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Biomedical subjects

P Dutta

Publications and source records attributed to P Dutta.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Campylobacter species as a cause of diarrhoea in children in Calcutta.

From 1985 to 1988, 857 children (aged between 1 day and 60 months) admitted to hospital with diarrhoea and 241 controls (aged between 5 days and 60 months) were examined for campylobacters and other enteric pathogens by means of conventional methods. The difference between the isolation rates of campylobacters in those cases in which no other enteric pathogen was found (4.8%) and controls (6.2%) was not significant (P greater than 0.05). Strains of Campylobacter jejuni/coli were isolated throughout the year with higher isolation rates during the summer and monsoon months. Mixed infections were very common. Watery diarrhoea (97.6% cases) was the most common clinical presentation of patients found to be infected solely by C. jejuni/coli. Most patients infected with campylobacters were mildly to moderately dehydrated. Biotype I of C. jejuni and C. coli was the dominant biotype associated with cases and controls. All strains of C. jejuni/coli, regardless of their source, were found to be sensitive to erythromycin. From this study, it appears that enteric infections with campylobacters among children in Calcutta are common but often asymptomatic.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗
PubMed1992

Occurrence of multi-drug resistant Salmonella typhi in Calcutta.

Blood and faecal samples were collected from 122 hospitalised patients of Calcútta clinically suspected to have enteric fever, for isolation of S. typhi. It was isolated from 34.4, 4.9 and 4.1 per cent patients by blood culture, stool culture and by both respectively. The in vitro drug susceptibility testing showed that all the isolates were resistant to chloramphenicol, ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, but were uniformly susceptible to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and furazolidone. In view of the appearance of multi-drug resistant S. typhi in Calcutta, great care should be exercised in the use of newer quinolone derivatives.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1992

Efficacy of norfloxacin for shigellosis: a double-blind randomised clinical trial.

In a double-blind, randomised, clinical trial on 122 adults with acute Shigella dysentery, 60 patients were treated with norfloxacin and 62 with nalidixic acid. Of these, 32 patients in the norfloxacin group and 28 patients in the nalidixic acid group had Shigella in their stool. Patients of the two treatment groups were clinically comparable on admission. No significant differences in clinical responses were observed in the two groups among the Shigella-positive cases, Shigella-negative cases and among the total cases. All isolates of Shigella were susceptible to norfloxacin, whereas 13.8% of the strains were resistant to nalidixic acid.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Acute secretory travellers' diarrhoea caused by Vibrio cholerae non-01 which does not produce cholera-like or heat-stable enterotoxins.

An Australian tourist suffering from severe acute watery diarrhoea and dehydration due to Vibrio cholerae non-01 was studied. The V. cholerae strain isolated from the patient belonged to serovar 05. The organism did not produce any of the conventional enterotoxins including cholera-toxin (CT) or heat-stable toxins (NAG-ST) that are known to be associated with intestinal secretion. This report suggests that toxin(s) other than CT-like or NAG-ST may be involved in the pathogenesis of diarrhoea by some V. cholerae non-01 strains.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1992

Shigellosis in children: a prospective hospital based study.

From 1985 to 1988, fecal samples of 950 hospitalized children suffering from diarrhea or dysentery were screened for Shigella species using standard methods. Shigella species were isolated as sole pathogen from 192 (20.2%) cases and S. flexneri type 2 was the predominant serotype. Shigella infection was prevalent throughout the year with high isolation rate during the summer and early monsoon months. Shigella strains isolated during the period were resistant to most of the commonly used drugs for the treatment of shigellosis. Nearly 16% of the Shigella strains were also resistant to nalidixic acid. Presence of blood and mucus in stools (dysentery) was the common clinical presentation of shigellosis cases. Malnutrition was associated with longer duration of illness. High cases fatality rate (16.7%) was observed among hospitalized children infected with Shigella.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1992

Anopheline fauna of parts of Tirap district, Arunachal Pradesh with reference to malaria transmission.

In a survey on the anopheline fauna in highly malaria endemic areas of the Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, 7476 anophelines belonging to 17 species were collected, including seven species of anophelines which are recognized malaria vectors in India. Anopheles tessellatus and A. jamesii were recorded for the first time in this area. The parasitological survey revealed that the area was endemic for malaria particularly P. falciparum, the slide positivity rate and slide falciparum rate being 25.63 and 19.21 per cent respectively. On dissection of 10 anopheles species, malarial infection was detected in two viz., A. minimus and A. dirus.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Nosocomial rotavirus diarrhea in two medical wards of a pediatric hospital in Calcutta.

One hundred eighty nine children suffering from different medical problems were admitted in two wards of a pediatric hospital in Calcutta during the period between November 18, 1985 and February 10, 1986. Amongst them, 36 children developed nosocomial diarrhea and rotavirus was detected from 80.5% of the cases. The nosocomial rotavirus diarrhea cases had lesser frequency of stools and only mild dehydration but the course of illness was longer in comparison to that of the hospitalized rotavirus diarrhea cases. There is a possibility of spread of infection via fomites, environmental surfaces and most likely mothers.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1992

Occurrence of multi-resistant Salmonella typhimurium infection in a pediatric hospital at Calcutta.

