Role of antenatal care in reducing incidence of eclampsia in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: Eclampsia is characterized by sudden onset of generalized tonic-clonic convulsions or coma in pregnancy or postpartum. It is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. This study was conducted to determine the incidence of eclampsia and role of antenatal care in reducing the incidence.Methods: This was a prospective study (July 2015-June 2016) conducted in labour room of department of obstetrics and Gynecology, BRD Medical college, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. A total no. of 141 women presenting with eclampsia were included in the study. Risk factors like antenatal care and sociodemographic status were studied for their role in increased incidence of eclampsia.Results: There were 141 eclampsia cases out of 3536 deliveries, during the study period. The incidence of eclampsia was found to be 4%. Out of 141 eclampsia cases 35.5% did not receive any antenatal care. 56.7% received substandard care in less than 4 antenatal visits. Out of those who received antenatal care (91/141), 67% received irregular, substandard care in primary health centre of their locality. Majority of eclampsia cases were between 16-25 years of age (85.1%) and were primigravida (62.4%). Majority of eclampsia cases were uneducated (89.4%), of lower socioeconomic status (71.4%) and belonged to rural area (67.4%).Conclusions: High incidence of eclampsia in B.R.D. Medical College reflects the status of eclampsia in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. To prevent eclampsia our health care centres should be strengthened by well trained medical officers, other health care workers and adequate antenatal care facilities

Elusive empowerment: characteristics of indirectly elected women chairpersons of district councils in Uttar Pradesh, India

The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India was introduced with a stated legislative intent of reserving not less than a third of seats for women in institutions of local self-government, the three-tier panchayati raj institutions. That amendment is considered a milestone in India’s project of empowerment of women. This paper evaluates the power and prestige of the post of an adhyaksha (chairperson) of a zila (district) panchayat (council) in general, and in particular the status of women elected to the post during 2016 in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Analysing the candidature, electoral success, electoral practices and subsequent functioning of zila panchayat adhyakshas (ZPAs), the authors argue that despite seats being reserved for women, no meaningful political empowerment of women has occurred in UP. The paper questions the efficacy of the indirect mode of election of ZPAs in bringing about empowerment of women, arguing that indirect elections enable powerful ruling elites to use women as proxies, subverting the legislative intent of the 73rd Amendment. The paper therefore proposes electoral reforms

ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH FIRST-LINE ANTI TUBERCULAR DRUGS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF CENTRAL INDIA: A STUDY OF CLINICAL PRESENTATIONS, CAUSALITY, AND SEVERITY

  Objective: The objective was to study the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with first-line anti-tubercular drugs for clinical presentations, causality, and severity.Methods: A retrospective study was undertaken in a 750 bedded tertiary care teaching hospital of central India for the duration of 1 year (May 2013‑May 2014). Patients diagnosed with tuberculosis and under treatment with the first-line anti-tubercular drugs were study subjects. Causality, preventability, and severity were analyzed and other parameters such as male to female ratio, most affected system, most common class of drug, and common types of ADRs, were studied.Results: Nearly 118 patients were started on anti-tubercular treatment of first-line drugs in the study duration. Out of these 45 patients suffered one or more ADRs with a total number of reported ADRs being 91. 57.77% were males. Maximum patients belonged to the age group of 31-40 years (26.66%). The most commonly involved system was hepatic and biliary system (53.33%) followed by gastrointestinal system (51.11%), the most common ADR observed was disturbed liver transaminases (33.33%) followed by nausea and vomiting (28.88%). Causality assessment by Naranjo's scale showed 58.2% ADRs scoring probable, 31.86% were of possible score, whereas 9.8% definite score category. Severity assessment shows 68.88% cases of mild grading, 31.11% of moderate and no case of severe grading was reported in the study duration.Conclusions: Vigilance regarding these ADRs occurrences can result in early diagnosis and thus, proper management can be instituted earliest. This will build confidence of patients and will decrease the dropouts which in turn can result in decrease chances of developing drug-resistant strains.Keywords: Adverse drug reactions, Multidrug resistant tuberculosis, Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, Causality, Naranjo's algorith

Struma Ovarii with Pseudo-Meigs’ Syndrome and Raised Cancer Antigen-125 Levels Masquerading as an Ovarian Carcinoma : Case report and literature review

The monodermal teratoma struma ovarii is a rare ovarian tumour; however, struma ovarii presenting with pseudo-Meigs’ syndrome and raised cancer antigen (CA)-125 levels is even rarer. In elderly patients, this presentation can potentially lead to a misdiagnosis of a malignant ovarian carcinoma, resulting in unnecessary extensive surgery. We report a 55-year-old female who presented to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, New Delhi, India, in 2016 with progressive abdominal discomfort, fatigue and abdominal distention. Clinical and radiological features were indicative of a malignant ovarian tumour and ascites. Serum CA-125 levels were elevated at 258 U/mL. A left-sided salpingo-oophorectomy was performed, after which the serum CA-125 levels normalised. There was no evidence of recurrence at a six-month follow-up. A frozen section procedure confirmed the diagnosis of a struma ovarii. This rare condition should be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients presenting with ovarian masses, ascites and raised CA-125 levels

Study of vitamin D level in patients with different etiologies of chronic liver disease and its correlation with Child Pugh class in a tertiary care centre in North India

