Socio-demographic and Audiological Profile of the Board-Reviewed Applicants for Hearing Handicap Certification in a Tertiary Care Teaching Institute in Eastern India.

To analyze the socio-demographic and audiological profile of the applicants for hearing handicap certification in the Medical Board (henceforth, "Board") of a tertiary care teaching institute. This is a retrospective record review (March 2019-February 2020) from the archival computer database of the institutional Board. The procedure for audiological assessment prior to Board review and thereafter, the evaluation at the Board (computation of hearing impairment) for eligibility for certification was discussed. The socio-demographic profile of the applicants (age, gender, faith) and the types of hearing impairment [HI%; organic (sensorineural, mixed), non-organic (malingering)] were analyzed with relevant statistical parameters. A HI% scale was introduced to classify the severity of the hearing deficit. Of the 163 applicants, 148 had organic hearing loss (average age: 35.4 years; 1.9 times male preponderance) and 15 were malingerers (average age: 35.7 years; 14 times male preponderance). The left ear contributed more to the hearing handicap. Most applicants having sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL; n = 124) were within 10-19 years and 40-49 years (19.35% each), with 12% being ≧ 60 years (age-associated hearing loss). Of the 13 applicants of age ≦ 12 years, eight were diagnosed with brainstem evoked response audiometry, and 10 had HI score of ≥ 70%. Muslim population with SNHL tended to avail certification 1.34 times more than the Hindus. Most of the applicants with mixed hearing loss (MHL; n = 24) were in their fifth and sixth decades (29.2% each), with three times male preponderance. Among the malingerers, the average malingering impairment was 66% (median: 61%; range 44-100%). Among the SNHL population, ~ 30% had HI at 90-100% in contrast to the MHL population of whom 8% had HI at > 90% and 29% had HI at 40- < 55%. Ten applicants among the organic hearing loss group (6.76%) (two with SNHL; eight with MHL) had HI scores of < 40% and were considered ineligible for certification. The outcomes of the review provided a comprehensive account of the socio-demographic profile of the applicants for handicap certification and the type of hearing loss prevailing in a given population. These data, and the severity stratification of the hearing disability through the HI% scale would provide the policymakers and stakeholders with proper directions to work upon.

A single - center retrospective observational study on patients undergoing Encephalo-Duro-Arterio -Myo-Synangiosis in patients with moyamoya disease.

BACKGROUND: Many cases of moyamoya disease are refractory to conventional medical therapy, hence surgical revascularization techniques have emerged as one of the primary choices of treatment. In this study, we present the functional and angiographic outcomes of patients undergoing encephalo-duro-arterio-myo-synangiosis (EDAMS). METHODS: This is a retrospective observational cohort study, done over 8 years (2012-2020) in a neurological center in Eastern India. Data were retrieved from the hospital's electronic system, recorded in a standard data abstract sheet, and analyzed. RESULTS: This study included 75 patients, with a male (n = 42; 56.0%) preponderance. Majority belonged to the pediatric age group (≤18 years) (n = 70; 93.3%); remaining adult population included 5 (6.6%) patients. The most common presenting complaint was that of an ischemic cerebrovascular accident (CVA) (n = 57; 76.0%). Symptomatic hemispheres (n = 69; 92.0%) were treated and later followed if they had progressed to bilateral disease formation. Preoperative DSA showed 50 (71.4%) to have Suzuki grade 3 type of angiographic findings. Postoperative complications included worsening unilateral hemiparesis 4 (40%), slurring of speech (n = 2; 20.0%), hematoma (n = 2; 20.0%), and surgical site infection (n = 2; 20.0%). One patient succumbed to his illness on the second postoperative day. A postoperative angiogram showed regression of moyamoya vessels in the majority (n = 69; 93.3%) of patients. All (n = 74; 100%) had an intensification of transdural vessels; none had a regression. None of the study participants showed an intensification of moyamoya vessels. Many of our patients (83.8%) had a good grade of revascularization (modified Matsushima and Inaba A and B), while 16.2% had low-grade revascularization (grade C). On assessing outcomes using a modified Rankin Score, a large number of our patients had an excellent (n = 45, 60%) neurological outcomes. CONCLUSION: There was a bimodal age distribution with most of them presenting with ischemic CVA. This procedure (EDAMS) had good angiographic (Matsushima and Inaba) and functional (modified Rankin Score) outcomes.

