The Battle against COVID 19 Pandemic: What we Need to Know Before we "Test Fire" Ivermectin.

The world is faced with the dire challenge of finding an effective treatment against the rampaging COVID 19 pandemic. Amidst the crisis, reports of in vitro inhibitory activity of ivermectin, an approved anthelmintic, against the causative SARSCoV2 virus, have generated lot of optimism. In this article, we have fished and compiled the needed information on the drug, that will help readers and prospective investigators in having a quick overview. Though the primordial biological action of the drug is allosteric modulation of helminthic ion channel receptor, its in vitro activity against both RNA and DNA viruses is known for almost a decade. In the past two years, efficacy study in animal models of pseudorabies and zika virus was found to be favourable and unfavourable respectively. Only one clinical study evaluated the drug in dengue virus infection without any clinical efficacy. However, the proposed mechanism of drug action, by inhibiting the importin family of nucleus-cytoplasmic transporters along with favourable pharmacokinetics, warrants exploration of its role in COVID 19 through safely conducted clinical trials. Being an available and affordable drug, enlisted in WHO List of Essential Medicine, and a long track record of clinical safety, the drug is already in clinical trials the world over. As the pandemic continues to ravage human civilisation with unabated intensity, the world eagerly waits for a ray of hope emanating from the outcome of the ongoing trials with ivermectin as well as other drugs.

A rare case of Weil's disease with alveolar haemorrhage.

Leptospirosis, a disease of protean manifestations occurs sporadically throughout the year with a peak seasonal incidence during the rainy season mimicking other febrile viral illness. In the rare case, the disease leads to renal and hepatic involvement with hemorrhage which may be associated with multisystem organ dysfunction in form of pulmonary, cardiac and central nervous system, when it is known as Weil's disease. Rarely haemorrhagic manifestations are assosciated. Early diagnosis is important as sometimes the disease may be life threatening. Proper antibiotics results in dramatic improvement. We hereby presented a case that had clinical features of Weil's disease with cough, dyspnoea and haemoptysis. Leptospirosis was detected on ELISA testing. Patient was cured rapidly with antibiotics.

Cefditoren pivoxil associated rash and arthralgia in a child.

Cefditoren pivoxil is an oral antimicrobial used increasingly in pediatric bacterial infections. We report a case of rash and arthralgia following administration of cefditoren pivoxil for lower respiratory tract infection in a four-year-old female child. On discontinuation of the antibiotic, the child recovered full function of the knee joint within seven days. The causality of the event assessed as per the WHO-UMC system for standardized case causality assessment criteria can be considered as 'probable'. Analyzed by the Naranjo's ADR probability scale, the score was 7, which also makes it a 'probable' event.

Perception of students regarding educational environment in a medical college in eastern region of India.

Learning environment in any medical college is found to be important in determining student's academic success. The study was undertaken to know and compare the perceptions of educational environment of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, find out the problem areas and their remedies at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata. In the present study, Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was administered to undergraduate (n = 278) and postgraduate (n = 43) student and the scores were compared using a non-parametric test. Among the two groups, the undergraduate students were found to be more satisfied with the learning environment at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (as indicated by their higher DREEM score) compared to the postgraduate students. There was insignificant difference in perception among male and female students. The study revealed that both groups of students perceived the learning environment positively. Nevertheless, the study also reflected problematic areas of learning environment in this medical college which generates an idea of adopting some remedial measures in the form of small group learning and problem based learning where there is enough scope of student-teacher interaction and practical exposure.