in patients with other abdominal conditions. It should be looked for in any case of idiopathic pancreatitis.
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A 7-year-old child had unusual manifestation of cryptococcosis; liver and lymph node involvement predominated. There was evidence of cryptococcal hepatitis, extrahepatic biliary obstruction, and subsequent cirrhosis of the liver. Despite widespread dissemination, underlying immune disturbance was not evident. The patient was treated with two courses of amphotericin and 5-flucytosine.
Usefulness of endoscopic pancreatic stents in the management of pancreatic ascites and pleural effusion has been evaluated only recently. We report a patient with alcoholic pancreatitis who presented with ascites and pleural effusion and had a pancreatic duct disruption in the body area on pancreaticography. A 5 F stent was placed across the disruption with rapid subsidence of both ascites and pleural effusion. The stent was removed after 12 weeks and there has been no recurrence during a follow-up period of 9 months.
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Two cases of colovesical fistulae secondary to colonic diverticulosis are reported. Urinary symptoms were the prominent presenting features. Barium enema was helpful in documenting the fistulae, which cystoscopically was not localised. Definitive treatment included resection of the fistula and the diseased segment of the intestine. Both patients are well on follow-up. Diverticulosis coli should be considered in the differential diagnosis of colovesical fistulae even in tropical countries.
Isolated esophageal tuberculosis is very rare. We report a patient who presented with history of retrosternal pain and dysphagia and on investigation was found to have a smooth esophageal mass. Endoscopic biopsy showed epitheloid cell granuloma with necrosis suggestive of tuberculosis. CT scan of the thorax showed no involvement of adjacent structures. The patient responded to antitubercular therapy.
A patient with chronic pancreatitis who presented with massive pleural effusion due to pancreatico-pleural fistula is reported. Treatment with octreotide for three weeks healed the fistula and resolved the pleural effusion.
A 50-year-old woman presented with gastric inlet and outlet obstruction due to achalasia cardia and antral mucosal diaphragm, respectively. The diagnosis was based on typical radiological features, endoscopy and full-thickness histology of biopsy at postmortem.
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis has a wide geographic and ethnic variation and has been considered to be quite low in India. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of colonic diverticulosis in northern India based on barium enema examination in symptomatic patients. METHODS: All barium enema examinations performed between January 1985 and December 1991 were reviewed for the presence of colonic diverticulosis. Clinical data of such patients were retrieved. RESULTS: 51 (3.2%) of 1610 barium enema studies showed colonic diverticulosis. The frequency of diverticulosis in barium studies increased from 0.3% among subjects in the third decade to 32.4% in patients above 60 years. Most patients were city dwellers, vegetarians and belonged to the upper socio-economic stratum. Twenty patients (39.2%) presented with a complication; the spectrum of such patients was no different from that reported from the West. While the sigmoid colon was the commonest site of diverticuli, there was a relative preponderance of right sided diverticuli as compared to the Western experience. Seven patients with complications required surgical treatment, while the rest were managed conservatively. CONCLUSION: Colonic diverticulosis and its complications are not rare in India and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of abdominal disorders.
Noncirrhotic portal hypertension is a common cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in infants, children, and adolescents in India. More than one major bleeding episode, severe hypersplenism, presence of fundal varices, rare blood group, remoteness from the hospital, and patient noncompliance to sclerotherapy formed the main indications for shunt surgery. One hundred four cases of noncirrhotic portal hypertension (age range, 18 months to 20 years) underwent side-to-side lienorenal shunt (SSLR) without splenectomy in a period of 15 years. Splenic veins varying in diameter from 4 to 18 mm and in length from 3 to 4 cm were skeletonized through the root of transverse mesocolon and a shunt of at least 1.5 cm in diameter was constructed. At a mean follow-up of 54 months, 87% of shunts were patent, 13% of shunts were blocked, and 2% were inadequate. Ten percent of the children had rebled, all of whom had a blocked shunt. Growth and development was normal and no patients developed encephalopathy. There was a good correlation between shunt patency on splenoportography and endoscopic disappearance of varices, reduction in the size of spleen and splenic pulp pressure, and improvement of hypersplenism.
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AIMS: To know the spectrum of malabsorption syndrome (MAS) in infants and children and highlight agewise differences in etiology in different age groups. METHODS: 137 children presenting with diarrhea of more than 3 weeks' duration and/or growth failure and abnormality of one of more tests of malabsorption were studied. Etiology of MAS was determined using investigations specific for each of the causes. RESULTS: Sixty two (45%) children were below 2 years of age and 75 (55%) above. Common causes of MAS were: protracted diarrhea 45 (33%), celiac disease 35 (26%), parasitic infestations 13 (9%), milk protein intolerance 8 (6%), intestinal tuberculosis 7 (5%). In 18 (13%) patients, cause of MAS could not be determined. Protracted diarrhea (73%) and milk protein intolerance (13%) constituted the major etiology of MAS in children below 2 years of age, whereas celiac disease (43%), parasitic infestations (15%) and intestinal tuberculosis (9%) were the common causes in children above 2 years of age. CONCLUSION: The spectrum of MAS in Indian children in different age groups is distinctly different from that seen in developed countries.
In contrast to reports from Western countries, the incidence of colorectal carcinoma among patients with idiopathic ulcerative colitis is considered to be low in the Indian subcontinent. In order to assess the risk of carcinoma in Indian patients, a retrospective analysis of 436 cases of idiopathic ulcerative colitis seen by us over a period of 12 years was carried out. Eight cases of colitis carcinoma (1.8%) were encountered during the study period. Pancolitis was present in six of them while colitis was of limited extent in two cases. The mean duration of colitis prior to development of carcinoma was 12.1 (range 7-25) years. While four of these patients were on our follow-up list and were diagnosed to have carcinoma at the time of a medical or surgical complication, four others first presented to us with a surgical complication of colitis carcinoma. We conclude that colitis carcinoma is not a rare entity among Indian patients with idiopathic ulcerative colitis. We feel that until proved otherwise, patients with idiopathic ulcerative colitis from the Indian subcontinent should not be denied the benefits of a cancer surveillance programme.