Healing of burn wounds by topical treatment: A randomized controlled comparison between silver sulfadiazine and nano-crystalline silver.

Background: Silver sulfadiazine (SSD) has been the standard topical antimicrobial for burn wounds for decades. Recently, nanometer-sized silver particles are available which have high surface to volume ratio and remain effective even at a very low concentration and minimizes the chance for tissue toxicity due to silver. Hence, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of topical SSD and nano-crystalline silver (AgNP) hydrogel in burn wounds management.

Correlates of treatment outcomes and drug resistance among pulmonary tuberculosis patients attending tertiary care hospitals of Kolkata, India.

Background: Worldwide highest number of new pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases, was reported from India in 2012. Adverse treatment outcomes and emergence of drug resistance further complicated the prevailing scenario owing to increased duration, cost and toxicity associated with the treatment of drug-resistant cases. Hence to reinforce India's fight against TB, identification of the correlates of adverse treatment outcomes and drug resistance, seemed critical.