Naftifine: A Topical Allylamine for Superficial Dermatophytosis

Dermatophytosis is a very common public health problem with high prevalence. Dermatophytes are a highly specialized set of filamentous fungi, which are adapted to keratinized tissues of humans and animals. Dermatophytosis is the most common fungal infection worldwide, affecting approximately 20–25% of the world’s population. The etiological agents of dermatophytosis, called dermatophytes, change with geography and socioeconomic status. Trichophyton rubrum (T. rubrum) is the prime species for skin and nail infections followed by T. mentagrophytes/ T. interdigital complex. There is a shift from T. rubrum to T. mentagrophytes in India for superficial fungal infections. In order to deal with fungal infections, treatment strategies involve the use of systemic antifungals and/or topical antifungal agents. Naftifine is a synthetic allylamine antifungal first reported in 1974 and in 1985 became the first commercially available allylamine. The highly lipophilic nature of allylamine allows efficient penetration and reasonably high concentrations in the stratum corneum (SC) and hair follicles. Naftifine is fungicidal as well as fungistatic. The higher efficacy rates of allylamines over imidazoles for the treatment of fungal infections, even for months after cessation of treatment, is thought to be due to their fungicidal effect, as well as to potentially greater keratin binding and slower release from the SC. The effectiveness of naftifine is also demonstrated against various bacteria belonging to both gram-negative and gram-positive classes. The antiinflammatory property of naftifine has been reported in various preclinical studies where it has been shown to target the prostaglandin pathway. Naftifine 1 and 2% gel and cream is approved by The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), recently naftifine has been approved in India by the Indian regulatory authority Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the treatment of dermatophytosis. Naftifine 2% also appears to be a promising treatment, requiring fewer applications than the 1% formulation. Naftifine appears to be effective in a single dose and has a shorter treatment duration than azoles. Naftifine demonstrated its efficacy and safety in various clinical studies of tinea infections. Naftifine offers a very useful and promising option for treating dermatophytosis.

Study of Epilepsy and its Correlation with Neuroimaging and Drug Therapy

Background: Thousands of people in the world suffer from epilepsy. Inspite of modern advances, it can be controlled in only 80% of treated once. Diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy is still challenged. The present study is attempted to highlight the importance of clinical findings and role of EEG and CT scan and MRI in diagnosis of epilepsy2.Aim:To study the incidence and epidemiological profile, various types of epilepsy and correlation with MRI, CT SCAN, EEG and the effectiveness of various Anti epilepticdrugs in different types of epilepsy. Settings and Design: This is a prospective study carried out at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad.Methods:All the patients having 2 and/or more unprovoked seizures and already enrolled patients in epilepsy clinic in 1 year duration from January 1,2020 to December 31,2020 were included.Results &Conclusions:Out of 6930 total admissions, 163 patients with epilepsy were enrolled in this study from age group of 1 month to 12 years. Out of 163 patients, 97 were male and 66 were female. Most common age group affected is of 1-5 years. 128 patients (78.62%) were of generalized epilepsy and 35 patients were of partial epilepsy. Most common precipitating factor in epilepsy is inadequate drug dosages (45%). 45 patients (22.7%) have developmental delay. Abnormal EEG findings were present in 123 patients (75.46%). Abnormal MRI findings were present in 37 patients (22.7%). CT scan was done in 56 patients, 20 were abnormal. 107 patients were on monotherapy and 56 patients were on polytherapy. Valproate is most commonly used drug (76.6%).

Study on Clinico – Etiological Co-Relation and Management Modalities in Children with Pleural Effusion

Introduction: Pleural effusion, abnormal accumulation offluid in pleural space, differ Signicantly in children from adultsin relation to etiology, management and outcome. Objective ofthis study is to identify common causes of pediatric pleuraleffusions; to describe the clinic-etiological profile and itsco-relation with radiological finding and management andearly outcome of pleural effusion in children. Study Design:Prospective Hospital based Observational study.Material and Methods: Patients with pleural effusion wereevaluated by chest X-ray and USG in all cases and CT scanthorax in difficult cases. Pleural fluid samples were analyzedfor glucose, protein, cytology and culture, CBNAAT (asand when required). Intercostal tube drainage was given inempyema cases VATS and decortications Was done in specificcase.Results: Commonest etiology of pleural effusion wasempyema (52% cases), followed by tubercular pleural effusion(26% cases). Most common organism isolated from pleuraleffusion was Mycobacterium tuberculosis (21.79%) followedby staphylococcus aureus. There is signicant correlationamong age and etiology (p value 0.015), tuberculosisoccurred more in older children and empyema occurredmore in younger children. There is no signicant correlationamong weight and etiology (p value 0.200), between genderand etiology of pleural effusion (p value >.05) in our study.There is signicant correlation of pleural fluid neutrophilcount (p value 0.001), lymphocyte count (p value 0.002)with etiology, but no correlation was seen with protein (pvalue 0.060), LDH (p value 0.353), glucose (p value 0.799)in our study. The successful management of pleural effusionlines in intravenous administration of antibiotics along withintercostals drainage tube.Conclusion: Regarding etiology of pleural effusion empyemaand tuberculosis are very commonly encountered in clinicalpractice. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen.Regardless of which treatment is used in pleural effusion, theoutcome for children is generally excellent.

