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The paper reflects research output of AIIMS (India) during 2017 to 2021 using data from Scopus database. It shows the research output by the medical scholars of the institute, high profiled authors, and Research collaborations on International and National basis and top sources of publications preferred during the year period. The study finds that research contribution of AIIMS, Delhi during five years was 12797 publications; Maximum productivity was marked in the year 2021 followed by its preceding year 2020; Highest publications were published in the source 'BMJ Case Reports' (515 papers); Highest collaboration was made with USA in publication of research papers (1154 papers); Highest research produce was made by Tripathi, M. (196 Papers) followed by Sharma N. and Tandon N. (195 papers each).
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Abstract Colonizations/Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales are of great clinical and epidemiological importance due to their rapid dissemination and high mortality rates. In this scenario, the use of antibiotics intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a great warning on the real impact that this pandemic could have on antimicrobial management programs and long-term antimicrobial resistance rates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the increase of New Delhi Metallo β-Lactamase (NDM)-producing Enterobacterales cases in COVID-19 units of a complex Brazilian tertiary hospital. This retrospective observational study included all patients admitted to the hospital identified as colonized or infected by NDM-producing Gram negative bacilli (GNB), from January 2017 to April 2021. Forty-two NDM-producing Enterobacterales were identified in 39 patients. The rate of NDM cases per total surveillance cultures increased progressively between 2017 and 2021 (chi-2 for trend, p < 0.0001) and was associated with a higher occurrence specifically in COVID units (Fisher exact, p < 0.0001). The molecular investigation of the NDM-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains revealed the emergence of diverse clones during the COVID-19 period, also with possible evidence of horizontal transmission among patients within COVID units. NDM-producing Enterobacterales with multiple and different clonalities in the COVID-19 units also raised questions about the importance of other factors besides horizontal clonal transfer, including the increase of antimicrobial consumption by these patients.
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Background & objectives: The overall adult prevalence of HIV in India was estimated to be 0.22 per cent in 2019. The HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM), a high-risk group for HIV, was estimated to be 4.3 per cent, which is 16 times higher than the national average. In Delhi, the estimated prevalence among MSM was 1.8 per cent. Despite free HIV testing services being made available by the National AIDS Control Programme for more than two decades, many MSM were not aware about their HIV status. Therefore, newer testing strategies are needed. Oral HIV self-testing (HIVST) has proved to be one such promising innovation. At present, there are no programme guidelines on HIVST and oral HIVST kit is not available in India. The aim of this study was to understand the perceived advantages and disadvantages of introduction of oral HIVST strategy among MSM. Methods: MSM who were registered with the selected non-governmental organizations working as targeted intervention sites in Delhi, India, were recruited for focus group discussions (FGDs) between January and May 2021. For the purpose of this study, MSM were defined as males who had anal/oral sex with male/hijra partner in the past one month. A total of six FGDs were conducted using a prepared FGD guide. The FGD guide included questions on problems faced during conventional HIV testing, participants’ awareness, acceptability and perceptions of oral HIVST. The data were manually coded and entered in NVivo release 1.5 and themes were identified. Results: A total of 67 respondents participated in the FGDs. A total of 28.4 per cent MSM were beggars at traffic lights, 12 per cent were sex workers and 11.9 per cent were bar/event dancers. Nearly half (50.7%) of the participants had undergone HIV testing less than twice in the preceding one year. None of the MSM were aware about oral HIVST. Perceived advantages of oral HIVST were ease of use, confidentiality and the non-invasive pain-free procedure. Perceived concerns included lack of post-test counselling, linkage to care, poor mental health outcomes and forced testing. Interpretation & conclusions: Most MSM had positive perceptions about oral HIVST. Therefore, it is likely that the introduction of oral HIVST may result in higher uptake of HIV testing among MSM
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Background: Recently there is an explosive growth of internet usage among youth worldwide. Internet addiction is defined as psychological dependence on the Internet leading to inability to control one’s use of the Internet. Objective: To study the prevalence of internet addiction and quality of sleep among medical students of Delhi and to find out the factors associated with internet addiction. Methods: A cross-sectional study, using stratified random sampling method was conducted among un-dergraduate students of VMMC & Safdarjung hospital Delhi. Young’s internet addiction test and Pitts-burgh sleep quality index was administered. Results: Mean age of study participant was 20.3 ± 2.3 SD years. Internet addiction was found in more than half of the study participant. Poor sleep quality was also found in more than half (57.2%) of them. On analysing internet addiction with associated factors, it was observed that gender, monthly data usage, source of internet use, phone use while eating, ever notice by teacher in class while using phone, month-ly expenditure and quality of sleep were statistically significantly (p < .001) associated. Conclusion: This study implies that internet addiction was high among medical student. More than half of the study participants was suffering from poor sleep quality.