Deep Learning for Discrimination Between Fungal Keratitis and Bacterial Keratitis: DeepKeratitis.

PURPOSE: Microbial keratitis is an urgent condition in ophthalmology that requires prompt treatment. This study aimed to apply deep learning algorithms for rapidly discriminating between fungal keratitis (FK) and bacterial keratitis (BK). METHODS: A total of 2167 anterior segment images retrospectively acquired from 194 patients with 128 patients with BK (1388 images, 64.1%) and 66 patients with FK (779 images, 35.9%) were used to develop the model. The images were split into training, validation, and test sets. Three convolutional neural networks consisting of VGG19, ResNet50, and DenseNet121 were trained to classify images. Performance of each model was evaluated using precision (positive predictive value), sensitivity (recall), F1 score (test's accuracy), and area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC). Ensemble learning was then applied to improve classification performance. RESULTS: The classification performance in F1 score (95% confident interval) of VGG19, DenseNet121, and RestNet50 was 0.78 (0.72-0.84), 0.71 (0.64-0.78), and 0.68 (0.61-0.75), respectively. VGG19 also demonstrated the highest AUPRC of 0.86 followed by RestNet50 (0.73) and DenseNet (0.60). The ensemble learning could improve performance with the sensitivity and F1 score of 0.77 (0.81-0.83) and 0.83 (0.77-0.89) with an AUPRC of 0.904. CONCLUSIONS: Convolutional neural network with ensemble learning showed the best performance in discriminating FK from BK compared with single architecture models. Our model can potentially be considered as an adjunctive tool for providing rapid provisional diagnosis in patients with microbial keratitis.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: An uncommon diagnosis at the cerebellopontine angle - A case report.

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), a rare variant of extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, has shown an increased incidence over the last 3-4 decades in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. Only <20 cases of cerebellopontine (CP) angle lymphoma have been reported so far in the literature. Hereby, we report a case of primary lymphoma of the CP angle mimicking vestibular schwannoma and other common pathologies at the CP angle. Hence, while evaluating a lesion at CP angle, PCNSL should always be considered in the differential diagnosis.

Effect of sunflower seed oil emollient therapy on newborn infant survival in Uttar Pradesh, India: A community-based, cluster randomized, open-label controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Hospitalized preterm infants with compromised skin barrier function treated topically with sunflower seed oil (SSO) have shown reductions in sepsis and neonatal mortality rate (NMR). Mustard oil and products commonly used in high-mortality settings may possibly harm skin barrier integrity and enhance risk of infection and mortality in newborn infants. We hypothesized that SSO therapy may reduce NMR in such settings. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This was a population-based, cluster randomized, controlled trial in 276 clusters in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. All newborn infants identified through population-based surveillance in the study clusters within 7 days of delivery were enrolled from November 2014 to October 2016. Exclusive, 3 times daily, gentle applications of 10 ml of SSO to newborn infants by families throughout the neonatal period were recommended in intervention clusters (n = 138 clusters); infants in comparison clusters (n = 138 clusters) received usual care, such as massage practice typically with mustard oil. Primary analysis was by intention-to-treat with NMR and post-24-hour NMR as the primary outcomes. Secondary analysis included per-protocol analysis and subgroup analyses for NMR. Regression analysis was adjusted for caste, first-visit weight, delivery attendant, gravidity, maternal age, maternal education, sex of the infant, and multiple births. We enrolled 13,478 (52.2% male, mean weight: 2,575.0 grams ± standard deviation [SD] 521.0) and 13,109 (52.0% male, mean weight: 2,607.0 grams ± SD 509.0) newborn infants in the intervention and comparison clusters, respectively. We found no overall difference in NMR in the intervention versus the comparison clusters [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84 to 1.11, p = 0.61]. Acceptance of SSO in the intervention arm was high at 89.3%, but adherence to exclusive applications of SSO was 30.4%. Per-protocol analysis showed a significant 58% (95% CI 42% to 69%, p < 0.01) reduction in mortality among infants in the intervention group who were treated exclusively with SSO as intended versus infants in the comparison group who received exclusive applications of mustard oil. A significant 52% (95% CI 12% to 74%, p = 0.02) reduction in NMR was observed in the subgroup of infants weighing ≤1,500 g (n = 589); there were no statistically significant differences in other prespecified subgroup comparisons by low birth weight (LBW), birthplace, and wealth. No severe adverse events (SAEs) were attributable to the intervention. The study was limited by inability to mask allocation to study workers or participants and by measurement of emollient use based on caregiver responses and not actual observation. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial, we observed that promotion of SSO therapy universally for all newborn infants was not effective in reducing NMR. However, this result may not necessarily establish equivalence between SSO and mustard oil massage in light of our secondary findings. Mortality reduction in the subgroup of infants ≤1,500 g was consistent with previous hospital-based efficacy studies, potentially extending the applicability of emollient therapy in very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants along the facility-community continuum. Further research is recommended to develop and evaluate therapeutic regimens and continuum of care delivery strategies for emollient therapy for newborn infants at highest risk of compromised skin barrier function. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN38965585 and Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI/2014/12/005282) with WHO UTN # U1111-1158-4665.

