PG Times

Wilm’s tumor MC renal tumor of childhood Patients present under 5 years of age Increased incidence in sporadic aniridia, hemihypertrophy, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, Denys-Drash syndrome, horseshoe kidney & with a family history C/F – Asymptomatic mass; however abdominal pain, hematuria, fever & hypotension secondary to renal ischemia may occur Bilateral synchronous tumors occur in 5-10% of patients USG demonstrates a large heterogenous mass arising from the kidney containing multiple low-echogenicity areas of hemorrhage or necrosis CT demonstrates the ‘claw sign’ with renal parenchyma stretched around the mass, confirming its renal origin Neuroblastoma MC extracranial solid malignant tumor in children Most children present <5 years of age Parents may detect a palpable abdominal mass Most patients have elevated urinary catecholamine levels USG – Demonstrates a hyperechoic mass in the adrenal or central retroperitoneum, often with flecks of calcifi...

Generalized bowel distension Bowel wall thickening Pneumatosis intestinalis (Bubbly rounded lucencies in case of submucosal air) Portal venous air Free air under diaphragm Persistent dilated loop on serial films

Introduction In India, the National Tuberculosis Control Program was initially launched in the year 1962 to counter tuberculosis (TB). The program was subsequently modified to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) in 1992, owing to the multiple concerns in the diagnostic/treatment/administrative aspects of the implementation of the program.  [1]  However, this program has been revised in multiple fronts over the years to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. The aim of the study is to explore the recent developments in the RNTCP in order to accomplish universal access to TB care. India: Distribution of the disease Considering the global distribution, magnitude of the problem, serious impact on the quality of life, and high mortality rates, TB in today's world is the biggest public health disease of an infectious nature.  [1]  The Global Tuberculosis Report - 2012, released by the World Health Orga...

MRCP VERSUS ERCP MR cholangiopancreatography is noninvasive and safe , because it does not require anesthesia or injection of intraductal or intravenous contrast agent. On current MR imaging systems high-quality images can be obtained consistently.  MRCP is useful in patients after incomplete or unsuccessful ERCP. In some patients, such as those who have undergone surgery with biliary enteric anastomosis or Billroth II, it may not be possible to perform ERCP, so MRCP is the modality of choice to evaluate these postsurgical patients. Unlike ERCP, MRCP produces images of the ducts in their natural state , because it does not involve distention of the ducts by injected contrast medium. ERCP cannot evaluate extraductal structures directly, whereas MRCP can be combined with conventional MR imaging for the evaluation of extraductal disease, such as tumors.  ERCP has advantages over MRCP, which include direct therapeutic interventional procedures that may be performed concu...

The field of Medicine is getting more and more tech-savvy by the day and medicos should brush up their skills on the internet, if they want to keep up with the rest. This year, the Combined Medical Services (CMS) exam is going online. The aspiring medical officers of the Indian Railways and various civic bodies of Delhi would have to appear for the test virtually. This test comprising of objective-type questions would be held across 40 centers in India by the UPSC and would take place on June 22, 2014. Earlier, the test included two objective-type papers and had Optical Mark Recognition wherein the candidates would have to darken their chosen answers from the multiple choices given. To help this batch of online candidates overcome any apprehensions or test jitters, the UPSC is planning to come out with a ‘demo’ module on its website which would clearly explain this process of online test to the aspirants. In the online test, there would be provisions to change the answers as ...

