Learning Behavior and Perspective of Medical Students in India on COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Medical colleges in India are opening gradually for resumption of medical education. Assessment of learning behavior and perspectives of students toward COVID-19 pandemic is essential for effective medical education as well as to assess their role in pandemic if need arises. Hence, the present study aims to assess learning behavior and perspective of medical students on COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2020 among 392 medical students at various medical colleges of the country. An online self-administered questionnaire was designed to assess learning behavior of medical students about infection prevention and control practices in COVID-19 adopted during the course of pandemic. Snowball sampling method was used for data collection. Results: On assessment of 392 medical students about preventive measures during COVID-19 pandemic, more than 80% of medical students were aware of the importance of facemask, social distancing, frequent hand washing, and use of digital tools such as Aarogya Setu app in surveillance. Majority of students were aware of the symptoms, testing, and treatment protocols along with importance of self-reporting. Most of the students were aware of various sources of getting scientific and relevant information about pandemic. While majority of students were aware of rationale of quarantine, appropriate waste management technique, and post-COVID precautions, there was a lack of knowledge about appropriate disinfection measures. Conclusions: Medical students are an asset to health care;learning behaviors adopted by them can certainly help to assist health-care system in COVID times.

The Effect of the Different Waves of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Outcome of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Objective: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are complications of diabetes mellitus. COVID-19 pandemic has massively impacted human health. We studied effect of COVID-19 on outcome of DFUs. Method(s): We recruited 483 people with DFU from June 2020-April 2022 (pandemic group) together with a matched group of 227 people with DFU from March 2019-March 2020 (pre-pandemic group). Matching was done with respect to glycemic control (Average HbA1c in pandemic group 9.15%;pre-pandemic group 8.92%), and renal status. Primary endpoint was outcome of ulcers- healed or undergone amputation. Primary outcome was further sub analyzed in the 3 waves of COVID-19 Secondary endpoint was healing of individual types of DFUs. Basic anthropometric data with site, nature and Wegner's grading of DFUs were collected. Diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy was done by monofilament testing and peripheral arterial disease by handheld Doppler and ABI. Standardized treatment protocol including glycemic control, infection control, debridement, dressing, offloading was provided. All patients were monitored for >6 months. Result(s): In pandemic cohort of 483 patients 323(66.9%) patients had healed ulcers, 70(14.5%) had minor amputation, 11(2,2%) had major amputation, 29(6%) lost to follow up, 22(4.6%) had not healed and 28 are in follow up (5.8%). Rate of healing of DFU in pandemic group was higher (66.9%) than control group (53.5%). Similarly, rate of amputation in pandemic group was less (16.7%) than pre-pandemic group (23.4%). Among healed ulcers in pandemic group, non-infected neuropathic ulcers healed better (77.8%;199/256) than other types (54.6%;124/227) [p< 0.00001]. Similarly, rate of amputation (major/minor) in ischemic and neuroischemic ulcers in pandemic group was more (32.3%;11/34) than other types (15.6%;70/449) [p= 0.011]. Rate of healing of foot ulcers in 1st wave was 65.4% (53/81), 2nd wave 75.2% (158/210), 3rd wave 58.3% (112/192). Neuropathic ulcers though less prevalent in first two waves (49.8%;145/291) than 3rd wave (57.8%;111/192) healing rate was more in first two (79.3%;115/145 vs 75.6%;84/111). [p=0.488 (statistically not significant]. Ischemic and neuroischemic ulcers were more in 3rd wave (7.8%;15/192) than first two waves (6.5%;19/291) and undergone more amputation (46.7%;7/15 vs 15.7%;3/19). [p=0.58 (statistically not significant;due to small sample size]. Discussion/Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic (mainly first two waves) accounted for travel restrictions contributing to better healing of neuropathic ulcers whereas ischemic and neuroischemic ulcers worsened and underwent more amputation as patients could not seek intervention. Conversely, in third wave withdrawal of COVID restrictions lead to worsening of DFUs leading to less healing and more amputation.Copyright © 2023

