Study of the prescription pattern of anti-depressants in a tertiary care hospital: a prospective observational study

Background: One of the most important public health priorities are psychiatric disorders. Prescribing medications play a crucial role in providing good health care. Therefore, there is a need to understand prescription patterns at regular intervals. Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study conducted at the psychiatry department OPD of Government Medical College, Aurangabad (Maharashtra, India) from January 2021 to June 2022. Records of prescriptions were collected from the hospital management information system. Results: N=417 prescriptions were analysed. The male: female ratio was 1.25. Among total prescriptions analysed, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were the most prescribed drug class (32.18%) followed by benzodiazepines (25.19%) and atypical antipsychotics (19.97%). Drugs prescribed as fixed dose combinations (FDC) were 2.10%. Most of the patients received polytherapy in which most patients constituted of two drug therapy (46.28%) and 34.53% of patients received monotherapy. In the patients managed by monotherapy, SSRIs were the most prescribed (29.16%), followed by atypical anti-psychotics (26.38%) and benzodiazepines (24.30%). Prescriptions with generic names were 93.12%. The average number of drugs per encounter was 1.88. Drugs prescribed from the essential drugs list (India) were 41.66%. Drugs prescribed from the essential medicines list (WHO) were 47%. The total number of prescriptions with injections 0.23%. Conclusions: Prescribing patterns were according to the WHO-DUS parameters. Most patients were prescribed generic medicines. SSRIs, benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants were the most prescribed drug class

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MOCHARASA SIDDHATAIL AND MAHAMASHA TAIL NASYA IN VISHVACHI

AIM: A comparative study of Mocharasa siddhatail and Mahamasha tail Nasya in Vishvachi.Objective: To study the efficacy of Mocharasa Taila Nasya in Vishvachi, compare effect of Mocharasa Taila with Mahamasha Taila, and to Study Literary explanation of Vishvachi Vyadhi.Method: Randomized single blind comparative clinical trial on 40 patients having Vishvachi and were selected for the study randomly. 20 patients were selected and treated as study group A with Mocharasa Taila for 14 days and 20 patients were selected and treated as group B with Mahamasha taila.Mocharasa taila: Authentication of Mocharasa was done in department of botany at Pune University. Standardisation of Mocharasa taila was done in Department of Rasa shastra Bhaishajakalpana vigyan at Bharati Ayurved College. Mahamasha Taila is prepared from Shankar pharmacy (GMP certify no.GA/1153 Government of Gujarat drug control administration) according to Bhaishjya Ratnavali.Follow up: 0th, 7th, 14th, 15th day.Duration: Total duration study was 14 days. This study was carried out in Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University College of Ayurved & Hospital Pune in Year 2010 and 2011.Results: Comparing Mocharasa taila and Mahamasha taila Nasya and are equally effective in Vishvachi.Statistical Analysis: Statistical analysis shows that Mocharasa taila and Mahamasha taila are equally effective in symptoms such as Bahu Shoola, Bahu badhirya & Bahu chesta apaharana.Conclusion: Mocharasa taila and Mahamasha taila Nasya is equally effective in Vishavchi

Healthy mind and conceiving (Saumansya Garbhajananam) - A Critical Analysation with Ayurvedic prospective.

Soumanasya Garbhjananam (piece of mind) causes production of Garbha. As per Acharya Charaka’s guideline, this is a one type of Adravya Chikitsa not mere the placebo effect in the current era as many gynecologists also opine the same aspect with Charaka by means not having any deformity relates to male/female infertility. Thus the topic has keenly reviewed with other substantial approaches to prove the concept of Soumanasya Garbhajananam. The legacy of Charaka has been interpreted with special reference to Shareera Sthana of Charaka Samhita as well as Yonivyapat in Chikitsa Sthana. To evaluate this concept on the basic principle of Karyakarana Siddhant Vada has been enumerated on the parallel lines of current sexual enjoyment era. Day today practice it is also evident the concept of Soumanasya Garbhajananam. It is a matter of further research to calibrate the Soumanasya Bhava which it differs from individual to individual

Propellant Grade Hydrazine in Mono/Bi-propellant Thrusters: Preparation and Performance Evaluation

Propellant grade hydrazine was prepared with 64 per cent yield and 95.5 per cent purity. Purity of the propellant grade hydrazine was determined using wet chemical, gas chromatographic (GC) and eudiometric methods. It was observed that the compositions containing blends of hydrazine-methyl alcohol-ammonium nitrate and hydrazine-methyl alcohol-ammonium perchlorate were not found to be frozen even after cooling to -65 °C for 30 minutes. Mono and bi-propellant thrusters were designed and developed to demonstrate the performance of prepared propellant grade hydrazine as a promising rocket fuel. Five static tests with 22 N thruster and one static test with 1 N thruster were performed successfully in mono-propellant mode. The hurdles of chamber pressure oscillations were overcome by compact packing of the catalyst. The desired decomposition and chamber pressure were achieved. One static test was performed successfully with 60 N bi-propellant thruster. The desired chamber pressure and thrust were achieved. The combustion was smooth and C* achieved was higher than that of UH-25, N2O4 combination. The performance of prepared propellant grade hydrazine shows it as a promising rocket fuels.Defence Science Journal, Vol. 65, No. 1, January 2015, pp.31-38, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.65.798