Study of Vit D3 Level in Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Patient

Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH] D) levels have been associated with increased susceptibility to and severity of lower respiratory tract infections. Hypovitaminosis D may be a modifiable risk factor in the severity of lower respiratory illnesses. Aims and Objective: The aim is to study the association of vitamin D deficiency with lower respiratory tract infections in children from 1 month to 12 year of age admitted in civil hospital pediatric ward. Methods: All patients aged 1 month to 12 years with lower respiratory tract infections admitted as inpatient in the Department of Pediatrics, civil hospital ahmedabad has been tested for serum Vitamin D levels by standard serological test.Informed consent had taken from the parents. All data collcected with use of preformed performa. About 3 ml of blood is collected and sent for serum 25 (OH) vitamin D analysis. Results & Conclusion: Total 75 patients has been enrolled in this study. Patient from 1 month to 12 years were included. Out of 75 patients, 44 are male child and 31 are female child. Out of 75 patients, 43 patients have sufficient vitamin D level while 21 patient have vitamin D insufficiency and 11 patient have vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency and no. of respiratory tract infections were more in male children than female children. Vitamin D levels were low in children who were exclusively breast fed for 6 months (65.6%). Vitamin D levels were low in children who had poor exposure to sunlight (78.1%). There is no significant association between lower respiratory tract infection and vit D3 level.

Study of physiological skin changes in neonates

Background: Physiological cutaneous changes and clinical presentation is very frequently in neonates. The skin of the new born is covered with greyish white greasy material vernix caseosa, a physiologic protective covering derived partially by secretion of sebaceous glands and in part as a decomposition product of the infant’s epidermis. It acts as a natural protectant to the infant in utero. It should be allowed to come off by itself. Aim: To study the various physiological changes in neonates. Materials and methods: We studied 200 neonates for the pattern of cutaneous changes. 200 neonates were examined within 24 hours of birth over the period of 2 years. We prospectively enrolled and analysed 200 patients with various dermatoses in infants from July 2010- December 2012 in the Department of Dermatology. The complete clinical history was taken and complete physical examination was performed. Types of clinical lesions and their distribution along with mucous membrane lesions were noted; any change in hair, nail, and teeth was noted. Results: Most common cutaneous change observed was Mongolian spots followed by physiological exfoliation and erythema neonatorum. Physiological cutaneous change was observed in 100% neonates. Conclusion: We confirm the variation in physiological cutaneous changes and their time of onset in neonates. This study showed physiological changes were present in all newborn. Number of lesion was more in preterm babies.

A Study of Clinico-Etiological Profile and Early Outcome of Neonatal Seizure

Background: Neonatal seizures are an important cause of mortality and morbidity in newborn period. This study was aimed to find out most common clinical type and etiology of neonatal seizure and their co- relation with early outcome.Methods: We prospectively reviewed the history and evaluated the newborns with seizures and also collected samples for biochemical investigations in neonatal ICU at tertiary health care centre and analysed the early outcome. Results: Total 90 newborns were recruited in the study , out of which, 38.8% newborns developed subtle seizure, followed by tonic in 32.8% , clonic in 23.3% and myoclonic in 5.5% neonates. Among the various etiological factors of seizure, birth asphyxia was the most commonly seen in 34.4% neonates. Second most common cause was septicaemia alone in 21.1%. In birth asphyxia most common type of seizure seen was subtle seizures (40.6%). Most common type of seizure in both term (58.3%) and preterm (31.8%) neonates was subtle seizure .Data suggests that the leading cause of mortality was birth asphyxia seen in 7.77% neonates and was more common in preterm neonates (4.44%) followed by septicaemia alone( 3.33%) neonates. Conclusion: According to present study, there was significant correlation between birth asphyxia and subtle seizures which was more commonly seen in preterm neonates. Also higher chances of mortality was found to be in neonates with birth asphyxia which can be prevented by adequate neonatal resusucitaion during first golden minute.