Assessment of Gaming Addiction and Perceived Psychological Distress among Filipino Young Adults during COVID-19 Pandemic

Online game addiction and psychological distress are two continuously developing problems in the Philippines, with Filipinos aged 18 to 24 being the second largest age group to overuse interactive online-related games. This sequential explanatory mixed method study aimed to assess the young adults' gaming addiction and perceived psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify the other factors contributing to the respondents' frequent engagement in online interactive games, which served as a basis for a preventive intervention program. The researcher administered the survey questionnaires of the Gaming Addiction Scale and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 to 399 young adults aged 18–24 and a semi-structured interview guide to 20 addicted and non-addicted gamers. Key results showed that a small percentage of the respondents experienced polythetic and serious monothetic addiction to interactive online games. In contrast, half of the respondents manifested mild to moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Major findings also found no significant gender differences in the level of online game addiction and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a moderate level of relationship substantiated the association. Further results revealed that the negative compensatory factors were associated with addicted gamers' frequent engagement with online games, whereas non-addicted gamers were associated with positive, beneficial factors. This phenomenon has hardly ever been the focus of in-depth research, and the results of this study can be used to further refine the conceptualization of "internet gaming disorder” as a mental disorder and develop a more comprehensive treatment method. © 2023 The Author(s).

Measuring Financial Inclusion in India: An Approach

In light of the COVID-19-induced financial crisis, the need for robust financial services and networks has become more apparent than ever, which necessitated the accurate measurement of the breadth of financial inclusion in India. First, the study conducted a detailed critical review of the current indices and their construction methodology. Then, we created a financial inclusion index for India by accounting for the flaws existing in the current indices. The primary contribution of this study to the existing literature is the new approach it proposed for the assignment of weights in the financial inclusion index. Based on this new financial inclusion index, the study concluded that India's Southern states and union territories showed better financial inclusion. In contrast, the traditionally backward BIMARU states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, and a few of the North Eastern states of India, lagged. The study also provided a refined and inclusive definition of financial inclusion based on its new approach to index creation. © 2023, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Effect of Organisational Justice on Teaching Professionals' Performance: Pre and Post Covid

The concept of "organisational justice” has gained much attention due to the effect of the pandemic caused by Covid-19. Highly invested educators work more to help their institutions succeed academically. The purpose of this research is to compare the performance of the educators before the pandemic and after the pandemic and the adoption of measures related to the pandemic. The study will give attention to the analysis concerning the idea of organisational justice. Quantitative research techniques were used for this investigation. Three hundred teachers' levels of dedication were measured over time using a well-known instrument to examine the relative shift brought on by the Covid-19 epidemic in India. Student's "t-test and ANOVA” was employed to evaluate the information derived from the survey data. The survey included respondents' gender, marital status, education level, years of work experience, and length of employment at the businesses under study. After schools began implementing efforts to combat the Covid-19 epidemic, a decline in teacher effectiveness was found, as measured by quantitative analysis. Significant findings allow the researchers to draw conclusions and provide suggestions © 2022, Journal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities.All Rights Reserved.

The Impact of Organizational Justice on Work Satisfaction during the Covid-19 Pandemic in India: Evaluating the Mediating Effects of Organizational Culture and Citizenship Behavior

Perceived workplace organizational justice is often a major element impacting the satisfaction and retention of employees. This study analyzed the connection between the organizational justice along with IT employee satisfaction of work in Bangalore, India, during the pandemic in Covid-19. Also explored were the mediating influences of organizational culture and citizenship behavior on this relationship. Some 403 respondents from Bangalore's IT firms were surveyed using a Likert scale survey instrument. The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results revealed that organizational justice did not affect employee work satisfaction during the pandemic, and both, organizational culture and citizenship behavior did not mediate this relationship © 2022, Journal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities.All Rights Reserved.

