ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to focus on the antiviral activity of a bile salt, namely sodium deoxycholate. There is a possibility of killing severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 due to the destruction of its protein and lipid overcoat by sodium deoxycholate alone or with drugs those showing response against severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2. Destruction of inner viral constituents and hence disintegration of the virion is possible at very small concentration. This study can be an important platform for further investigations. Copyright © 2022 Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the mental health of people from different backgrounds;these effects have been particularly acute among the lower-income households and in slums. There has been a steep rise in mental illness and behaviours associated with it since 2020, especially in the slums characterised by poverty, poor housing, high density and unhealthy environments. This paper aims to examine the effect of COVID-19 on the mental health of people living in the slums of Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The results of the study confirm that more than three-fourth of people suffer from mental stress due to the spread of COVID-19 and the lockdown imposed by the government. Also, 80% of those surveyed stated that stress affected their decision-making. The study also confirms that the number of dependents, monthly income, number of living rooms, maintenance of physical distancing norms, avoidance of social gatherings, government support, health insurance and living in a rented house are significantly related to the mental stress of people living in the slums in Andhra Pradesh in India. © 2022 World Scientific Publishing Co.
ABSTRACT
Introduction/Background India experienced a deadly second wave of COVID-19 pandemic starting mid-February 2021 with test positivity rate of 25-45 % suggesting high community transmission. Indian COVID-19 vaccination program for 60 years + and above 45 years with co-morbidities began on 1st March 2021. As per COVIDsurg collaborative data, between 0.6% and 1.6% of patients develop COVID-19 infection after elective surgery. Even after use of mitigation measures like pre-surgery RT/PCR and COVID free surgical pathways, COVID-19 is a significant nosocomial infection with 4- and 8-fold increased risk of death in the 30 days following surgery. Our aim was to study vaccine compliance in patients counselled to be vaccinated before surgery, pre-surgery RT/PCR positivity rate, 30-day post-operative SARS Cov-2 rate and peri-operative outcomes. Methodology In this prospective observational study, patients waitlisted for major gynaecological cancer surgeries who were also eligible for COVID-19 vaccination were enrolled. Patients were counselled to get atleast one dose vaccinated 2 weeks before elective surgery. In cases of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, vaccination was advised atleast 2 weeks after the last dose of chemotherapy. Patients vaccinated with atleast 1 dose - 2 weeks prior to surgery or those with both doses vaccinated atleast a week prior to surgery were eligible for study. Mitigation measures of negative pre-surgery RT/PCR (within 24 hours prior to surgery) and COVID free surgical pathway were used. Result(s) In the overall cohort of 53 patients, 34 got vaccinated suggesting compliance of 64%. In the unvaccinated cohort, 52.6% were pře-surgery RT/PCR +ve against 5.8% vaccinated patients (p = 0.0001). Thirty- day post-operative SARS Cov-2 rate was 44.4% and 0% in the unvaccinated and vaccinated cohort respectively (p = 0.0001). No cases of severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation were seen in the vaccinated cohort. There was no 30-day post-operative mortality in either cohorts. Conclusion Counselling regarding COVID-19 vaccination prior to surgery should be an essential part of pre-operative work up. COVID-19 vaccination prior to surgery has two-fold advantage. It prevents the postponement of elective cancer surgeries which are time bound. There is a significant decreased risk of severe COVID-19 infection and related morbidity post-operatively in the vaccinated population. (Figure Presented).
ABSTRACT
The epidemic of acute respiratory infection of coronavirus as COVID-19 has shaken up the world. At the time of writing on 15th September 2020 213 nations all around the globe have reported a total of 32,755,000confirmed cases of coronavirus COVID-19 that originated from Wuhan, China, with a death toll of 4.7 million deaths? The corona epidemic has posed a serious threat to the existence of mankind with global pressure on healthcare sectors. None of the aspects of the existence of societies is unaffected by COVID-19, be it jobs, industries, economy, education, societal, research sector, with rapidly mounting death tolls being a wake-up call for global health. It is very much necessary for the mankind that whole of the scientific world come together with new methods, technologies, medicines and vaccines to curb the spread of this deadly disease. Currently, there is no precise and accurate treatment method available for COVID-19, but a wide range of studies are going on exploring all the possible antiviral solutions. Meanwhile among various fields of science and technology nanotechnology has great potential and can play an important role by providing effective solutions for diagnosis, detection, sensing, treatment and protection against COVID-19. The nanoscale and large surface area of nanoparticles can be very effective in various stages of coronavirus treatment. The article aims to highlight the major prospective contributions and solutions that nanotechnology can fetch to alleviate the chronic COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021, Rasayan Journal of Chemistry, c/o Dr. Pratima Sharma. All rights reserved.