Assessment of Serum Calcium and Phosphorus in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients Before,During and After Chemotherapy

Our study was aimed to assess the levels of serum calcium and phosphorus in pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Blood samples were collected from 40 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis before treatment (PTB-0), at the end of 2 months of intensive phase of treatment (PTB-2) and after 6 months of treatment (PTB-6). Age and weight matched normal healthy volunteers (n = 37) served as normal controls. Serum was analyzed for calcium and phosphorus. Serum calcium significantly decreased to hypocalcemic levels and serum phosphorus significantly decreased but was within normophosphatemic limits in pulmonary tuberculosis. Chemotherapy for tuberculosis managed to raise serum levels of both the ions, with hypocalcemia still persisting in majority of patients during treatment but getting resolved in a significant percentage of patients at the end of 6 months of treatment. Results indicate the need for calcium and phosphorus supplements in tuberculosis patients during chemotherapy. This study also warrants the need for regular monitoring of serum calcium and phosphorus in patients undergoing anti-tuberculosis treatment.     

An Interesting Case of Polyuria in a Child

A 1 year old male child with increased frequency of urine associated with increased thirst was found to have some developmental delays. Laboratory investigations showed increased serum sodium level and serum osmolality with decreased urine osmolality. An empty sella turcica was seen in contrast brain MRI; however focal demyelinating lesion was not present. He was managed with intranasal desmopressin therapy. Developmental delays in such cases can be prevented by early referral to a tertiary health care center where laboratory and imaging facilities are available.     

The influence of a peer-tutoring training model for implementing cooperative groupings with elementary students

This study examined the effects of peer-tutoring training on elementary school student communication and collaboration skills when used in conjunction with cooperative learning. Within six classes (grades 2–6) in an inner-city school, cooperative learning pairs were randomly assigned to two groups (control and training). Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) of quantitative data from a systematic observation instrument used over an entire year showed that, in general, the training group surpassed the control group in both communication and collaborative skills. Students in grades 2–3 showed substantially more improvement than students in grades 4–6; also, students with average or below-average reading levels required more time to acquire these skills than did above-average students. The qualitative data further substantiated these findings while revealing a large variation among teachers in implementing cooperative learning. and is Editor of the Research section of this journal.