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Background & objectives: Studies assessing the spatial and temporal association of ambient air pollution with emergency room visits of patients having acute respiratory symptoms in Delhi are lacking. Therefore, the present study explored the relationship between spatio-temporal variation of particulate matter (PM)2.5 concentrations and air quality index (AQI) with emergency room (ER) visits of patients having acute respiratory symptoms in Delhi using the geographic information system (GIS) approach. Methods: The daily number of ER visits of patients having acute respiratory symptoms (less than or equal to two weeks) was recorded from the ER of four hospitals of Delhi from March 2018 to February 2019. Daily outdoor PM2.5 concentrations and air quality index (AQI) were obtained from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. Spatial distribution of patients with acute respiratory symptoms visiting ER, PM2.5 concentrations and AQI were mapped for three seasons of Delhi using ArcGIS software. Results: Of the 70,594 patients screened from ER, 18,063 eligible patients were enrolled in the study. Winter days had poor AQI compared to moderate and satisfactory AQI during summer and monsoon days, respectively. None of the days reported good AQI (<50). During winters, an increase in acute respiratory ER visits of patients was associated with higher PM2.5 concentrations in the highly polluted northwest region of Delhi. In contrast, a lower number of acute respiratory ER visits of patients were seen from the ‘moderately polluted’ south-west region of Delhi with relatively lower PM2.5 concentrations. Interpretation & conclusions: Acute respiratory ER visits of patients were related to regional PM2.5 concentrations and AQI that differed during the three seasons of Delhi. The present study providessupport for identifying the hotspots and implementation of focused, intensive decentralized strategies to control ambient air pollution in worst-affected areas, in addition to the general city-wise strategies.
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Introduction: The twenty?first century has shown a boost in the geriatric population. Looking at the trends, this group of population is expected to outnumber the other population groups, therefore has become one of the focus points for researchers these days. As the age of an individual increase, due to slowed metabolism and other biological reasons, the physical activity levels and body functioning tends to get affected, thereby also affecting their motor skills. This age group is also an age group which tends to face changes in psychological conditions. The kind of environment which they live in and their social status are also one of contributing factors to such changes in their lives and also how their perception of life and quality of life (QOL). Maintaining a good QOL has therefore become an important issue in the geriatric population so that they can lead a better life until senescence. QOL according to the World Health Organization depends on different factors and has been measured through four domains. The four domains include the physical state, psychological domain, social domain, and environmental domain. Aim: This article aims at studying the effect of the gender of an individual on the QOL, and what steps can be taken to improve the perception of life among the population by improvements in the QOL by assessing all the four domains of a group of 100 individuals, both male and female of 60 years and above through online survey. Materials and Methods: A standardized questionnaire developed by the WHO was adopted to measure the scores obtained by both males and females in the different domains. Data obtained through this survey were tested and validated, and a comparison between the QOL scores of males and females was done using appropriate statistical tests. Results: Results showed no significant difference in the scores of males and females. Conclusion: It was concluded that the gender of an individual does not influence the QOL
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Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of the work. There could be slight variations in the composition of the rights depending on the work.
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Background: Recent industrialisation and urbanisation and introduction of vehicles running on fossil fuels have led to an increase in pollution especially in major cities. This has given rise to various diseases like acute and chronic diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Cardiovascular Diseases, Cerebrovascular Diseases and so on leading to significant mortality and morbidity. Auto rickshaw drivers are subjected to the environmental pollutants and their ill effects. Objectives: Current study was done with the objective of finding the prevalence of COPD among them. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted in 2019 in Kalyanpuri circle of East Delhi in 409 auto rickshaw drivers in a total of ten Three-Seater Rickshaw (TSR) stands which were chosen by simple random sampling. Consecutive auto rickshaw drivers were chosen from each stand. Data was collected using a questionnaire, and spirometry was conducted using a handheld portable spirometer with adjusted values as per S K Chhabra’s formula for Indian Males. Data analysis was done on SPSS by applying chisquare tests. Results: Mean age of study subjects was 39±7.54 years (Age group 22 to 59 years). The prevalence of COPD was found to be 13.7% based on spirometry as per GOLD criteria. Statistically significant association was found with the age of the study subjects and hour years of driving. No significant association found with the smoking status. Conclusion: The prevalence of COPD was found to be higher among the study subjects. Since they belong to unorganized sector, relevant policies are required for promoting the health status among them.