সফটওয়্যার-বিতর্কে অনিশ্চিত হয়ে পড়ল মেডিক্যালে স্নাতকোত্তরে সুযোগ পাওয়া রাজ্যের ৫১৫ জন পড়ুয়ার ভবিষ্যৎ। তাঁদের ‘অনলাইন কাউন্সেলিং’-এর সময় যে সফটওয়্যার ব্যবহার করা হয়েছিল, তাতে ত্রুটি ছিল বলে জানিয়ে ওই কাউন্সেলিং বাতিল করেছে কলকাতা হাইকোর্ট। নতুন করে কাউন্সেলিং করতে বলা হয়েছে। এর বিরুদ্ধে হাইকোর্টের ডিভিশন বেঞ্চে আবেদন করেছে রাজ্য স্বাস্থ্য বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। আগামী সোমবার তার প্রথম শুনানি। এ দিকে, মেডিক্যাল কাউন্সিল অব ইন্ডিয়ার ক্যালেন্ডার অনুযায়ী ১০ জুলাইয়ের মধ্যে কাউন্সেলিং ও ভর্তির প্রক্রিয়া শেষ করতে হবে। সব মিলিয়ে তাই অথৈ জলে পড়েছেন পড়ুয়ারা। সফটওয়্যারে ত্রুটির অভিযোগ নিয়ে হাইকোর্টের বিচারপতি অশোককুমার দাস অধিকারীর এজলাসে মামলা দায়ের করেছিলেন সরকারি চিকিৎসক সোমা চৌধুরী। চলতি বছরে স্নাতকোত্তর স্তরের প্রবেশিকায় উত্তীর্ণ হয়েছিলেন সোমা। এই পরীক্ষায় উত্তীর্ণেরা স্নাতকোত্তর ডিগ্রি এবং ডিপ্লোমা দু’ধরনের পঠনপাঠনের জন্যই আবেদন করতে পারেন। কিন্তু সোমার অভিযোগ ছিল, অনলাইন কাউন্সেলিংয়ের সময় তিনি যখন তাঁর পছন্দের ‘ডিপ্লোমা কোর্স’টি নির্বাচন করতে যান, তখন সফটওয়্য...

World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April every year to mark the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948. Each year a theme is selected that highlights a priority area of public health. The Day provides an opportunity for individuals in every community to get involved in activities that can lead to better health. The topic for 2014 is vector-borne diseases. What are vectors and vector-borne diseases? Vectors are organisms that transmit pathogens and parasites from one infected person (or animal) to another. Vector-borne diseases are illnesses caused by these pathogens and parasites in human populations. They are most commonly found in tropical areas and places where access to safe drinking-water and sanitation systems is problematic. The most deadly vector-borne disease, malaria, caused an estimated 660 000 deaths in 2010. Most of these were African children. However, the world's fastest growing vector-borne disease is dengue, with a 30-fold increase in disease in...

Preparing for the mighty test that’s coming up? It may be scary but you don’t need to worry about it because with simple tips, tactics, and tools you will be able to prepare well and improve your chances of doing well in the test. When it comes to medical competitive exams, the importance of time management is very high. Since you have a lot to study and remember, you have to be able to manage your time such that you are able to go through all concepts and memorize them without having to rush. Time and again we hear students complain that they were not able to prepare properly and more often than not, the reason is poor time management. This is the reason why we have compiled a few tips for you to use the most basic tools in life to manage your time well:   Create a time table Set priorities Stay away from distractions Keep calm Create A Time Table This tool is old but gold! Such a simple tool, it can do wonders when used right. Simply create your own time table a...

Thousands of students across the country were in for a shock when their computer screens turned blank on Sunday afternoon, midway through an online entrance test to National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS). Pat came a message that the online test has been scrapped and they would be informed about the new dates.  NIMHANS was conducting its online entrance test for selection to the super speciality/ post-doctoral fellowship / medical and non-medical courses for the academic year 2014-15. Around 5,584 students were simultaneously writing the exam at 18 centres across Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune on Sunday for 30 courses offered by the premier institute. The exam was divided into four sessions. However, all the sessions were plagued with problems, across centres.   Though the server worked fine in the first session, many students complained that they were issued wrong question papers. One of the students told ...

Healthcare in rural areas of India is not something we can be proud of. Be it the number of clinics or hospitals, their infrastructure or quality of treatment, a lot is left to be desired. To make matters worse, what if doctors themselves refuse to get posted to such areas? The Madras High Court has recently issued a ruling that might make such doctors change their minds. Assistant surgeons who had served in rural areas are to be given bonus points in the admission to the Post Graduate Degree/Diploma Courses for the academic year 2014-15- this is the directive given to Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Medical Education (DME) by the Madras High Court. This ruling came last week after a petition filed in the court by 3 doctors who had worked in rural parts for three years and were looking forward to getting extra points in their PG tests. The 3 petitioners worked as Assistant Surgeons in remote areas and were appointed by the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. As per the...