An Analysis Of Malaria Diagnostic Methods - Microscopy And Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) In Gandhinagar – Gujarat.

Abstracts: Background & Objective: Malaria is one of the major public health problems in the developing countries. Rapid diagnosis and accurate quantification of Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia are important forthe management of malaria. The objective of this study was to measure prevalence of malaria and analyse the results of malaria diagnostic methods. Methodology: RDT and microscopy was carried out to diagnose malaria. Results were simply presented as percentage positive of total number of cases under this study. Results of microscopy were compared with RDT based on antigen detection for malaria diagnosis. Results: Total 503 cases were detected having infection of malaria. Out of them 405(80.52%) were positive for P. vivax, 73 (14.51%) were positive for P. falciparum and 25 (4.97%) were having mixed infection of P. vivax and P. falciparum. Sensitivity of RDTs was excellent as compare to microscopy. Conclusion: We can conclude based on the present study that sensitivity of RDT is very good as compare to traditional microscopy. But for the confirmation microscopy remains gold standard test for malaria identification.

Clinical correlation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from clinical settings at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad.

Introduction: Pseudomonas aeruginosa species can be dangerous opportunistic pathogen because of its tolerance to physical, chemical, antibacterial compounds. In hospitals, P. aeruginosa is a formidable opportunistic pathogen, and therefore, the medical concern with infection of immunologically compromised patients in burns and neonatal units, is well justified. Material and methods: Total 1583 samples like swab, urine, sputum, pus, pleural fluid, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), ascitic fluid and blood samples from different clinical departments were tested at Clinical Microbiology Department of B. J. Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat during April 2009 to April 2010. Results: Out of 1583 samples, 807 samples turned culture positive. Out of 807 culture positive samples, 100 were culture positive for P. aeruginosa. The maximum number (68%) of P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained from swab samples. The highest number of such isolates (48%) belonged to surgical ward. P. aeruginosa showed highest sensitivity against Cefepime - Tazobactam (97%). Conclusion: This study showed that P. aeruginosa is acquiring resistance to commonly used antibiotics as well as newer antibiotics. The antimicrobial agents are losing their efficacy because of spread of the resistant organism, indiscriminate use of antibiotics, and unhygienic condition. It is the need of the time that antibiotic policies should be formulated and implemented to resist and overcome this serious problem.

In-vitro antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Salmonella typhi.

Introduction: Salmonella typhi is widely prevalent in India and it causes endemic and epidemic typhoid fever. Early and proper antibiotic administration is necessary to reduce morbidity, complication and mortality of typhoid. Material and methods: A total of 1006 febrile patients, receiving treatment at Guru Govindsingh Hospital, Jamnagar, were included in this study. 1006 blood culture samples for S.typhi Were collected from these patients. Blood cultures were tested for clinical bacteriology, as per standard protocol. Results: 30 blood cultures grew positive for S. typhi with the isolation rate of 2.98%. 60% S. typhi isolates were resitant to chlorampheenical, amppicillin, and co-trimoxazole and hence, were multidrug resistent S. typhi ciprofloxacin was the most effective drug with 93.33% senstivity. Conclusion: Ciprofloxacin remains the drug of choice for treatment of typhoid fever. Unchecked use of ciprofloxacin antibiotic should be rationalized, since selection pressure has now emerged as ciprofloxacin resistant in S. typhi.

Sample rejection as a quality indicator for continual improvement of laboratory services, tertiary care hospital.

Background: Quality in the health care institutions is multifaceted & multidimensional with its core element as the customer’s satisfaction. Improvement in the health care services is a long drawn relentless process which can be achieved by implementing a carefully planned Quality Management System. Laboratory services B.J. Medical College & Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, has set its Quality indicators and is monitoring it as a part of continual improvement. One of the Quality indicators is Sample rejection. The laboratory aims to reduce the sample rejections by complying with the standards & recommended guidelines. Methods: This is to monitor & analyze the Sample Rejections as a Quality Indicator for Continual improvement of the Microbiology Department. Primary data collection done before training & secondary data collection done after the training of nursing staff & Resident Doctors. Results: The sample rejection rate of the Microbiology Laboratory in the month of July 2010 was 0.31%. After the training of the nursing staff as well as resident doctors regarding proper collection & transport of samples based on scientific principles, a decreasing trend in the sample rejection rate is observed. i. e. from .31% to 0.11 % in the 13 months duration of study.Conclusion: The implementation of a systematic error-tracking system i.e. monitoring the sample rejections, analysing its trend, taking preventive & corrective actions to reduce the sample rejection rate in daily practice definitely improves the quality of the laboratory results and is a quality indicator for continual improvement of the laboratory.