Measuring Financial Inclusion in India: An Approach

In light of the COVID-19-induced financial crisis, the need for robust financial services and networks has become more apparent than ever, which necessitated the accurate measurement of the breadth of financial inclusion in India. First, the study conducted a detailed critical review of the current indices and their construction methodology. Then, we created a financial inclusion index for India by accounting for the flaws existing in the current indices. The primary contribution of this study to the existing literature is the new approach it proposed for the assignment of weights in the financial inclusion index. Based on this new financial inclusion index, the study concluded that India's Southern states and union territories showed better financial inclusion. In contrast, the traditionally backward BIMARU states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, and a few of the North Eastern states of India, lagged. The study also provided a refined and inclusive definition of financial inclusion based on its new approach to index creation. © 2023, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A Novel Approach for Assessing Vehicle Interior Air Quality (VIAQ) in Future Mobility Solutions

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the population to be extremely vigilant towards personal as well as shared hygiene necessitating use of facemask, maintaining social distancing, frequent hand wash and vehicle sanitization. Humans are exposed to pollutants such as Particulate Matter (PM), oxide of Sulphur (SOx), oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC) and pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, viruses (FBV) either through air or by direct contact with contaminated surfaces. In a vehicle cabin, occupants are exposed to both fresh and recirculating air through air-conditioning system and they also come in contact with touch points such as seats, steering wheel and armrest, which may be contaminated. In order to safeguard the occupants, Vehicle Interior Air Quality (VIAQ) enhancers like high efficiency cabin air filters (N95/ HEPA) with activated carbon/ anti-allergen/ anti-microbial layers, ionizers and anti-bacterial trims are being deployed by OEMs. In many cases, validation of these VIAQ enhancers is done on a bench setup. Once a VIAQ enhancer is integrated into the vehicle architecture, a series of additional subjective and objective validations will need to be carried out, which is the topic of this study. This paper proposes a novel two pronged approach to validate a VIAQ enhancer. The two approaches are subjective and objective assessments on the vehicle. The subjective assessment comprises calibration of human noses as per EN 13275 standard, training the calibrated noses for identification of odor character (OC), quantifying odor intensity (OI) and its hedonic tone (HT) as per VDI 3882. Whereas, the objective assessment comprises of use of handheld equipment for sampling and measurement of pollutants such as PM, SOx, NOx, CO, O3 and TVOC. With the above novel approach, the effectiveness of VIAQ enhancers can be assessed prior to its deployment on vehicle programs for real world application. Adopting this approach will ensure the vehicle cabin is maintained within permissible limits for measurable parameters (PM, SOx, NOx, CO, O3, TVOC, FBV) and subjectively perceived odor (OC, OI and HT). © 2022 SAE International. All rights reserved.

Comparative Analysis of Object Detection Models for the Detection of Multiple Face Masks

Deep learning has immense prospective in many real-life practices, one of them being object detection. Object detection based on deep learning has shown encouraging results. Since December 2019, deadly virus named CORONA or COVID-19 started to engulf the whole planet with its impact. One of the easiest and simplest ways to protect oneself from this virus is by wearing a mask. In order to detect whether a person is wearing mask or not, we propose a model to detect various face masks that include cloth masks, N-95 masks, medical masks, and no mask. The proposed model consists of two major components—annotating, labeling images and detection of face masks. A new dataset has been created by combining images from Medical Masks Dataset and Google Images, and then these images were annotated according to the mentioned categories. A comparative study has been presented among different object detection algorithms along with a proposed detection algorithm. Results show that YOLOv5 performs best in the detection of face masks when compared to other detection models. It achieved a mAP of 0.51 in just 0.24 h on our dataset. On comparing YOLOv5 to the proposed model, we found that our model achieved a precision of 0.9 as compared to 0.88 of YOLOv5. Among existing approaches YOLOv5 performed the best with precision of 0.88. The model proposed in the work results in precision of 0.90 outperforming all existing models. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Treatment With Monoclonal Antibodies Is Safe and Effective for Kidney Transplant Recipients With COVID-19

