COVID-19 infodemic and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic respiratory diseases: A multicentre, observational study.

Background: The explosion of information, misinformation and disinformation (the "infodemic") related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on digital and social media is reported to affect mental health and quality of life. However, reports assessing the COVID-19 infodemic on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with chronic diseases are scarce. In this study, we investigated the associations between the infodemic and HRQL in uninfected individuals with pre-existing chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other CRDs.

Less Social Deprivation Is Associated With Better Health-Related Quality of Life in Asthma and Is Mediated by Less Anxiety and Better Sleep Quality.

Background: Previous studies on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in asthma have mainly focused on clinical and environmental determinants. Little is known about the role of social determinants on HRQoL in asthma.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the association between social deprivation and HRQoL in asthma.

A multicenter survey study of antifibrotic use for symptomatic patients with post-COVID-19 interstitial lung abnormalities.

Background: Little data exist on antifibrotic drugs for treating symptomatic patients with persistent interstitial lung abnormalities in the postacute phase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Herein, we describe the physician practices of prescribing pirfenidone and nintedanib for these patients and the physician-assessed response.

Materials And Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective survey study of subjects administered pirfenidone or nintedanib for post-COVID-19 interstitial lung abnormalities.

Bronchiectasis in India: results from the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) and Respiratory Research Network of India Registry.

Background: Bronchiectasis is a common but neglected chronic lung disease. Most epidemiological data are limited to cohorts from Europe and the USA, with few data from low-income and middle-income countries. We therefore aimed to describe the characteristics, severity of disease, microbiology, and treatment of patients with bronchiectasis in India.

Association of interleukin 7 receptor (rs1494555 and rs6897932) gene polymorphisms with asthma in a north Indian population.

Background: Interleukin 7R (IL-7R), a cytokine receptor gene, plays an important role in the development of innate and adaptive inflammatory response in asthma etiology.

Objective: IL-7R is a heterodimeric protein composed of α chain and γ chain. The α chain of IL-7R has a range of single nucleotide polymorphisms, which give rise to nonsynonymous amino-acid substitutions that might result in an increased production of inflammatory cytokines and cause asthma.

Association of IL13R alpha 1 +1398A/G polymorphism in a North Indian population with asthma: A case-control study.

Background: Interleukin 13 (IL13) is directly involved in the secretion of total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), which plays a major role in the asthma pathogenesis.

Objective: One of the polymorphic receptor of IL13 is IL13Rα1, which after binding to IL13, initiates signal transduction that results in mucin secretion, airway hyperreactivity, fibrosis, and chitinase up-regulation, which increases asthma risk.

Methods: In the present study, the role of IL13Rα1 +1398A/G gene polymorphisms in asthma was detected with a total of 964 individuals, including 483 healthy controls and 481 asthma patients from a North Indian population using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method.

Protective association of TIM1-1454G>a polymorphism with asthma in a North Indian population.

Purpose: TIM1 is a key regulator of Th2-dominated immune responses, including allergy, asthma, autoimmunity, and response to the pathogens. They are mainly expressed by hepatocytes and lymphoid cells. Analysis of the sequence of TIM1 was found to have range of SNPs which increases the transcriptional activity of the TIM1 gene.

Association of 24 bp duplication of human CHIT1 gene with asthma in a heterozygous population of north India: a case-control study.

Purpose: CHIT1 is expressed by pulmonary macrophages, which is typically the site of entry for many environmental fungi that may increase the risk of pulmonary fungal infection and lead to hypersensitivity. The conserved expression of this gene in humans suggests its physiological importance in the mammalian lung.

Methods: The present study was conducted with a total of 964 subjects, including 483 healthy controls and 481 asthma patients.

Highly Protective Association of MMP-2-1306C/T Promoter Polymorphism With Asthma in a North Indian Population: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: Asthma is the most prevalent disease in India according to the national survey conducted by NFHS 2 in 1998-1999. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), a collagenase encoded by the MMP-2 gene, degrades the type IV collagen and is responsible for inflammatory responses. This is a pilot study evaluating the role of MMP-2 -1306C/T promoter single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in asthma pathogenesis.

High risk association of IL-4 VNTR polymorphism with asthma in a North Indian population.

Background: A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the role of IL-4 VNTR polymorphism in asthma that has been associated with various inflammatory diseases worldwide. This is the first case-control study conducted in India, investigating the role of IL-4 VNTR polymorphism in asthma pathogenesis.

Methods: A case-control study was performed with a total of 824 adult subjects, inducting 410 asthma patients and 414 healthy controls from North India.

Role of F18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography in the management of Askin's tumor.

A primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of the thoraco-abdominal region is one of a group of small round cell tumors usually found in children and young adults, originally described by Askin et al. Most cases arise in the soft-tissues of the thorax, but may rarely occur within the lung with the symptoms of chest wall pain, pleural effusion and dyspnea. The authors present two cases demonstrating the utility of F18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography in the staging and prognosis of PNET of the chest wall.

Economic analysis of costs associated with a Respiratory Intensive Care Unit in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Northern India.

Background: There is a paucity of cost analytical studies from resource constrained developing countries defining intensive care costs and their containment.

