CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON AYURVEDA & CHANGING PARADIGMS

Medical science is advancing by leaps and bounds, exploring the intricacies and unravelling the mysteries of human life. Ever since the dawn of his turbulent history, man has evolved several ways of coping with illness. Every country has developed a medical system presenting a unique configuration designed to be compatible with its future, meeting the needs of its population. Thus the ‘traditional medicine’, which is full of experiences, astute observations and fancy formulae reflecting a combination of inspiration, intuition, information, facts and results, has incarnated.Ayurveda, literally meaning “the science of lifespan”, is the traditional medicine system of India. Its natural healing modality has been in existence for about 5000 years. Ayurveda is widely acknowledged to be the world’s oldest system of healthcare. WHO regards it as “the world’s most ancient, scientific, holistic, complete, natural system of healthcare and is the forerunner of all other great systems practiced today.

Donor‐derived hepatitis C in the era of increasing intravenous drug use: A report of the Disease Transmission Advisory Committee

The opioid epidemic has resulted in a potential increase in donors in the testing window period for hepatitis C virus (HCV). We analyzed HCV reports to the Disease Transmission Advisory Committee (DTAC) between 2008 and 2016 to estimate the risk of HCV transmission. In 15 of 95 (16%) reports, at least one recipient developed proven/probable donor‐derived HCV resulting in 32 infected recipients. Seven transmissions occurred during the nucleic acid testing (NAT) window period; four occurred during serological window period. The other four transmission occurred due to human error (3) and false‐negative serology (1). All seronegative‐exposed liver and lung recipients contracted HCV; 18/21 (86%) kidney and 3/4 (75%) heart recipients developed HCV. Four transmitting donors died of intravenous drug overdose, three in 2016 and one in 2012. Among donors with a history of intravenous drug use (IVDU), drug intoxication as a mechanism of death, or increased risk status, and negative screening HCV testing, the risk of transmission to a recipient was about 1 in 1000. The overall risk of transmitting HCV from NAT‐negative donors with IVDU is low and consistent with modeling data. This information may be helpful to clinicians counseling potential recipients offered these organs.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146282/1/ctr13370.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146282/2/ctr13370_am.pd

Francisella tularensis Transmission by Solid Organ Transplantation, 20171.

In July 2017, fever and sepsis developed in 3 recipients of solid organs (1 heart and 2 kidneys) from a common donor in the United States; 1 of the kidney recipients died. Tularemia was suspected only after blood cultures from the surviving kidney recipient grew Francisella species. The organ donor, a middle-aged man from the southwestern United States, had been hospitalized for acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome, pneumonia, and multiorgan failure. F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (clade A2) was cultured from archived spleen tissue from the donor and blood from both kidney recipients. Whole-genome multilocus sequence typing indicated that the isolated strains were indistinguishable. The heart recipient remained seronegative with negative blood cultures but had been receiving antimicrobial drugs for a medical device infection before transplant. Two lagomorph carcasses collected near the donor's residence were positive by PCR for F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (clade A2). This investigation documents F. tularensis transmission by solid organ transplantation

The relationship between surgical residents\u27 perception of leadership and patient safety culture

Introduction. Patient safety culture is the integration of interrelated practices that once developed is supported by both the culture and leadership of the organization (Sagan, 1993). The purpose of this study is to describe and examine the relationship between surgical residents’ perception of their leadership and the resulting organizational safety culture within their clinical setting. This assessment is important to understanding the extent that leadership style affects the perception of the safety culture.^ Methods. A secondary dataset was used which included data from 68 surgical residents from two survey instruments, Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ) and Patient Safety Climate In Healthcare Organizations (PSCHO) Survey. Multiple regressions followed by hierarchical regressions with the introduction of the Post Graduate Year (PGY) variable examined the association between the leadership styles, Transactional and Transformational and the organizational safety culture variables, Overall Emphasis on Safety, Senior management engagement, Organizational resources for safety. Independent t-tests were conducted to assess whether males and females differ among the organizational safety culture variables and either leadership style.^ Results. The surgical residents perceived their organizational leadership to have greater emphasis placed on transformational leadership culture style relative to transactional leadership culture style. The only significant association found was between Transformational leadership and Organizational resources for safety. PGY had no significant effect on the leadership or the safety culture perceived. No significant difference was found between females and males in regards to the safety culture or the leadership style.^ Discussion. These results have implications as they support the premise for the study which is surgical residents perceive their existing leadership and organizational culture to be more transformational in nature than transactional. Significance was found between the leadership perceived and one of the safety culture variables, Organizational resources for safety. The foundation for this association lies in the fact that surgical residents are the personnel which are a part of the organizational resources. Although PGY differentiation did not seem to play a difference in the leadership perceived this could be attributed to the small sample size. No gender difference were found which supports the assumption that within such a highly specialized group such as surgical residents there is no gender differences since the highly specialized field draws a certain type of person with distinct characteristics. In future research these survey tools can be used to gauge the survey audiences’ perception and safety interventions can be developed based on the results.

Investigation of donor-derived Strongyloides stercoralis infection in multiple solid organ transplant recipients-California, Michigan, Ohio, 2022

BACKGROUND: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led an investigation to determine if Strongyloides infection in a right kidney recipient was an existing chronic infection, or if the infection was transmitted from an infected organ donor. METHODS: Evidence regarding the organ donor and organ recipients Strongyloides testing, treatment, and risk factors were gathered and evaluated. The case classification algorithm created by the Disease Transmission Advisory Committee was utilized. RESULTS: The organ donor had risk factors for Strongyloides infection; the banked donor specimen, submitted for serology testing 112 days post-donor death, was positive. The right kidney recipient was negative for Strongyloides infection pretransplant. Strongyloides infection was diagnosed via small bowel and stomach biopsies. The left kidney recipient had risk factors for Strongyloides infection. Two posttransplant Strongyloides antibody tests were negative at 59 and 116 days posttransplant; repeat antibody tests returned positive at 158 and 190 days posttransplant. Examination of bronchial alveolar lavage fluid collected 110 days posttransplant from the heart recipient showed a parasite morphologically consistent with Strongyloides species. She subsequently developed complications from Strongyloides infection, including hyperinfection syndrome and disseminated strongyloidiasis. Based on the evidence from our investigation, donor-derived strongyloidiasis was suspected in one recipient and proven in two recipients. CONCLUSION: The results of this investigation support the importance of preventing donor-derived Strongyloides infections by laboratory-based serology testing of solid organ donors. Donor positive testing results would direct the monitoring and treatment of recipients to avoid severe complications

Fatal Invasive Mold Infections after Transplantation of Organs Recovered from Drowned Donors, United States, 2011–2021

Drowned organ donors can be exposed to environmental molds through the aspiration of water; transplantation of exposed organs can cause invasive mold infections in recipients. We describe 4 rapidly fatal cases of potentially donor-derived invasive mold infections in the United States, highlighting the importance of maintaining clinical suspicion for these infections in transplant recipients