Flap coverage for necrotising soft tissue infections: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Necrotising soft tissue infections (NSTI) are destructive and often life-threatening infections of the skin and soft tissue, necessitating prompt recognition and aggressive medical and surgical treatment. After debridement, the aim of surgical closure and reconstruction is to minimize disability and optimize appearance. Although skin grafting may fulfil this role, techniques higher on the reconstructive ladder, including local, regional and free flaps, are sometimes undertaken. This systematic review sought to determine the circumstances when this is true, which flaps were most commonly employed, and for which anatomical areas. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted utilising electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library). Full text studies of flaps used for the management of NSTI's (including Necrotising Fasciitis and Fournier Gangrene) were included. The web-based program 'Covidence' facilitated storage of references and data management. Data obtained in the search included reference details (journal, date and title), the study design, the purpose of the study, the study findings, number of patients with NSTI included, the anatomical areas of NSTI involved, the types of flaps used, and the complication rate. RESULTS: After screening 4555 references, 501 full text manuscripts were assessed for eligibility after duplicates and irrelevant studies were excluded. 230 full text manuscripts discussed the use of 888 flap closures in the context of NSTI in 733 patients; the majority of these were case series published in the last 20 years in a large variety of journals. Reconstruction of the perineum following Fournier's gangrene accounted for the majority of the reported flaps (58.6%). Free flaps were used infrequently (8%), whereas loco-regional muscle flaps (18%) and loco-regional fasciocutaneous flaps (71%) were employed more often. The reported rate of partial or complete flap loss was 3.3%. CONCLUSION: Complex skin and soft tissue defects from NSTIs, not amenable to skin grafting, can be more effectively and durably covered using a spectrum of flaps. This systematic review highlights the important contribution that the plastic surgeon makes as an integral member of multidisciplinary teams managing these patients.

Obesity as a major risk factor in n-cov disease

The review gives an overview on the relation between obesity and n-CoV disease. A review has been done to understand the correlation of obesity with the n-CoV disease by retrieving a maximum of related articles from various search engines like PubMed, Google Scholar, MeSH, Core, Cochrane, bioRxiv, Semantic scholar and so on published from 2000 to 2020 (till date). Obesity is associated with SARS- CoV-2 which enhances inflammatory response in obese people compared to actual standard BMIs. Obesity is often specifically related to producing inflammation by triggering a cytokine storm in the lungs, which raises the likelihood of ARDS, thereby requiring respiratory assistance for the main issue. Obesity can hinder breathing by hampering the excursion of the diaphragm, inhibit immune responses to critical infection, it is pro-inflammatory and triggers diabetes and even oxidizing tension to worsen cardiovascular activity. This study indicates that obese people through respiratory viruses COVID19 are more likely to be hospitalized comparatively. The implementation of novel ideas on obesity control of ailments will certainly bring about a massive change. Constraining less dependence on recent literature in this area and also upgrading numerous research to increase consciousness among the general public so that they may take measures not to be vulnerable to COVID 19. The current research has shown a strong incidence of obesity in patients participating in medical treatment with SARS-CoV-2. Obesity can be hazard factored to SARS-CoV-2 severity which needs increased attention in susceptible individuals to take preventive measures.

Knowledge and awareness on role of social media in managing covid-19 among general population-a questionnaire study

Background: Within weeks of the emergence of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in China, misleading rumors and conspiracy theories about the origin circulated the globe paired with fear-mongering, racism, and mass purchase of face masks, all closely linked to the new “infomedia” ecosystems of the 21st century marked by social media. The impact of media reporting and public sentiments may have a strong influence on the public and private sectors in making decisions on discontinuing certain services including airline services, disproportionate to the true public health need. Analyses of discussions on social media with regards to the epidemic situation geographically and over time can result in real-time maps. Such real-time maps could be used as a source of information on where to intervene with key communication campaigns. Aim: Aim of the study is to analyze the role of social media in COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was initiated in Coimbatore and Chennai districts of Tamil Nadu about knowledge, awareness, and perception in the role of social media. Results and Discussion: Nearly 100 people responded. The survey data has been collected and with the help of SPSS software, data has been analyzed and plotted as a graph. Conclusion: At the end of the study, people were somehow aware of the current status of COVID-19 and they have gained knowledge of the control and prevention of COVID-19 through social media. © IJCRR.

