Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item Near-death experiences in a multi-religious hospital population in Sri Lanka(Springer, 2018) Chandradasa, M.; Wijesinghe, C.; Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A.; Perera, M.Near-death experiences (NDEs) are a wide range of experiences that occur in association with impending death. There are no published studies on NDEs in general hospital populations, and studies have been mainly conducted on critically ill patients. We assessed the prevalence of NDEs and its associations in a multi-religious population in a general hospital in Sri Lanka. A randomised sample of patients admitted to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital was assessed using the Greyson NDE scale and clinical assessment. Out of total 826 participants, NDEs were described by 3%. Compared to the NDE-negative participants, the NDE-positive group had a significantly higher mean for age and a ratio of men. Women reported deeper NDEs. Patients of theistic religions (Christianity, Islam and Hinduism) reported significantly more NDEs compared to patients from the non-theistic religious group (Buddhism). NDE-positive patient group had significantly higher reporting of a feeling 'that they are about to die', the presence of loss of consciousness and a higher percentage of internal medical patients. This is the first time that NDEs are assessed in a general hospital population and NDEs being reported from Sri Lanka. We also note for the first time that persons with theistic religious beliefs reported more NDEs than those with non-theistic religious beliefs. Medical professionals need to be aware of these phenomena to be able to give an empathic hearing to patients who have NDE.Item Near-death experiences in suicide attempters in Sri Lanka(International Association for Near-Death Studies, 2008) Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A.; Gambheera, H.; Padmasekara, G.; Perera, M.No AbstractItem Pseudo-Meigs syndrome secondaray to pedunculated leiomyoma associated with intra uterine pregnancy(Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2006) Dias, T.D.; Herath, H.M.R.P.; Ganeshananthan, S.; Perera, M.; Karunananda, A.No Abstract AvailableItem Neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer down-stages the tumor but reduces lymph node harvest significantly(Springer International, 2005) Wijesuriya, S.R.E.; Deen, K.I.; Hewavisenthi, J.; Balawardana, J.; Perera, M.PURPOSE: The impact of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) for rectal cancer on lymph node yield is not well known. This study evaluates the impact of NAT on tumor regression and lymph node harvest. METHODS: The subjects were 40 patients with rectal cancer; 20 receiving high-dose, long-course neoadjuvant therapy, and 20 age- and sex-matched controls who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. Tumor regression (TRG) was graded from 1 to 5 as: TRG1, no residual tumor cells; TRG2, occasional residual tumor cells with marked fibrosis; TRG3, marked fibrosis with scattered tumor cells or groups; TRG4, abundant cancer cells with little fibrosis; TRG5, no tumor regression. We also evaluated the number of lymph nodes retrieved from excised specimens, the size of the largest node, and the extent of lymph node involvement by the tumor. RESULT: Tumor regression was seen in all patients; as TRG1 in 6 (30%), TRG2 in 2 (10%), TRG3 in 3 (15%), and TRG4 in 9 (45%). The median nodal harvest was 4 (range (0-12) in the NAT group vs 9 (range 1-19) in the control (P = 0.001). The median size of the largest lymph node was 5 mm (range 2-12 mm) in the NAT group vs 9 mm (range 4-15 mm) in the control group (P = 0.004). Tumor-positive nodes were identified in 4 of 17 of the NAT group patients and in 9 of the 20 controls (P = 0.308). CONCLUSION: Although NAT down-stages rectal cancer, it results in a significantly low yield of lymph nodes, which are also significantly smaller than those in nonirradiated controls. Therefore, surgeons and histopathologists must ensure adequate sampling and accurate staging is done for patients with irradiated rectal cancer.