Phobias occur in several forms. The two main types of phobias are social phobia and specific phobia. A marked specific fear of an object or situation is called a specific phobia. Ombrophobia or pluviophobia is a type of natural environmental subtype of specific phobia. We report a case of ombrophobia in a lady with an interesting psychopathology and treatment outcomes.

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Pedophilic disorder is a paraphilic disorder in a person atleast 16 years or older and is characterised by sexual fantasies and attraction to children who have not yet attained puberty. These fantasies are acted upon causing marked distress or interpersonal difficulties in patient and risks the child victims well being, negatively affecting their psychosocial development. It remains a challenge for clinicians and researchers in terms of under reporting and effective treatment measures. In the present case we report a case with this disorder in order to better understand this clinical construct.

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Context : Now a days arthroscopic surgeries are very commonly performed and are associated with post-op pain. Various method of relieving pain is present like NSAIDS, Opiods, peripheral nerve blocks and local anaesthetics. In this study we are trying to search a novel method to control post operative pain . The present study aims to compare the effects of intraarticularly instilled Bupivacaine and Neostigmine with Bupivacaine and Fentanyl for pain relief following knee arthroscopic surgery. Aims and objective : To compare the efficacy of bupivacaine and Fentanyl with bupivacaine and Neostigmine administered intraarticularly for postoperative pain relief in patients undergoing knee arthroscopic surgeries and comparing duration of analgesia, hemodynamic parameter and side effects if any. Material and Method- It is a prospective randomized study. Sample size was 75 divided in three groups. ◼ GROUP P - Intraarticular injection 19ml of 0.25% bupivacaine as control group + 1 ml NS ◼ GROUP N- Intraarticular injection of 19 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine + 1 ml (500 mcg ) of neostigmine. ◼ GROUP F- Intraarticular injection of 20ml of 0.25% bupivacaine + 1 ml (50 mcg )of fentanyl. Result : Demographic variable amongst all three groups were matched. In this study mean duration of analgesia time in group P is significantly lower than group N and Group F (p value < .05)however duration of analgesia time in Group N and Group F are comparable but Group N showed slightly higher duration of Analgesia. Conclusion : Thus, we found that addition of neostigmine or fentanyl to bupivacaine increases the duration of analgesia in the post-operative period.

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Background: Infertility represents a common condition, with important medical, economic and psychological implications. Thyroid dysfunction interferes with human reproductive physiology. It reduces the likelihood of pregnancy and adversely affects pregnancy outcome, thus becoming relevant in the algorithm of reproductive dysfunction. Aims and objectives: To estimate serum prolactin, FSH and LH in hypo, hyper and euthyroid female subjects and find their association with thyroid status. Material methods: a cross-sectional observational study was done . 100 infertile females of age group 20-40 years, who were then subdivided into euthyroid, hypothyroid and hyperthyroid cases Serum Prolactin, FSH, LH,TSH,TotT3,TotT4 were estimated by Chemi-luminescence immunoassay method Results: The infertile women with hypothyroidism had significantly higher prolactin levels than the other groups Conclusion: TSH has a positive correlation with serum Prolactin level.Assessment of serum TSH and prolactin levels should be made mandatory in the work up of all infertile women, especially those presenting with menstrual irregularities

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Ovarian malignancy is a common and highly morbid cancer of females. Advanced stage ovarian cancer warrants extensive surgery to achieve the goal of optimal cytoreduction i.e. no residual macroscopic disease, which is an independent prognostic factor contributing to survival of these patients population. The aim of index study is to describe the incidence, pattern and management of ovarian cancer at a tertiary care center in eastern India and also audit the surgeon’s performance in treating these patients surgically and the improvements if any, over a period of 7 years. No such studies focusing on analysis of pattern of ovarian cancer presentation and the optimal surgery rates alongwith outcomes have yet been published from this region. Method: A retrospective analysis of all operated cases of histologically proven ovarian cancer at our institute from December 2009 to March 2016 was carried out. Results: Ovarian cancer was the predominant cohort undergoing surgery for gynecological malignancies. The most common variant was epithelial ovarian cancer and 30 to 50 years was the commonest age group afflicted. The rate of surgery has been increasing consistently over the years and the rate of achieving optimal cytoreduction has improved significantly. The operability was better in the patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy but the primary surgery arm has also seen improvement in achieving optimal cytoreduction. The probability of achieving R Zero has improved from 0.5 in 2009 to 0.95 in 2016. Conclusion: The operative outcome and quality of life of patients has shown considerable improvement in hand of surgeon dealing with such cases at a high volume tertiary care center. This emphasizes upon the significance and need for well equipped, sophisticated, multi-disciplinary tertiary care center catering to population with a high propensity and prevalence of Gynaecological malignancies.

