Seroprevalence of hepatitis B antigenemia among dental students in a private South Indian dental institution

Background: Hepatitis B is the most important infectious occupational disease for the dental health care workers (DHCWs). DHCWs frequently come in contact with blood and saliva and hence are at risk for Hepatitis B virus (HBV) exposure. Studies indicate that DHCWs, through occupational exposure, may have a 10 times greater risk of becoming a chronic hepatitis B carrier than the average citizen.The study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of HBV infection among dental students enrolled at a private dental institution in Mysuru, Karnataka, India.Methods: A cross sectional seroprevalencestudy was conducted which included dental students who were enrolled in the dental institution. Data were collected by administering a standard questionnaire to every student regarding their personal health information. Their blood samples were collected and tested by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Hepatitis B surface antigen.Results: 352 dental students who gave consent were screened out of a total of 453 dental students. Out of 352 students, 163 (46%) were vaccinated and 189 (54%) were non-vaccinated. All the dental students were found to be seronegative for HBV infection.Conclusions: Though a low rate of HBV infection was observed among dental students, a significant number of dental students were non-vaccinated which suggests a need for proactive implementation of HBV vaccination programme.

A comparative study of maternal and fetal outcome in trial of labour after caesarean delivery and elective repeat caesarean delivery

Background: Globally, high rates of caesarean section (CS) are an issue of public health concern. For women who have had a previous caesarean, choices for mode of birth in their next pregnancy are either a trial of vaginal birth after caesarean (TOLAC) or an elective repeat caesarean delivery (ERCD). Both ERCD and TOLAC have benefits and risks associated.Methods: A prospective comparative study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at SDM college of medical science and hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India. The study included 80 women with one previous lower segment caesarean section over a period of 1 year. A 40 women underwent TOLAC and 40 women had a repeat caesarean section. The maternal and fetal outcomes in trial of labour after caesarean delivery and repeat caesarean delivery were compared.Results: In this study maternal morbidity was more common in ERCD group than in the TOLAC group. Neonatal outcome was the same in both the study groups. Conclusions: In our study the TOLAC success rate was 70-80%, pregnant woman with one previous lower segment Caesarean section should be given the option of TOLAC, unless contraindicated.

Emergency obstetric hysterectomy: a lifesaving procedure

Background: Emergency Obstetric Hysterectomy (EOH) is removal of uterus following vaginal delivery, Emergency LSCS or within the puerperium period. Because of increasing caesarean deliveries, the number of scarred uterus is increasing exposing the gravid women to increasing morbidity from uterine rupture, placenta accrete and placenta previa thus increasing the incidence of Emergency obstetric hysterectomy. The aim was to determine the incidence, demographic details, high risk factors and fetomaternal outcome of patients who underwent EOH.Methods: This was a retrospective study where data was collected from the record sheets of patients who underwent Emergency Obstetric Hysterectomy from January 2016 to December 2017 in the department of OBG, GIMS Gulbarga. Maternal age, parity, socioeconomic status, antenatal care, high risk factors and fetomaternal outcome were analysed.Results: During the study period there were 17,820 deliveries out of which 20 cases underwent EOH giving an incidence of 0.12%. Most of patients were uneducated, unbooked, low SES and of rural background and were multiparous. Main cause for EOH were rupture uterus, PPH and morbidly adherent placenta. There were 2 cases of maternal mortality and fetal mortality was 65%.Conclusions: Though EOH is a lifesaving procedure it curtails the reproductive capacity of the women. Proper antenatal care, early referral, timely decision and skill of surgeon in performing this procedure is important

Hyperandrogenism-insulin resistance-acanthosis nigricans syndrome with PCOS and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: case report

Female hyperandrogenism is a frequent motive of consultation. It is revealed by hirsutism, acne or seborrhea, and disorders in menstruation cycle combined or not with virilisation signs. Several etiologies are incriminated but the hyperandrogenism-insulin resistance-acanthosis nigricans syndrome is rare. A 21-year female, having had a three-year-old secondary amenorrhea, known case of hypothyroidism since 4 years on medication. The exam revealed a patient, hypertensive with blood pressure at 170/110 mmHg with a Body Mass Index (BMI) at 40.08 (Obese Class-3, as per WHO 2004) and a waist measurement of 106cm, a severe hirsutism assessed to be 27 according to Ferriman and Gallwey scale, acanthosis nigricans behind the neck and elbows. The assessment carried out revealed testosteronemia at 1.07 ng/mL, which is more than twice the upper normal of the laboratory. Imaging studies revealed enlarged right adrenal gland, hepatomegaly with fatty infiltration of grade-1 also bilateral polycystic ovaries. The retained diagnosis is HAIR-AN syndrome with polycystic ovaries, hypertension, type-II diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism since last 4-years and dyslipidemia and was provided with metformin 500 mg thrice daily, spironolactone 25 mg twice daily, atorvastatin 20 mg once daily, telmisartan 20 mg once daily with continuation of eltroxin 50 Mcg for hypothyroidism. To our knowledge this is the first case report of HAIR-AN syndrome in 21 year old female associated with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and type-2-diabetes and this case also highlights about early diagnosis and management of HAIR-AN Syndrome with PCOS and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis  which could help prevent long-term sequalae such as cardiovascular disease and endometrial cancer and with the advent of knowledge and availability of health resources we can prevent long-term adverse effects (threefold) on health of women. This woman should be observed for these ailments in later life. 