Streptococcal pharyngitis, rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: Eight-year prospective surveillance in Rupnagar district of Punjab, India.

Background. Rheumatic fever (RF)/rheumatic heart disease (RHD) continue to be a neglected public health priority. We carried out a registry-based control project, prospective surveillance and sample surveys to estimate the burden of disease. Methods. We trained healthcare providers and established a surveillance system for the 1.1 million population of Rupnagar district in Punjab. In sample surveys conducted among schools, physicians examined the sampled children. Children with a cardiac murmur were investigated by echocardiography. Throat swabs were obtained from a sub-sample, and group A streptococci (GAS) were identified and emm typed by standard laboratory methods. We estimated the morbidity rates for RF/RHD from surveillance data and school surveys using a correction factor to account for under-registration of cases in the registry. Results. A total of 813 RF/RHD cases were registered from 2002 to 2009. Of the 203 RF and 610 RHD cases, respectively, 51.2% and 36.7% were males. In the age group of 5–14 years, RF was more common (80%) than RHD (27%). The prevalence of RF/RHD in 5–14-year-old students was 1.0/ 1000 (95% CI 0.8–1.3). The school survey indicated that about two-thirds of the RF/RHD cases were enrolled in the hospital-based registries. Based on the school survey, the prevalence of RF/RHD was estimated to be 143/100 000 population. In the registry, the annual incidence of acute RF was estimated to be at least 8.7/100 000 children in the age group of 5–14 years. The prevalence of GAS was 2% (13/656) in children with sore throat and 0.5% (14/2920) among those not having sore throat. Typing of 27 GAS revealed 16 emm types. We estimate that about 1000 episodes of GAS pharyngitis lead to one episode of acute RF. Conclusion. RF/RHD continue to be a public health problem in Punjab, India.

Evidence building for policy: Tobacco surveillance/surveys and research in India.

India is at a crucial juncture relating to tobacco control and implementing the recommendations of the WHO FCTC. Tobacco consumption in the country remains alarmingly high in urban as well as rural areas. Smokeless tobacco consumption is very popular among larger masses, including the youth. Cigarette smoking has declined, but bidi use has increased concomitantly. Youth continue to be lured to initiate tobacco consumption through efficient marketing strategies of tobacco companies. The epidemiology of tobacco consumption is markedly varied across the country, with high rates in 15 States. Progress has been made towards tobacco control by the enactment of laws and regulations and the National Tobacco Control Program. Strengthening their implementation and enforcement is the biggest challenge and requires resource inputs. Evidence generation and its translation and utilisation for policy interventions would be useful.

Surveillance of cardiovascular disease risk factors in India: The need & scope.

There is a rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) burden, which is causing increasing morbidity and premature mortality in developing countries. In 1990, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) accounted for 63 per cent of all deaths and India contributed to 17 per cent to the worldwide mortality. Several surveys conducted across the country over the past two decades have shown a rising prevalence of major risk factors for CVD in urban and rural populations. These surveys are limited by their generalisability to other parts of the country, and more was required to roll out of an action plan. There was lack of an organized national system for monitoring these risk factors over time so as to inform policy and programme for appropriate interventions. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) leveraged its research on NCD risk factor surveillance to the development of the national plan under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) which will obtain State-based prevalence of selected risk factors. This review provides the scenario of CVD in India and the need for a surveillance system. By examining similar experiences globally, it outlines the scope of CVD surveillance in India.

Cause of death among reproductive age group women in Maharashtra, India.

Background & objectives: Reliable data on mortality and morbidity among women of reproductive age group are scarce in India. The present study is the Maharashtra component of a large multicentric task force study on the cause of death by verbal autopsy conducted in five States of India. The data pertaining to deaths among reproductive age group women are presented along with the factors contributing to these deaths. Methods: House-to-house surveys of a representative population from rural and urban areas in six districts of Maharashtra were undertaken by probability of proportion to size (PPS) sampling. Information on death was obtained from the relatives of the deceased and cause of death was assigned using the standardized algorithm prepared. International Classification of Diseases – ICD- 10 was used to code the assigned cause of death. Results: A total of 103 deaths in reproductive age group women were investigated, of which 7 (5.6%) were maternal while 96 (93.2%) were due to non maternal causes. Six out of seven maternal deaths were in rural area. Among the non maternal deaths, 46.8 per cent women had symptoms suggestive of anaemia and the leading cause of death was infectious and parasitic diseases (25%), tuberculosis being the top killer in this group. This was followed by injury and poisoning (20.8%), suicides being the leading cause in this category. Among non-communicable diseases, cancers contributed to 10.6 per cent deaths among which cancer esophagus and cancer cervix took a major toll. Interpretation & conclusion: Communicable diseases, injury and poisoning and cancers are the major killers among reproductive age group women. Several factors responsible for accidents and suicides also contributed substantially to the mortality load among these women. Majority of the maternal deaths were seen in rural areas indicating the need to strengthen the maternal health care.