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Background: Air pollution is a major threat to human health. World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 4.2 million premature deaths due to ambient air pollution in 2016. It's a serious problem in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Patna and Gwalior in India. Average daily exposure of traffic policemen to dust particles and toxic gases from automobile exhaust exceeds about 8-10 hr/day. Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of ambient air pollution on pulmonary functions of the traffic policemen. Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional study with 100 traffic policemen was conducted. The inclusion criteria were non- smoker males, aged between 25-50 years, working for last 1-5 years in the traffic department. The exclusion criteria were history of respiratory or cardiovascular disease or declined participation. Anthropometric measurements of the subjects were taken as per standard protocols, approved by the WHO. Pulmonary functions of the traffic policemen were assessed by determination of Forced vital capacity (FVC), Forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC%, Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and Forced expiratory flow during 25-75% of expiration (FEF25-75%) by using the nomogram of Indian settings with a computer based Spirometer, Spiro Excel manufactured by Medicaid Systems Pvt. Ltd. The association of percentage of predicted values of the pulmonary function parameters with the duration of exposure to air pollutants was analysed by using Pearson correlation. Results: There were significant correlation between the duration of exposure to ambient air pollution and pulmonary function parameters FEV1(r=-.041), FEV1/FVC% (r=-.349), PEFR (r=-.027), & FEF25-75% (r=-.401) expressed as correlation-coefficient (rvalue). Conclusion: The findings showed that prolonged exposure to ambient air pollution leads to a trend of development of obstructive features among traffic policemen.

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Background: Preoperative anxiety is not uncommon in patients posted for surgery. The relative position of patients in operating list can be one of the cause of anxiety. Aim: To compare anxiety in patients posted first in operating list to patients posted late in operating list. Materials & Methods: The influence of the relative position in the operating list on pre-operative anxiety was studied in 400 American Society of Anesthesiologist grade 1 patients undergoing major surgery. Two hundred patients were placed first on the operating list (group 1) and 200 were given a time 5 hour later (group 2). Each patient was visited on the evening prior to surgery and again on the morning of surgery. Anxiety was measured at each visit by objective criteria and part 1 of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire. Results: In both groups the pulse rate, systolic blood pressure , respiratory rate and STAI questionnaire score were significantly higher on the morning of surgery than on the evening prior to surgery(p<0.05). The increase in pulse rate and systolic blood pressure, respiratory rate was comparable in the two groups. The evening anxiety scores were not correlated with those on the morning visit and could not predict them. Conclusion: There is no effect on anxiety status of the patient due to relative position of patient in operating list.

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Background and Rationale: Induction platin based doublet is standard of care in locally advanced and metastatic NSCLC. Maintenance pemetrexed and tyrosine kinase inhibitior both have shown to improve outcomes in patients with favourable response to induction therapy. Aim: To evaluate and compare outcomes with maintenance pemetrexed and maintenance TKI in EGFR mutation positive and negative patients. Objectives: To calculate and compare Progression free survival, overall survival and factor affecting outcomes with maintenance pemetrexed and maintenance TKI. Material and Methods: Data of patients with locally advanced and metastatic non squamous NSCLC who received induction pemetrexed platin doublet were retrieved from prospectively maintained lung cancer database registered between June 2011 and March 2014.Patients who received maintenance pemetrexed and maintenance TKI being EGFR mutation negative and positive respectively were chosen for final analysis. Kaplan Meir survival analysis was used for Progression free survival and overall survival. Log rank test was used to evaluate and compare factors affecting outcome. Result: Median follow up is 16 months. Out of 268 patients who had favourable response to induction pemetrexed platin doublet, EGFR mutation result was available in 238 (89%) patients. Patients who were EGFRF mutation negative and received maintenance pemetrexed were 138, while those with EGFR mutation positive and received maintenance TKI were 80.Median PFS with maintenance TKI in EGFR mutation positive patients was significantly better than that of maintenance pemetrexed in EGFR mutation negative (11 months versus 8 months; p=0.01), while the overall survival was 19 months and 20 months respectively. Older age, females, non smoker, no baseline effusion and partial response to induction did better with maintenance TKI. Conclusion: Maintenance TKI in EGFR mutation positive non squamous NSCLC delays disease progression more than maintenance pemetrexed in EGFR mutation negative NSCLC. Both option fare favourably to improve outcomes after response to induction therapy.

