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D Prabhakaran

Publications and source records attributed to D Prabhakaran.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Critical appraisal of left ventricular function assessment by the automated border detection method on echocardiography. Is it good enough?

Many studies have attempted to validate the echocardiographic automated border detection (ABD) method for assessing left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by comparing it with various echocardiographic and non-echocardiographic standards. The main basis of assessing its accuracy has been the coefficient of correlation. The fallacy of using coefficient of correlation for assessing agreement between two methods of measurement has been well emphasized in the literature. In the present study we used the Bland and Altman test for testing the accuracy of the ABD method. We compared the ABD method for LVEF assessment with the manual edge detection technique on echocardiography and with radionuclide ventriculography in 34 patients. The majority of patients (76%) had regional wall motion abnormality. The ABD method could be adequately performed in 25 (74%) patients. LVEF was significantly underestimated by the ABD method with very wide limits of agreement when compared with radionuclide ventriculography and the manual edge detection technique (-9.2+/-21.7 and -2.7+/-18.4 respectively, mean error+/-2 standard deviations). Stated simply, the ABD method could overestimate LVEF by 12.5 and 15.7 or underestimate by 30.9 and 21.1 when compared with radionuclide ventriculography and manual edge detection technique, respectively. This large error is by no means acceptable for clinical purposes. It is concluded that at the present stage, the ABD method cannot replace radionuclide ventriculography and manual edge detection technique for assessing LVEF.

Adult↗

Tobacco and alcohol use outcomes of a school-based intervention in New Delhi.

OBJECTIVE: To reduce tobacco use among adolescents. METHODS: Thirty schools in New Delhi, India, were randomly assigned to 3 conditions: school-based and family-based intervention, school-based intervention only, or control group. Students were in the seventh grade at pretest (N = 4,776). The smoking intervention included posters, booklets, classroom activities, debates, and a signature campaign. The family intervention involved home activities. The survey measured tobacco knowledge, attitudes, offers, use, and intentions. RESULTS: Intervention students were significantly less likely than controls to have been offered, received, experimented with, or have intentions to use tobacco. CONCLUSION: The project had a significant impact on tobacco use.

Child↗

Percutaneous transseptal mitral commissurotomy in pregnant women with critical mitral stenosis.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous transseptal mitral commissurotomy has been successfully performed in selected pregnant patients with severe symptomatic mitral stenosis. Its safety and efficacy needs to be evaluated in a large number of cases. METHODS AND RESULTS: Percutaneous transseptal mitral commissurotomy was performed in 85 severely symptomatic (New York Heart Association functional class III or IV) pregnant women aged 22.7+/-4.1 years (range 18-39 years) with critical mitral stenosis at 24.8+/-4.7 weeks (range 20-34 weeks) of gestation. Percutaneous valvotomy was performed using a flow-guided Inoue balloon in all the patients. The procedure was considered successful in 80 (94%) patients. The hemodynamic mean end-diastolic gradient decreased from 26.7+/-6.8 mm Hg (range 16-35 mmHg) to 4.5+/-3.8 mmHg (range 0-14 mmHg) (p<0.001). The mean diastolic gradient decreased from 29.1+/-9.1 mmHg (range 18-38 mmHg) to 7.2+/-4.1 mmHg (range 4.1-18 mmHg) (p<0.001). The mean mitral valve area assessed by echocardiography increased from 0.75+/-0.5 cm2 (range 0.4-1.0 cm2) to 2.0+/-0.5 (range 1.0-2.7 cm2) (p<0.001). The mean fluoroscopy time was 3.6+/-3.2 minutes. The results of the mitral valvotomy were considered suboptimal in 4 patients. Mitral regurgitation increased by 1 grade in 16 patients and more than 2 grades in 2 patients. One patient developed pericardial tamponade during the procedure and was managed by catheter drainage. Percutaneous mitral valve dilatation was then successfully performed in this patient. No fetal abortion occurred after the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that percutaneous transseptal mitral commissurotomy is a safe and effective procedure for severe symptomatic mitral stenosis in pregnancy.

Adolescent↗

Pulmonary functions in patients with epidemic dropsy.

Pulmonary functions were performed in thirteen patients with epidemic dropsy. The epidemic occurred in Delhi in 1998 during which 102 patients with epidemic dropsy reported to our medical unit. Other investigations included chest radiograph, ECG, liver and renal function tests. There was a restrictive ventilatory defect with diminution of diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide in these patients. Echocardiogram was done in seven of these patients and was normal. The cause of breathlessness and restrictive ventilatory defect is likely to be non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema.

Adolescent↗

Cardiovascular risk factor prevalence among men in a large industry of northern India.

