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Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection poses tremendous challenge to the healthcare system of nations across the globe.Healthcare workers (HCWs) are crucial to the ongoing response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. During the course of their work, they are exposed to hazards that place them at the risk of infection. Serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers, which form a high risk group helps in identifying the burden of hidden infection in an institutional setting. The present study aims to investigate the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among HCWs during 1stand 2ndwave.Material & Methods:A prospective study was conducted at Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, Government Medical College, Amritsar during JuneJuly2020 (1stwave)and April May 2021(2nd wave). During this period, 184 blood samples were collected from healthcare workers from Government Medical College and Hospital, Amritsar. Serum was separated and used for detection of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies by ELISA technique.Results:Out of the 184 samples, 79 (42.9 %) were found to be seropositive. Higher seropositivity was seen i.e 60.8 % during the 2ndwave (April-May 2021 ) as compared to 25% during 1st wave. The increase in seroprevalence was observed in almost all categories of HCWs, Doctors 44.4% vz 13.04%, nurses 54.8 % vz 34.7 %, lab technicians 72% vz 30.4 % and housekeeping staff 72.2 % vz 21.7%. Also the unvaccinated HCWs showed higher seroprevalence during the second wave and 87.5 % of vaccinated HCWs had demonstrable IgG antibodies.Conclusions:High seropositivity was observed among healthcare workers due to their nature of work. Rise of seropositivity among unvaccinated HCWs during 2ndwave concludes that increase in seroprevalence was attributable to natural infection.The vaccine’s immunological response was also highlighted in the study.
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Background: Severe acute respiratory illness due to SARS-CoV-2 represents great global public health concern. The spectrum of disease ranges from mild to life-threatening. Surveillance of hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) is an important public health tool used to identify etiologies to understand the disease, track changes in circulating viruses and as an alert mechanism for potential pandemic viruses. We aim to find out the rate of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in SARI cases and further study the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients.Material & Methods:A Prospective study was conducted on 200 Severe Acute Respiratory Illness patients admitted at tertiary care hospital. The clinical, demographic, epidemiological, risk factors / co-morbidities of all the patients were recorded. Oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal samples were collected and tested for SARS-CoV-2 by real time reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR) test.Results:Out of 200 SARI patients, 51 (25.5%) were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Maximum cases (54.90%) were in the age group of 41-60 years; males were infected predominantly (52.94%). The most common symptoms of presentation were fever (100%), cough (86.27%), dyspnoea (82.35%) and sore throat (56.86%). Comorbidities associated with COVID-19 were Hypertension (56.86%), Diabetes Mellitus (33.33%), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (13.72%) and Coronary Artery disease (9.8%). More than 30% of the patients were admitted in ICU and 9.80% received mechanical ventilation.Conclusions:Evaluation of clinical and epidemiological profiles of SARI patients can help in understanding and managing the outbreak more efficiently. Close monitoring and quarantine will be required to prevent extensive transmission within the community.
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Background: Staphylococcus is notorious for its ability to become resistant to antibiotics. MRSA emerged as nosocomial pathogen in the early 1960. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus are implicated in serious infections and nosocomial infection outbreaks, thus limiting the treating options to very few agents such as vancomycin and teicoplanin. Vancomycin has been regarded as the first line drug for the treatment for MRSA but its irrational use lead to emergence of vancomycin resistance. The Aim was to determine the prevalence and resistance of MRSA ,VRSA,VISA isolates from various clinical samples in a tertiary care hospital.Material & Methods:This present prospective study was done in the Microbiology department of Government Medical College. The study was conducted for a period of one and half year i.e from January 2019 to June 2020. All the samples (pus, urine, blood, body fluids, sputum etc) were processed as per standard protocols.Results:Out of 26,471 samples, 6578(24.85%) were found to be culture positive. 1583 isolates were identified as Staphylococcus aureus. Among them 1278(80.7%) were MRSA, 21(1.3%) were VISA and 8(0.5%) were VRSA. Maximum number of MRSA isolates were obtained from orthopaedics ward (22.7%) and Intensive Care Unit and most of them were isolated from pus(45%) followed by blood (19.09%)samples. Among them highest resistance were observed against azithromycin (85.6%), followed by ciprofloxacin (63.5%) and least resistance to rifampicin and doxycycline. Majority of the VISA and VRSA strains were isolated from ICU followed by orthopaedics, surgery. Most of them were isolated from pus followed by blood and urine specimen and most were found to be multidrug resistant while they retained their sensitivity to Linezolid and Teicoplanin.Conclusions:As there is high prevalence of MRSA isolates so the treatment options are limited to vancomycin. Overuse of vancomycin can lead to emergence of VRSA strains. So the need for rational use in the infection-control practices to prevent transmission of MRSA as well as VISA strains. Strict implementation of hand hygiene, decolonization of MRSA carriers,and education of healthcare team will be quite helpful.