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Introduction: Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) avulsion fractures are not a very common injury but among the avulsion fractures around the knee, PCL avulsion is very common followed by anterior cruciate ligament avulsion. Various treatment modalities have been described in the literature right from nonoperative to operative fixations. Materials and Methods: A series of 7 patients having isolated PCL avulsion fracture were selected for this study. Two of them refused treatment of any types. The remaining of the five patients was treated by open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) using CC screw through the posterior approach. Results: All patients were followed up for 1 year. Union was achieved in all the cases. At the end of the study, all were able to squat easily and could extend the knee fully. Lysholm score was excellent in three patients and good in two patients. Conclusion: It was concluded that ORIF using a CC screw with a washer is a good mode of fixation, giving good functional recovery and stable knee.

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Amongst the ballistic missile politics, bitcoin slump, another predominant issue that needs serious redressal not only at international level, but also even at the national and domestic level is Climate Change. Climate Change is for real causing fundamental threat to health with both short and long-term effects. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, global warming, severe drought, frequent wildfires are some of the effects of the problem. According to National Research Council, evidences of the effects of climate change have been found in tree rings, coral reefs, ocean sediments, and layers of sedimentary rocks. These evidences discloses the fact that the current warming is occurring ten times faster than the average rate of ice-age-recovery warming.^[1] The causes of climate change are increased human activities of deforestation, industrialization, burning fossil fuels, carbon emissions by motor vehicles leading to rise in greenhouse gases. To address the problem of climate change at the international level, on 5th October 2016 the conditions for entry into force for Paris Agreement was laid. The Agreement entered into force on 4th November 2016 in accordance with its Article 21, Paragraph 1, which read as: “This Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 per cent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.” Till date, 185 state parties ratified out of 197 signatory parties in the Paris Agreement. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which aims to reduce greenhouse gas concentration at a predefined level with the support of the global community, Paris Agreement has successfully helped to remind the state parties that climate change is a common challenge wherein the global community has to identify, mitigate, strengthen and adapt their national and domestic policies. The emergent issue of climate change sees no territorial boundaries. The global community must wake up to the warning that this ‘tragedy of the commons’ should be recognized, mitigated and collective action towards sustainability should be observed at the international, national and domestic level.

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Background: Scrub typhus is a rickettsial infection that can be life threatening. There are several outbreaks of scrub typhus have been reported from different parts of India, but still clinicians are not much aware of this. We studied the diversity of clinical manifestations, laboratory investigations, complications and outcomes of scrub typhus in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: All the cases of acute febrile illness diagnosed as scrub typhus over a period of 10 months (march 2018 to December 2018) were analysed. Diagnosis was based on positive Weil-Felix with titre of ? 1:80. Results: A total of 13 cases of scrub were diagnosed and analysed during the study period. The most common symptoms among the patients were fever in 100% cases, headache, seizure and altered sensorium in 61.5% cases. Other symptoms were nausea, vomiting, breathlessness and urinary symptoms. The pathognomonic features such as eschar was seen in only one case (7%). On investigations, deranged liver function tests (LFT) were present in 61% of cases and deranged renal function tests (RFT) were present in 38% of patients. Thrombocytopenia (92%), meningoencephalitis (61%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (30%) were common complications of scrub typhus in this study. All patients responded dramatically to doxycycline and there was no mortality in this study. Conclusion:- Scrub typhus should be considered as an important differential diagnosis of acute febrile illness if it is associated with thrombocytopenia, deranged LFT and deranged RFT. Although eschar is pathognomonic of scrub typhus, even in the absence of eschar and lymphadenopathy a high index of suspicion and empirical addition of doxycycline is crucial for decreasing mortality.