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Background: There is minimal information about the association of head growth at different stages of childhood with cognitive ability. Objective: To determine the relationship of newborn head size and head growth during infancy, childhood and adolescence with attained education, a proxy for cognitive ability. Study design: Prospective birth cohort study. Setting: Married women living in South Delhi between 1969 and 1973. Participants: The New Delhi Birth Cohort study followed up 8030 newborns born in 1969-1973 with head circumference, weight and height measurements at birth and 6-12 monthly until adulthood. Of these, 1526 men and women were followed up at the age of 26-32 years. Outcomes: Association between years of schooling, as an indicator of cognitive ability, and newborn head circumference and conditional measures of head growth during infancy, childhood and adolescence. Results: In unadjusted analyses, newborn head size was positively associated with years of education [(? (95% CI)=0.30 (0.14 to 0.47) years per SD head circumference], as was head growth from birth to 6 months [? (95% CI)=0.44 (0.28 to 0.60) years per SD conditional head growth], 6 months to 2 years [? (95% CI)=0.31 (0.15 to 0.47) years per SD conditional head growth] and 2 to 11 years [? (95% CI)=0.20 (0.03 to 0.36) years per SD conditional head growth]. There were similar findings for height and body mass index (BMI). In the adjusted model containing all growth measures, gestational age, and socioeconomic status (SES) at birth as predictors, only SES was positively associated with educational attainment. Conclusion: Educational attainment in this population is positively associated with socioeconomic status and its influence on inter-related early life (fetal, infant and childhood) factors like nutritional status and brain growth.
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Background: Cold chain equipments (CCEs) at health facilities (HFs) are an essential part of the immunization supply chain (ISC). The CCEs in government HFs of Delhi were never assessed using the World Health Organization-United Nations Children's Fund (WHO-UNICEF) Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) tool except that of state vaccine store during National EVM assessment 2013. Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess the CCEs and their management in government HFs using the WHO-UNICEF EVM tool in a district of Delhi. Methods: The assessment was done during December 2017朚arch 2018 in one randomly selected district of Delhi. Sample size and site selection were done using the WHO EVM site selection tool. A total of 29 HFs were assessed along with District Vaccine Store. Questions on CCEs in EVM tool 1.0.9 were used for data collection. Results: Out of 56 electrical CCEs, 8.9% were nonfunctional, 48.2% were noncompliant with WHO standards, 5.4% were not chlorofluorocarbon free, 4.7% did not have temperature monitoring device, and 18.8% did not have stabilizer. Eighty-six percent of passive containers were compliant with the WHO standards. The storage capacity of electrical vaccine storage equipment was insufficient in 3.4%, passive container capacity in 65.5%, and ice packs preparation and storage capacity in 24.1% of HFs. There was no planned preventive maintenance of CCEs and no standard operating procedures for emergency event management. Conclusion: There was a shortage of vaccine storage, ice packs preparation and storage, and passive container capacity. Many CCEs used in ISC of assessed sites were noncompliant to the WHO standards. There was no PPM of CCEs and no guidelines for emergency event management.
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Purpose: An Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) available in community could be a potential primary eye care (PEC) worker. Training programme for ASHAs on PEC was undertaken & evaluated in a district of a capital city. Methods: ASHAs selected randomly from a district were imparted one day training on PEC & expected to refer patients to nearby Vision Centres (VC). Their knowledge was assessed before & after training and re-evaluated 1 year later. ASHAs were asked to conduct vision screening of 40+ population in their areas and ASHA referrals were noted by Optometrist in VC. Focus Group Discussions (FGD) of ASHAs were held to find barriers & facilitating factors in engaging ASHAs in PEC. Training was evaluated using Kirkpatrick's evaluation model for measuring reactions, learning, behaviour and results. Results: Mean knowledge score increased from 14.96 (±4.34) pre-training to 25.38 (±3.48) post- training and sustained at 21.75 (±4.16) at 1year. Monthly average OPD of vision centres increased by 23.6% after ASHA training. FGDs revealed that ASHAs were willing to work in eye care for awareness generation and patient facilitation but were hesitant in conducting vision screening. Conclusion: ASHAs can be trained as PEC workers provided they have adequate support.
