Virtual Reality Simulation for the Acquisition and Retention of Electrocardiogram Interpretation Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial Among Undergraduate Medical Students.

Introduction The electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the most important tools in diagnosing cardiac abnormalities, particularly arrhythmias and myocardial infarction. It is one of the certifiable competencies for final-year medical undergraduate students. We determined virtual reality's effectiveness in acquiring and retaining ECG interpretation skills among medical students compared to traditional teaching.

Wean early leave early: Apt strategy for weaning from non-invasive ventilation.

Background: Weaning protocols from Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) are scant. We set out to study a protocol that was different from the British Thoracic Society protocol and lay down a weaning protocol from NIV in patients with Acute acidotic hypercapnic respiratory failure (AAHRF).

Materials And Methods: Patients admitted with AAHRF and treated with NIV (baseline pH<7.

Association of Serum Pentraxin 3 and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein with Severity of Coronary Stenosis.

Background: Atherosclerosis being the keystone in the pathology of coronary artery disease (CAD) is a chronic inflammation of arterial intima mediated by various inflammatory markers. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are the two important biomarkers of chronic inflammation that causes atherosclerosis.

Aims: This study aims to investigate the association of serum PTX3 and hs-CRP with the severity of coronary stenosis in patients undergoing coronary angiogram.

Alternate day versus daily oral iron for treatment of iron deficiency anemia: a randomized controlled trial.

Oral iron is the mainstay of treating iron deficiency anemia. Recent studies indicate better fractional iron absorption with alternate day supplementation. However, the optimal supplementation strategy is unclear.

Immunoglobulin G Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 Among Healthcare Workers at a Tertiary Care Center in South India.

Introduction Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Seroprevalence in this group may offer insights into trends to monitor and revise strategies to prevent transmission. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in two phases among healthcare workers at a tertiary care center to detect IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2.

National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) to predict poor outcome in hospitalised COVID-19 patients in India.

Background: While several parameters have emerged as predictors of prognosis of COVID-19, a simple clinical score at baseline might help early risk stratification. We determined the ability of National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) to predict poor outcomes among adults with COVID-19.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 399 hospitalised adults with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between August and December 2020.

Empiric antibiotic and in-vitro susceptibility of urosepsis pathogens: do they match? The outcome of a study from south India.

Introduction: Urosepsis is life threatening, unless treated immediately. Empirical treatment with appropriate antibiotics lowers the risk of a poor outcome. However, with increasing resistance among common uropathogens, there is a need for continuous review of the existing protocol to determine whether there is a correlation between empirical antibiotic therapy and in-vitro susceptibility pattern of the pathogens causing urosepsis.

Prophylactic low dose ketamine infusion for prevention of shivering during spinal anesthesia: A randomized double blind clinical trial.

Background And Aims: Regional anesthesia is known to produce perioperative hypothermia and shivering. We aimed to evaluate if prophylactic low dose ketamine bolus followed by infusion would prevent intraoperative and postoperative shivering under spinal anesthesia.

Material And Methods: Sixty patients belonging to American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) 1 and 2 undergoing abdominal and lower limb surgery were randomized to receive either 0.

Predictors of Unsatisfactory Conventional Pap Smears.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the clinical predictors of unsatisfactory Pap smears.

Methodology: This was a case-control study done in a tertiary care institute. All unsatisfactory conventional pap (CP) smears between January 2015 and June 2017 were retrieved, and the slides were viewed.

Melioidosis: distinctive clinico-epidemiological characteristics in southern India.

As it is increasingly being reported from India, we carried out a prospective study of patients with culture-proven melioidosis from south India, examining clinical, laboratory features, epidemiological data, risk factors, treatments, outcomes at three and six months, and factors associated with mortality.Between 2014 and 2018, 31 cases were identified. Diabetes (83.

Simulation-Based Training in Measurement of Blood Pressure: A Randomized Study of Impact in Real-Life Settings.

Introduction: Simulators are used for training competencies including blood pressure (BP) measurement. Whether such training translates to competency in real life is unclear.

Methods: We randomized 145 first-year undergraduate medical students to train on a BP simulator or arms of colleagues.

Cutaneous scar visibility after external dacryocystorhinostomy: A comparison of curvilinear and W shaped incision.

Purpose: The major drawback of an external dacryocystorhinostomy (ExDCR) is visible skin scar leading to poor patient satisfaction. In this study we have analyzed the skin scarring objectively after Curvilinear incision (CLI) and W shaped incision (WSI).

Methods: This is prospective trial done at Department of Ophthalmology at tertiary level hospital.

Multidrug-resistant colonising the gut of adult rural population in South India.

Background: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) colonisers act as a reservoir for transmission of antibiotic resistance and are a source of infection. Exposure to antibiotics by the commensal flora renders them resistant. Antibiotic consumption and hospitalisation are two major factors influencing this.