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Background: In a country like India, the prisoner cells are not well structured. For instance prisons are known to be a high risk environment for infections like tuberculosis (TB), HIV, HCV, HBV etc. due to overcrowding, low levels of nutrition, poor infection control and lack of accessible healthcare services. This study is an effort to know about the pattern of infections in custodial death cases detected during post mortem examination. Aims and Objectives: To determine the common infections and to know the mortality caused by infections among prisoners in custody, people in police custody and mentally ill patients in mental health institute in Punjab.Methods:This cross sectional study of 100 cases of custodial deaths from 1st Jan 2019 to 4thMay 2021, was carried out in the Forensic Medicine department in collaboration with department of Microbiology, Govt. Medical College, Amritsar.Results:Klebsiella Pneumoniae (37.5%) is more common in age group of 10-30 years while Staphylococcus Aureus (35.9%) infection was more common in the age group of 31 to 50 years. Incidence of positive growth of infections was slightly more in female inmates (76.9%) as compared to the males (75.9%). Inmates from urban area background showed more growth of Staphylococcus Aureus (35.7%) than from rural area background(25%).Conclusions:Timely medical diagnosis and treatment of each prisoner with availability of good doctors are the important issues relating to the healthcare of the individuals in custody.
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Introduction: Enterococci are indigenous flora of theintestinal tract, oral cavity & genitourinary tract of human.Over recent years, there is increased interest in Enterococcinot only because of their serious infections but becauseof their increasing resistance to many antimicrobials.Vancomycin being the only alternative available. But over thetime, there has been increase in Vancomycin Resistance whichhas spread globally. The aim of this study was to determinethe prevalence of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE)isolated from various clinical specimens in a tertiary carehospital in North India.Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conductedin the Department of Microbiology, Government MedicalCollege, Amritsar from July 1st, 2018 to June 30th, 2019. Allthe samples received were processed and identification ofEnterococci was made by using standard microbiologicaltechniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed byKirby Bauer disc diffusion method as per CLSI guidelines.Results: Out of total clinical samples (11,098), 3,551 (31.9%)were found to be culture positive. Among the culture positive,91 (2.56%) isolates were identified as Enterococcus speciescomprising of 37 E.faecalis (41%) and 54 E.faecium (59%).Maximum number of Enterococci were isolated from urinesamples (54.92%) followed by pus & body fluids (38.02%) andblood (7.04%). 9.52% of E.faecium isolates were found to beresistant to vancomycin. All the strains were 100% susceptibleto Linezolid, Teicoplanin & Quinupristin-dalfopristin.Conclusion: Enterococci have become the major pathogenicbacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections due tomultiple-antimicrobial resistance. VRE has emerged asimportant nosocomial pathogen and pose serious threat topatients. Vancomycin should be cautiously used else wewould be left with very few therapeutic options.
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Introduction: The mainstay of therapy for patients sufferingfrom beta thalassemia major is regular blood transfusionand chelation therapy due to constraints in bone marrowtransplantation. The present study was conducted to estimatethe prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs)in multitransfused patients of thalassemia major and todetermine the association with relation to the number of bloodtransfusions received.Material and Methods: This study was conducted inDepartment of Microbiology on 126 β- thalassemiamajor patients registered for regular blood transfusions atThalassemia Day Care Centre attached to Department ofPediatrics, Government Medical College, Amritsar, Punjabfrom January to July 2018. The patient’s serum sampleswere screened for TTIs i.e. Human Immunodeficiency Virus(HIV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV).Seropositivity screening for HBV and HCV was done by rapidImmunochromatographic test and confirmed by enzymelinked immunosorbent assays. (ELISA) while for HIV as perNACO guidelines.Results: Out of 126 patients, 14.28% (18/126) were seroreactive for TTIs. Of these sero-reactive patients, 13.4%(17/126) were positive for anti-HCV antibody, 0.79% (1/126)positive for HBsAg and none (0) for anti HIV antibody. Ofthe anti-HCV reactive cases, 70.5% (12 out of 17) were>12years of age, 58.8% (10 out of 17) had received morethan 250 transfusions, and 23.5% (4 out of 17) had receivedtransfusions between 100 to 250. Anti-HCV seroreactivitywas thus found to increase with the age and increase in thenumber of transfusions received.Conclusion: It is concluded that HCV is the most prevalentTTI in multi-transfused children with thalassemia major andstringent pre-transfusion screening of blood for anti-HCVmust be introduced in blood centers. HBV vaccination shouldalso be done before the start of transfusion regimen or as soonas possible after diagnosis of thalassemia.