Emerging challenges faced by dentists after covid-19 pandemic in India

Aim: To understand and analyze the various emerging challenges that dentists will face after COVID 19 pandemic in India. Materials and Methods: Online survey platform-Google forms were used to formulate the survey. Online interfaces like WhatsApp, Gmail, etc. were used to share the survey. The data collected was then analyzed using software like IBM SPSS Statistics 23. Introduction: The novel coronavirus pandemic is infecting more and more people day after day. This is so, because of the virus’ mode of transmission. It can be easily transmitted through air and droplet infection. It can easily spread through aerosols too. The coronavirus is considered as a part of the SARS and MERS CoV family. For the same reasons, speculation remains about the novel virus’ transmission through the fecal-oral route. Since it is a highly contagious virus, health care professionals are at an increased risk of infection. Dental professionals especially are required to take more precautions to protect themselves from the aerosols produced. This can be achieved if the dentists reduce aerosol producing procedures and wear proper PPE. This survey study discusses all the future problems faced by dentists after the lockdown is alleviated. The information for this survey was collected using a self-prepared questionnaire which was distributed among general dental practitioners in India. The questions were based on the various problems faced by dentists and how they will cope with the current situation. The responses were recorded and statistically analyzed to obtain the results. From the responses obtained, it can be concluded that the dentists face various problems. The most evident concerns are infection control, aerosols, and adequate PPE. Results: The results suggest that the primary challenges to be faced by the dentists will be dependent on their geographical location. The most important challenge anticipated by the majority of dentists is the increased use of PPE and aerosol produc-tion, in the same order. Conclusion: There are definitely a lot of changes to be made in dental practice after the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the most important ones and prioritizing them is of utmost importance. © IJCRR.

Need of health insurance policies and its coverage - A cross sectional survey

Health insurance policies help in fulfilling the basic needs and provide financial stability. It covers medical, surgical and dental treatment bill payment. Children 's health insurance program and public health insurance program have benefits on children and senior citizens. Senior citizens insurance plan is valid for he people with age group of 60 and above. Health insurance policies have certain paneled hospitals that accept the health insurance coverages and that other hospitals do not. Queries are arising regarding the inclusion of COVID-19 under the insurers policy coverages. The aim of the present study is to analyse the knowledge and awareness on the need of health insurance policies and its coverages among the public. The cross sectional survey is conducted among a sample population 100. The age group sample population is 18-60 and the survey is conducted via an online portal. Descriptive statistical analysis is made by SPSS software. The results are represented in the form of a bar graphs. 43% of the sample population have family floater policy plans. Star health insurance and allied Co.Ltd has the majority of insurers among the total sample population. OPD and dental treatment are also covered under general health policy coverage. IRDA guidelines state that insurers diagnosed with COVID-19 are eligible for insurance claim. Hence, the sample population has awareness and knowledge about the need of health insurance policies and coverages. Hence,the current study culminates that the sample population has awareness and knowledge about the merits and demerits of having a health insurance plan and it is found to be statistically higher when compared with the previous research. © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Composition and uses of N95 masks -a review

The key aim of this article is to provide a description of the structure and uses of N95 mask that is necessary to advance Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during this COVID19 pandemic. Examples of personal safety gear designed to shield the user from infectious debris and from fluids contaminating the skin include the N95 respirators and medical masks (skin covers). A commercially available N95 respirator needs a suit factor of one hundred within the work-place to be deemed adequate. While we did not subjectively locate the respiration function needed with the prototype masks to vary from that necessary with a standard N95 filtering face device, this mask should not be used by people with respiratory risk of any sort. Although testers wear the masks easily for an hour, at any point in strenuous work or adverse environmental environments we can not think about their usefulness. This review offers detailed knowledge and appreciation of the structure, applications of N95 masks and, in turn, the advantages of N95 masks over other forms of surgical masks. Limitation and prospective range of the research were also addressed, as this subject is necessary to advance PPE in this COVID19 pandemic. This research contributes greatly to learning about the composition and uses of N 95 masks, and also helps to educate and make the general public informed of the critical role of N 95 masks during this pandemic assault. © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Obesityas a major risk factor in N-COV disease

The review gives an overview on the relation between obesity and n-CoV disease. A review has been done to understand the correlation of obesity with the n-CoV disease by retrieving a maximum of related articles from various search engines like PubMed, Google Scholar, MeSH, Core, Cochrane, bioRxiv, Semantic scholar and so on published from 2000 to 2020 (till date). Obesity is associated with SARS-CoV-2 which enhances inflammatory response in obese people compared to actual standard BMIs. Obesity is often specifically related to producing inflammation by triggering a cytokine storm in the lungs, which raises the likelihood of ARDS, thereby requiring respiratory assistance for the main issue. Obesity can hinder breathing by hampering the excursion of the diaphragm, inhibit immune responses to critical infection, it is pro-inflammatory and triggers diabetes and even oxidizing tension to worsen cardiovascular activity. This study indicates that obese people through respiratory viruses COVID19 are more likely to be hospitalized comparatively. The implementation of novel ideas on obesity control of ailments will certainly bring about a massive change. Constraining less dependence on recent literature in this area and also upgrading numerous research to increase consciousness among the general public so that they may take measures not to be vulnerable to COVID 19. The current research has shown a strong incidence of obesity in patients participating in medical treatment with SARS-CoV-2. Obesity can be hazard factored to SARS-CoV-2 severity which needs increased attention in susceptible individuals to take preventive measures. © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Perception of dental students towards online classes

