Review of a 7-year record of the bacteriological profile of airway secretions of children with cystic fibrosis in North India

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is now a recognised entity in India, with prevalence rates between 1/10,000 and 1/50,000. However, no data were available with regard to the profile of respiratory pathogens in the Indian setting. Materials and Methods: The records of respiratory secretion bacterial cultures of children with CF in a tertiary care hospital in North India from January 2010 to December 2016 were reviewed. Culture data were evaluated; the organisms were noted and their antimicrobial susceptibilities were analysed. The microbiological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of CF patients were evaluated. Results: A total of 445 samples from 146 children were processed, of which 246 (55%) samples showed bacterial growth. Mixed infections 48 (19.5%) were common in older children. Children aged 3–6 months (62.5%) showed the highest culture positivity. The most commonly isolated organisms were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (52.6%) and Staphylococcus aureus. Children with initial cultures positive for P. aeruginosa had 55% of their subsequent cultures showing polymicrobial infections. P. aeruginosa was most susceptible to ciprofloxacin (89%) and piperacillin-tazobactum (88%). Among the staphylococcal isolates, 38% were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The percentage of MRSA increased from 66% in 2010 to 75% in 2012, followed by a decline to 24% in 2016. Conclusions: The pattern of airway colonisation in the Indian setting is different from the Caucasian population, and P. aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia complex appear early. Colonisation with P. aeruginosa benefits from therapy. In case of infection, care must be taken while initiating empiric therapy. It should be based on local antibiograms to prevent the emergence of resistant microbes.

Identification of promising sources for drought tolerance in cultivated and wild species germplasm of barley based on root architecture

Aim: Root architecture of 220 diverse barley germplasm of Indian (134) and exotic (86) origin was evaluated for polyethylene-glycol simulated drought stress to identify drought tolerant genotypes. Methodology: The evaluation of root images was done using root scanner (WinRHIZO Pro software v2009). Variance, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Ward’s agglomerative hierarchical clustering were carried out using SAS software. Correlation matrices were generated using R. Results: Analysis of variance indicated that under stress treatment, differences among the tested germplasm accessions were highly significant (P0.01) with respect to total root length (RL), seminal root number (SRN), root surface area (RSA), root volume (RV), root diameter (RD), lateral root number (LRN) and root dry weight (RDW) per seedling. LRN was stimulated while other root traits such as RL, RSA, RV and RDW were significantly inhibited under stress. PCA indicated that first three components accounted for 80.50% of the total multivariate variation with PC1 accounting for 44.83%, PC2 for 19.84% and PC3 for 15.87% and it was mainly explained by RL, RSA, RV and RDW. Cluster analysis grouped 220 barley accessions into five major clusters, with cluster I being drought susceptible, cluster II being drought tolerant, cluster III being moderately drought tolerant, Cluster IV being highly drought tolerant and Cluster V being highly drought sensitive, respectively. Interpretation: Accessions IC393980, IC082719, IC329556, EC492318, EC578789, EC578790, IC335811 and wild barley H. marinum ssp. gussoneanum proved to be potential genetic resources for drought tolerance, which can be used in cereal breeding program for rain-fed agriculture.

Puerperal psychosis--analysis of 35 cases.

Thirty-five patients admitted with psychosis either immediately or within six months of delivery were analysed for various risk factors. Primiparity, previous psychiatric history, antenatal complications, caesarean section, perinatal death and female baby were all associated with an increased risk of psychiatric admission, suggesting that psychological stresses do contribute to high psychiatric morbidity in puerperium. Women with history of affective disorder had a much higher risk of psychiatric admissions in the puerperium than those with history of schizophrenia or depressive neurosis.

Prevalence of tuberculosis in Kishtwar Tehsil of Jammu region in Jammu and Kashmir State.

A study of prevalence of tuberculosis in Kishtwar tehsil of Jammu region was conducted from June 1991 to May 1992. A total of one thousand two hundred ninety-eight rural as well as urban population suffering from various types of lung diseases was studied for prevalence of tuberculosis and a sizeable number (98) of patients were found to be positive of various types of tuberculosis, viz, pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculous pleural effusion and miliary tuberculosis. Of the population studied 7.55% were found to be positive for tuberculosis and among them 88.76% patients were anaemic and the commonest type of anaemia was normocytic normochromic and normocytic hypochromic. The ESR was raised in almost of all the patients. Of the population, 80.61% were seen to be positive on skiagram chest and 58.16% were found to be positive on other diagnostic tests like Mantoux's tests, sputum for acid-fast bacilli, etc. Mantoux's test was positive in 27.55% cases and sputum was positive in 30.61% cases. All the cases studied were subjected to special investigations. The changes in parameters are consistent with the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Large family size, poverty, excessive smoking, illiteracy, etc, are the major contributing factors.