Background: Monoclonal antibodies have been the mainstay of treatment of COVID-19 in patients at high-risk of mortality from COVID-19. We aimed to study our experience with monoclonal antibodies (mAb) in kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 at our center. Method(s): We reviewed 93 of our kidney transplant recipients who were infected with COVID-19 and received mAb treatment. The mAb infusion received was the one active against the variant that was circulating during that period (39 received either bamlanivimab or casirivimab/imdevimab, 41 received sotrovimab and 13 received bebtelovimab). All patients were on standard immunosuppression with tacrolimus and prednisone, and 88% were on mycophenolate prior to COVID-19 diagnosis, which was subsequently reduced or held for at least 2 weeks. Result(s): Of the 93 patients, median age was 54 (IQR 44-64), 44% were male, 42% were Hispanic, 36% were African American. 76% have received deceased donor kidney transplant, 94% had history of hypertension, 47% diabetes mellitus, 18% coronary artery disease. All the patients had mild symptoms without initial hypoxia requiring supplemental O2 and only 5 patients (5.4%) were admitted to the hospital. While 33 patients (35%) were unvaccinated at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis, 60 patients (65%) have received at least 2 doses of COVID vaccination at time of diagnosis and of those 27 patients (29%) have received a third dose. There was only one death (1%) in a patient that was re-hospitalized with severe COVID-19. There was no allograft loss. The rate of re-infection after mAb treatment was 6.5%. There was no serious adverse event related to the mAb infusion. Conclusion(s): Our experience suggests that monoclonal antibodies are a safe therapeutic to reduce the need for COVID-19 related hospitalization in this high-risk kidney transplant population, while one third of those were unvaccinated at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis.

Decreased Mortality From SARS-CoV-2 in Kidney Transplant Recipients Over the Course of the Pandemic

Background: We aimed to investigate the variation in mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection in kidney transplant recipients Methods: Between March 16, 2020 and May 4, 2022, 537 patients were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR. Result(s): 59% were male, median age 58 (IQR: 45-67), predominantly Hispanic (51.2%) and African American (29%). 75.4% received a deceased-donor renal transplant, 55% received anti-thymocyte induction. Most patients were on triple immunosuppression (96% on calcineurin inhibitors, 87% on anti-metabolite, and 99% on prednisone). While the mortality rate was 37 % (47/128) during first peak between March 16 and April 30, 2020, it has significantly decreased to 11% (7/61) from May 1, 2020 to end of December 2020 with social distancing and use of facemask. Between January 1, 2021 and November 5, 2021 with use of vaccination and monoclonal antibodies, the mortality rate further decreased to 7.7% (10/129). Between November 6, 2021 till May 4, 2022 which corresponds to the period when the Omicron variant and subvariants are prevalent, the mortality rate was 5.5% (12/219). Among those diagnosed during the period when Omicron was prevalent, 188/219 (85.8%) have received 2 doses of COVID vaccine and 82/219 (37.4%) have received a third dose. Since the beginning of use of monoclonal antibodies, 93 patients received a combination of casirivimab/imdevimab when initial SARS-CoV-2 variants were dominant and sotrovimab then bebtelovimab during the period of Omicron and its subvariants. Only one death occurred in patients who received monoclonal antibody treatment and that patient was hospitalized for severe COVID-19. We identified 23 re-infections. Most of re-infected patients have already received at least 2 doses of COVID vaccine but only 5 received a third dose. None of the re-infected patients was hospitalized and none of them died. Conclusion(s): In summary, mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection in kidney transplant recipients has significantly decreased over time. This could be explained by initial exposure to higher viral load due to lack of personal protection and social distancing. However, since the judicious use of monoclonal antibodies and vaccination, in addition to social distancing protocols and use of facemask, the mortality in kidney transplant recipients has decreased over time.