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Background: Orthopedic implant site infection is major component of surgical site infection associated with high morbidity and mortality. Implants are foreign to the body so that orthopedic surgery is at risk of microbiological contamination .The changes in pathogenic flora has lead to emergence of antibiotic resistance creating problems in the management of orthopedic diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the type of bacterial pathogens isolated from surgical site infection (SSI) in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital attached to Govt. Medical College, Amritsar and their antibiotic sensitivity profile. Methods: During this period of study from August 2018 to July 2019, 509 pus samples were sent to microbiology department suspected as surgical site infection, from orthopaedic department of Government Medical College, Amritsar. Standard microbiological techniques were used to identify the organisms and determine the antibiotic susceptibility pattern as per CLSI guidelines. Results: In the study, out of 397 (77.6%) positive cultures, 109 (27.45%) Gram positive organisms were isolated among whom Staphylococcus aureus 92 (23.17%) was most common and 288 (72.54%) Gram negative organisms were isolated among whom Klebsiella species 90 (22.67 %) was most common isolate. Conclusion: S. aureus is the most common organism responsible for SSIs. Antibiotic preference should be made according to local sensitivity pattern of the hospital.
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Introduction: Staphylococcus species is an asymptomaticcolonizer which has exhibited increasing resistance to variousantimicrobial agents in the recent times. Although, theorganism was naturally susceptible to all the antimicrobialagents, it has acquired multi drug resistance via variousmechanisms. In view of rising prevalence antimicrobialresistance, this study was undertaken to study the prevalenceof methicillin resistance and the emergence of linezolidresistance amongst the Staphylococcal isolates obtained fromvarious clinical samples in a tertiary care hospital.Material and Methods: This study was conducted from July2017 to December 2018 in a tertiary care hospital. Clinicalspecimens were processed, and Staphylococcal isolateswere identified using standard microbiological techniques.Antimicrobial resistance pattern of all the Staphylococcalisolates was determined and interpreted as per the latest CLSIguidelines.Results: A total of 989 Staphylococcal isolates were obtainedamongst which 498 (49.44%) were found to be methicillinresistant. Highest antimicrobial resistance was observedto beta lactam antibiotics followed by azithromycin andfluoroquinolones. 26 (2.628%) strains of Staphylococcalspecies were found to be resistant to linezolid while theyretained sensitivity to Vancomycin.Conclusion: The emergence of drug resistance in variousmicroorganisms has been a cause of global concern. Risingtrend of resistance has been observed to methicillin andlinezolid especially in indoor patients of the Intensive careunits. This study highlights the high prevalence of Methicillinresistance in both Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulasenegative Staphylococcus species in a tertiary care hospital inAmritsar, India. Although, linezolid resistance is emerging at aslow pace, adequate measures must be undertaken to preservethe therapeutic armoury.
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Human brucellosis is a major bacterial zoonosis reported worldwide. It is mainly an occupational disease reported in farmers, veterinarians, slaughterhouse workers, animal handlers and meat inspectors. Unavailability of automated blood culture systems makes isolation difficult and diagnosis mainly depends on serological and molecular methods. Materials and Methods: In a prospective study, a total of 127 serum samples, 28 from pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) cases and 99 from high risk cases like veterinary personnel, butchers, nomads, farmers and gawalas, were serologically tested by Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and enzyme-linked immumosorbent assay (ELISA) and results were analyzed. Results: Out of 127 samples, 20 were tested positive by RBPT while 24 tested positive by ELISA. None of the PUO cases and veterinary personnel tested positive by RBPT or ELISA. Positivity was more among males, urban area, history of animal contact and consumption of raw milk. ELISA was found to be more sensitive and specific than RBPT. Conclusion: In our study significant prevalence of brucellosis was found among occupationally exposed persons. Most of the positive cases were found to be asymptomatic and those who were symptomatic had non-specific complaints. The findings signified silent presence of disease in our society. RBPT can be used as a rapid screening test in the peripheral resource poor labs and in absence of culture ELISA can be used for further confirmation.