Objective: Economic analysis of costs in a Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) of a tertiary care teaching hospital in northern India.

Materials And Methods: A prospective study was conducted in 74 patients admitted in the RICU.

High risk association of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) VNTR polymorphism with asthma in a North Indian population: a pilot study.

Background: A pilot case-control study was conducted to evaluate the role of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) VNTR penta-allelic polymorphism in asthma that has been associated with various inflammatory diseases worldwide. This is the first case-control study conducted in India, investigating the role of IL-1RN VNTR polymorphism in asthma pathogenesis.

Methods: A case-control study was performed with a total of 824 adult subjects, inducting 410 asthma patients and 414 healthy controls from North India.

Silicosis in India: past and present.

Purpose Of Review: This particular review focusses on the burden of the problem of silicosis and its clinical manifestations reported from India.

Recent Findings: In recent estimates from India, there are over 3 million workers exposed to silica dust, whilst 8.5 million more work in construction and building activities, similarly exposed to quartz.

Protective role of IL-18 -137G/C polymorphism in a North Indian population with asthma: a pilot study.

Background: IL-18, a pleiotropic, pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a major role in innate as well as acquired immunity, has been implicated in asthma etiology and this is the first study investigating the role of IL-18 -137G/C (rs 187238) promoter polymorphism in asthma pathogenesis in a North Indian population.

Methods: A pilot study was conducted with a total of 824 subjects, out of which 410 were asthma patients including 323 patients suffering from allergic rhinitis and 414 healthy controls from regions of North India. Tetra-Primer Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Chain Reaction (Tetra-Primer ARMS PCR) was used for genotyping the IL-18 -137G/C polymorphism.

Association of β(2)-adrenergic receptor polymorphisms with asthma in a North Indian population.

Background: β(2)-Adrenergic receptor (β(2)AR), a G-protein coupled receptor, is present on the bronchial smooth muscle cells and results in bronchodilation upon activation. The genetic factors determining β(2)AR expression and function may not only alter the response of an individual to the therapy but also may serve as predictive markers for response to the agonists used in the therapy. The present study aimed at evaluating the role of β(2)AR-16 and β(2)AR-27 gene polymorphisms in asthma.

Incidence, prevalence, risk factor and outcome of delirium in intensive care unit: a study from India.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence, prevalence, risk factors and outcome of delirium in the respiratory intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: Consecutive patients admitted to an eight-bed respiratory intensive care unit were screened for presence of delirium by a psychiatrist. Patients found to have delirium were evaluated using univariate techniques for their clinical profiles, risk factors for delirium, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores, duration of stay (in days) and outcome at discharge from intensive care unit besides evaluation on Delirium Rating Scale-Revised 98 version (DRS-R-98).

Association of the wild-type A/A genotype of MBL2 codon 54 with asthma in a North Indian population.

Background: High serum MBL level as well as polymorphisms in the mannose-binding lectin 2 (MBL2) gene resulting in MBL deficiency are involved in the mechanism of a number of non-infectious diseases such as asthma, conferring either risk or protection in different population studies. MBL being the first reactant of the MBL pathway is also a major determinant of the fate of the anaphylatoxins such as C3a and C5a, which are also pro-inflammatory mediators. The MBL2 gene polymorphisms thus control the serum levels of MBL as well as C3a and C5a.

GSTT1 and GSTM1 gene polymorphisms as major risk factors for asthma in a North Indian population.

Background: According to the National Family Health Survey, asthma is one of the leading diseases in India. In order to understand the complexity of asthma, the susceptibility genes need to be targeted for their association. Glutathione S-transferases play a major role in the detoxification of metabolites of oxidative stress resulting in inflammation and asthma.

No association of PTGDR -441C/T polymorphism with asthma in a North Indian population.

Background: Asthma is the most prevalent disease in India according to the national survey conducted by NFHS 2 in 1998-399. Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) is a bronchoconstriction inducing metabolite of arachidonic acid in the mast cells, which is produced on exposure to allergens and acts as a ligand for the Prostaglandin D2 Receptor (PTGDR). Polymorphisms in the PTGDR gene have been suggested to be involved in the mechanism of asthma.

Spectrum of pulmonary adenocarcinoma with ultrastructural correlation: an autopsy study from northern India.

Background: In the present study, we have evaluated the use of electron microscopy in subtyping pulmonary adenocarcinomas, comparing the ultrastructural findings with the diagnosis rendered by light microscopy.

Materials And Methods: The gross and histologic features of 16 autopsy cases of pulmonary adenocarcinoma were analyzed and compared with electron microscopic features. The cytologic phenotypes of these cases of well-differentiated pulmonary adenocarcinoma were determined by electron microscopic examination.

No association of DNA ligase-I polymorphism with the risk of lung cancer in north-Indian population.

DNA ligases play an essential role in repair, replication, and recombination of DNA, and catalyzes the formation of a phosphodiester bond at a nick junction on single- and double-strand breaks. We have conducted a hospital-based case-control study to examine the role of polymorphism of DNA repair gene ligase I (LIGI) in the context of lung cancer risk for north Indian population. One hundred, fifty-one primary lung cancer cases and an equal number of matching hospital controls were collected.