Compassionate use of remdesivir in pregnancy: a case series

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an unprecedented global healthcare crisis. One special population that poses a challenge is pregnant women with COVID-19. However, there is limited data on treatment options for severe coronavirus disease in pregnancy. Remdesivir, an antiviral drug, is currently being studied as a potential treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia. Nevertheless, pregnant women are also being excluded from various clinical trials for the disease. There are some studies mentioned in the literature which have shown no adverse effects of remdesivir during pregnancy. In this study, we present four serial cases of COVID-19 in pregnant women with moderate to severe symptoms who were treated with remdesivir. All of the them showed positive fetal outcome without any birth defects or malformations. However, further studies are necessary to evaluate the biosafety and effects of remdesivir in pregnant women

Synthesis and evaluation of recently isolated immunologically active glycolipids

Invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT), a subclass of white blood cells, are responsible for the production of non-specific cytokines which induce a systemic uncontrolled immune response. They are distinctive in having a specific T-cell receptor that recognizes glycolipid antigens. The natural antigen was not identified until quite recently, when targets were isolated from S. pneumoniae. A bioactive fraction was identified from the extract: a disaccharide moiety attached to diacylglycerol (DAG). The glycolipid antigen reportedly activated iNKT cells. However, these tests were carried out using very small amounts of isolated glycolipids, and as a result it is impossible to determine whether the activity was due to this compound or to some minor impurity. There was also insufficient evidence to conclusively confirm the proposed structure of the glycolipid. Consequently, we recently synthesized the glycolipid to both confirm the structural assignment and to provide a useful chemical probe for immunologists. This presentation will discuss this S. pneumoniae glycolipid, its total synthesis, and our surprising re-evaluation of their immunological activity

Artemisin Combined Therapy in malaria patients: Do we need to search for more?

Introduction: Malaria is a vector borne disease highly prevalent in the topical developing countries. Two main species of plasmodium causing majority of diseases manifestations are P. Vivax and P. falciparum. The approach to antimalarial selection is determined based on the location of the patient. For treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, according to WHO guidelines first line therapy mainly includes Artemisin Combined Therapy. Concerns about the emergence of resistance to artemisin derivatives have increased recently. The main aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of using a combination of intravenous artesunate along with oral doxycycline, as a novel ACT for Malarial infections – falciparum vs. vivax. Methodology: Prospective observational study was carried out at V S General Hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. A full history of current illness was taken followed by examining the serial peripheral smear reports of the patients till the malarial parasites are not seen on two consecutive occasions. Samples were taken at least 6 hours apart by the capillary method and oral temperature was measured every 6 hours. We excluded other associated viral fevers such as dengue, pediatric age group (<12 years) and Co-Morbid illnesses like hepatic or renal dysfunction. Data analysis was done using SPSS software version 20. Results: Student t test showed that PCT was significantly more in falciparum (mean= 74.53 hours) patients as compared to vivax patients (mean= 51.89 hours). (p<0.001). Also duration of stay was significantly more in patients having falciparum (mean =3.63 days) as compared to patients having vivax (mean = 2.32 days) (p<0.001) Multivariate analysis by linear regression showed that species of the parasite was the most significant independent predictor (B=12.552) of the time to parasite clearance and other significant variable was Grade of parasitemia at 0 hour (B= 12.798). We also found that patients with residual parasitemia was 83.78 %, 40.54% and 10.81% in vivax group whereas it was 100%, 88.15% and 46.05% in falciparum respectively at 24, 48 and 72 hours. Conclusion: The study shows that PCT and residual parasitemia is very high in falciparum patients as compared to previous reports of different studies and also as compared to vivax group patients. ACT resistance is a grave concern for falciparum and more studies should be done to understand pathophysiology and its prevalence in India. We strongly suggest that a continues monitoring needs to be implemented in health policy to understand the dynamicity of emerging resistanc

Socio-demographic, Epidemiological and Environmental Determinants of Acute Gastroenteritis in Western India

Introduction: An outbreak of acute gastroenteritis had occurred in Rajpara village of Bhavnagar district. The objective of this study was to find out the socio-demographic, epidemiological and environmental determinants of this outbreak. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Rajpara village among 238 cases of acute gastroenteritis and an equal number of controls in January 2015. Multiple logistic regression was used for identifying the variables independently predicting acute gastroenteritis. Results: Upper socio-economic status, occupation requiring travel outside village, source of drinking water from well of ‘new’ Rajpara village, change in taste of water, use of chlorine tablets, travel outside village in last week, another family member affected with acute gastroenteritis, using common utensil for hand washing, hand washing before eating, ate food from outside in last week, having sanitary latrine at house, waste disposal in a common dump (instead of at house), waste accumulation around house and flies inside house were significantly associated with occurrence of acute gastroenteritis. On multiple logistic regression, change in taste of water (P<0.001), waste disposal in a common dump (P=0.012), another family member been affected (P<0.001), waste accumulation around house (P<0.001), higher socio-economic status (P=0.002) and eating outside food (P=0.011) made a significant contribution to prediction. Conclusions: Socio-demographic factors (higher socio-economic status), epidemiological correlates (change in taste of water, another family member been affected with acute gastroenteritis and eating outside food) and environmental determinants (waste disposal in a common dump and waste accumulation around house) significantly determines the occurrence of cases of acute gastroenteritis. Keywords: case-control studies;diarrhea; epidemiologic determinants; gastroenteritis; social determinants of health. | PubMe