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Clostridium difficile is a gram positive spore forming bacilli which can be normally present in human colon in some individuals. It can cause clostridium difficile infection which can lead to Clostridium difficile associated disease(CDAD) which is manifested by diarrhoea and in fulminant cases by pseudomembranous colitis and can lead to death. Disruption of normal intestinal flora by antimicrobials and lowering of immunity leads to its overgrowth and disease manifestations. Aims And Objectives: 1. To find the prevalence of clostridium difficile in stool samples of patients presenting with antibiotic associated diarrhoea. 2. To find the risk factors associated with the disease. Methods: The study was conducted from January 2017 to June 2018 on 131 stools samples of patients who developed diarrhoea after three days of starting antibiotics by ELISA based method for detection of Toxin A/B. Results: Out of 131 stool samples analysed, 6 samples (4.58%)were found to be positive for toxin A/B. Correlation between use of third generation cephalosporin and toxin positivity was found to be insignificant. Significant correlation was found between use of chemotherapeutic agents and toxin positivity. It was also found that advanced age was also significant risk factor for development of CDAD. Conclusion: The present study proves that Cdifficile should be kept in mind as an etiological agent in cases of antibiotic associated diarrhoea. Risk factors include advancing age, use of chemotherapeutic agents and antibiotic exposure. To prevent C difficile infection, unnecessary use of antibiotics should be stopped and screening of stools for Toxin analysis in cases of antibiotic associated diarrhoea should be done so that it can be diagnosed and treatment isstarted at the earliest.
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Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are the second most commonly reported nosocomial infections after Urinary tract infection following a delivery by caesarean section. They add significantly to the morbidity, mortality and socioeconomic consequences in both patients as well as health care systems. Aim: To study the microbial etiology and antibiogram of post caesarean SSIs. Methods: This prospective study was conducted on pregnant women undergoing elective/emergency caesarean section irrespective of the indication during a study period from Jan 2017 to June 2018. 250 pregnant women undergoing LSCS developing signs and symptoms suggestive of SSI till the 30th post-operative day were included as cases. Under all aseptic precautions, two pus swabs were collected from every post caesarean women enrolled in the study. The first swab was used for gram staining while the other was inoculated on 5% blood agar and Macconkey agar. The isolates were identified by their colony characters and their standard biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern was performed on Mueller Hinton agar plates by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion methods and interpreted as per latest CLSI guidelines. Results: Among 250 cases suspected of having SSIs, 93 aerobic isolates were obtained. Staphylococcus aureus (41.9%) was the most common organism isolated followed by Acinetobacter baumanii (15.1%), Escherichia coli(11.8%) Klebsiella pneumoniae(9.7%). 15/39(38.4%) of Staphylococcus aureus were observed to be Methicillin resistant. 15/45 (33.3%) of Gram negative isolates were Extended Spectrum Beta- Lactamase producers. Conclusion: Since MRSA is the leading cause of post caesarean SSI and the incidence of multidrug resistant pathogens as a cause of post-operative wound infections is rising with the increased prevalence of ESBL, therefore rational and judicious use of antimicrobials, active surveillance and reporting of SSI, enforcement of aseptic measures, implementation of infection control strategies and their periodic review is the need of an hour to reduce the rate of post caesarean SSIs.