Decreased Mortality from Sars-CoV-2 Infection in Kidney Transplant Recipients Over the Course of the Pandemic

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the mortality from SARS-CoV-2 in kidney transplant recipients in the Bronx, New York since the beginning of the pandemic Methods: Between March 16, 2020 and November 5, 2021, 453 patients were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection. 316 were diagnosed by RT-PCR while the remaining 137 tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG and did not have significant symptoms and had not been previously tested by RT-PCR Results: Of the 316 patients diagnosed by RT-PCR, 214 patients were hospitalized while 102 patients were managed at home as outpatient. 194 (61.3%) were male, median age 61 years old (IQR: 48-69), predominantly Hispanic (56.2%) and African American (29.5%). 75% received a deceased-donor renal transplant, 58% received anti-thymocyte induction. Most patients were on triple immunosuppression (95% on calcineurin inhibitors, 87% on anti-metabolite, and 97% on prednisone). Hypertension was the most common comorbidity followed by diabetes mellitus, heart disease and lung disease. A total of 65 patients (20.5%) died. The mortality rate was 37 % (47/128) in patients diagnosed between March 16 and April 30, 2020. From May 1, 2020 to end of December 2020 mortality rate has significantly decreased to 11% (7/61). Since the beginning of 2021 till November 5, 2021 the mortality rate is 7.7% (10/129). Twenty-seven patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 despite being partially of fully vaccinated (25 fully vaccinated, 2 after one dose of vaccine). 13/27 (48%) were managed at home while 14/27 (52%) were hospitalized and 2 (7%) of them died. Twenty-eight patients received treatment with casirivimab and imdevimab post diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 starting 2021 and none of those patients have died. Conclusion(s): In summary, mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection in kidney transplant recipients was higher earlier at the pandemic and has significantly decreased over time. This could be explained by initial exposure of the patients with higher viral load due to lack of personal protection and social distancing. However, since the judicious use of monoclonal antibodies and vaccination, in addition to social distancing protocols and use of facemask, the mortality in kidney transplant recipients has decreased over time.

Impact of Vaccination and Testing in an Urban Campus Model for the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

The crisis induced by the Coronavirus pandemic severely impacted educational institutes. Even with vaccination efforts underway in 2021, it was not clear that sufficient confidence will be achieved for schools to reopen soon. This paper considers the impact of testing rates in addition to vaccination rates in order to reduce infections and hospitalizations and evaluates strategies that allow educational institute in urban settings to remain open. These strategies are also applicable to big campus style businesses and would help planning to keep the businesses open and help the economy. Our analysis is based on a graph model where nodes represent population groups and edges represent population exchanges due to commuting populations. The commuting population is associated with edges and is associated with one of the end nodes of the edge during part of the time period and with the other node during the remainder of the time period. The progression of the disease at each node is determined via compartment models, that include vaccination rates and testing to place infected people in quarantine along with consideration of asymptomatic and symptomatic populations. Applying this to a university population in Chicago with a substantial commuter population, chosen to be 80% of the school's population as an illustration, provides an analysis which specifies benefits of testing and vaccination strategies over a time period of 150 days. © 2022 Owner/Author.

CML-466 Asciminib Provides Durable Molecular Responses in Patients With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in Chronic Phase (CML-CP) With the T315I Mutation: Updated Efficacy and Safety Data From a Phase I Trial