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Traumatic dental injuries are a trivial dental issue affecting teeth and their supporting structures. This case report describes a clinical case of dental trauma in an 18 year old girl which resulted in laceration of upper lip along with affecting the dentition in the form of lateral luxation, subluxation, uncomplicated and complicated crown fracture in her anterior maxillary and mandibular dentition. The management included suturing of laceration followed by repositioning of teeth by digital pressure and stabilization of teeth with the help of a semi rigid splint, root canal treatment for tooth 11, 21 and 31 followed by removal of splint when the teeth were reportedly asymptomatic and composite build up to re-establish the aesthetics for the patient. The follow up was done up to 1 year and no periapical pathology or complications were observed and the patient was relatively asymptomatic thus indicating successful intervention.

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Cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1930 at the University of California, Berkeley and patented in 1932. Lawrence was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1939 for this invention. It is based on a combination of radiofrequency acceleration and bending of charged particles in a magnetic field. This way the same electrode is used over and over again to give acceleration to the particles. Lawrence built the first cyclotron in 1931 and it produced Protons of 1.25 MeV. In a conventional Cyclotron, the charged particles move in two semicircular metal containers called Dees (because of the D-shaped electrodes). In most of the modern medical cyclotrons, there are four gaps with four pie-shaped Dees instead of two. The particles pass through the same acceleration gap many times with increasing radius before they acquire the desired energy. The entire accelerating system is maintained at high vacuum (10^-6 to 10^-8 Torr), and the Dees are housed in a vacuum chamber. Hydrogen gas is passed through an arc current to produce the ion source for the acceleration in the cyclotron. The ion source is pulled toward the center of Dee structure by applying a positive bias voltage. A high voltage (>36 kV) is applied to the Dee structure with the help of an oscillator. The ion located at the center is thus attracted toward a Dee that happens to be at the opposite potential at that particular moment. As the magnetic and electric fields (in Dees) in the cyclotron are at right angles to each other the ion beam moves in a circular path inside the hollow Dees. In the present scenario, negative ion cyclotron accepted everywhere in the medical field. The objective of this article is to educate the new generation of physicians and share the knowledge of medical cyclotron and its integrity mainly among our colleague apart from nuclear medicine. Hence, that they can understand about this complex and complicated equipment and its medical utility for patients benefit.

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Background: Epidural anaesthesia / analgesia is a safe and routinely performed procedure by the anaesthesiologists. Although rare, but there have been many instances of epidural catheter breakage. We present a case report of We present a case report of a 38 years old female posted for vaginal hysterectomy under combined spinal epidural anesthesia. During the procedure, while negotiating the epidural catheter in epidural space, it got sheared off at 5cm mark inside the back. Severed catheter in the back could not be visualized under C- arm digital X ray. Plan for spinal epidural lumbar anesthesia was abandoned and surgery was performed under general anesthesia which was uneventful. CT followed by USG was done to locate the severed catheter on 2nd post-operative day. Severed catheter could not be visualized and surgical removal was not attempted. The patient was informed of the event and counselled to report in case of any adverse symptoms. Conclusion: We want to convey that surgical removal of retained broken catheter should not be attempted routinely as it could provide more complication than leaving it in situ.

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Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic disease affecting millions of population worldwide. It is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by increased airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness. Several studies shows that deficiency of Vitamin D (25-OH) is related to occurrence of pulmonary diseases as well as reduced lung function and increased airway inflammation leading to poor results in asthmatic patients. In context to India, there were fewer studies which have evaluated the relationship between vitamin D (25- OH) and pulmonary function and its role in asthma. Thus, the present study was undertaken to study the role of vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency in mild to moderate asthmatic patients. Aims: To assess the serum vitamin D(25-OH) level in mild to moderate asthmatic patients. Material & Methods: The present study included 100 subjects of either sex with age group of 15 - 40 years. They were divided into two groups. Group A (control) include 40 healthy individual, and Group B include 60 asthmatic patients based upon GINA guidelines. Pulmonary function test and Vitamin D analysis were performed in both the groups. Results: The study showed that serum vitamin D level was significantly decreased in asthmatic patients when compared with the control group (p<0.01). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is relatively frequent in asthmatic patients and there is a significant inverse relationship between serum vitamin D and severity of asthma symptoms. Therefore, measuring serum levels of vitamin D should be considered in the routine assessment of asthmatic patients. It may serve as a marker of asthma severity.