Comparison of Nebulized Ketamine with Nebulized Magnesium Sulfate on the Incidence of Postoperative Sore Throat.

Background: Postoperative sore throat (POST) is a known complication following general anesthesia requiring endotracheal intubation. Its incidence ranges from 21% to 65% and remains the eighth most undesirable postoperative event. Various measures have been tried to decrease the incidence of sore throat with various success rates.

Comparison of Effect of Airway Nebulization with Lignocaine 2% versus Ropivacaine 0.25% on Intubation and Extubation Response in Patients Undergoing Surgery under General Anesthesia: A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial.

Context: Both intubation and extubation are associated with pressor response.

Aims: We aimed to evaluate if ropivacaine 0.25% nebulization would prevent hemodynamic and cough responses to intubation and extubation and compared it with lignocaine 2% and saline group.

Lipid Accumulation Product Index as Visceral Obesity Indicator in Psoriasis: A Case-control Study.

Background: Psoriasis has well-known associations with individual components of metabolic syndrome such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and obesity. Traditional anthropometric measurements of obesity such as waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) do not differentiate between subcutaneous fat and visceral fat, the latter being associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Lipid accumulation product (LAP) index is a measure of visceral fat and has been found to be a better predictor of cardiovascular risk.

Comparison of Lipid Accumulation Product Index with Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference as a Predictor of Metabolic Syndrome in Indian Population.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which confers a high risk for cardiovascular diseases, needs early diagnosis and treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality. Lipid accumulation product index has been reported to be an inexpensive marker of visceral fat and metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to evaluate lipid accumulation product index as a marker for metabolic syndrome in the Indian population where the prevalence of the condition is steadily increasing.

Serum Uric Acid in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Hospital Based Case Control Study.

Introduction: Airway inflammation and imbalance between oxidant/anti-oxidant mechanisms are postulated to play a major role in the pathogenesis and exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Previous studies on the role of serum Uric Acid (UA) in COPD subjects have been both confounding and inconclusive.

Aim: To measure the serum UA levels among COPD subjects and to correlate with different stages of the disease.

Evaluation of Leptin as a Marker of Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, whose incidence is rapidly increasing in India. T2DM is caused by varying degrees of insulin resistance (IR) and relative insulin deficiency. Leptin, an adipokine with the primary function of regulating energy balance, is found to mediate insulin secretion and sensitivity in peripheral tissues.

High atherogenic index of plasma in subclinical hypothyroidism: Implications in assessment of cardiovascular disease risk.

Background: A controversy exists regarding the association between subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) and dyslipidemia. Moreover, studies on lipid ratios and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) in SH are rare, particularly in the Indian scenario.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate abnormalities in conventional lipid profile, lipid ratios, and AIP in SH and attempted to correlate thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and AIP in SH.

Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics of Dengue-Orientia tsutsugamushi co-Infection from a Tertiary Care Center in South India.

Background: Concurrent infection with multiple pathogens is common in tropics, posing diagnostic and treatment challenges. Although co-infections of dengue, malaria, leptospirosis and typhoid in various combinations have been described, data on dengue and scrub typhus co-infection is distinctly limited.

Methodology: This study was a retrospective analysis of dengue and scrub typhus co-infection diagnosed between January 2010 and July 2014 at a tertiary care center.

Cutaneous Hyperpigmentation in Megaloblastic Anemia: a Five Year Retrospective Review.

Background: Cutaneous hyperpigmentation is an often overlooked clinical sign in megaloblastic anemia (MA) which has been sporadically reported in the literature.

Methods: We describe the bone marrow (BM) changes and clinicolaboratory characteristics of 25 of 198 adult cases (>16 years) with cutaneous hyperpigmentation who underwent BM evaluation for cytopenia (s).

Results: Twenty-one of 25 cases (84%) had MA, while MA without hyperpigmentation occurred only in 12 of remainder 173 cases (P<0.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: An unusual complication in disseminated Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Background: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is an uncommon, potentially fatal, hyperinflammatory syndrome that may rarely complicate the clinical course of disseminated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The clinical course of tuberculosis-associated HLH (TB-HLH) has been reported to be unpredictable.

Materials And Methods: Here we describe the clinicopathological features, laboratory parameters, management, and outcome data of a patient who satisfied the 2004 diagnostic criteria for HLH secondary to disseminated MTB; we also do a systematic review of the international literature on TB-HLH.

Impact of focused training on communication skills of final-year medical students in a medical school in India.

Background: Although communication skills are important for a good physician-patient relationship, Indian medical curricula give very little emphasis on training medical students in this aspect.

Aims: To determine the change in communication skills of final-year medical students following focused training.

Methods: This was an educational interventional study done at Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India, to assess communication skills among final-year MBBS students.