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Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a clinical condition caused by replacement of the normal hydrogen peroxide producing Lactobacillus species with high concentrations of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Studies have shown that spontaneous abortion, preterm labour (PTL), premature birth, preterm premature rupture of membranes, amniotic fluid infection, and postpartum endometritis are increased because of infection with BV. In India, not many studies have been done to estimate the prevalence and association of BV with preterm labour, hence this study is being taken up to know the prevalence of BV in preterm and term labour patients and its relationship with preterm delivery, low birth weight of baby and puerperal sepsis.The objective of the present study was to observe the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in women presenting with preterm and term labour, its impact on preterm and term delivery and to analyze the maternal and fetal complications associated with BV.Methods: An observational study involving 100 patients with preterm and term labour (50 patients in each group) was conducted at a BNMCCC, Government Medical College, Amritsar. Women fulfilling the Amsel’s criteria and/or a score of 7 or more on gram staining of vaginal smears (Nugent’s score) was considered to have bacterial vaginosis.Results: The proportion of patients, who fulfilled Amsel’s criteria and/or a Nugent’s score of 7 or more for the diagnosis of BV, was more in PTL group versus term labour group, and the difference was statistically significant. Prevalence of BV in preterm labour and term labour patients was 18(36%) versus 4(8%) respectively. In PTL group, 27.8% of low birth weight neonates were born to BV positive mothers versus 3.1% were born to BV negative mothers. Maternal postpartum complications observed were 33.3% with BV versus 6.25% without BV in PTL group.Conclusions: BV is major risk factor for PTL. Therefore, the testing and prompt treatment of BV may reduce the risk of PTL. This will also go a long way in the prevention of maternal morbidity and neonatal complications due to prematurity.
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Introduction: Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has beena recognized reality almost since the dawn of the antibioticera, but only within the past twenty years has the emergenceof dangerous, resistant strains occurred with a disturbingregularity. Objective: Prevalence of carbapenem resistantGram negative organisms in a tertiary care hospital of NorthIndia.Material and methods: Various clinical specimens collectedfrom indoor and OPD were processed. Identification of theGram negative organisms and carbapenem resistance wasdone by standard bacteriological techniques. All isolates weredetected for carbapenemase production by Carba NP test.Results: Out of 1670 samples, 935 (55.99%) were found to beculture positive of which 485 (51.87%) were Gram negativebacteria. The prevalence of carbapenemase producing Gramnegative bacteria was 58 (11.96%).Conclusion: Determing carbapenem resistance pattern andconfirmation of carbapenemase production can improviseupon the usage of antimicrobials which will further help inreducing the burden of antimicrobial resistance.
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Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance is a cause of globalconcern as resistance is emerging enormously in hospitaland community settings. The occurrence of resistance tocephalosporins due to production of Extended SpectrumBeta- Lactamases is known worldwide. Hence, this studywas undertaken to detect the prevalence and antimicrobialresistance pattern of ESBL-producing gram-negative bacteriaisolated from various clinical samples received from theindoor patients of a tertiary care hospital.Material and Methods: Clinical specimens received fromthe patients admitted in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsarfrom January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2018 were included inthe study. The samples were processed based on standardmicrobiological techniques. ESBL screening and confirmationwere done based upon CLSI guidelines. Antimicrobialresistance pattern of ESBL producing gram negative bacteriawas determined.Result:- A total of 8147 samples were received out of which1061(13.02%) gram negative bacteria were isolated. 227(21.97%) of the gram negative isolates were positive onscreening and 107 (10.08%) were confirmed to be ESBLproducers phenotypically. Maximum antimicrobial resistancewas observed to ciprofloxacin and amikacin. All the isolateswere sensitive to sulbactam ceftriaxone and imipenem.Conclusion: The present study highlights the prevalenceof ESBL-producing gram negative bacterial isolates in atertiary care hospital in Amritsar, Punjab. Measures such asthe establishment of antimicrobial stewardship activities,monitoring surveillance and infection control programmes,emphasizing on effective hand hygiene practices together withcoherent antibiotic policies should be enforced in the hospitalsto arrest the spread of ESBLs
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Background: Early diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is essential to avoid inadequate or unnecessary empirical antibiotic therapy. In this study, we evaluate the coincidence rate between conventional method for the diagnosis of UTIs (plate cultures and identification based on biochemical characteristics) and a fast method based on Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). In recent years, proteomic techniques have achieved a relevant role in the identification of microorganisms in the field of clinical microbiology. MALDI-TOF MS has been suggested as a fast and reliable method for bacterial identification.Methods: Around 50 midstream urine samples submitted to Microbiology laboratory for Gram staining and bacterial culture were analyzed. Samples were microscopically tested, characterized, and identified using different media such as blood agar and Mac Conkey agar and by applying suitable biochemical tests. Urine specimens showing a significant bacteriuria on culture and single morphological type by Gram staining were then processed by MALDI-TOF MS.Results: Of 50 specimens, colony growth was observed in 43(86%) specimens, and 38(88.3%) specimens had growth of single-colony morphological type in culture. 32(84.2%) of them had colony counts of >105 colony forming units (CFUs)/ml. 7(14%) samples were negative in culture, and all of them were also negative by MALDI-TOF MS. Microorganism identifications in this group were coincident at the species level in 28(87.5%) specimens. The most frequent microorganism identified was Escherichia coli, followed by Klebsiella species and Acinetobacter baumanii. MALDI-TOF MS identified Providencia stuartii in 3 samples and Pseudomonas putida in 1 of them; which were not in accordance with the conventional method used for identification.Conclusions: Present study results show that MALDI-TOF MS allows bacterial identification from infected urine in a short time, with high accuracy, and especially when uncommon uropathogens are involved.