Nevirapine Resistance and Breast-Milk HIV Transmission: Effects of Single and Extended-Dose Nevirapine Prophylaxis in Subtype C HIV-Infected Infants

Daily nevirapine (NVP) prophylaxis to HIV-exposed infants significantly reduces breast-milk HIV transmission. We assessed NVP-resistance in Indian infants enrolled in the "six-week extended-dose nevirapine" (SWEN) trial who received single-dose NVP (SD-NVP) or SWEN for prevention of breast-milk HIV transmission but who also acquired subtype C HIV infection during the first year of life.Standard population sequencing and cloning for viral subpopulations present at > or =5% frequency were used to determine HIV genotypes from 94% of the 79 infected Indian infants studied. Timing of infection was defined based on when an infant's blood sample first tested positive for HIV DNA. SWEN-exposed infants diagnosed with HIV by six weeks of age had a significantly higher prevalence of NVP-resistance than those who received SD-NVP, by both standard population sequencing (92% of 12 vs. 38% of 29; p = 0.002) and low frequency clonal analysis (92% of 12 vs. 59% of 29; p = 0.06). Likelihood of infection with NVP-resistant HIV through breast-milk among infants infected after age six weeks was substantial, but prevalence of NVP-resistance did not differ among SWEN or SD-NVP exposed infants by standard population sequencing (15% of 13 vs. 15% of 20; p = 1.00) and clonal analysis (31% of 13 vs. 40% of 20; p = 0.72). Types of NVP-resistance mutations and patterns of persistence at one year of age were similar between the two groups. NVP-resistance mutations did differ by timing of HIV infection; the Y181C variant was predominant among infants diagnosed in the first six weeks of life, compared to Y188C/H during late breast-milk transmission.Use of SWEN to prevent breast-milk HIV transmission carries a high likelihood of resistance if infection occurs in the first six weeks of life. Moreover, there was a continued risk of transmission of NVP-resistant HIV through breastfeeding during the first year of life, but did not differ between SD-NVP and SWEN groups. As with SD-NVP, the value of preventing HIV infection in a large number of infants should be considered alongside the high risk of resistance associated with extended NVP prophylaxis.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00061321

Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability, but its overall association with health remains complex given the possible protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption on some conditions. With our comprehensive approach to health accounting within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we generated improved estimates of alcohol use and alcohol-attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 locations from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for 5-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older. Methods Using 694 data sources of individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use, we produced estimates of the prevalence of current drinking, abstention, the distribution of alcohol consumption among current drinkers in standard drinks daily (defined as 10 g of pure ethyl alcohol), and alcohol-attributable deaths and DALYs. We made several methodological improvements compared with previous estimates: first, we adjusted alcohol sales estimates to take into account tourist and unrecorded consumption; second, we did a new meta-analysis of relative risks for 23 health outcomes associated with alcohol use; and third, we developed a new method to quantify the level of alcohol consumption that minimises the overall risk to individual health. Findings Globally, alcohol use was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and DALYs in 2016, accounting for 2.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1.5-3.0) of age-standardised female deaths and 6.8% (5.8-8.0) of age-standardised male deaths. Among the population aged 15-49 years, alcohol use was the leading risk factor globally in 2016, with 3.8% (95% UI 3.2-4-3) of female deaths and 12.2% (10.8-13-6) of male deaths attributable to alcohol use. For the population aged 15-49 years, female attributable DALYs were 2.3% (95% UI 2.0-2.6) and male attributable DALYs were 8.9% (7.8-9.9). The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were tuberculosis (1.4% [95% UI 1. 0-1. 7] of total deaths), road injuries (1.2% [0.7-1.9]), and self-harm (1.1% [0.6-1.5]). For populations aged 50 years and older, cancers accounted for a large proportion of total alcohol-attributable deaths in 2016, constituting 27.1% (95% UI 21.2-33.3) of total alcohol-attributable female deaths and 18.9% (15.3-22.6) of male deaths. The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0.0-0.8) standard drinks per week. Interpretation Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption.Peer reviewe