CONTEXT: In CML-CP, the BCR::ABL1 T315I mutation confers resistance to previously approved ATP-competitive tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), except ponatinib and olverembatinib. In a previous analysis of the phase I, dose-escalation trial X2101, asciminib-a BCR::ABL1 inhibitor that binds to the ABL myristoyl pocket-demonstrated efficacy and a favorable safety profile in heavily pretreated patients with T315I-mutated CML. We report updated efficacy and safety data in patients with CML-CP with the T315I mutation (data cutoff: January 6, 2021). OBJECTIVE: Provide updated safety and efficacy data for patients with T315I-mutated CML-CP after added exposure. DESIGN: Patients with T315I-mutated CML-CP and treated with >=1 prior TKI were enrolled and received asciminib 200mg twice daily (BID). RESULTS: 48 patients were included;25 patients (52.1%) received >=3 prior TKIs. At data cutoff, treatment was ongoing in 27 patients (56.3%). 45 of 48 patients were evaluable (BCR::ABL1IS >0.1% at baseline) for major molecular response (MMR);3 were excluded for BCR::ABL1 atypical transcripts. Among evaluable patients, 19 (42.2%) achieved MMR by week 24 and 22 (48.9%) by week 96. Evaluable patients included 26 ponatinib-pretreated and 19 ponatinib-naive patients;34.6% and 68.4%, respectively, achieved MMR by week 96. The probability of maintaining MMR for >=96 weeks was 84% (95% CI, 68.1%-100.0%). 23 of 37 patients (62.2%) with BCR::ABL1IS >1% at baseline achieved BCR::ABL1IS <=1% by week 96. The safety/tolerability profile of asciminib remained favorable after =9 months of added exposure (median duration of exposure, 2.08 years;range, 0.04-4.13 years). The most common (>=10%) grade >=3 adverse events (AEs) were lipase increase (18.8%, all asymptomatic elevations) and thrombocytopenia (14.6%). Arterial occlusive events occurred in 4 patients (8.3%);none led to dose adjustment/interruption/discontinuation. AEs leading to discontinuation occurred in 5 patients (10.4%). Only 2 study deaths, both due to COVID-19, occurred in this patient population. CONCLUSIONS: After a median exposure of >2 years, asciminib monotherapy 200mg BID exhibited a sustained, favorable safety profile and clinical efficacy in patients with T315I-mutated CML-CP-a population with high unmet medical need. This updated analysis confirms asciminib as a treatment option for patients with T315I-mutated CML-CP, including those previously treated with ponatinib.

ASCIMINIB PROVIDES DURABLE MOLECULAR RESPONSES IN PATIENTS (PTS) WITH CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA IN CHRONIC PHASE (CML-CP) WITH THE T315I MUTATION: UPDATED EFFICACY AND SAFETY DATA FROM A PHASE I TRIAL

Background: In pts with CML, the BCR::ABL1 T315I mutation is associated with poor clinical outcomes and confers resistance to previously approved ATP-competitive tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Until recently, ponatinib (PON) was the only TKI available for these pts, but its use may be limited by associated cardiovascular events. In the primary analysis of the phase I trial X2101, asciminib-the 1st BCR::ABL1 inhibitor to Specifically Target the ABL Myristoyl Pocket (STAMP)-demonstrated efficacy and a favorable safety profile in heavily pretreated pts with CML with T315I. These results supported the FDA approval of asciminib as a new treatment option for pts with CML-CP with T315I (NCCN 2021). We report updated efficacy and safety data in these pts (data cutoff: January 6, 2021). Aims: Provide updated safety and efficacy data for pts with CML-CP with T315I treated with asciminib monotherapy 200 mg twice daily (BID) after added exposure. Methods: Pts with CML-CP with T315I were enrolled if treated with ≥1 prior TKI and no other effective therapy was available, provided informed consent, and received asciminib 200 mg BID. Results: 48 pts with T315I were included;2 (4.2%) pts had additional BCR::ABL1 mutations at baseline. Eight (16.7%), 15 (31.3%) and 25 (52.1%) pts received 1,2, and ≥3 prior TKIs, respectively. At data cutoff, treatment was ongoing in more than half (27 [56.3%]) of pts;the predominant reason for treatment discontinuation was physician's decision (11 [22.9%]), mainly due to lack of efficacy. Of the 48 pts, 45 were evaluable (BCR::ABL1IS >0.1% at baseline) for major molecular response (MMR);3 were excluded for BCR::ABL1 atypical transcripts. Among evaluable pts, 19 (42.2%) achieved MMR by wk 24 and 22 (48.9%) by wk 96;19 were still in MMR at the cutoff date. Evaluable pts included 26 PON-pretreated and 19 PONnaive pts;34.6% and 68.4%, respectively, achieved MMR by the cutoff date (Table). The probability of pts maintaining MMR for ≥96 wks was 84% (95% CI, 68.1-100.0). Thirteen (28.9%) and 11 (24.4%) pts achieved MR4 and MR4.5, respectively. Twenty (54.1%) and 23 (62.2%) of 37 pts with BCR::ABL1IS >1% at baseline achieved BCR::ABL1IS ≤1% by wk 48 and 96, respectively. The median duration of exposure was 2.08 (range, 0.04-4.13) yrs with more than half (27 [56.3%]) of pts receiving treatment for ≥96 wks;the median daily dose intensity was 398.3 (range, 179-400) mg/day. The safety/tolerability profile of asciminib remained favorable after ≈9 months of added follow-up (Table). The most common (≥5%) grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs) were lipase increase (18.8%, all asymptomatic elevations), thrombocytopenia (14.6%), and vomiting, ALT increase, abdominal pain, hypertension, anemia, neutropenia, and neutrophil count decrease (6.3% each). Arterial occlusive events occurred in 4 (8.3%) pts;none led to dose adjustment/interruption/discontinuation. AEs leading to discontinuation were reported in 2 new pts since the previous data cutoff;both pts discontinued and died due to COVID-19. These were the only study deaths reported in this pt population. Image: Summary/Conclusion: Asciminib monotherapy 200 mg BID exhibited a sustained, favorable safety profile after added exposure with no new safety signals in pts with CML-CP with T315I-a population with high unmet medical need. The clinical efficacy of asciminib is demonstrated by the high proportion of pts achieving durable MMR and BCR::ABL1IS ≤ 1%. The updated analysis confirms asciminib as a treatment option for pts with CML-CP with T315I, including those for whom treatment with PON has failed.

