Drawing Parallels between SARS, MERS, and COVID-19: A Comparative Overview of Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, and Pathological Features.

Background: Since November 2019, when the novel coronavirus arose in Wuhan City, over 188 million people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19. It is the third coronavirus outbreak in the twenty-first century. Until now, practically all coronavirus epidemics have occurred due to zoonotic spread from an animal or transitional host or through the consumption of their products. Coronaviruses can infect humans and cause severe illness and even death. Material and Methods: This review was designed to help us recognize and harmonize the similarities and differences between these three coronaviridae family members. Result: Measures aimed at containing the epidemic should be emphasized in this circumstance. Prioritizing and planning these activities require an understanding of the particulars of these three viruses. Given the pandemic's enormous death toll and rapid spread, we should be cognizant of the parallels and differences between these three viruses. Additionally, this pandemic warns us to be cautious against the possibility of a future pandemic. Conclusion: We highlight the fundamental characteristics of coronaviruses that are critical for recognizing coronavirus epidemiology, pathogenesis, and pathological features that reveal numerous significant pathological attributes and evolutionary patterns in the viral genome that aid in better understanding and anticipating future epidemics.

Comparison of public health measures taken during Spanish flu and COVID-19 pandemics: A Narrative Review.

The similarity of the consequences of COVID-19 reminded us of the destruction caused by the Spanish flu over a century ago and led us to find similarities in the way the two pandemics were handled. PRISMA Guideline was followed for a systematic search to identify eligible published articles. Information about the public health measures adopted during both the pandemics was taken from literature. It was found that there are parallels between the two pandemics in terms of general unpreparedness, attitudes of the community and government, and various policy issues. All the measures implemented in 2020 were the same as those implemented in 1918-1919, with the same trend, uncertainty, early relaxing, and rapid reversals. Even from a scientific standpoint, all the elements were already known. All the issues such as social isolation, intra-family spread, personal protective equipment, medicine types (quinine, aspirin, anti-inflammatories, etc.), immunization requirements, and so on had already been addressed. No doubt, we do have technology today at our disposal for managing the spread of the disease and even spread awareness among people much easily. We also have taken many steps forward in the world of globalization, which make the progression and spread of the pandemic very fast as well. Both factors tend to counter each other and hence make timely public health intervention as important (if not more) today as it was yesterday. When possible, approaches and goals should be found on scientific facts and include ethical input. Finally, we must take careful notice of past local and national lessons to avoid repeating the mistakes done in the past. The development of a strategy ahead of time that includes all levels of government health infrastructure and outlines clear lines of duties and functions is critical. The main objective of this article was to compare the public health measures undertaken during the pandemic of Spanish Flu and the pandemic of COVID-19, and assess the similarities and differences in the public health measures taken during these pandemics. The correlation of the public health measures and the outcomes was assessed and the implication of this article was to be pandemic-ready in the future.

SARS, MERS and CoVID-19: An overview and comparison of clinical, laboratory and radiological features.

In the 21st century, we have seen a total of three outbreaks by members of the coronavirus family. Although the first two outbreaks did not result in a pandemic, the third and the latest outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) culminated in a pandemic. This pandemic has been extremely significant on a social and international level. As these viruses belong to the same family, they are closely related. Despite their numerous similarities, they have slight distinctions that render them distinct from one another. The Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) cases were reported to have a very high case fatality rate of 9.5 and 34.4% respectively. In contrast, the CoVID-19 has a case fatality rate of 2.13%. Also, there are no clear medical countermeasures for these coronaviruses yet. We can cross information gaps, including cultural weapons for fighting and controlling the spread of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, and plan efficient and comprehensive defensive lines against coronaviruses that might arise or reemerge in the future by gaining a deeper understanding of these coronaviruses and the illnesses caused by them. The review thoroughly summarises the state-of-the-art information and compares the biochemical properties of these deadly coronaviruses with the clinical characteristics, laboratory features and radiological manifestations of illnesses induced by them, with an emphasis on comparing and contrasting their similarities and differences.

'Daily 2-only meals and exercise' lifestyle modification for remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A therapeutic approach.

This case series has documented five patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D), referred to the various Diabetes Reversal Centers of the 'World free of obesity and diabetes' campaign in Maharashtra, India. It demonstrates the therapeutic effects of lifestyle modification for remission of diabetes along with weight reduction and reversal of insulin resistance. This resulted in reduction of their glycated haemoglobin level, which signified the long-term effects of this lifestyle modification. Diabetes reversal by lifestyle modification is a healthier option and must be encouraged in all the patients in the pre-diabetes group (HbA1c- 5.7-6.4%) and those with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (HbA1c- >6.5%) without any complications, thus promoting good health seeking behaviour. There are pieces of evidence of complete diabetes reversal of the patients with HbA1c ranging from 8 to 15% by just lifestyle modification and also without any complications among the patients registered under the 'World free of obesity and diabetes' campaign. India is a low-middle-income country with prevalence of T2D on rise. It is thus necessary to provide the community with a cost-effective and sustainable solution for primary and secondary prevention of this lifestyle disease.

Reduction in HbA1c through lifestyle modification in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patient: A great feat.