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Background : Anorectal malformations [ARM] are common neonatal surgical emergencies. They can be treated either by staged procedure or by single-stage procedure. In the present study, we have performed single-stage surgery of ARM in both male and female. Materials and Method: Retrospective review of cases of ARM operated over 3 years in the Department of Paediatric surgery at a tertiary care centre from January 2015 to December 2018 was done. In this study, we compared the results of single stage repair of Anorectal malformation (category1) with that of staged procedure performed earlier (category 2).In male babies 43 patients were operated by primary PSARP (posterior sagittal anorectoplasty) and remaining 11 by primary APP (abdomino-perineal pull through) procedure. Out of 65 female patients, PSARP was performed in 39 (60%) cases of recto vestibular fistula, ASARP in 23 (29.2%), Primary Abdomino-perineal pull-through in 4 (6.1%) cases of common cloaca. The result of this procedure was compared with that of staged procedure. (Category 2) Result : Mean post- operative hospital stay in category 1 was 11 days and 32 days in category 2. Mean duration of surgery in category 1 was 1hour and 15 minutes and 3 and half hours in category 2 that included initial colostomy, PASRP or APP and colostomy closure. In category 1, 41 (75.9%) cases had stool frequency 3- 5 per day while in category 2, 20 (51%) patients had the same frequency at the age of three years which was found to be statistically significant (P value? 0.001). Similar findings were observed in female patients. Conclusion : Single-stage surgical repair of Anorectal malformation in both male and female patient are reliable and can be safely performed with advancement of surgical expertise and better anaesthetic support with few exceptions. Early results are encouraging. However, long term study is required for its justification.

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Pain and functional limitations are important clinical features in knee osteoarthritis. Platelet-rich plasma from autologous blood is being used for symptomatic relief in early knee osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of platelet rich plasma in patients of early knee osteoarthritis. All 50 patients received single intra-articular injection of Platelet Rich Plasma in both knees. Assessment was done by VAS pain scale and WOMAC function score pre injection and 1 week and 3 months post injection. Platelet Rich Plasma showed significant improvement in pain and function at 1 week and 3 months post injection. There was no loss of follow-up. Few patients reported pain for 2 days after the injection which resolved spontaneously. We conclude that Platelet-rich plasma therapy is simple, cheap, feasible and minimally invasive intervention for early knee osteoarthritis. It reduces the analgesic intake and improves the function of knee joint in short term.

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The purpose of this study was to perform a literature review evaluating the efficacy of cervical orthosis in maintaining correct head posture and neck control in children with cerebral palsy (CP). A literature search has been conducted using the following word or phrases: CP in children, head support, neck control, and orthosis. Database search included PubMed, CINAHL, O and P Library, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Only four literatures met our search criteria indicating very limited evidence in this area, with only one relevant literature in the last 5 years. Almost all studies advocate the beneficial effect of orthosis in maintaining correct head posture and improved neck control, but number of studies and level of evidence are insufficient. Furthermore, there are very limited recent literatures available, and future studies are required with appropriate orthotic devices and strong research design.

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Effective and sensitive communication by the clinicians with the patients and relatives are crucial in achieving a patient-centered consultation. Competent communication is an expertise, which all health-care professionals require, but it is the one that not all of them are obviously good at. Clinical communication skills are related to the speedy recovery of patients, provided with good adherence to the medications, and improved patient satisfaction, thereby affecting the psychological, biological, and social outcomes of the treatment. As time progressed, the situation of learning clinical communication skills has been transformed from “good to have” toward “need to have.” Teaching soft skills of communication to the medical students in a controlled environment before exposing them to real-life conditions could be the key to developing rapport with the patients, leading to more appropriate diagnosis and treatment outcomes.

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The burden of corneal blindness is increasing in India and estimates currently suggest that there are 1.6 Million people suffering from the disorder. Despite being treatable, the number of corneally blind people during 2005 and 2011 has grown by 0.34 Million in India. This suggests that the treatment of corneal blindness is currently taking place much slower than its incidence. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that there is a huge mismatch between the total corneas collected and that required for transplantation. In order to increase the number of cornea collections WHO and AIIMS undertook this project to examine and evaluate how effective grief counselors can be in the collection of eyes in comparison to trained nurses. Before the project was initiated there were already 4 senior grief counselors working with the national eye bank. The project involved appointing 5 additional junior grief counselors to analyze their impact in cornea collection. During July-November 2011, it was found that the number of cornea collections were directly proportional to the number of grief counselors. Results also suggested that the significance of grief counselors in cornea collections was more than that of hospital staff. This can be attributed to the fact that grief counselors are appointed specifically for cornea collection while hospital staff can only spend a limited time on counseling for cornea collection.

