Piloting Upfront Xpert MTB/RIF Testing on Various Specimens under Programmatic Conditions for Diagnosis of TB & DR-TB in Paediatric Population.

Background: India accounts for one-fifth of the global TB incidence. While the exact burden of childhood TB is not known, TB remains one of the leading causes of childhood mortality in India. Bacteriological confirmation of TB in children is challenging due to difficulty in obtaining quality specimens, in the absence of which diagnosis is largely based on clinical judgement.

Contribution of medical colleges to tuberculosis control in India under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP): lessons learnt & challenges ahead.

Medical college faculty, who are academicians are seldom directly involved in the implementation of national public health programmes. More than a decade ago for the first time in the global history of tuberculosis (TB) control, medical colleges of India were involved in the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) of Government of India (GOI). This report documents the unique and extraordinary course of events that led to the involvement of medical colleges in the RNTCP of GOI.

The timing of death in patients with tuberculosis who die during anti-tuberculosis treatment in Andhra Pradesh, South India.

Background: India has 2.0 million estimated tuberculosis (TB) cases per annum with an estimated 280,000 TB-related deaths per year. Understanding when in the course of TB treatment patients die is important for determining the type of intervention to be offered and crucially when this intervention should be given.

Benzocaine induced methemoglobinemia: a potentially fatal complication of transesophageal echocardiography.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a relatively safe procedure with complications including bleeding, esophageal perforation, and respiratory failure being rare. One of our patients recently developed severe cyanosis despite pulse oximetry of 85% following TEE. This directs our attention to a rare, easily treatable, but potentially fatal complication of this procedure.