BACKGROUND: Industrial settings, with their intramural resources and healthcare infrastructure, are ideal for initiating preventive activities to increase the awareness and control of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, there are no reliable estimates of CVD and risk factor burden, nor of its awareness and treatment status in urban Indian industrial settings. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of CVD and its risk factors, and to assess the status of awareness and control of CVD risk factors among a large industrial population of northern India. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among all employees aged 20-59 years of a large industry near Delhi (n=2935), to evaluate their cardiovascular risk profile--by employing a structured questionnaire and clinical and biochemical estimations. The presence of coronary heart disease was ascertained by evidence of its treatment, Rose angina questionnaire and Minnesota coded electrocardiograms. RESULTS: The results for 2122 men, in whom complete information was available, are reported here. The mean age was 42 years and 90% of the men were below 50 years of age. The prevalence of major CVD risk factors (95% CI) was: hypertension 30% (28%-32%), diabetes 15% (14%-17%), high serum total cholesterol/HDL ratio (> or = 4.5) 62% (60%-64%) and current smoking 36% (34%-38%). Forty-seven per cent of the respondents had at least two of these risk factors. Another 44% (95% CI: 42%-46%) had pre-hypertension (INC VII criteria) and 37% (95% CI: 35%-39%) had evidence of either impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. Thirty-five per cent (95% CI: 33%-37%) of the individuals were overweight (BMI > or = 25 kg/m2) while 43% (95% CI: 40%-45%) had central obesity (waist circumference >90 cm). The metabolic syndrome was present in 28%-35% of the individuals depending on the diagnostic criteria used. The prevalence of several risk factors and the metabolic syndrome was high with increasing age, BMI and waist circumference. A third of those who had hypertension (31.5%) and diabetes (31%) were aware of their status. Among those aware, adequate control of blood pressure and blood glucose was present in only 38% of those with hypertension and 31% of those with diabetes, respectively. Coronary heart disease was present in 7.3% of the individuals while 0.3% had a history of stroke. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the high prevalence of CVD and its risk factors against a background of poor awareness and control among a comparatively young male population in a north Indian industrial setting.

Adult↗

Role of EDTA chelation therapy in cardiovascular diseases.

Chelation therapy is a widely practised mode of treatment for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases all over the world. However, evidence for the utility of this therapy is limited and conflicting. We did a systematic review of the literature. The reference listings of the articles, obtained from a Pubmed search using relevant keywords, were searched for additional related articles. Most of the evidence supporting the use of EDTA chelation therapy is from case reports, small series or uncontrolled, open-label clinical trials. The published randomized controlled trials include few patients and their results are of limited value. Uncontrolled studies have reported symptomatic improvements but the few controlled trials suggest that these benefits are due to a placebo effect. The available data do not support the use of chelation in cardiovascular diseases. This therapy should be used only in the context of a research trial including patients who have failed to respond to conventional treatment.

Atherosclerosis↗

Profile of coronary artery disease in Indian women: correlation of clinical, non invasive and coronary angiographic findings.

Clinical and risk factor profile of 101 consecutive female patients subjected to coronary angiography was analysed. Coronary angiography showed single vessel disease (SVD) in 15.8 per cent, double vessel disease (DVD) in 12.9 per cent, triple vessel disease (TVD) in 39.6 per cent and normal coronary arteries (NC) in 30.7 per cent. Risk factor profile in patients with angiographic coronary artery disease (group II) included hypertension (HT) in 52.9 per cent, diabetes mellitus (DM) in 44.3 per cent, post menopausal state in 84.3 per cent, positive family history in 51.4 per cent, obesity in 58.3 per cent, low density and high density lipoprotein ratio (LDL/HDL) more than 3.0 in 58 per cent and smoking in 4.3 per cent. Risk factors in 31 patients with NC (group I) included HT in 29 per cent, DM in 6.5 per cent, positive family history in 45.2 per cent, obesity in 45.2 per cent, post menopausal state in 48.4 per cent, LDL/HDL ratio more than 3.0 in 30 per cent and smoking in none. The clinical presentation in group II was unstable angina in 64.3 per cent, stable angina pectoris in 24.3 per cent, myocardial infarction in 4.3 per cent and atypical chest pain in 2.8 per cent. In group I half the patients presented with atypical chest pain. The other modes of presentation included unstable angina 25.8 per cent, stable angina pectoris in 16.2 per cent and myocardial infarction in 6.5 per cent. Predictive value of exercise electrocardiography (Ex ECG) or exercise radionuclide studies (Ex RNU) was 61.7 and 68.4 per cent respectively. DM, post-menopausal state and LDL/HDL ratio more than 3 were significant risk factors in women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Retrograde non-transseptal balloon mitral valvuloplasty--an initial experience.

Eleven patients with symptomatic isolated non-calcific mitral stenosis were treated with retrograde nontransseptal balloon mitral valvuloplasty. This new technique utilizes a specifically designed steerable catheter to enter the left atrium retrogradely via the left ventricle thus avoiding transseptal puncture, an essential step in other methods of balloon mitral valvuloplasty. Technical success was obtained in ten (91%) patients. Mitral valve area increased from 0.8 +/- 0.2 to 1.8 +/- 0.4 cm2 and the transmitral gradient decreased from 23.9 +/- 7.7 to 8.2 +/- 2.8 mmHg. There were no major complications such as cardiac perforation, embolic events, cardiac tamponade or severe mitral regurgitation. This early experience, the first outside Greece (centre of origin) indicates that retrograde nontransseptal balloon mitral valvuloplasty is a simple, effective and safe technique with results comparable with other techniques of mitral balloon dilatation which require transseptal catheterisation. Further experience involving multicenteric trials, is required to determine the overall efficacy of this technique for percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty.

Adolescent↗