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Background: The susceptibility and severity of Rheumatoid arthritis are determined by both genetic and environmental factors. Dermatoglyphic patterns of individuals which are formed early in the fetal life are also determined by both genetic and environmental factors. Since both are genetically acquired and environmentally modified, it has been shown that there are particular dermatoglyphic patterns associated with Rheumatoid arthritis. If it is so, dermatoglyphics can serve as an additional tool in the early diagnosis and management of such a disabling disease like rheumatoid arthritis. Although there are some studies which mentioned dermatoglyphic pattern variation in the disease, the results are contradicting. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to find out a possible correlation of some quantitative and qualitative dermatoglyphic variables with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Aim of the study: To study the dermatoglyphic patterns in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and control population and to study the correlation between dermatoglyphic patterns and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Materials and methods: We studied 60 patients with Rheumatoid arthritis and 60 controls. All were subjected to detailed medical history and clinical examination. Both quantitative (finger ridge count and pattern intensity) and qualitative (fingerprint pattern) dermatoglyphic parameters were studied and the same were compared with age, sex and disease matched controls. Results: Out of the total 60 cases 12(20%) were male and 48(80%) were females. Of the total 60 controls, 12(20%) were males and 48(80%) were females. Analysis of the qualitative parameters revealed: Significant increase in the number of whorls in both the hands of female patients cases compared to the controls (p-value for right hand 0.001, p-value for left hand 0.004). The decrease in the number of radial loops in both the hands of male and female patients and the decrease was more in the left hand in males and right hand in females (p-value male left hand 0.002, female right hand Saritha K. Narayanan, Christopher C. Pais, Pradeep Kumar Shenoy. Use of palmar dermatoglyphics in rheumatoid arthritis - A case-control study. IAIM, 2017; 4(12): 70-76. Page 71 0.003). Decrease in the number of arches in the left hand of female patients compared to the controls (p-0.10). Analysis of the quantitative parameters showed: A statistically significant increase in the finger ridge count of individual hand and the total finger ridge count in both male and female patients compared to the controls (p-value males: right hand 0.003, left hand 0.004, right plus left hand 0.002; p-value females right hand.0000, left hand 0.000, right plus left hand 0.000). A statistically significant increase in the pattern intensity of fingers in female patients compared to the controls (p-value: right hand 0.006, left hand 0.001, right plus left hand 0.000). Conclusion: The findings of this work demonstrate the association between some of the qualitative and quantitative parameters of dermatoglyphics and Rheumatoid arthritis suggesting that dermatoglyphics can represent an anatomical, non-invasive, inexpensive tool for screening high-risk population and thus facilitate early detection and management.
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The emergence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has posed a serious therapeutic challenge. We report the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of MRSA in the hospitalized patients in a rural tertiary care hospital in India. The study comprised of 97 Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a total of 400 clinical samples obtained from hospitalized patients. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed and interpreted as per standard guidelines. Methicillin resistance was detected using oxacillin and cefoxitin disc diffusion method, oxacillin screen agar and Chrom agar method, minimum inhibitory concentration using E test, and Latex agglutination method for PBP2a detection.Methicillin resistance with cefoxitin disc diffusion was 47.42%, with oxacillin disc diffusion 54.64%, Oxacillin screen agar 46.34% and Latex agglutination 45.36%. Chrom agar showed low sensitivity (77.27%) as well as specificity (79.25%) in detecting MRSA. MIC detection with E test resulted in 42.27% strains giving MIC between 8-16μg/ml. Multidrug resistance was observed in majority of MRSA strains. However, no strain was resistant to Vancomycin, Linezolid or Teicoplanin. To reduce the prevalence of MRSA, regular surveillance of hospital acquired infection and monitoring of antibiotic susceptibility pattern is the need of the hour. Proper detection of all MRSA with rapid and accurate methods must be done as a routine laboratory procedure.