Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B at Tertiary Care Hospital

The burden of Hepatitis B caused by a hepatotropic virus, Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), is a significant public health problem in India, although a cost-effective vaccine is available at each corner of the world. It has been estimated that up to 10% of HBV global burden is shared by India alone. Each year approximately 0.1 million deaths occur due to HBV and its related illnesses in our country. The present study aims to determine actual prevalence of disease by active surveillance at tertiary care hospital. Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at tertiary care hospital western UP, from June 2018 to Dec 2018. 2-4 ml of blood sample from each patient was collected and sent to VRDL from different clinical OPDs and IPDs for routine screening of HVB and these all were included in this study. For this routine screening of HBV, Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) was used as a marker of infection. The technique used was Chemiluminescence ELISA method. The data was collected on a predesigned patient information sheet. Results: A total of 13613 samples were tested, and of these all, 653 were positive for HBsAg. Hence, the overall prevalence observed in this study was 4.8%. Among all seropositive cases, 341 (50.2%) were males and 312 (47.8%) females with P value of (P >0.05). The majority of cases 50.1% were in the age group of 16-30 years, and among these, females were dominant with 32.8% over 17.3% males. Conclusion: Thus, this study concludes that HBV infection is still a public health problem which should be among the prioritized health problem in our country.

Awareness Of Organ Donation Among Medical Students Of Jaipur City

Background and Objectives: Organ donation is the process of surgically removing an organ or tissue from donor and placing it into a recipient. The present study was conducted to assess the awareness, knowledge, and attitude regarding organ donation among medical students of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among the second year undergraduates at tertiary centre to evaluate the awareness, knowledge, and attitude regarding Organ Donation. Results: Among the study population, 90% were aware of the term „Organ Donation,? 60% students were aware of the “organ transplantation act.” About 60 % students wanted to be a part of any Organ Donation group and also motivate others for organ donation. Interpretation and Conclusion: A well organized approach is required to raise awareness among the youth about various aspects of Organ Donation which is necessary to eliminate the setbacks that affect the rate of availability of donor organs. Motivating messages and facts are some of the means of intervention to bring about changes regarding perceptions and intentions about Organ Donation among the students. Shortage of donor organs can be resolved by raising awareness and educating the youth about various aspects of Organ Donation since they comprise of the majority of the population.

Comparative evaluation of antigen detection ELISA and reverse transcriptase PCR in acute stage of Japanese encephalitis prevalent in endemic areas of North-Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Background: Objective of current study was to compare and evaluate different diagnostic tests to establish a reliable and less time consuming diagnostic test for prompt diagnosis of acute Japanese encephalitis cases mainly amongst children and young adults from North-Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. Methods: A total of 100 subjects, including 50 suspected cases and 50 diseased controls were investigated to establish the diagnosis of JE in acute encephalitis patients. All CSF samples were subjected to MAC-ELISA, virus cultivation and RT-PCR. Results: Out of 50 cases, 6 showed negative results by all the three tests. 50% (22 out of 44), 47.5% (21 out of 44), and 66% (23 out of 44) were found positive by MAC-ELISA, Virus cultivation and RT-PCR respectively. The rate of detection by Virus cultivation and RT-PCR was higher in case of MAC-ELISA negative cases (57.1% and 78.5%) than that of MAC-ELISA positive cases (22.7% and 27.2%) respectively. Mean age of the patients was 12.5 years, which ranged from 1-24 years with male to female ratio of 3:1. Conclusions: The RT-PCR was found most reliable, sensitive and specific method amongst the three chosen methods for detection of JEV in suspected encephalitis patients.

A retrospective study of fungal corneal ulcer from the western part of Uttar Pradesh.

Background: Infectious keratitis is a major cause of avoidable blindness worldwide. Fungus is an important aetiological agent of infectious keratitis following corneal trauma with vegetative matter. This infection should be promptly treated to limit the morbidity and dangerous sequelae. The purpose of this study was to detect causative agents from corneal scrapings and to identify the predisposing factors of mycotic keratitis. Methods: Corneal scrapings were taken in full aseptic precautions in total 112 suspected patients for fungal etiology and were subjected to direct examination by 10% KOH mount, gram stain and culture. Results: A total 112 cases of suspected corneal ulcers were subjected to KOH mount to detect fungal elements in corneal scraping and culture to isolate aetiological agents. In our study 29 (25.8%) samples were found positive in KOH mount and fungus was isolated from the all KOH positive samples. Males were more commonly affected and were mostly in the age group of 30-50 years. Fusarium species was the most common fungus isolated followed by Aspergillus species. Conclusion: Mycotic keratitis is a serious problem usually following corneal trauma, it requires rapid detection and identification of fugal agents for treatment to prevent disastrous consequences.

Sphingobacterium multivorum causing fatal meningoencephalitis: a rare case report.

We report a case of fatal meningitis caused by bacteria, Sphingobacterium multivorum, probably first time being reported from India. S. mulivorum has been isolated from various clinical specimens but it is only rarely been associated with serious infections. Sphingobacterium species are generally resistant to aminoglycosides and polymyxin B. Susceptibility to β-lactam antibiotics is variable, requiring testing for individual drug. This 36 year male had two weeks history of high-grade fever with altered sensorium and occasional seizures. Patient admitted with septicemia and subsequently developed meningitis and succumbed to his illness after being discharged against medical advice. His CSF culture yielded S. multivorum subsequently confirmed by mini API, bioMérieux Inc. Marcy-l’Etoile France. Due to its rare association with common clinical conditions, it requires a high degree of suspicion and expertise to prove its presence in clinical specimens. Since this bacterium is inherently resistant to many classes of antibiotics, a vigilant and efficient microbiological work up is needed to establish its diagnosis and prompt treatment.

Age assessment from radiological cranial suture closure in fourth to seventh decades (A Jaipur based study).

Reasonably a correct estimation of age in important in Legal, Medical, Social and Administrative matters i.e. regularization of temporary employee, retirement from service or superannuation, re-employment in services, settlement of pension cases, distribution of old age pension, potency certification, for relaxation in imprisonment on the grounds of old age and good behavior of a prisoner, to provide senior citizen benefits etc. In the dead person the age estimation at the time of autopsy is done to help the Investigating Officer. In India and other countries the task of scientific confirmation of disputed age issue of civil and criminal nature is the domain of Forensic Expert. This study is done to determine the age of individual in the fourth decade to seventh decades by correlating radiological finding of various views of skull along with the other physical findings. Maximum Number of cases was in the age group of 51-55 yrs (17%). Female to male ratio was 1:2.2, 66% cases were urban and 34% were rural, 72% Hindu and 73% were from Middle class.