COVID-19 pandemic and preparedness of anesthesia team in a stand-alone cancer centre in Eastern India.

India came under the grip of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and is now seeing rising graph. Cancer patients are specially in the high-risk group because of their immunocompromised status on one hand and progressive disease on the other hand. Hence, cancer care facility needs to prepare a clear strategy to manage their space, staff and supplies so that optimum patient care can be continued in the face of COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, infection prevention measures need to be robust to reduce in-hospital transmission. The working area of anesthesia and Critical Care is spread over the whole hospital such as operating room, ICU, isolation area, out-patient dept (OPD) area, various diagnostic areas and in-patient dept (IPD) to attend code blue calls. In this article, we describe the preparedness and initial response measures of the anesthesia and Critical Care department of a stand-alone tertiary level cancer care centre in eastern part of India. These include engineering controls such as identification and preparation of an isolation operating room, administrative measures such as modification of workflow, introduction and adequate supply of personal protective equipment for staff and formulation of clinical guidelines for anesthetic management. These containment measures are necessary to continue care of cancer patients, optimize the quality of care provided to COVID-19 positive cancer patients and to reduce the risk of viral transmission to other patients or healthcare providers.

Morphology and Physico-Mechanical Threshold of α-Cellulose as Filler in an E-SBR Composite.

In the current context of green mobility and sustainability, the use of new generation natural fillers, namely, α-cellulose, has gained significant recognition. The presence of hydroxyl groups on α-cellulose has generated immense eagerness to map its potency as filler in an elastomeric composite. In the present work, α-cellulose-emulsion-grade styrene butadiene rubber (E-SBR) composite is prepared by conventional rubber processing method by using variable proportions of α-cellulose (1 to 40 phr) to assess its reinforce ability. Rheological, physical, visco-elastic and dynamic-mechanical behavior have clearly established that 10 phr loading of α-cellulose can be considered as an optimized dosage in terms of performance parameters. Morphological characterization with the aid of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) also substantiated that composite with 10 phr loading of α-cellulose has achieved the morphological threshold. With this background, synthetic filler (silica) is substituted by green filler (α-cellulose) in an E-SBR-based composite. Characterization of the compound has clearly established the reinforcement ability of α-cellulose.

Recurrent aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva - a rare presentation.

We describe here a case of a 38-year-old lady presenting with a about 5x4cm in size swelling on the left labia majora. She had similar type of swelling 2 years back which was treated surgically. FNAC report of the present mass revealed angiomyxoma. In view of its' recurrent nature wide local surgical excision of the mass was done. Histopathology report confirmed the diagnosis of angiomyxoma. The lady is under follow up and there is no further recurrence till date.

Omental evisceration after cesarean section: safety of peritoneal nonclosure technique.

A case of omental prolapse presented to us on the fifteenth postoperative day following an uneventful Cesarean section. A rare complication as such questions the safety of peritoneal nonclosure that has been adopted by obstetricians in recent times.