Bovine rotavirus pentavalent vaccine development in India

AbstractA bovine rotavirus pentavalent vaccine (BRV-PV) containing rotavirus human-bovine (UK) reassortant strains of serotype G1, G2, G3, G4 and G9 has been developed by the Serum Institute of India Ltd, in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), USA. The vaccine underwent animal toxicity studies and Phase I and II studies in adults, toddlers and infants. It has been found safe and immunogenic and will undergo a large Phase III study to assess efficacy against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis

Clinico-social parameters of diabetes among patientsutilizing emergency medical services

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing in its potential in developing countries. Rise in diabetic patients calling emergency medical services (EMS) is expected. It calls for thorough assessment of patients with DM utilizing EMS. In the present study, was to assess magnitude of DM among patients utilizing EMS and its clinico-social parameters.Methods: It was hospital record based observational study of patients calling EMS delivered by a tertiary care hospital in Pune, Maharashtra, India during 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2014. Patients with incomplete records were excluded. A person with medical background was trained to extract required information from hospital records. Patients with previously diagnosed DM were considered those who were on diet, oral hypoglycemic agents or taking insulin therapy and newly diagnosed patients with DM were considered those with the value of glycemia on admission >200 mg/dl in first 24 hours. Data analysis was done using SPSS 15.0 software.Results: 45.8% (894/1951) were Patients with DM out of that 78.19% (699/894) were known to have DM while 28.81% (195/1951) were new cases of DM. 5.1% (100/1951) patients had uncontrolled DM. DM was significantly more in >60 years age group and in urban residents (p<0.001). Patients with DM were significantly more to have breathlessness, altered sensorium and dyspnoea as major purpose to call EMS (p<0.001, <0.001 and 0.045 respectively). Other co-morbidities in the form of Hypertension, other cardiovascular abnormalities, COPD, CKD and history of CVA were significantly more among Patients with DM (p<0.001, except for COPD, p=0.027).Conclusions: There was a high burden of patients with DM on EMS. EMS teams should be well trained to diagnose and manage such emergencies. Mass awareness of screening for DM and its proper management will help to decrease such burden

Exploring unusual metastasis in carcinoma breast: Divulging vulval metastasis

Regional lymph nodes, bones, brain, lung, and liver are the most common sites of the breast carcinoma metastases. Nodular or&nbsp;ulcerated lesions over the vulva are ignored for a long time as benign lesions by the patient and there is a lot of hesitance to undergo&nbsp;the examination. Here, we report the case of a 41-year-old female with an isolated, asymptomatic vulval metastasis of Invasive ductal&nbsp;carcinoma of the breast. The purpose of reporting this case is to make the clinicians aware of this rare site of metastasis of breast&nbsp;cancer and the importance of pelvic examination in follow-up patients

Safety Monitoring in Group A Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine Trials: Description, Challenges, and Lessons

Background. The determination of the safety profile of any vaccine is critical to its widespread use in any population. In addition, the application of international guidelines to fit local context could be a challenging but important step toward obtaining quality safety data. Methods. In clinical studies of PsA-TT (MenAfriVac), safety was monitored immediately after vaccination, at 4-7 days for postimmunization local and systemic reactions, within 28 days for adverse events, and throughout the duration of study for serious adverse events. Initial and ongoing training of sites' staff were undertaken during the studies, and a data and safety monitoring board reviewed all the data during and after the studies. Results. The safety of PsA-TT was evaluated according to international standards despite obvious challenges in remote areas where these studies were conducted. These challenges included the need for uniformity of methods, timely reporting in the context of frequent communication problems, occurrence of seasonal diseases such as malaria and rotavirus diarrhea, and healthcare systems that required improvement. Conclusions. The trials of PsA-TT highlighted the value of a robust vaccine development plan and design so that lessons learned in initial studies were incorporated into the subsequent ones, initial training and periodic retraining, strict monitoring of all procedures, and continuous channel of communication with all stakeholders that enabled the application of international requirements to local settings, with high quality of dat

A Phase 3, Double-Blind, Randomized, Active Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety of MenAfriVac in Healthy Malians

Background. A safe, affordable, and highly immunogenic meningococcal A conjugate vaccine (PsA-TT, MenAfriVac) was developed to control epidemic group A meningitis in Africa. Documentation of the safety specifications of the PsA-TT vaccine was warranted, with sufficient exposure to detect potential rare vaccine-related adverse reactions. Methods. This phase 3, double-blind, randomized, active controlled clinical study was designed to evaluate the safety—primarily vaccine-related serious adverse events (SAEs)—up to 3 months after administration of a single dose of the PsA-TT vaccine to subjects aged 1-29 years in Mali. Safety outcomes were also compared to those following a single dose of a licensed meningococcal ACWY polysaccharide vaccine (PsACWY). Results. No vaccine-related SAEs occurred during the 3 months of follow-up of 4004 subjects vaccinated with a single dose of PsA-TT. When compared to PsACWY (1996 subjects), tenderness at the injection site appeared to be more frequent in the PsA-TT group. However, rates of local induration, systemic reactions, adverse events (AEs), and SAEs were similar in both groups, and unsolicited AEs and SAEs were all unrelated to the study vaccines. Conclusions. The study confirmed on a large scale the excellent safety profile of a single dose of PsA-TT when administered to its entire target population of 1-29 years of age. Clinical Trials Registration. PACTR ATMR20100300019131