PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

D Behera

Publications and source records attributed to D Behera.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Wegener's granulomatosis in north India. An analysis of eleven patients.

Eleven patients with Wegener's granulomatosis were seen at this Institute over a period of 20 years. There were six men and five women. The average age of presentation was 38.3 years, and the mean duration of symptoms was 10.5 months. Constitutional symptoms (82%), cough (82%), ocular symptoms (64%), arthralgias (55%), rhinorrhoea (55%), haemoptysis (45%), nasal granuloma (45%), otorrhoea (36%), sinusitis (36%), skin lesions (27%), and renal failure (27%) were the clinical manifestations encountered. All patients had an elevated ESR, and 55% had leucocytosis. Proteinuria and haematuria were observed in 64% and 55% respectively. Chest radiographs were abnormal in 82%. In four patients the disease had a fulminant course and the patients died before adequate treatment was given. Two patients received corticosteroids alone and have since been lost to follow up. Five (45%) received adequate cytotoxic therapy and have done well for 8-46 months (mean, 24.8 months) after diagnosis. Wegener's granulomatosis in India is apparently similar to that seen elsewhere, but the high incidence of tuberculosis interferes with early diagnosis and treatment.

Adolescent

Tuberculous pleural effusion and lymphadenitis treated with rifampin-containing regimen.

Rifampin, isoniazid, and ethambutol were administered in single daily dose for nine months to 91 patients with pleural effusion and 45 patients with lymphadenitis, both of tuberculous etiology. Clinical and roentgenographic clearance of pleural effusion was successfully achieved in all cases at the end of nine months of treatment. Followup of 80 cases of pleural effusion up to nine months, in 55 cases up to one year, and up to two years in 30 cases after completion of therapy, showed no recurrence. In the cases of tuberculous lymphadenitis, resolution of lymph nodes occurred in 31 cases (68.8 percent) at the end of nine months of treatment. Therapy had to be extended for varying periods for achieving successful response, and in five cases, medical treatment had to be supplemented with surgical drainage and excision of the nodes. Short course chemotherapy can be used to treat pleural effusion, but the same mode of treatment is less effective for cases of tuberculous lymphadenitis.

Adolescent

Intrabronchial schwannoma. A case report.

A 17-year-old male presented with clinical features of left lung collapse. The diagnosis of isolated intrabronchial schwannoma was obtained by endoscopic biopsy and confirmed after pneumonectomy.

Adolescent

Radioactive uranium in various Indian tobaccos and consumable products (snuff, chutta, bidi and cigarette).

Tobacco is chewed in the form of snuff and thus its radioactivity--if there is any--goes directly into the body. Besides normal smoking, tobacco is also smoked in reverse manner in the form of "chutta", an indigenously prepared cigar made from the home grown plants of Nicotinia tobacum in South East coastal towns and villages in India. The burnt residue and the radioactive element--if there is any--in the case of chutta smoking will also go directly in the body causing hazardous effects. Uranium traces were determined in commercially available samples of snuff, chutta, bidi and cigarette tobacco using radiation damage etch technique. The analysis showed that uranium levels varied from 7.4 to 19.1 ppm in snuff, 0.16 to 0.37 ppm in chutta, 0.13 to 0.23 in bidi and 0.037 to 0.12 ppm in cigarette tobacco.

Humans

Sarcoidosis in north India: the clinical profile of 40 patients.

Sarcoidosis is being increasingly recognized in India. Over the last 7 years we studied 40 patients. Older males out numbered young females. Thoracic (98%), constitutional (50%) and ocular (40%) involvement dominated the clinical profile. In addition, erythema nodosum (20%), facial palsy (13%), parotid enlargement (8%), lymphadenopathy (42%), hepatomegaly (37%) and splenomegaly (17%) were also observed. Radiologically, 53%, 30% and 15% of patients were in Stage I, II and III respectively at presentation. Kveim test was positive in 45% of those tested. The diagnosis was histologically confirmed in 80% of patients. The remaining eight patients (20%) were relatively asymptomatic, all had bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy and either erythema nodosum or uveitis or both. 88% were tuberculin negative. Systemic steroids were used in 60% and topical steroid eye drops in a further 20%. Response to therapy was excellent except in Stage III disease where radiological and spirometric deterioration was observed in three patients. There were no fatalities. The overall clinical behaviour of north Indian patients with sarcoidosis was quite similar to that of patients in England but different from previously reported Indian patients.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones

Clinical experience with short-course chemotherapy in patients with tubercular pleural effusion and lymphadenitis.

Twenty-one patients with pleural effusion and 27 patients with lymphadenitis, both tubercular in origin, were administered isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol in a daily single dose for 9 months. 100% response was seen in patients with pleural effusion. In the case of tuberculous lymphadenitis the therapeutic response was unsatisfactory, and complete resolution of lymph nodes was achieved in 16 out of 27 patients only (59%). Drug treatment had to be extended for another 3 months which gave 89% response. In view of our present findings, short-course chemotherapy appears not to be the ideal mode of treatment for tuberculous lymphadenitis. There were no side effects from drug therapy in either group of patients.

Adolescent

Reverse smoking and chronic obstructive lung disease.

Reverse smoking is a popular habit peculiarly prevalent among adults of southeastern coastal towns and villages of India. The smoking device is hand made. A few dried twigs of home grown tobacco are rolled crudely in a semi-dried tobacco leaf. The finished product is called 'chutta'. The average weight of the hand rolled chuttas varies between 1.5 g for the small one and 7.5 g for the big chuttas. During smoking the lighted end of the chutta is kept inside the mouth during inhalation. An average adult may smoke three to four chuttas per day. Reverse smoking was first highlighted by Reddy and Rao (1957) who reported a high occurrence of oropharyngeal carcinomas in chutta smokers. The cancerous changes were attributed to the heat generated inside the oral cavity and burning of tobacco (Reddy & Rao 1957). The present study was carried out to examine the frequency of symptoms of chronic respiratory disease and changes in lung function associated with this form of smoking habit.

Adult

Lung cancer in India--a perspective.

The epidemiology, aetiopathogenesis, diagnostic methods and management of lung cancer in India have been reviewed based on the published data from this country. Over the years, the incidence has been increasing and the disease is being recognized more often. Smoking is the most important aetiological factor. Beedi smoking which is a common practice in this country is equally, if not more, harmful than cigarette smoking in causing lung cancer. Tremendous improvement has been made in various diagnostic techniques. Cytological methods, fiberoptic bronchoscopy and percutaneous lung aspiration are being used more frequently. At the treatment front, although radiotherapy and chemotherapy are being used, the results are not very encouraging. Except in few cases, surgery is usually not feasible because of advanced disease. Prevention of lung cancer by anti-smoking measures should be the main goal of solving the problem in this country.

Female