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Background: Rabies is one of the highly fatal diseases, with nearly fifty nine thousand deaths annually globally and almost one third of these are in India. Higher rates of dog bites are common in our country, due to large stray dog population. Despite a preventable disease, unhealthy wound practices are still prevailing in the community due to lot of myths related to the disease. The objectives of the study were to assess the magnitude of unhealthy wound practices and to assess the knowledge regarding health seeking behaviour following animal bite.Methods: The present study was a cross sectional study conducted at SDMC Polyclinic, Mehrauli, Delhi from January to December 2015. A total of 160 cases of animal bite that attended OPD and consented were analysed for knowledge, practices and health seeking behaviour towards animal bite.Results: Out of total 160 respondents almost all were bitten by dogs of which 2/3rd was stray dogs and most common site of bite was lower limb. 55% of the subjects did not wash or clean the wounds after bite. 27% of subjects applied chilli powder or its paste with oil and 2.5% used oil and turmeric paste and 1.9% oil on the wound. Only 41.9% of the subjects believed that vaccination is the treatment of the choice following animal bite.Conclusions: Intensive health education through mass media and mid media can be used to create awareness about the disease transmission and preventive measures like wound management and post-exposure prophylaxis. Also, pet vaccination should be made mandatory for all those who keep pets.
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Background: Emergency contraceptive pills (ECs) are a safe female-controlled method of post-coital contraception; however, the knowledge about them is low among general population.Methods: This cross-sectional study was done among the adult females, aged 18 years and above, who visited the various out-patient departments (OPD) of a tertiary care hospital in July 2017. A total of 640 adult females, who visited the OPDs of medicine, surgery, orthopedics and gynecology were included in this study. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS ver 16. Chi-square test was used to test association. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant association.Results: Of the 640 participants, mostly were Hindu, aged between 20-29 years, married and had more than one child. Only, 52% females were aware of the term ‘contraception’ and 17.7% about ‘emergency contraception’. The only method of ECs they were aware of was i-pill. Commonest source of their knowledge was friends, relatives and spouse. Only 70 women knew that it can be used after unprotected intercourse and 25 knew that it can be used after failure of barrier method. Just 41.2% women used any kind of contraceptive and 5.3% women have ever used an EC. Around 28% women reported not using contraception due to lack of knowledge.Conclusions: Despite of their availability since many years, awareness about emergency contraception is low. More efforts are required to generate awareness about regular use of effective contraception and emergency contraception if required.
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Introducción: La emergencia de enterobacterias productoras de carbapenemasas en el ámbito hospitalario representa un verdadero problema de salud pública mundial. Las carbapenemasas son enzimas que producen resistencia a los antibióticos carbapenémicos, teniendo un directo impacto en la disponibilidad de alternativas terapéuticas. En Argentina, a partir de 2013 han emergido carbapenemasas tipo-NDM (Nueva Delhi Metalo-ß-lactamasa, MßL), que constituyen una resistencia emergente a nivel global. Objetivo: Reportar el primer aislamiento clínico de enterobacteria portadora de NDM en nuestra institución. Materiales y métodos: El aislamiento estudiado fue recuperado de una muestra ósea de un paciente adulto. La identificación bacteriana y los ensayos de susceptibilidad antibiótica se realizaron mediante metodología manual y sistema automatizado Vitek 2C (Biomérieux). La detección y caracterización de carbapenemasas se efectuó por ensayos fenotípicos y moleculares. Resultados: Los ensayos revelaron que el aislamiento, tipificado como Citrobacter freundii, es productor de carbapenemasa tipo NDM. Resultó sensible a aztreonam, colistina y fosfomicina. No se detectó fenotípicamente la presencia de beta lactamasas de espectro extendido. Discusión: Se reporta el primer aislamiento de enterobacteria productor de MßL tipo-NDM en nuestro nosocomio, siendo multirresistente, con escasas alternativas terapéuticas. Dado que la presencia de este tipo de aislamiento es considerado de alto riesgo, se requiere un monitoreo activo de este mecanismo de resistencia y la instauración de medidas de control adecuadas para hacer frente a la amenaza que suponen
