Safety and Effectiveness of Naltrexone in the Management of Alcohol Use Disorder in Patients With Alcohol-associated Cirrhosis: First Clinical Observation From Indian Cohort.

Background And Aims: Naltrexone is a promising drug to treat alcohol use disorder with limited evidence of safety in liver diseases. An observational study was performed to study the safety, effectiveness, and tolerability of Naltrexone in the management of alcohol use disorder in patients with alcohol-associated cirrhosis.

Methods: Naltrexone was started in patients with alcohol-related liver disease for the management of alcohol use disorder in 86 patients who were followed up for 4 weeks.

Psychosocial Assessment and Management-related Issues Among Liver Transplant Recipients.

Background And Aim: Liver transplant cases have been rising and becoming the choice of treatment for many patients with end-stage liver diseases. With an increasing number of qualified treatment centers and facilities, the effectiveness of liver transplants has been observed to increase over the years. But the success of liver transplants and the quality of life post-transplant have been observed to be influenced due to psychiatric comorbidities.

Incidence and predictors of alcohol relapse following living donor liver transplantation for alcohol related liver disease.

Background: Alcohol relapse after liver transplantation has a negative impact on outcomes. There is limited data on its burden, the predictors, and impact following live donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Methods: A single-center observational study was carried out between July 2011 and March 2021 for patients undergoing LDLT for alcohol associated liver disease (ALD).

An Exploratory Study of the Differences in Attitudes and Motives Regarding COVID-19 Plasma Donation.

Background: Understanding the attitude and motives and differences between voluntary and replacement blood donation is the key to the sustainable availability of this precious resource. This study aimed to assess the attitude and motives for convalescent plasma (CP) donation in the recovered COVID-19 plasma donors and further understand the differences between voluntary and replacement donation.

Materials And Methods: This prospective cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among500 COVID-19 recovered blood donors who visited for CP donation at a tertiary care super-speciality centre in northern India.

Evaluation of alcohol use pattern among OST patients using alcohol biomarkers: Report from community clinics in India.

Background: Opioid-dependent patients undergoing opioid substitution therapy (OST) consume alcohol in a hazardous pattern which adversely affects their treatment outcome. This study aims to measure alcohol biomarkers to screen for secondary alcohol use in OST patients.

Methods: A pilot study was planned to measure alcohol biomarkers (AST, ALT, GGT, and CDT) to assess alcohol use in OST patients from three community clinics.

Impact of covid-19 pandemic on quality of life and psychosocial difficulties among liver transplant recipients.

Background: The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic affected health in all domains i.e., physical, mental, and social aspects.

Empowering in-service nurses in management of viral hepatitis through Programmed Approach to Knowledge and Sensitization on Hepatitis (PRAKASH): An experience from a capacity building initiative.

Background: Nursing fraternity are at an increased risk of acquiring hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections mainly attributable to occupational risk and close contact with the patients while treatment. However, unawareness and negligence about the severity, mode of transmission and preventive measures about the disease can further predispose the nursing fraternity to a higher risk of infection. To overcome these lacunae in knowledge, a training program named Project PRAKASH was initiated for in-service nurses across the country.

Opioid Dispensing Patterns from a Tertiary Care Cancer Hospital during the Nationwide Lockdown in COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: During the current COVID-19 crisis, striking a balance between adequate pain relief in advanced malignancy patients and avoiding hospitals due to fear of contracting the infection has been the biggest challenge for patients as well as palliative care physicians. This study explored the trends in opioid dispensing for cancer pain before and during the lockdown.

Methods: The trends were calculated based on an analysis of quantity of all opioids dispensed.

Initial psychological impact of COVID-19 and its correlates in Indian Community: An online (FEEL-COVID) survey.

Background: The pandemic of Corona Virus (COVID-19) hit India recently; and the associated uncertainty is increasingly testing psychological resilience of the masses. When the global focus has mostly been on testing, finding a cure and preventing transmission; people are going through a myriad of psychological problems in adjusting to the current lifestyles and fear of the disease. Since there is a severe dearth of researches on this issue, we decided to conduct an online survey to evaluate its psychological impact.

Use of Filter Paper to Measure Alcohol Biomarkers among Opioid-Dependent Patients on Agonist Maintenance Treatment: A Community-Based Study.

Background: Harmful Alcohol use is frequent among opioid dependents patients undergoing agonist maintenance treatment. The objective assessment of harmful alcohol use can be done using laboratory measures of serum biomarkers. For community-based patients, there is often a requirement of an alternative method due to lack of onsite laboratory services.

Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, and addiction treatment: Potential pitfalls and trepidations.

The Mental Healthcare Act (MHCA), 2017, is enacted with an aim to promote and protect the rights of and improve the care and treatment for people affected by mental illness in India. The Act purportedly includes substance use disorder (SUD) specifically in the definition of mental illness itself. However, some of the phrases used in the definition such as "abuse" are not clear, as the current classificatory systems of mental illnesses do not have any diagnostic category termed "abuse.

Can Tramadol be Used for Maintenance Treatment of Opioid Dependence?

Background: Certain limitations of the existing opioid substitution therapies necessitate exploration of other options for maintenance of patients with opioid dependence. This study aimed to present the experience of use of tramadol for long-term treatment of patients with opioid dependence.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional interview-based observational study conducted in Uttar Pradesh state in India.

Awareness, Self-Assessment and Help Seeking Behavior for Behavioral Addictions Related to Use of Mobile Technology Among Attendees of a Health Camp.

Introduction: Behavioral addictions are increasingly being recognized as a major public health problem. While this issue continues to hog the limelight in the media, there is limited scientific research on this theme from India.

Objectives: We aimed at presenting the findings on assessment of the awareness, self-assessment and help seeking behavior for behavioral addictions related to use of mobile technology among attendees of a trade promotion event.

Tramadol for maintenance in opioid dependence: A retrospective chart review.

Background And Aims: Tramadol is an opioid agonist which can be potentially used for maintenance treatment of patients with opioid use disorders. This chart review presents the characteristics of individuals with an ICD 10 diagnosis of opioid dependence who were maintained on tramadol for a period of at least 6 months.

Methods: Records of patients seeking treatment for opioid dependence from the outpatient clinic of the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, Ghaziabad, India were screened.

Direct-Acting Antivirals in Kidney Transplant Patients: Successful Hepatitis C Treatment and Short-Term Reduction in Urinary Protein/Creatinine Ratios.

Background: The role of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) clearance in kidney graft survival is unknown. We examined short-term trends of protein/creatinine (P/C) ratios in HCV-infected kidney transplant recipients treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs).

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 19 kidney transplant patients with HCV infection treated with DAAs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham between January 2013 and June 2016.

Maintainence Treatment of Opioid Dependence with Tramadol.

Background: Although tramadol has been used in the management of acute withdrawal in patients with opioid dependence, its use for maintenance treatment as a harm reduction approach has not been assessed systematically. This case series describes patients with opioid dependence who were treated with tramadol for long-term maintenance.

Methods: Patients with opioid dependence who received treatment at the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, were included in the study.

Yoga and substance use disorders: A narrative review.

Yoga has been utilized for promotion of health and alleviating distress. It has also been used as a therapeutic measure in the field of mental health, including substance use disorders. This narrative review discusses the literature pertaining to use of yoga in the treatment of substance use disorders.

Successful management of difficult-to-treat irritable bowel syndrome incorporating a psychological approach.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a common gastrointestinal condition with underlying psychological factors. Its management can be challenging, sometimes necessitating a multidisciplinary team of gastroenterologists, psychiatrists and clinical psychologists. Non-pharmacological interventions are gaining attention for the management of chronic irritable bowel syndrome.

Orlistat abuse in a case of bulimia nervosa: the changing Indian society.

Eating disorders like bulimia nervosa, generally considered to be rare in Asian countries, are currently on the rise among the youth, probably secondary to rapid westernization and globalization of the orient. Clinical manifestations of these disorders, which were previously thought to be different in the oriental countries, are now also often seen to parallel their western counterparts. However, detailed clinical descriptions of such cases from Asian countries, documenting the societal change, are missing.

A rare case of imitation injury.

The impact of media on cognitions and behaviors of adolescents is well-known. High frequency of exposure to media may distort the reality testing among predisposed youth, hence the rise in risk taking behaviors among this population. We present a rare manifestation of risk taking behavior in an adolescent who injected mercury in his body after exposure to a Hollywood film.

Comparative efficacy versus effectiveness of initial antiretroviral therapy in clinical trials versus routine care.

Background: The applicability of clinical trial findings (efficacy) to the routine care setting (effectiveness) may be limited because of study eligibility criteria and volunteer bias. Although well-chronicled in many conditions, the efficacy versus effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains understudied.

Methods: A retrospective study of the University of Alabama at Birmingham 1917 Clinic Cohort evaluated ART-naive patients who started ART from 1 January 2000 through 31 December 2006.