The pandemic of coronavirus has quickly impacted the entire world, and the government has responded with a lock down. The lock down involves shutting of schools and colleges and a shift from traditional classrooms to online classes and e-learning. This has a lot of benefits such as flexible timings, convenience, no commute et cetera. However, these are contradicted by no practical classes, no personal attention from staff and a strayed student teacher relationship. A questionnaire survey consisting of 12 questions was prepared and circulated through an online survey portal among 100 dental students in India. The questions were prepared to analyse the perception of dental students towards online classes. Online classes have changed the education system for the time being. Students are involved in e-learning through online education portals and online platforms, which helps them to efficiently utilise their time. Despite the advantages that online classrooms have, results show that dental students prefer traditional classrooms over them. © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Impact of physical inactivity and psychological interventions during the pandemic COVID 19 among chennai population

Objective: The main goal of this topic is to stimulate novel investigations and theoretical perspectives on how people are psychologically affected by coping with COVID-19 and also their change in the daily physical activity routine. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was circulated among people enquiring about their stress level and also the impacts of it in their health status during this pandemic both physically and mentally. The results were collected and then analysed through SPSS software. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out and Chi square test was used and finally p value was calculated. Results: The results implies that even though people are aware of the impacts of physical inactivity, they hesitate to take efforts in maintaining their health and fitness. Lockdown has reduced daily physical activity in the majority of the sample population. Mental stress was experienced by most of the people in quarantine. The major health risk experienced due to this inactive lifestyle is obesity. Conclusion: Sedentary lifestyle of the quarantined people makes them feel irritated and also causes lots of stress both mentally and physically. They were also able to feel the consequences of being physically inactive throughout. This study reveals the impacts of lockdown in physical and mental health of people being quarantined.

Need of disinfection procedures after proper protective measures among the doctors handling covid-19 patients-a review

The review aims to find whether there is any cross-species infection among doctors, even after proper disinfection and proper protective measures are handled while taking care of COVID 19 patients. Coronavirus is a serious illness that causes respiratory problems. It was first found at Wuhan, China and then resulted in a pandemic. Mild illness can cause the common cold, whereas more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS, and COVID 19. Coro-navirus can cause pneumonia, bronchitis and other intense respiratory con-ditions. The virus is mostly transmitted via droplets and close contacts, and spread through asymptomatic carriers is also possible. With the increase in the number of positive cases, and due to lack of antiviral treatment, all are eager to discover new alternatives to prevent the spread of the virus. From the review, it can be concluded that even after the doctors are disinfected and even after all the protective measures are taken, they are still infected while treating COVID 19 patients. © 2020, J. K. Welfare and Pharmascope Foundation. All rights reserved.

Awareness on spread of pandemic diseases among males and females-a survey

The term pandemic is a great word which refers to pan-all demos-people which means prevalence of the disease over a country, whole world.It also involves a massive public reaction, which leads to high anxiety, depression and other mental stress.Awareness among public is a very important criteria to be considered during these outbreaks. The study includes a sample size of 200 subjects involving 100 males and 100 females from the general public. A questionnaire based survey was conducted through an online portal (survey planet) and the data was collected and analysed descriptively. The data collected was analysed descriptively, and it was found that 90% of male population and 80% of female population have a keen knowledge on pandemic spread as same as 90% of people experience mood swings and depression during the period of pandemic spread, which was similar to a study conducted among American population which shows high percentage of knowledge and awareness among pandemic spread. Our findings prove that both male and female population are equally aware about the pandemic spread, also they have taken precautions to prevent the spread of the disease.

Dental treatment during the lock down period — safe or not

The coronavirus causing COVID-19 is officially named as SARS-CoV-2. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which originated in Wuhan, China, has become a major public health concern all over the World. Infection control measures are necessary to stop the virus from spreading further and help to manage the pandemic situation. Many countries have implemented lock-down measures and social distancing to slow down or prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. This implementation is believed to possess a signif-icantly decreased rate of growth and increased doubling time of cases. Due to the spread through respiratory droplets, the incidence of infection will be high between patients and dental practitioners. The dental clinics and hospitals within the containment areas of COVID-19 should follow infection control protocols precisely in order to confer safety to both the patients and the prac-titioners. This article thus provides important and requisite knowledge about COVID-19 and therefore, the restrictions and strict protocols to be followed for or while undertaking dental treatment during the crucial lockdown period of COVID-19.