Neutralizing IgG antibody seroprevalence, efficacy and safety post covishield vaccination: A follow up study

COVID-19, a pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) corona virus-2 has been a worldwide challenge for the entire mankind. However, a safe and efficacious vaccine would be clinically valuable to reduce the risks of COVID-19. In this study, we aimed to assess the seroprevalence of the Neutralizing IgG Antibodies six months after completion of both the doses of Covishield Vaccination (ChAdox1 nCoV-19) and compare it with the IgG titres one month after the first dose and one month after the second dose of the vaccine respectively. The efficacy, safety and comorbidities related to the vaccine were also assessed at different time intervals. The levels of IgG antibodies were estimated in 72 subjects from the Teerthanker Mahaveer Medical College & Research Centre (who turned up after six months of the complete regimen of Covishield Vaccination) using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Technique. A highly significant increase (p= 0.00) in the neutralizing Antibodies titre was seen in fully vaccinated individuals post six months when compared to the titres of post one month of 1st & 2nddoses. It can therefore be concluded that (ChAdox1 nCoV-19) Covishield Vaccination if administered in full regimen has both acceptable efficacies as well as safety profile. Hence, a complete vaccine regimen may prove as an effective strategy against COVID-19 and consequent minimization of long-term morbid effects. © 2022 International Journal of Health Sciences.

Indices and Parameters in the Diagnosis and The Management of COVID-19: A Comprehensive Review

Coronavirus outbreak has challenged the medical, public health infrastructure and economic status of nearly all countries across the World. The main issue of concern with SARS-CoV-2 has been the high infectivity rate and the high mortality rate especially, observed during the wave 2 of COVID-19. The symptoms associated with SARS-CoV-2 are often misleading with influenza and another respiratory tract seasonal viral infection as, majority of the patients report common constitutional symptoms. Hence, correct diagnosis for COVID-19 may play a key role in early detection, management and curtailment in the transmission rate.Therefore, apart from limiting this outbreak, efforts need to be made to plan comprehensive and stringent measures to develop diagnostic tools to prevent future outbreaks of this zoonotic disease. The present manuscript provides a detailed description of various indices and parameters which are currently being used for easier, rapid, accurate diagnosis, medical managementand prognosis assessment of COVID-19 patients in various stages of the disease.