Introduction: the emergence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobaceriaceae in the hospital environment represents a major challenge for health care worldwide. Carbapene-mases are carbapenem-hydrolysing enzymes that confer resistance to these "last-line" antibiotics having a direct im-pact on the limited treatment options available. In Argentina, carbapenemases NDM-like (New DelhiMetallo-ß-lactamase, MßL) have emerged in 2013. This resistance has increased in frequency and it has disseminated around the world at unprecedented levels.Objective:report the first isolation of a NDM-producing En-terobacteriaceae in our hospital.Materials and methods: the isolate analysed in this study was recovered from a bone biopsy belonging to an adult patient. The bacterial identification and antimicrobial sus-ceptibility testings were performed using conventional methods and the automated system Vitek 2C (Biomérieux). Phenotypic and molecular techniques were carried out for the detection and characterization of carbapenemases.Results: it was confirmed that the isolate, identified as Citro-bacter freundii, produces the NDM enzyme. It showed sensi-bility to aztreonam, colistin and fosfomicyn. Extended-spec-trum beta-lactamases were not detected.Discussion: in this study we report the first isolation of NDM-like MßL in our institution, a multirresistant pathogen associ-ated with a lack of effective antimicrobial treatment options. Given the high risk of these infections, an active search of mechanisms of resistance is mandatory. In addition, the establishment of accurate control measures is a must to attempt to overcome this formidable threat
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Male , Middle Aged , Citrobacter freundii , Diabetic Foot/complications , Enterobacteriaceae Infections/therapy , Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
Objective@#To analyze the molecular epidemiological characteristics of Escherichia coli producing NDM-5 carbapenemase in the neonatal department of our hospital. @*Methods@#Three carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli strains（E1, E2 and E3） isolated from neonatal ward of our hospital from August to September of 2017 were collected. Vitek 2 Compact system combined with K-B disk method was used for drug sensitivity test. The resistance genes were detected by PCR amplification. Plasmid replicon typing was detected by PCR. Plasmid conjugation tests were performed to explore the conjugating transfer of plasmids in the three strains. The homology of the three strains was analyzed by multiple locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). @*Results@#Drug susceptibility test showed that the three bacteria were resistant to most β-lactam antibiotics except Aztreonam, and resistant to quinolones and SMZ-TMP, but sensitive to aminoglycosides drugs. PCR and sequencing results indicated that the three strains carried bla SHV gene and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase gene (bla SHV , bla TEM and bla CTX-M ). The plasmid replicon type was IncX3. Transfer test of E1 strain was successful. MLST results indicated that all the three strains were ST1642 type. MLST and PFGE results indicated that the bands of the three bacteria were identical. @*Conclusion@#Both NDM-5 carbapenemase and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase were detectable in the three strains of carbapenem-resistant bacteria from neonatal department. MLST and PFGE results suggested that the three strains were from the same clonal source.
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Background@#Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) are the important pathogens causing pneumonia. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and molecular epidemiology of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae causing pneumonia at a large teaching hospital in China.@*Methods@#We collected patient’s clinical data and ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae strains causing pneumonia (from December 2015 to June 2016) at a hospital in Wuhan. The susceptibilities, multi-locus sequence typing, homologous analysis, ESBL genes by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing were determined.@*Results@#A total of 59 ESBL-producing strains (31 E. coli and 28 K. pneumoniae) isolated from patients with pneumonia were analyzed. The majority of strains were isolated from patients were with hospital-acquired pneumonia (37/59, 62.7%), followed by community-acquired pneumonia (13/59, 22.0%), and ventilator-related pneumonia (9/59, 15.3%). The E. coli ST131 (9 isolates, 29.0%) and K. pneumoniae ST11 (5 isolates, 17.9%) were the predominant sub-types. The most prevalent ESBL gene was CTX-M-14, followed by SHV-77, CTX-M-3, SHV-11, and CTX-M-27. At least 33 (55.9%) of the ESBL-producing strains carried two or more ESBL genes. The ISEcp1 and IS26 were found upstream of all blaCTX-M (CTX-Ms) and of most blaSHV (SHVs) (57.6%), respectively. Moreover, three ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae ST11 strains which were resistant to carbapenems carried the blaNDM-1 and blaKPC-2, two of which also bearing blaOXA-48 were resistant to all antibiotics (including Tigecycline).@*Conclusions@#Hospital-acquired pneumonia is more likely correlated with ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae. ESBL-producing E. coli ST131 and multi-drug resistance ESBL-producing, as well as New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases-2 (KPC-2) bearing K. pneumoniae ST11 are spreading in patients with pneumonia in hospital.