Direct maternal morbidity and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa: A population-based prospective cohort study in 8 countries.

BACKGROUND: Maternal morbidity occurs several times more frequently than mortality, yet data on morbidity burden and its effect on maternal, foetal, and newborn outcomes are limited in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to generate prospective, reliable population-based data on the burden of major direct maternal morbidities in the antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal periods and its association with maternal, foetal, and neonatal death in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This is a prospective cohort study, conducted in 9 research sites in 8 countries of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted population-based surveillance of women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) to identify pregnancies. Pregnant women who gave consent were include in the study and followed up to birth and 42 days postpartum from 2012 to 2015. We used standard operating procedures, data collection tools, and training to harmonise study implementation across sites. Three home visits during pregnancy and 2 home visits after birth were conducted to collect maternal morbidity information and maternal, foetal, and newborn outcomes. We measured blood pressure and proteinuria to define hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and woman's self-report to identify obstetric haemorrhage, pregnancy-related infection, and prolonged or obstructed labour. Enrolled women whose pregnancy lasted at least 28 weeks or those who died during pregnancy were included in the analysis. We used meta-analysis to combine site-specific estimates of burden, and regression analysis combining all data from all sites to examine associations between the maternal morbidities and adverse outcomes. Among approximately 735,000 women of reproductive age in the study population, and 133,238 pregnancies during the study period, only 1.6% refused consent. Of these, 114,927 pregnancies had morbidity data collected at least once in both antenatal and in postnatal period, and 114,050 of them were included in the analysis. Overall, 32.7% of included pregnancies had at least one major direct maternal morbidity; South Asia had almost double the burden compared to sub-Saharan Africa (43.9%, 95% CI 27.8% to 60.0% in South Asia; 23.7%, 95% CI 19.8% to 27.6% in sub-Saharan Africa). Antepartum haemorrhage was reported in 2.2% (95% CI 1.5% to 2.9%) pregnancies and severe postpartum in 1.7% (95% CI 1.2% to 2.2%) pregnancies. Preeclampsia or eclampsia was reported in 1.4% (95% CI 0.9% to 2.0%) pregnancies, and gestational hypertension alone was reported in 7.4% (95% CI 4.6% to 10.1%) pregnancies. Prolonged or obstructed labour was reported in about 11.1% (95% CI 5.4% to 16.8%) pregnancies. Clinical features of late third trimester antepartum infection were present in 9.1% (95% CI 5.6% to 12.6%) pregnancies and those of postpartum infection in 8.6% (95% CI 4.4% to 12.8%) pregnancies. There were 187 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 births, 27 stillbirths per 1,000 births, and 28 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births with variation by country and region. Direct maternal morbidities were associated with each of these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings imply that health programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia must intensify their efforts to identify and treat maternal morbidities, which affected about one-third of all pregnancies and to prevent associated maternal and neonatal deaths and stillbirths. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is not a clinical trial.