Risk factor profile for chronic non-communicable diseases: Results of a community-based study in Kerala, India.

Background & objectives: Kerala State is a harbinger of what will happen in future to the rest of India in chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD). We assessed: (i) the burden of NCD risk factors; (ii) estimated the relations of behavioural risk factors to socio-demographic correlates, anthropometric risk factors with behavioural risk factors; (iii) evaluated if socio-demographic, behavioural and anthropometric risk factors predicted biochemical risk factors; and (iv) estimated awareness, treatment and adequacy of control of hypertension and diabetes, in Kerala state. Methods: A total of 7449 individuals (51% women) stratified by age group, sex and place of residence were selected and information on behavioural risk factors; tobacco use, diet, physical activity, alcohol use, measured anthropometry, blood pressure was collected. Fasting blood samples were analysed for blood glucose, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides in a sample subset. Using multiple logistic regression models the associations between socio-demographic and anthropometric variables with biochemical risk factors were estimated. Results: The burden of NCD risk factors was high in our sample. Prevalence of behavioural and each of the biochemical risk factors increased with age, adjusting for other factors including sex and the place of residence. The odds ratios relating anthropometric variables to biochemical variables were modest, suggesting that anthropometric variables may not be useful surrogates for biochemical risk factors for population screening purposes. Interpretation & conclusions: In this large study of community-based sample in Kerala, high burden of NCD risk factors was observed, comparable to that in the United States. These data may serve to propel multisectoral efforts to lower the community burden of NCD risk factors in India in general, and in Kerala, in particular.

Profile of biochemical risk factors for non communicable diseases in urban, rural and periurban Haryana, India.

BACKGROUND: Globalisation and increasing urbanisation in most developing countries including India raises concerns of possibility of a major increase in NCDs in these countries. WHO has recommended a STEPwise approach for NCD risk factor surveillance since risk factors of today are diseases of tomorrow. This paper presents the estimation of biochemical risk factors for NCDs undertaken as a part of the ICMR six centre study. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and levels of bio-chemical risk factors (fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL and triglyceride levels) in urban, rural and periurban locations in Ballabgarh, Haryana. METHODOLOGY: A community based cross-sectional study was carried out in urban, rural and periurban areas. A total of 1513 subjects were enrolled (501 in urban, 504 in periurban and 508 in rural areas) with equal distribution by area of residence, sex and age group. Fasting blood glucose and lipids were estimated using enzymatic kits. RESULTS: The mean levels of fasting blood glucose, cholesterol, TGL and low HDL were the highest in the urban area, though there was not much difference in the rural and periurban areas. There was also an increasing trend of all the parameters as age increased in both men and women. 11.4% of men in urban areas had fasting blood glucose above the cut off levels and 44.3% of urban men and women had high cholesterol levels. CONCLUSION: This study documents a high burden of biochemical risk factorsnot only in urban areas but also in the periurban and rural population. It has also brought out some technical and operational issues for carrying out biochemical risk factors surveillance in the community. There is a need to scale up from surveys to surveillance mode using appropriate tools and application of this information for policy planning and programme implementation.

Risk factors for non-communicable disease in urban Haryana: a study using the STEPS approach.

