PROFILE OF RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS IN PATIENTS PRESENTING TO A REFERRAL PULMONARY CLINIC

Analysis of OPD data of 2012 patients in a referral pulmonary clinic at Kolkata was done following a protocol-based approach. Obstructive airway diseases (COPD and asthma) were the most common (43%) problem followed by infective lung diseases (15%) including tuberculosis, bronchogenic carcinoma (8%), ILD (4%), haemopty-sis of undiagnosed etiology (4.5%), chronic cough of undiagnosed etiology (6.5%) and pleural diseases (4.6%). Other diseases like obstructive sleep apnoea, sarcoid-osis, systemic diseases with lung involvements etc., and non respiratory problems formed the rest (14.4%)

The role of long-term doxycycline in patients of idiopathic pulmonaryfibrosis: The results of an open prospective trial

Objective: To evaluate the effect of long term use of doxycycline in IPF patients. Materials and Methods: Patients of IPF, selected randomly from out patient services and diagnosed on the basis of HRCT chest, were put on doxycycline in an open prospective trial. They were followed up with monitoring of subjective well being along with measurement of pulse rate and arterial oxygen saturation at rest and after a fixed and certain exercise, forced vital capacity, six minutes walk test, St Georges Respiratory questionnaire, and serial chest X-rays. Results: Out of seven patients put on doxycycline, six of them continued the drug for a mean period of 531.43 (± 328.88 days). All the patients tolerated the drug well and had shown uniform subjective and overall objective improvement in all the parameters concerned; the change in the radiological parameter being statistically significant. Conclusion: Doxycycline merits an appropriate clinical trial in the management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This widely used and relatively safe drug can add a new dimension to the therapeutic regimen. However, further in-depth studies will be required to evaluate its role in the management of IPF

The role of long-term doxycycline in patients of idiopathic pulmonaryfibrosis: The results of an open prospective trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of long term use of doxycycline in IPF patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients of IPF, selected randomly from out patient services and diagnosed on the basis of HRCT chest, were put on doxycycline in an open prospective trial. They were followed up with monitoring of subjective well being along with measurement of pulse rate and arterial oxygen saturation at rest and after a fixed and certain exercise, forced vital capacity, six minutes walk test, St Georges Respiratory questionnaire, and serial chest X-rays. RESULTS: Out of seven patients put on doxycycline, six of them continued the drug for a mean period of 531.43 (± 328.88 days). All the patients tolerated the drug well and had shown uniform subjective and overall objective improvement in all the parameters concerned; the change in the radiological parameter being statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Doxycycline merits an appropriate clinical trial in the management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This widely used and relatively safe drug can add a new dimension to the therapeutic regimen. However, further in-depth studies will be required to evaluate its role in the management of IPF

Prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Background: Reduction of bone mineral density (BMD) is a known and established phenomenon in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there have been no data regarding osteoporosis/osteopenia in COPD patients in India. Aim: To look for the degree and frequency of osteoporosis/osteopenia in our OPD patients being diagnosed as COPD. Materials and Methods: Thirty-seven randomly selected patients with COPD were assessed for BMD with commercially available ultrasound bone densitometer (HOLOGIC SAHARA) in a pulmonary OPD. Some cofactors for reduced BMD were also noted. Results: Out of the 37 COPD (all belonging to the GOLD III/IV category) patients studied, the BMD was found to be normal in 10 (27%) patients, while 27 (73%) patients were found to have osteopenia/osteoporosis [19 (51.35%) and 8 (21.62%) patients having osteopenia and osteoporosis, respectively]. Conclusion: Frequency of osteoporosis and osteopenia was found to be very high (73%) in our population of advanced COPD. The data suggest a need for further in-depth study regarding the issue

Treatment of asthma: Identification of the practice behavior and the deviation from the guideline recommendations

<b>Background:</b> Despite an exponential development of the understanding of the disease with availability of good therapy and feasibility of good control along with availability of globally accepted guidelines, there remains a significant gap between the guidelines and prevailing practice behavior for treating asthma all over the globe. This perhaps stands as the single most deterrent factor for good asthma care worldwide. The objective of the study is to analyze the asthma prescriptions to find out the available status of the practice behaviour and the deviations from the guideline in asthma practice. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> The asthma prescriptions of the referred patients presenting to the OPD services of the IPCR, Kolkata were photocopied and collected. They were further analyzed based on the available information upon a format being prepared on four major areas as qualifications, clinical recording habit, practice of evaluating patients, and treatment habit that stands apparent from the prescribed medications. The doctors were divided into three categories as a) MBBS, b) MD/DNB (medicine and respiratory medicine), and c) DM (non respiratory sub-specialities) and statistical analysis has been performed comparing the three groups as per the performance in the four pre-decided areas. <b>Results:</b> All the groups fall short of any guideline or text of asthma care in all the areas involved. <b>Conclusion:</b> The practice behaviour of our doctors for asthma care appears deficient in several areas and seems far from guideline recommendations. This needs further evaluation and adoption of appropriate interventions

Abstracts of 1st International Conference on Machine Intelligence and System Sciences

This book contains the abstracts of the papers presented at the International Conference on Machine Intelligence and System Sciences (MISS-2021) Organized by the Techno College of Engineering, Agartala, Tripura, India &amp; Tongmyong University, Busan, South Korea, held on 1–2 November 2021. This conference was intended to enable researchers to build connections between different digital technologies based on Machine Intelligence, Image Processing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Conference Title: 1st International Conference on Machine Intelligence and System SciencesConference Acronym: MISS-2021Conference Date: 1–2 November 2021Conference Location: Techno College of Engineering Agartala, Tripura(w), IndiaConference Organizer: Techno College of Engineering, Agartala, Tripura, India &amp; Tongmyong University, Busan, South Korea