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As urbanisation is increasing, the problem of communicable as well as non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is also increasing. Hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases constitute most of the NCDs whose risk factors are almost similar. They could be modifiable like physical activity, waist circumference, diet, smoking, alcohol intake . Objective: To study the magnitude of shared risk factors for Non-communicable diseases in adults of an urban resettlement colony of Delhi. Material and Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted on adults >30 years (n=580) in both genders in an urban resettlement colony of Delhi in 2014. A Semi-structured interview schedule consisting of Socio-demographic characteristics, risk factor profile was used. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS 12 Results: Out of the total 580 subjects (313)53.96% were women and 267(46.03%) were men. Majority 405(69.8%) of the study subjects were taking inadequate fruits and vegetables (<5 times/day) and 212 (36.6%) were taking >5 gm salt per day. About 181(31.2%) of the study subjects were sedentary workers, the proportion was more among women 99(31.6%). 223(83.5%) men had waist circumference within normal limits whereas 178 (56.9%) women had waist circumference more than 88 cm. One in four men were smokers. Nearly 49(18.4 %) of the men were current tobacco chewers as compared to 17(1.6%) of women. Only 33 (12.4%) men were currently consuming alcohol. Results of multiple logistic regression showed increasing age, education and marital status as significant socio demographic factors for increased prevalence of risk factors for NCDs. Conclusion: Promotion of lifestyle change to address these risk factors that can be modified including weight reduction, increased physical activity and healthy eating should be encouraged along with changing of behavioural factors like quitting smoking and alcohol.
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Background: Resistance due to New Delhi metallo-?-lactamase (NDM) and OXA-48/181 continues to emerge as a threat which is associated with nosocomial outbreaks and is a serious healthcare concern. Phenotypic detection being laborious and time-consuming requires rapid detection of NDM and OXA-48/181, which is achieved through real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Materials and Methods: In this study, RT-PCR assay was developed to simultaneously detect NDM and OXA-48/181. The assay was validated on 102 non-duplicate, phenotypically characterised clinical samples. Results: The assay showed a sensitivity and specificity of 97% and 100% for the detection of carbapenemases in comparison to conventional PCR. The in-house developed multiplex RT-PCR would help to rule-in the presence of NDM and OXA-48/181. Conclusions: Rapid detection of these carbapenemases would be assist in better patient management, in terms of accurate antimicrobial treatment, help in cohorting infected from uninfected patient to prevent spread.
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Anthropometric changes take place with increasing age. Progressive loss of height makes it difficult to use height for calculation of body mass index in nutritional screening of elderly persons. There is a need to find other alternative methods which could be used as proxy measurements of height in them. To assess the relationship of height and arm span and among elderly persons. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among elderly persons in urban colony of Delhi. Height and arm span of persons aged 60 years and above (n = 711) were measured according to standard methods. Correlation between arm span and height was calculated. The mean arm span was seen to be more than the mean height in all age-groups and both sexes. There was a linear relationship between height and arm-span in all age-groups. There was a strong correlation between arm span and height in all age groups. Arm span could be used instead of height as an alternative in the conventional body mass index in elderly persons.
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Background & objectives: New Delhi metallo-?-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) cleaves the beta-lactam ring, and confers bacterial resistance against most of the beta-lactam antibiotics, except tigecycline and colistin. Among these two antibiotics, colistin is considered toxic, and therefore, its clinical use and dosage need cautious approach. In the present study, six organic acids were screened individually and in combination of two acids for their effectiveness against NDM-1 Escherichia coli and a combination of colistin and oxalic or succinic acid was tested to find out the potential of combination therapy for reducing the dose of toxic colistin. Methods: Antibacterial activity of the organic acid and their combinations was tested by disc diffusion method against NDM-1 E. coli, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by broth dilution method. Synergistic effect between organic acids and colistin was tested by checkerboard method. Results: Oxalic acid showed the highest zone of inhibition (15�mm) followed by succinic acid, tartaric acid, fumaric acid, citric acid and malic acid. The combination of two acids did not increase the zone of inhibition significantly. MIC was found to be the lowest with oxalic acid and succinic acid (320 ?g/ml). In the presence of 160 ?g/ml oxalic acid or succinic acid, MIC of colistin was reduced from 8 to 4 ?g/ml, indicating synergistic effect. Interpretation & conclusions: Our findings showed that combination therapy using colistin and oxalic acid or succinic acid might find safe clinical application of this antibiotic in controlling infections due to NDM-1 bacteria.