BACKGROUND: India is in the midst of an epidemiological transition with non-communicable diseases increasing in importance. Targeting the risk factors for non-communicable diseases is recognized as an essential preventive strategy. There is lack of good quality data on prevalence of risk factors. The present study addresses this challenge in urban population of Ballabgarh town in Faridabad district of Haryana. METHODS: A total of 1263 male and 1326 female respondents were selected using multistage systematic random sampling, in 5 age groups of 10 years (15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54 and 55-64). The World Health Organization's STEPS approach entails stepwise collection of the risk factor data based on standardized questionnaires (step 1), basic physical measures in step 2 and finally in 3rd step, basic biochemical investigations such as blood sugar and cholesterol. The prevalence was adjusted to the age and sex strata of urban Faridabad as per census 2001. RESULTS: The prevalence of current daily use of smoked tobacco was 22.2% (95% CI7colon; 20.0-24.6) for males and 1.4% (95% CI: 0.9-2.2) for females. In males the prevalence of current alcohol consumption was 28.9% (95% CI: 26.4-31.5). Physical inactivity was reported by 23.2% (95% CI: 20.9-25.6) of males and 52.4% (95% CI: 49.7-55.1) of female respondents. Only 8.6% of males and 4.4% of females were consuming adequate portions of the fruits and vegetables. 23.1% (95% CI: 20.8-25.5) males and 15.7% (95% CI: 13.87ndash;17.8) females were either in Stage 1 and 2 hypertension (JNC VII) or were taking anti-hypertensives. Among males, 25.4% (95% CI: 23.0-27.9) and, among females 34.9% (95% CI: 32.3-37.6) were overweight. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use among males and physical inactivity among females was high. Low consumption of fruits and vegetables, hypertension and overweight was equally common among both the sexes in the population studied. Thus there is an urgent need for initiating measures at the risk factor level to counter this modern day epidemic of non-communicable disorders, within this urban community.

Are the urban poor vulnerable to non-communicable diseases? A survey of risk factors for non-communicable diseases in urban slums of Faridabad.

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases have modifiable risk factors, which are easy to measure and can help in planning effective interventions. We established a community-based sentinel surveillance to estimate the prevalence and level of common risk factors for major non-communicable diseases as part of a joint Indian Council of Medical Research/WHO initiative. METHODS: This survey was done from February 2003 to June 2004 and included 1260 men and 1 304 women 15-64 years of age living in urban slum areas of Ballabgarh block, Faridabad district, Haryana. A list of all slums in Ballabgarh block was obtained from the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad. Slums were selected by stratified cluster sampling. All households in the selected slums were visited and men and women interviewed in alternate households. The study instrument was based on the STEPS approach of WHO. It included questions related to tobacco use, alcohol intake, diet, physical activity, and history of treatment for hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Height, weight, waist circumference and blood pressure were measured. To estimate prevalence at the population level, age adjustment was done using the urban Faridabad population structure from the 2001 Census of India. RESULTS: The age-adjusted prevalence of smoking among men was 36.5% compared with 7% in women. Bidi was the predominant form of smoked tobacco used. The use of smokeless tobacco was reported by 10.2% of men and 2.9% of women. While 26% of men reported consuming alcohol in the past 1 year, none of the women did. The mean number of servings per day of fruits and vegetables was 2.7 for men compared with 2.2 for women. Overall, only 7.9% and 5.4% of men and women, respectively took > or = 5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables. Women were more likely to be physically inactive compared with men (14.8% v. 55%); 67% of men and 22.8% of women reported mean physical activity > 150 minutes per week. The mean body mass index (BMI) was lower in men than in women (20.9 v. 21.9 kg/m2). The prevalence of overweight (BMI > or = 25 kg/m2)) was 16% among men and 21.9% among women. The prevalence of hypertension (blood pressure > or = 1 40/> or = 90 mmHg or on an antihypertensive drug) was 17.2% in men and 15.8% in women. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of risk factors for noncommunicable diseases across all age groups in this urban slum community indicates the likelihood of a high future burden of illness. Immediate action for prevention and control is required to prevent the situation from worsening.

A study of autologous melanocyte transfer in treatment of stable vitiligo.

BACKGROUND: Replenishing melanocytes selectively in vitiliginous macules by autologous melanocytes is a promising treatment. With expertise in culturing melanocytes, it has now become possible to treat larger recipient areas with smaller skin samples. AIM: To study the extent of repigmentation after autologous melanocyte transplantation in patients with stable vitiligo. METHODS: The melanocytes were harvested as an autologous melanocyte rich cell suspension from a donor split thickness graft. Melanocyte culture was performed in selected cases where the melanocyte cell count was insufficient to meet the requirement of the recipient area. These cells were then transplanted to the recipient area that had been superficially dermabraded. RESULTS: An excellent response was seen in 52.17% cases with the autologous melanocyte rich cell suspension (AMRCS) technique and in 50% with the melanocyte culture (MC) technique. CONCLUSION: Autologous melanocyte transplantation can be an effective form of surgical treatment in stable but recalcitrant lesions of vitiligo.