Is neo‑adjuvant chemotherapy a better option for management of cervical cancer patients of rural India.

OBJECTIVES: To explore alternate modality of treatment in patients of advanced cancer cervix by neo‑adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by External Beam Radiotherapy (ERT) and Brachytherapy (BT). Short‑ (6 months) and long‑ (12 months) term follow‑up data from these patients were compared with the retrospective data from an urban cancer centre, where standard protocol of concurrent chemo‑radiotherapy is practiced. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred patients of advanced cervical cancer, treated at our rural cancer centre between January 2007 and December 2007, were included in the study arm (Group A). These patients received three cycles of neo‑adjuvant chemotherapy with Cisplatin, Bleomycin, and Vincristine before External‑Beam Radiotherapy (EBT) followed by brachytherapy. Patients in the control arm (Group B) of an urban cancer centre, received EBT with weekly concomitant Cisplatin, followed by brachytherapy. Short‑ (6 months) and long‑ (12 months) term follow‑up data from our patients were compared with the retrospective data from the urban cancer centre. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS: Complete response rate was comparatively higher among patients of Group A, also correspondingly proportion of patients showing progressive disease and stable disease was lower among them. Local treatment failure was 87.5% among patients from Group A and 94.4% in Group B patients. Concomitant chemoradiation (CRT) was associated with more GI toxicities. CONCLUSION: Our result suggests NACT arm is as effective as CRT arm in respect of complete response with less pelvic failure and G.I toxicities. Further follow‑up data are needed before arriving at a definite conclusion.

Prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases among Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in a tertiary care hospital.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) continue to be a major problem in clinical setups the world over, conferring resistance to the expanded-spectrum cephalosporins. Knowledge about their prevalence is essential to guide towards appropriate antibiotic treatment. The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence of ESBL producers among Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates at a tertiary care institution. A total of 357 clinical isolates comprising E. coli (n = 181) and K. pneumoniae (n = 176) were recovered from various clinical samples over a period of six months from April to September 2006. Antibiogram profile of these isolates was determined to commonly used antibiotics, along with screening for ESBL production by the screening test as recommended by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Isolates which showed positive results with screening test were shortlisted for confirmatory tests of ESBL production. Two tests were performed: phenotypic confirmatory test with combination disk and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) reduction test. Out of 357 isolates of E. coli and K. pneumoniae screened for ESBL production, 120 were found to be potential ESBL producers. Of these, 80 isolates were confirmed to be ESBL producers. Thus the prevalence of ESBL-producing isolates of E. coli and K. pneumoniae was found to be 22% (80 out of 357). This was significantly lower than the data available from other hospitals.