Research Methodology and Biostatistics in the Postgraduate Curriculum: The AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Experience.

Inclusion of research methodology and biostatistics in the postgraduate curriculum by the National Medical Commission is a welcome step to improve the research milieu in medical colleges in India. This step will have a long-term impact on research outcomes and scientific publications. In 2019, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar implemented the revised postgraduate curriculum, which introduced a faculty-facilitated program on research methodology and biostatistics for all postgraduate students.

A Panoramic View of Patients' Beliefs and Knowledge About Chronic Respiratory Disease.

Objective Patients with chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience significant morbidity and mortality. The patient's quality of life deteriorates with the progression of the disease. Pharmacological treatment focuses on reducing the symptoms.

Clinico-Epidemiological Characteristics of Healthcare Workers with SARS-CoV-2 Infection during the First and Second Waves in a Teaching Hospital from Eastern India: A Comparative Analysis.

In this retrospective observational study, we have performed a comparative analysis of the demographic, clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the HCWs affected with SARS-CoV-2 infection during first two waves in India. The overall prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs was found to be 15.24% (14.

The Origin and Clinical Relevance of Yoga Nidra.

Yoga nidra, also known as 'yogic sleep', is a simplified form of an ancient tantric relaxation technique. The most general description of the practice is that it combines guided mental imagery with a specific yoga posture called Shavasana (or "corpse pose"). The goal of yoga nidra is to promote a profound state of relaxation, which differs from sleep inasmuch as there is still an awareness of one's surroundings.

Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine (Covaxin) against breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection in India.

India approved COVID-19 vaccine called Covaxin, developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research and Bharat Biotech Ltd. The primary objective of the study was to estimate the effectiveness of Covaxin in preventing breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers (HCWs). A test-negative matched case-control study was conducted among HCWs of tertiary care hospital in Eastern India.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among healthcare workers in a teaching hospital in Eastern India.

Statement Of The Problem: Healthcare workers (HCW) are the most vulnerable group for contracting SARS-CoV-2. Assessment of seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among HCW, thus can provide important data on pathogen exposure, infectivity, and adherence to personal protective equipment (PPE). The present study aimed at assessing SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among HCW and exploring associations with demographics, category of exposure to COVID-19 patients, preventive measures taken and relation with COVID-19 symptoms.

Hospital-Based Contact Tracing of Patients With COVID-19 and Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Eastern India: Cross-sectional Study.

Background: The contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of health care workers (HCWs) are essential to minimizing the further transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection and mitigating the shortage of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the yield of contact tracing for COVID-19 cases and the risk stratification of HCWs who are exposed to these cases.

Methods: This was an analysis of routine data that were collected for the contact tracing of COVID-19 cases at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, in Odisha, India.

Role of ivermectin in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers in India: A matched case-control study.

Background: Ivermectin is one among several potential drugs explored for its therapeutic and preventive role in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study was aimed to explore the association between ivermectin prophylaxis and the development of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers.

Methods: A hospital-based matched case-control study was conducted among healthcare workers of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, India, from September to October 2020.

Decreasing medication errors in four intensive care units of a tertiary care teaching hospital in India using a sensitization programme.

Background: Medication errors have an adverse impact on the healthcare system by increasing patient morbidity and mortality. They are preventable, and educational or technology-based interventions are needed to reduce their prevalence and improve medication safety. We aimed to study the impact of a sensitization programme and a blame-free reporting tool for doctors and nurses on the prevalence and reporting of medication errors in the intensive care units (ICUs) of a tertiary care teaching hospital.

Screening of herbal medicines for potential allopathic antidiabetic adulterants: An analytical study.

Background: There are several reports worldwide on adulteration of herbal medicines (HMs) with allopathic drugs. In India, only a few studies have reported adulteration of HMs with antidiabetics and there are no systematic studies.

Aims: To develop a rapid and validated method for detection of allopathic antidiabetic adulterants and to explore the extent of adulteration in HMs sold in South India.

Inadequate inhaler technique, an everlasting problem, is associated with poor disease control - A cross sectional study.

Introduction: Dry powder inhalers (DPI) have been in use in the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases for decades. DPIs require proper inhaler technique to ensure appropriate dose delivery to the lungs which in turn provides disease control and hence reduces the economic burden due to frequent acute attacks and hospital visits. Inadequate inhaler technique remains an everlasting problem among patients with chronic respiratory disease.