Background: Skeletal manifestation in liver diseases represents the minimally scrutinized part of the disease spectrum. Vitamin D has a central role in developing hepatic deficiency of osteodystrophy in patients with chronic liver disease. This study aimed to investigate vitamin D levels and their and their relationship with disease advancement in these patients according to child Pugh-score. Aims and Objectives were study of vitamin D level in patients with different aetiology of chronic liver disease and its correlation with child Pugh score. Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted over 200 patients after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria in patients with different etiology of chronic liver disease. Results: In our study total (N=200), 152 patients of alcoholic liver disease 41 patients having deficient vitamin D, 79 having insufficient vitamin D level and 32 patients having normal vitamin D level. Patients of chronic liver disease also have negative correlation on vitamin D level with Child Pugh score. In our study it was found that patients having higher Child Pugh score there is more chance of having vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency than the patient’s low Child Pugh score. Conclusions: The prevalence of vitamin d deficiency in patients with CLD was found to be having a significant correlation with increasing CTP score with p value <0.001

Dodatak supranutritivnih doza cinkova sulfata i bakterija Bacillus firmus ubijenih toplinom u obrok rano odbijenih svinja: utjecaj na rast, funkciju neutrofila i upalne citokine

The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of supplementation of a supranutritional dose of zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and Bacillus firmus derived bio-response modifier (BRM) on growth, blood neutrophil functions, pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine responses in early weanling piglets. In total, 45 piglets (age of 19.25 ± 0.84 days) were randomly divided into five groups: I (basal diet only), II (basal diet supplemented with ZnSO4), III (basal diet supplemented with BRM), IV (basal diet supplemented with ZnSO4 plus BRM) and V (basal diet without weaning from dam). The production of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and superoxide anion (O2-), and the concentration of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were markedly reduced, whereas the concentrations of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM1), and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP1) were significantly (P0.05) but a marked increase (P0,05), ali kod prasadi iz skupine II. i III. je 14. i 7. dana opaženo znakovito povišenje (P<0,05) ICAM1, MCP1, te sniženje koncentracije TGF-β1. U prasadi iz skupine IV dodavanje BRM i ZnSO4 u osnovnom obroku poboljšalo je MPO (2. dan) i O2- (7. dan), bez znakovitih promjena u rastu i koncentraciji citokina. Na kraju, zaključeno je da dodavanje kombinacije BRM i ZnSO4 u obroku potiče urođenu imunost prasadi što nije slučaj kada se ZnSO4 ili BRM dodaju zasebno. Rezultati ovog istraživanja pomoći će u formuliranju učinkovitog upravljanja hranidbom kod rano odbijene prasadi u krdu svinja

Resealed Erythrocyte: an Approach to Targeted Drug Delivery

Application of erythrocytes, the most abundant cells of the human body with desirable physiologic and morphologic characteristics, in drug delivery has been exploited extensively. Among the various carriers used for targeting drugs to various body tissues, the cellular carriers meet several criteria desirable in clinical applications, among the most important being biocompatibility of carrier and its degradation products. Leucocytes, platelets, erythrocytes, nanoerythrocytes, hepatocytes, and fibroblasts etc. have been proposed as cellular carrier systems. Among these, the erythrocytes have been the most investigated and have found to possess greater potential in drug delivery. Biopharmaceuticals, therapeutically significant peptides and proteins, nucleic acid-based biological, antigens, anticancer drug and vaccines, are among the recently focused pharmaceuticals for being delivered using carrier erythrocytes. Erythrocytes, also known as red blood cells, and have been extensively studied for their potential carrier capabilities for the delivery of drugs. The biocompatibility, non-pathogenicity, non-immunogenicity and biodegradability make them unique and useful carriers

A brief study on Strebulus Asper L. -A Review

Streblus asper L. is a small tree found in tropical countries, such as India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand belonging to family moraceae. Various parts of this plant are used in Ayurveda and other folk medicines for the treatment of different ailments such as filariasis, leprosy, toothache, diarrhea, dysentery and cancer. Research carried out using different in vitro and in vivo techniques of biological evaluation support most of these claims. This review presents the botany, chemistry, traditional uses and pharmacology of this medicinal plant

Current Pattern of Use of Irrational Fixed Dose Combinations: A Prescription Audit Study

ABSTRACT Despite of provision of toolkit by WHO expert committee for identification of Irrational Fixed Dose Combianations (IFDCs) and though number of measures are taken to weed out the menace of IFDCs, it hasn&apos;t been possible to completely stop their marketing . The present study is intended to document the prevailing pattern of use of IFDCs and discuss the probable measures that can be taken to curtail their use. To know the overall pattern of prescribing IFDCs by prescription audit. To know the percentage of total number of prescribed drugs prescribed as IFDCs, most commonly prescribed IFDCs and most commonly prescribed Irrational Antimicrobial combinations. Prescriptions copied and audited between 1 st August 2011 to 31 st August 2011. The results were analysed by using descriptive statistics. Out of total prescriptions 22% of prescriptions contained at least one IFDC .Out of this, 3% of prescriptions contained ≥2 IFDCs. 10.5% of all the brand names prescribed contained some IFDC. 26% of all the prescribed IFDCs were Irrational antibiotic combination. Most commonly prescribed IFDCs were multivitamin combinations, and 2 nd most common were antipyretic-antiinflammatory combination. While the most commonly prescribed antimicrobial combination was antiprotozoal-antibacterial