Willingness of medical students to volunteer during the Covid-19 pandemic: Assessment at a tertiary care hospital in India

BACKGROUND The involvement of medical students in strategies to control Covid-19 might be considered to cope with the shortage of healthcare workers. We assessed the knowledge about Covid-19, willingness to volunteer, potential areas of involvement and reasons for hesitation among medical students towards volunteering. METHODS We did this cross-sectional study among undergraduate students at a tertiary care teaching hospital in New Delhi. We used a web-based questionnaire to elicit demographic information, knowledge of Covid-19, willingness to volunteer and reasons deterring them from working during the Covid-19 pandemic, and self-declared knowledge in six domains. RESULTS A total of 292 students participated in the study with a mean (SD) age of 19.9 (3.1) years. The mean (SD) knowledge score of Covid-19 was 6.9 (1.1) (maximum score 10). Knowledge score was significantly different among preclinical (6.5), paraclinical (7.18) and clinical groups (7.03). Almost three-fourth (75.3%) participants were willing to volunteer in the Covid-19 pandemic, though 67.8% had not received any training in emergency medicine or public health crisis management. Willingness to work was maximum in areas of social work and indirect patient care (62.3% each). Lack of personal protective equipment was cited as a highly deterring factor for volunteering (62.7%) followed by fear of transmitting the infection to family members (45.9%), fear of causing harm to the patient (34.2%) and the absence of available treatment (22.2%). CONCLUSIONS A majority of the students were willing to volunteer even though they had not received adequate training. Students may serve as an auxiliary force during the pandemic, especially in non-clinical settings.

Krukenberg Tumour Arising from Gall Bladder- A Rare Presentation

Introduction: Krukenberg tumours are rare, usually bilateral,metastatic ovarian tumours presenting in perimenopausalage women. It usually arises from the GIT (stomach/colon),however it may arise from other rare sites like breast, appendix,biliary tract and gall bladder. Imaging plays a definite role inthe diagnosis and management of such cases.Case report: In this paper, we report two interesting cases ofbilateral ovarian masses where the primary site of malignancywas GB. The first case showed synchronous metastases to theovary while the second one showed metachronous metastasesto the ovary.Conclusion: This report highlights the importance of keepingin mind the rare sites of primary tumour while dealing withbilateral ovarian masses.

Indoor potted plant based biofilter: performance evaluation and kinetics study

Plant based biofilters associated with microorganisms have been gaining popularity in controlling odorous compounds like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they are cost effective and an environment friendly alternative to conventional air pollution control techniques. In this context, here, we tried to evaluate the performance of potted plants based Claire’s biofilter for biodegradation of benzene. A sealed perspex chamber with lid and fan was designed to ensure minimum leakage, proper aeration and distribution of benzene inside the chamber. Five different ornamental indoor plants were placed inside the chamber sequentially and exposed to a concentration of 5 ppm benzene for 30 h each. The leakage of benzene was checked beforehand. Epipremnum aureum (Money plant) showed maximum benzene degradation in the aforementioned time period with a removal efficiency of 98%. The µmax and Ks values for 100 ppm concentration of benzene were calculated to be 0.284 h-1 and 0.427 g/m3, respectively.

A Clinico-Radiological Presentation Of Pulmonary Tuberculosis In Hiv Positive Patients In A Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: The deadliest combination of the two devastating and killer disease TB & HIV has been closely linked since the emergence of AIDS contributing the progress and pathogenecity of each other, and as half of the HIV patients are likely to be infected with tuberculosis, the twin challenge of this CURSED DUETseems to be daunting. There has been increase rate of DR TB, MDR TB, XDR TB, which are difcult to treat and contribute to increase mortality. Objectives:To study and co-relate clinical and radiological features of Pulmonary TB in HIVpositive patients, comparison with degree of immune suppression. To compare the CD T-cell count and sputum status before and after ATT4 treatment completion. Material and Methods: This was a prospective cohort study conducted on 50 patients under Department of Radiology, Saraswati Medical College, Unnao from Jan 2018 to Dec 2018. The patients included in the study were all TB patients of age >18 years with strong clinical suspicion of HIV/AIDS. Pulmonary TB was diagnosed either with sputum smear positive or Chest x-ray. When EPTB was suspected as a possible diagnosis, every attempt was made to procure tissue/relevant body uid for diagnostic testing. Rapid tests are in vitro qualitative tests for the detection of antibodies to Human Immunodeciency Virus (HIV) types 1 &2 in human serum, plasma, whole blood, urine, saliva was used for diagnosis of HIV. Patients with only extra Pulmonary Tuberculosis and no evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and Patients with PCP, fungal infection and sepsis were not included because these conditions cause lymphopenia and decreases CD T-cell count. Results: Out of these 50 patients, most of the HIV-TB co-infected patients (62.5%) were seen among sexually active age group of 25-44 yrs. 80% of the patients were male and 20% were females. Most frequently encountered symptoms were fever (80%), cough (70%), loss of appetite (70%) and loss of weight (60%). About 80% cases were moderately or far advanced disease on the chest radiograph. The typical radiological ndings of post primary TB, i.e. upper zone inltrate, brosis and cavities were found in 24%, 4% and 6% cases respectively. Cavitary lesions were more in CD4 count above 100. Overall sputum positive PTB was 76% and sputum negative PTB was 24%. Conclusion: Treatment of HIV-TB co infection requires strong commitment and a focused approach. A strong coordination between the national TB and AIDS control programmes is required for effective management of TB-HIVpatients