Prevalence and predictors of potential drug-drug interactions in patients of internal medicine wards of a tertiary care hospital in India.

Background: Drug-drug interactions are a major source of adverse drug events (ADEs). Polypharmacy, age and the number of comorbid conditions are important predictors of adverse drug interactions. ADEs account for up to 5% of hospital admissions per year and an increase in the length of hospital stay.

Promoting quality use of medicines in South-East Asia: reports from country situational analyses.

Background: Irrational use of medicines is widespread in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR), where policy implementation to encourage quality use of medicines (QUM) is often low. The aim was to determine whether public-sector QUM is better in SEAR countries implementing essential medicines (EM) policies than in those not implementing them.

Methods: Data on six QUM indicators and 25 EM policies were extracted from situational analysis reports of 20 country (2-week) visits made during 2010-2015.

Antibiotic use in South East Asia and policies to promote appropriate use: reports from country situational analyses.

discuss findings from a rapid assessment of antibiotic use and policies undertaken by South East Asian countries to drive further actions to reduce inappropriate use

Comparative Effect of Divided Doses of Adult Solid and Liquid Oral Formulations of Antiepileptic Drugs in the Management of Pediatric Epilepsy.

Objective: To compare the differences in the efficacy and safety of the commonly prescribed AEDs in the management of epilepsy in children when using divided doses of adult solid oral formulations (DDSF) with the liquid oral formulations (LFs).

Materials And Methods: Patients who had one or more seizures per month and prescribed with DDSF were recruited. Initially the patients were continued on DDSF for 4 months following which they were switched over to LF for the subsequent 4 months.

Tablet Splitting of Antiepileptic Drugs in Pediatric Epilepsy: Potential Effect on Plasma Drug Concentrations.

Introduction: Tablet splitting is the process of dividing a tablet into portions to obtain a prescribed dose of medication. Very few studies have investigated whether split parts of a tablet deliver the expected amount of drug to patients.

Objective: Our objectives were to evaluate the split parts of adult-dose tablet formulations for percentage of weight deviation, weight uniformity, weight loss, drug content, and the content uniformity of four antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) prescribed to pediatric patients.

Prescription, Transcription and Administration Errors in Out- Patient Day Care Unit of a Regional Cancer Centre in South India.

Background: Medication errors are common but most often preventable events in any health care setup. Studies on medication errors involving chemotherapeutic drugs are limited.

Objective: We studied three aspects of medication errors - prescription, transcription and administration errors in 500 cancer patients who received ambulatory cancer chemotherapy at a resource limited setting government hospital attached cancer centre in South India.

Prescription errors in cancer chemotherapy: Omissions supersede potentially harmful errors.

Objective: To estimate the frequency and type of prescription errors in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy.

Settings And Design: We conducted a cross-sectional study at the day care unit of the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) of a tertiary care hospital in South India.

Materials And Methods: All prescriptions written during July to September 2013 for patients attending the out-patient department of the RCC to be treated at the day care center were included in this study.

Using the Mercy Method for Weight Estimation in Indian Children.

This study was designed to compare the performance of a new weight estimation strategy (Mercy Method) with 12 existing weight estimation methods (APLS, Best Guess, Broselow, Leffler, Luscombe-Owens, Nelson, Shann, Theron, Traub-Johnson, Traub-Kichen) in children from India. Otherwise healthy children, 2 months to 16 years, were enrolled and weight, height, humeral length (HL), and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were obtained by trained raters. Weight estimation was performed as described for each method.

Empirical evaluation of age groups and age-subgroup analyses in pediatric randomized trials and pediatric meta-analyses.

Background: An important step toward improvement of the conduct of pediatric clinical research is the standardization of the ages of children to be included in pediatric trials and the optimal age-subgroups to be analyzed.

Methods: We set out to evaluate empirically the age ranges of children, and age-subgroup analyses thereof, reported in recent pediatric randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses. First, we screened 24 RCTs published in Pediatrics during the first 6 months of 2011; second, we screened 188 pediatric RCTs published in 2007 in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; third, we screened 48 pediatric meta-analyses published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2011.