Study of Demographic Profile, Comorbidities, Role of Hydroxychloroquine Prophylaxis and Outcomes of COVID-19 Positive Healthcare Workers at a Tertiary Care Center in Southern Rajasthan

Background: In December 2019, a new respiratory tract infecting agent emerged in Wuhan city of China, known as the coronavirus. There are limited studies regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in healthcare workers (HCWs). Therefore, the present study was aimed to determine the demographic profile, comorbidities, hydroxychloroquine as prophylaxis and outcomes of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed COVID-19 HCWs.Material and methods: This study was an observational retrospective study carried out over a period of 10 months from 15th March, 2020 to 15th January, 2021 in 350 RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 HCWs who were in home isolation or admitted in dedicated COVID hospital. Results: We observed that majority of HCWs were in the age group 20-39 years (66.58%), were males (69.14%) and from urban areas (72.86%). Only few had comorbidities (3.42%), took hydroxychloroquine as prophylaxis (5.71%) and mortality was 0.57%. About 46.29% of the HCWs were doctors and 28.40% of the doctors werefrom Medicine. Conclusion: From the present study, we conclude that HCWs affected by COVID-19 are mainly young adult male physicians from urban areas, without significant comorbidities. The outcome in COVID-19 positive HCWs is favorable due to better awareness, prompt diagnosis and treatment. The results of this study will be useful in knowing the most vulnerable section of HCWs

Mirizzi Syndrome: A Rare Cause of Obstructive Jaundice

Mirizzi syndrome was first described by Pablo Luis Mirrizi. The incidence of this syndrome ranges from 0.05% to 4%. Thisrare condition is caused by the obstruction of common hepatic duct or common bile duct due to compression caused byseveral impacted stones or a single large impacted gallstone in Hartmann’s pouch. The clinical presentations may vary fromno symptoms to severe cholangitis. It is a rare cause of obstructive jaundice and hence we are reporting a case to emphasizethat while evaluating a case of obstructive jaundice, one must consider Mirizzi syndrome as a differential diagnosis

Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Introduction: Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is an inflammatory encephalopathy characterized by progressive refractory focal seizures, cognitive deterioration and focal neurological deficit that occur with gradual atrophy of one brain hemisphere. Case presentation: We report a case of an 18-year-old male with a history of abnormal body movements involving the right half of the body without loss of consciousness for the last 15 years. Noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) head and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed hemiatrophy of the left cerebral hemisphere. Conclusion: RE is a rare disease; hence, diagnosing and managing such patients may be challenging. Our aim is to draw attention of the treating physicians towards this disease with the help of this case report

A rare case of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis with bone marrow involvement in an immunocompetent patient

Histoplasmosis is a rare entity in India and very few cases have been reported from eastern region of India like West Bengal and rarely cases from southern India as well. We hereby report a case of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis (PDH) from a non-endemic region of India (Eastern Utter Pradesh) and that too in an immunocompetent individual.

A case of rocky mountain spotted fever without eschar as a cause of pyrexia with multiple organ failure

Rocky mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a rickettsia disease frequently reported from North America and Europe and transmitted by tick bite. This disease is very rare in India and other parts of South East Asia. Fever with rash and thrombocytopenia are the hallmark clinical presentations of viral hemorrhagic fever but other diseases like malaria, typhoid, Leptospira and rickettsia diseases should also be considered in differential diagnosis. Knowledge of geographical distribution, evidence of exposure to the vector and a high degree of clinical suspicion of rickettsia diseases are very important for early differentiation from other diseases to prevent lethal complications and institute initial treatment. We report a rare case of rocky mountain spotted fever (RMSF) from New Delhi, which was confirmed by specific indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIF).

A Study of Erectile Dysfunction in Male Diabetes Patients and its Correlation with Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio

Introduction: Erectile dysfunction (ED) constitutes a large burden on society given its high prevalence and impact on quality of life. Diabetes is a common cause of organic ED. Prevalence of ED in diabetes ranges from 35% to 85% depending on the study, versus 26% in general population. Platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has been detected as an important marker for inflammation. Some studies have identified its role in ED but more research is needed. Material and methods: It was a hospital-based prospective observational study. According to International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)-5 questionnaire, patients were divided into 4 categories: mild ED with score 17 to 21, mild-to-moderate ED with score 12 to 16, moderate ED with score 8 to 11 and severe ED with score 1 to 7. Presence of ED and its severity was correlated with age, residence, duration of diabetes, glycemic status, lipid profile, PLR, complications, body mass index (BMI), etc. Results: Prevalence of ED in male diabetes patients was found to be 72.4%. Among 110 cases with ED, 8 had mild ED (7.2%), 27 had mild-to-moderate (24.5%), 27 had moderate ED (24.5%) and 48 had severe ED (43.6%). Prevalence of ED was found to be proportional to age. Majority of cases in ED group were those with long-standing diabetes. Correlation of ED with complication of diabetes, like nephropathy and retinopathy, was significant, whereas it was not significant with neuropathy. Significant correlation of ED was found with BMI and PLR. Conclusion: ED prevalence was high among the diabetes patients and it increased with age and duration of the disease. Presence of diabetic complications was significantly associated with ED. BMI was significantly associated with development of ED. PLR was significantly higher in ED group and closely related to severity of ED