Technology, Training, and Task Shifting at the World's Largest Mass Gathering in 2025: An Opportunity for Antibiotic Stewardship in India.

The role of antibiotic overuse in intensifying selection pressures and contributing to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance is well established. The Kumbh Mela, a religious festival that occurs in 4 Indian cities of spiritual significance, is the world's largest mass gathering, attracting over 80 million pilgrims in 2013. Digital syndromic surveillance from the 2013 and 2015 Melas demonstrated a consistent pattern of antibiotic overuse, with an antibiotic prescribing rate of up to 31% for all patient encounters.

Clinico-Epidemiologic Characteristics of Patients Reported in the Mycotic Infections in COVID-19 Registry.

We update results from the Mycotic Infections in COVID-19 (MUNCO) Registry, May-September 2021. Data collection from May to September 2021 yielded 728 cases from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the United States. The cases consisted of mostly mucormycosis (97.

Evaluating the effect and user satisfaction of an adapted and translated mobile health application ASTHMAXcel© among adults with asthma in Pune, India.

Objective: ASTHMAXcel is a mobile application previously shown to improve asthma knowledge, control, and quality of life. In this study, we translated the application to Marathi for pilot testing in Pune, India in order to evaluate its impact on user satisfaction and asthma knowledge among adult asthma patients.

Methods: ASTHMAXcel was adapted to Marathi with the help of asthma patients and clinicians from Bharati Hospital.

Factors Associated with Mortality in Coronavirus-Associated Mucormycosis: Results from Mycotic Infections in COVID-19 (MUNCO) Online Registry.

Background: COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. MUNCO is an international database used to collect clinical data on cases of CAM in real time. Preliminary data from the Mycotic Infections in COVID-19 (MUNCO) online registry yielded 728 cases from May to September 2021 in four South Asian countries and the United States.

COVID-19 Therapeutics: Improvise-Adapt-Learn.

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity"-Sun Tzu, The Art of War [...

Social, political, and economic determinants of access to biologics: A scoping review of structural determinants in the clinical disparities literature.

Background: The number of biologics among new medication approvals is increasing. Social, political, and economic factors influence access to these expensive medications. Disparities in access to new medications can exacerbate health disparities.

Quantitative B and T cell abnormalities in four patients presenting with mucormycosis and prior asymptomatic COVID-19 infection.

India saw an unprecedented and rapid rise of invasive coronavirus-associated mucormycosis (CAM) during the delta COVID-19 surge. There is little known about the pathophysiology and if there is a direct causation between the COVID-19 infection and invasive CAM. While the traditional risk factors such as uncontrolled diabetes and other immunocompromising conditions are recognised, there could be several COVID-19-induced phenomena that may predispose the patients to develop CAM and are yet unrecognised.

Current Effective Therapeutics in Management of COVID-19.

The current pandemic due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused irreparable damage globally. High importance is placed on defining current therapeutics for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this review, we discuss the evidence from pivotal trials that led to the approval of effective therapeutics in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19.

Progression of untreated gastric and pulmonary metastasis in a patient with resected acral melanoma.

We report a man in his 80s who presents with epigastric abdominal pain and fatigue for 2 weeks. His medical history was significant for left toe acral melanoma (excised 6 years prior) and a lung mass, further workup for which was declined at the time by the patient. On presentation, he had iron deficiency anaemia and esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a gastric mass.

Online Registry of COVID-19-Associated Mucormycosis Cases, India, 2021.

We established an online registry of coronavirus disease-associated mucormycosis cases in India. We analyzed data from 65 cases diagnosed during April-June 2021, when the Delta variant predominated, and found that patients frequently received antibacterial drugs and zinc supplementation. Online registries rapidly provide relevant data for emerging infections.

A Search for Secondary Hypertension: "Where's Waldo?".

Hypertension is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Most cases are diagnosed as essential hypertension however, in some patients, a secondary (and potentially curable) cause is identified. Selecting the right patient to screen for a secondary cause can be challenging and certain clinical and laboratory characteristics can guide work-up.

Early and Significant Reduction in C-Reactive Protein Levels After Corticosteroid Therapy Is Associated With Reduced Mortality in Patients With COVID-19.

Background: Corticosteroids may be beneficial in a subset of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but predictors of therapeutic response remain unknown. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a routinely measured biomarker, and reduction in its levels after initiation of therapy may predict inpatient mortality.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the charts of patients who were admitted to Montefiore Medical Center between March 10, 2020, and May 2, 2020 for the management of COVID-19 were examined.

Effect of Systemic Glucocorticoids on Mortality or Mechanical Ventilation in Patients With COVID-19.

The efficacy of glucocorticoids in COVID-19 is unclear. This study was designed to determine whether systemic glucocorticoid treatment in COVID-19 patients is associated with reduced mortality or mechanical ventilation. This observational study included 1,806 hospitalized COVID-19 patients; 140 were treated with glucocorticoids within 48 hours of admission.

Severe obesity, increasing age and male sex are independently associated with worse in-hospital outcomes, and higher in-hospital mortality, in a cohort of patients with COVID-19 in the Bronx, New York.

Background & Aims: New York is the current epicenter of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The underrepresented minorities, where the prevalence of obesity is higher, appear to be affected disproportionately. Our objectives were to assess the characteristics and early outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Bronx and investigate whether obesity is associated with worse outcomes independently from age, gender and other comorbidities.

Agranulocytosis from Outpatient Antimicrobial Treatment with Ceftriaxone: A Case Report.

Introduction: Agranulocytosis from antimicrobial therapy with ceftriaxone is rare. We report a case of agranulocytosis resulting from ceftriaxone noted more than 3 weeks into therapy.

Case Presentation: A 72-year-old woman who was started on ceftriaxone for septic arthritis of the left knee 3 weeks before presentation was admitted to the hospital after being found to be neutropenic on outpatient laboratory analysis.

Case Report: An incidental finding of an metastases noted in a "cancer to cancer adrenal tumor " from a large malignant nerve sheath tumor of the thigh.

Current guidelines are vague for the management of soft tissue sarcomas, specifically malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST), regarding staging the disease with the use of routine abdominal imaging. The most recent guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends to "consider" abdominal/pelvic CT imaging for certain sub groups of sarcomas (e.g.

Rheumatoid arthritis in an adult patient with mosaic distal 18q-, 18p- and ring chromosome 18.

Ring chromosome 18 has a highly variable phenotype, depending on the extent of distal arm deletions. It is most commonly presented as a combination of 18p- and distal 18q- syndrome. IgA deficiency and autoimmune diseases have been previously described in these patients.

Case Report: Severe hypernatremia from psychogenic adipsia.

Hypernatremia is a common emergency room presentation and carries high mortality. We describe a case of a 56-year-old male patient with who presents with refusal to drink water for several weeks leading to the admission. He was diagnosed with psychogenic adipsia and was treated successfully with fluids, mirtazapine and clonazepam.

Case Report: Elevated CPK, an indicator of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy?

Polymyositis is a rare disease with incidence rates at about 1 per 100,000 people annually. In this case report we will review a case of proximal muscle weakness with an elevated creatine phosphokinase that was initially misdiagnosed twice as rhabdomyolysis. Therefore, emphasizing that idiopathic inflammatory myopathy is a potential cause of myasthenia that must be considered in the differential.