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Background: Lower respiratory tract infections are among important causes of morbidity and mortality for all age groups. The emergence of multidrug resistant gram-negative organism (MDRO) is an issue of increasing concern. Aims & Objectives: This study was focused on obtaining a comprehensive insight into the microbial profile, its prevalence and the susceptibility patterns of the gram negative bacilli isolates including multi drug resistance in lower respiratory tract infections. Materials and Methods: A total of 1144 respiratory samples (sputum, broncho-alveolar lavage fluid and endotracheal aspirate) were processed for microscopy, culture and susceptibility testing following standard laboratory protocols. Multidrug resistant gram-negative bacilli causing lower respiratory tract infections were studied for their causation of disease. Results: A total of 349 gram-negative pathogens were isolated from respiratory samples during the study period. Among these 213 (61%) gram-negative pathogens were found to be multidrug resistant. Although the percentage of multi drug resistance was higher among Escherichia coli (88% MDRO) and Acinetobacter spp. (80% MDRO), the predominant multidrug resistant gram-negative bacilli isolated were Klebsiella spp. 119 (34%) and Pseudomonas spp. 108 (30%). Among MDROs, other isolates were Citrobacter spp., Enerobacter spp., Proteus spp. and Providentia spp. Conclusion: A large majority of pathogenic gram-negative bacilli isolated were found to be the multidrug resistant. Regular surveillance which directs appropriate empirical therapy and good clinico-microbiological workup of each case of lower respiratory tract infection can reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with MDROs. Bacteriological diagnosis and antibiotic resistance surveillance are indispensible in the effective management of lower respiratory tract infections.

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Background: Clinically significant bloodstream infection (BSI)due to Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus)isa significant pathogen in community acquired and nosocomial BSI. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are resistant to methicillin and all χ-lactam antibiotics due to possession of mec A gene. Several phenotypic methods for laboratory detection of MRSA: oxacillin screening test, oxacillin or cefoxitin disc diffusion method, oxacillin minimum inhibitory concentration test are used routinely in our setting. Aim: We aim to detect MRSA among blood culture isolates by conventional method (cefoxitin disc) and also to confirm identity of these MRSA strains by molecular method i.e. mecA detection by Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR). Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out on 139 S. aureus clinical isolates in Department of Microbiology from blood samples submitted for culture and sensitivity test. Once the isolate was identified as S. aureus, it was further identified as MRSA or Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) by use of antimicrobial discs. DNA extraction was done by boiling method. Results: Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern documented resistance of 48.9% of isolates to cefoxitin (MRSA). 80.2% and 63.3% of isolates were resistant to penicillin and cotrimoxazole respectively. All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin. Conventional PCR was carried out for all 139 samples. 51.1% of isolates harbored mecA gene thus identified as MRSA. Conclusion: As expected PCR performed superior, however due to less cost, simplicity and easy availability, cefoxitin disc diffusion test holds a significance as an alternative to PCR for detection of MRSA on routine basis in a resource limited setting like ours.

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Objective : Abdominal wound dehiscence (AWD) is a terminology which is commonly used to explain partial or complete disruption of abdominal wound closure with or without protrusion of abdominal contents. It is among the most feared post operative complications faced by surgeons and is of greatest regard because of risk of burst abdomen, with mortality rates reported as high as 45%. Incidence in literature ranges from 0.4% to 3.5%. This study is designed to highlight the risk factors associated with wound dehiscence, the incidence rate and curative measures to prevent or reduce the occurrence of wound dehiscence and to predict the outcome of the management of abdominal wound dehiscence. Material and Methods : This retrospective study was done in which total number of 50 Patients admitted in the department of gynecological oncology who underwent routine laparotomies and who developed abdominal wound dehiscence were included in the study. Results : A total of 50 patients who developed wound dehiscence were included in the study, Out of these, 05 patients had developed complete disruption of abdominal wound (burst abdomen). 45 (90%) cases had the dehiscence occurring in laparotomies done for malignancy cases. Incidence was highest in cases of midline incision. Conclusion : Burst abdomen is a serious sequel of impaired wound healing. It occurs most commonly in the 31-40 year age group, predominately in laparotomy for malignancy and vertical midline abdominal incisions. Many factors can pre-dispose to this grave complication. Knowledge of the more common mechanisms and how to avoid or overcome these hazards should help to reduce the incidence of this dangerous complication.

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