Complications following Encephalo-Duro-Arterio-Myo-Synangiosis in a case of Moyamoya disease.

We report a case of an 18-year-old girl diagnosed to have Moyamoya disease (MMD), who underwent bilateral encephalo-duro-arterio-myo-synangiosis. Literature search has clearly inferred that in comparison to an adult patient, children with MMD can have a good prognosis if early diagnosis and active surgical intervention are achieved. Evidence has demonstrated that active surgical management, including indirect bypass surgery, may improve the cerebral circulation on a relatively larger scale than direct bypass surgeries, which can only improve the cerebral circulation in the area of the vascular reconstruction.

Enculturating science: Community-centric design of behavior change interactions for accelerating health impact.

Despite significant advancements in the scientific evidence base of interventions to improve newborn survival, we have not yet been able to "bend the curve" to markedly accelerate global rates of reduction in newborn mortality. The ever-widening gap between discovery of scientific best practices and their mass adoption by families (the evidence-practice gap) is not just a matter of improving the coverage of health worker-community interactions. The design of the interactions themselves must be guided by sound behavioral science approaches such that they lead to mass adoption and impact at a large scale. The main barrier to the application of scientific approaches to behavior change is our inability to "unbox" the "black box" of family health behaviors in community settings. The authors argue that these are not black boxes, but in fact thoughtfully designed community systems that have been designed and upheld, and have evolved over many years keeping in mind a certain worldview and a common social purpose. An empathetic understanding of these community systems allows us to deconstruct the causal pathways of existing behaviors, and re-engineer them to achieve desired outcomes. One of the key reasons for the failure of interactions to translate into behavior change is our failure to recognize that the content, context, and process of interactions need to be designed keeping in mind an organized community system with a very different worldview and beliefs. In order to improve the adoption of scientific best practices by communities, we need to adapt them to their culture by leveraging existing beliefs, practices, people, context, and skills. The authors present a systems approach for community-centric design of interactions, highlighting key principles for achieving intrinsically motivated, sustained change in social norms and family health behaviors, elucidated with progressive theories from systems thinking, management sciences, cross-cultural psychology, learning and social cognition, and the behavioral sciences. These are illustrated through a case study of designing effective interactions in Shivgarh, India, that led to rapid and substantial changes in newborn health behaviors and reduction in NMR by half over a span of 16 months.

Translating evidence-based information into effective risk communication: current challenges and opportunities.

Recent medical advances and the easy availability of evidence-based information at the point of care are believed to provide physicians with improved tools for risk communication. However, evidence indicates that physicians still display marked variability in ordering tests. Factors that determine a physician's test-ordering tendencies vary by specialization, practice, geographical location, defensive practice, and tolerance of uncertainty and are also modified by patient requests. Understanding of statistical terms on the part of both physicians and patients remains limited. Physicians may display limited ability to assess pretest and posttest probabilities, especially in low- and intermediate-risk patients, even after attending short courses in epidemiology, or may find the process impractical. Presentation of diagnostic-test results in a natural-frequency format might improve understanding. Both physicians and patients have difficulty grasping the term "number needed to treat" compared with "relative risk reduction" when comparing therapeutic options. Other patient-related factors that limit understanding include low literacy, individual risk tolerance, and framing patterns of the problem (potential gains vs losses). Despite numerous available modalities (quantitative and qualitative) of risk communication, consensus over the advantage of any single modality in translating evidence into risk communication is limited. It is essential that physicians remain patient-centered, generate trust, and build a partnership with the patient to achieve consensus for medical decision-making. Future studies are indicated to assess the effectiveness of novel risk-communication modalities based on patients' and physicians' characteristics and identify appropriate modality of translating evidence (quantitative or qualitative information).