Alternative medicine suggestions for treatment of COVID-19-a review

The health crisis that presently threatens the whole world is COVID-19. The spread of the disease has increased with the number of individuals affected increasing day by day. Currently, many drugs are used all over the world to fight against the disease. Drugs like remdesivir, chloroquine and hydroxy-chloroquine are used all over the world. Scientists all over the world especially in India are trying to find alternative medicines with minimal side effects to treat this disease. The main aim of this study is to bring alternative medicines for the treatment of COVID-19 as a consideration to the general public.

Knowledge and awareness about airborne pathogens and its prevention among the general public

The airborne disease is mainly caused by the pathogens, which spread through respiratory droplets while coughing, sneezing or talking. Infection protection and control measures are taken to prevent the possible spread of coron-avirus, which also spreads through respiratory droplets. Discharged microbes are suspended in the air as dust particles and even in the form of droplets. The Middle East respiratory syndrome is caused by coronavirus wherein the health workers are at a higher risk. Hence, awareness must be created in order to reduce a number of cases. The preventive measures are mainly taken in health care as patients are susceptible to diseases. It is essential for all the people to become aware and take steps according. The survey was dis-tributed online to around 100 participants of various places of Tamil Nadu regarding the awareness of airborne pathogens. From this above study, it could be noticed that around 85% of the people are aware of the airborne pathogen whereas 15% of the people are not aware of. 64% of people have a good knowledge of the symptoms of any type of airborne disease.Regarding the protective measures that must be taken, about 65% of the people are con-scious of doing it. The study concludes that there is awareness of airborne pathogens and its prevention among the general public. © International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Knowledge, attitude and perception of COVID infections among elders with respiratory diseases

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and resultant coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have evolved into a pandemic. The novel coronavirus disease that emerged in 2019 started to threaten many people's lives and highly infectious risk of severe respiratory illness.COVID-19 is spread by human-to-human transmission through the droplet, faeco-oral route, and direct contact. Older adults and those with underlying health conditions are at greatest risk for severe infection and death due to COVID-19. Several researchers are showing that adults 60 and older, especially those with preexisting medical conditions, especially heart disease, lung disease, diabetes or cancer are more likely to have severe even deadly coronavirus infection than other age groups. A time-sensitive study was done among higher-risk, older adults living with pre-existing respiratory diseases to determine their current awareness of COVID-19, their perception of the seriousness of its threat. The study aims to determine the perception, attitude, and knowledge of COVID-19 infections among elders with respiratory diseases. An online questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 200 older people with preexisting respiratory infections. All the data from the survey was collected and it was analyzed statistically with the help of SPSS. Results showed that the majority of people were aware of coronavirus and its symptoms and mode of transmission. The current threatening pandemic caused by coronavirus has significant impacts on the daily routine life of our study population. Majority 57.71% have reported that the COVID-19 affected their regular hospital visits and treatments. Many of our participants are not feeling safe to go to the hospital during the current global threat. Preference over e-consulting was started by a few of our study population. This survey reveals the presence of sufficient knowledge over COVID-19 among elderly peoples. Fewer misconceptions about the current pandemic have been noted which has to be solved.

Ocimum tenuiflorum as an antiviral agent

The medicinal plants are widely used by the traditional medical practitioners for curing various conditions in their day-to-day practice. Holy basil or Tulsi is designated as the “Queen of Herbs”, “The mother medicine of nature” and “The irreplaceable one”. It is a herb with a wide range of medicinal properties. Ocimum tenuiflorum (also known as Ocimum sanctum Linn or Krishna Tulsi) has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda and Siddha practices. Different parts of this plant have been traditionally used in the treatment of several ailments. The antimicrobial activities of the plant against a wide variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, fungal and viral pathogens indicate that different extracts of this plant possess versatile anti-infective properties. Along with such properties, anti-toxic;antitussive;anti-inflammatory;antimalarial;anti diabetic;immunomodulatory properties, etc have certainly designated the plant as the queen of herbs. Oil of Tulsi is a good source of calcium, vitamin C and volatile substances e.g. eugenol, tannins, flavonoids, ursolic acid, etc. It is used in skin diseases and ringworm infections. Leaves of the plant are also used in bronchitis, gastric and hepatic disorders. A decoction of leaves is recommended for cough, malaise and in colds. It is a good mosquito repellent as well. Recently, the plant was found beneficial in the treatment of cancer. Antiviral activity of the plant has been demonstrated against HSV, HIV, H9N2, NDV, BHV, etc. The present review incorporates a few therapeutic activities and focuses on the antiviral activity of Ocimum tenuiflorum.