Salmonella typhimurium was isolated from 55 (15.9%) of the 347 hospitalized diarrheal children and 14 (11.1%) of the 126 non-diarrheal controls. All the 98 asymptomatic children attending hospital outpatients were negative. Six (3.7%) of the 162 samples of different categories examined from the hospital were positive for S. typhimurium. Finger washing of one female food handler, feces of two cats of the wards, surface of wash basin, lavatory seat and shelf yielded positive isolations. In vitro antibiotic sensitivity testing showed majority of the strains were resistant against commonly used antimicrobial agents while they were uniformly sensitive to norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin. The present study points to cross-infection by multi-resistant S. typhimurium strains in the hospital wards.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1991

Prospective hospital based study on persistent diarrhoea.

A total of 383 children aged less than 5 years suffering from acute watery diarrhoea or dysentery were studied in hospital to determine the rate of persistent diarrhoea. Altogether 335 (87.5%) recovered within 13 days. Only in 48 (12.5%) did the diarrhoea continue for 14 days or more, and they were considered as having persistent diarrhoea. Children aged between 7 and 18 months had a significantly increased incidence of persistent diarrhoea. Children suffering from grade II-IV malnutrition constituted the majority (70.8%) of those with persistent diarrhoea. Higher rates of isolation of Shigella flexneri, Shigella dysenteriae 1, and Salmonella typhimurium were observed among patients with persistent diarrhoea than in those with diarrhoea of shorter duration. No positive correlations were observed between the clinical severity of disease at hospital admission and measles. Breast fed babies were not prone to persistent diarrhoea.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Randomized clinical trial of norfloxacin for shigellosis.

In a randomized clinical trial, norfloxacin was compared with nalidixic acid in the treatment of acute invasive diarrhea, with particular reference to shigellosis in adults. Of 104 patients studied, 40 were positive for Shigella in stool cultures, of which 22 received norfloxacin and 18 received nalidixic acid. The patients in these two groups were comparable on admission. In the treatment of culture-positive shigellosis cases, the responses to therapy with both drugs were similar, except that the duration of fever, anorexia, and abdominal pain were less in those who received norfloxacin. Norfloxacin appeared to be superior to nalidixic acid in the treatment of shigellosis cases caused by Shigella strains resistant to nalidixic acid.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Clostridium difficile and its cytotoxin in hospitalized children with acute diarrhea.

A total of 498 children, aged 0-14 years, admitted at the B.C. Roy Memorial Hospital for Children, Calcutta, were investigated for the occurrence of Clostridium difficile and its cytotoxin. Of the children in the investigation, 369 suffered from acute diarrhea. Only 8.4% of these children had C. difficile in fecal samples and in vitro cytotoxin was demonstrated in 7%. In 27 (7.3%) of the patients with acute diarrhea C. difficile was isolated as the only pathogen. In contrast, among 129 control children not suffering from acute diarrhea, only 4 (3.1%) harboured C. difficile. Isolation of C. difficile was significantly higher in children under one year of age. None of these patients had any history of prior antibiotic therapy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Epidemiological observations on malaria in some parts of Tengakhat PHC, Dibrugarh district, Assam.

A three year study carried out in 44 villages (pop. 17,938) reveals seasonal transmission of malaria i.e., from June to November. The incidence of malaria was high in the year 1988 in comparison to that of 1987 and 1989. P. falciparum was the predominant species. The population living in forest fringe areas were more prone to malaria than the rest. Anopheles nigerrimus, An. kochi, An. karwari and An. philippinensis were most abundant among the 16 anopheline species collected. Known vectors of malaria such as An. minimus, An. philippinensis, An. annularis and An. dirus were detected. An. dirus was incriminated as vector during this study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Clinical manifestation of Clostridium difficile enteritis in Calcutta.

233 cases with acute diarrhoea investigated, Clostridium difficile was isolated as a sole pathogen from 17 (7.3%) cases. The Major clinical features of these cases were watery diarrhoea (82.4%), bloody stool (17.6%), vomiting (64.8%), fever (17.6%) and abdominal pain (2.5%). Fourteen (82.4%) of 17 C difficile isolates were found to produce cytotoxin as detected by Verocell assay.

Child↗
PubMed1991

Prevalence of Clostridium difficile in hospitalised patients with acute diarrhoea in Calcutta.

During a 12-month period, Clostridium difficile was isolated from 38 (11.1%) of 341 hospitalised patients suffering from acute diarrhoea and from five (3%) of 172 patients as control who were admitted with illnesses other than diarrhoea. It was the sole bacterial pathogen in 31 cases. 87% of the isolates obtained from patients with diarrhoea produced neutralisable cytotoxin. None of these patients had any history of previous treatment using antibiotics. No age or gender-specific high incidence was observed. Clinical presentation in these patients revealed no distinctive pattern. Both dysenteric and diarrhoeal presentations were found, the latter being more frequent. The results suggest that Clostridium difficile by itself may be a causal agent of acute diarrhoea.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Oral rehydration solution containing 90 millimol sodium is safe and useful in treating diarrhoea in severely malnourished children.

The safety and efficacy of standard oral glucose-electrolyte solution, containing 90 mmol of sodium per litre, was evaluated in the treatment of dehydrating diarrhoea among severely malnourished (marasmic) children. A total of 81 male children aged between 6 and 48 months were studied; 41 were in the malnourished group (study group: less than 60% of Harvard Standard weight-for-age) and 40 were in the well-nourished group (control group: 80% or more Harvard Standard weight-for-age). Children of both groups could be rehydrated with standard oral rehydration solution (ORS) without encountering any clinical or biochemical complications. The results of this study lend support to the World Health Organization's concept of a unified formula of ORS for the treatment of all cases of acute diarrhoea, including severely malnourished children.

Child, Preschool↗