A 45-year-old male, resident of Texas, U.S.A, was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes mellitus on September 05, 2020 with HbA1c 14.9%. His physician prescribed oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) starting immediately due to his high HbA1c levels. However, the patient was reluctant to be on lifelong medications. Thus, he chose conservative management of lifestyle modification by enrolling in "World free of Obesity and Diabetes" campaign that advised "only two meals a day and exercise" regime for diabetes reversal. He followed the plan very meticulously and his HbA1c was successfully reduced by 9.8% (HbA1c from 14.9% to 5.1%) within 3 months without any medications. The patient follows the regime without any burden of compromising his quality of life and has maintained his HbA1c to 4.6% till April 2021. Diabetes reversal by lifestyle modification is a healthier option, and must be encouraged in all the patients in prediabetes group (HbA1c: 5.7%-6.4%) and those with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (HbA1c: >6.5%) without any complications, thus promoting good health-seeking behavior. American Diabetes Association (ADA) suggests that metformin should be started to the prediabetes and newly diagnosed group of patients along with lifestyle modifications. However, there are evidences of complete diabetes reversal of the patients with HbA1c ranging from 8%-15% by just lifestyle modification and that too without any complications among the patients registered under "World free of obesity and diabetes" campaign, which challenges the current prescribed guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Effectiveness of early clinical exposure in improving attitude and professional skills of medical students in current Indian medical education set up.

INTRODUCTION: As a part of education reforms Medical Council of India has introduced early clinical exposure (ECE) as an important intervention in Medical teaching. It is stated in the literature, ECE helps to relieve stress of the students pertaining to patient handling, developing real-time clinical reasoning ability, communication skills, professional attitude, and patient empathy. With this view, this study was planned to assess effectiveness of early clinical exposure in improving attitude and professional skills in the current Indian medical education set up. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out amongst 820 students for three years duration. Students were randomly divided into two groups viz. ECE exposed group (Group A) and Traditional teaching exposed group (Group B). We conducted periodical sessions (Each duration: 60 minutes). We used a validated 10-point questionnaire for feedback collection. RESULTS: Using perception-based 10-point questionnaire based on Likert scale we found, 93.21% of students strongly agreed that the method of ECE teaching aroused interest in learning. 86.03% of students strongly agreed that the method of ECE teaching technique helped in better retention of topic. 89.91% of students strongly agreed that the method of ECE teaching imparts better clinical context. 92.75% of students strongly agreed that the method of ECE teaching allows better assimilation of knowledge gained during learning. With ECE-based teaching 87.42% of students found highly satisfied while 81.22% of students found highly competent about the knowledge and skills thus acquired via this teaching methodology. 95.11% of students liked ECE teaching methodology and these students enjoyed it a lot and with interest. CONCLUSION: This study concluded that early clinical exposure is the most important teaching tool in improving attitude and professional skills in the current Indian medical education set up.

Study of socio-demographic determinants of esophageal cancer at a tertiary care teaching hospital of Western Maharashtra, India.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer has a peculiar geographical distribution and shows marked differences in incidence within a particular geographical region. Presently, as there seems little prospect of early detection of this cancer, an understanding of the etiological factors may suggest opportunities for its primary prevention. OBJECTIVES: The present study was carried out to find out the socio-demographic determinants of esophageal cancer in a tertiary care teaching hospital of western Maharashtra, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective hospital record-based study was carried out for the period of five years (2007-2011) in the department of Radiotherapy of Pravara Rural Hospital, Loni, western Maharashtra, India. A total of 5879 patients were diagnosed with cancer, of them, 207 (3.52%) patients had esophageal cancer. Data was collected on the basis of the patients' record in the hospital and analyzed in the form of percentage and proportions whenever appropriate. RESULTS: Out of total 5879 patients who were diagnosed with cancer during the five studied years, 207 (3.52%) patients had esophageal cancer, of which 121 (58.46%) were males and 86 (41.54%) were females, which show predominance of males over females. Most of the patients (28.50%) belonged to lower class, while only 9.66% were from upper class. Majority of the patients (54.14%) had a history of tobacco chewing, followed by smoking (cigarette, bidi, or both) in 36.94% and alcohol in 21.65%. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that esophageal cancer constitutes 3.52% of cancer cases. There is a need to screen the high-risk group of people, improve socio-economic status, and efforts must be made to introduce a set of preventive measures that have the potential to significantly reduce the burden of disease and to help bridge the gap between research and public awareness.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices towards Medical Research amongst the Postgraduate Students of Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences University of Central India.

BACKGROUND: Health research training is an essential component of medical education and a vital exercise to help develop physician research skills. OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards health research amongst the postgraduate students of Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences University of central India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out from August to October 2012. A total of 116 postgraduate students were interviewed. Knowledge, attitude, and practices related to health research were assessed using a predesigned, pretested and validated questionnaire. Results were analyzed in the form of percentage and proportions whenever appropriate. RESULTS: In present study, the concept of research hypothesis was known to only 18.9% of the postgraduate students, whereas 17.2 and 21.5% students knew the full form of MEDLARS and MEDLINE respectively. Majority (91.4%) students believed that patient outcome improves with continued medical research and 70.7% are willing to participate in workshop for research methodology. Lack of time due to vast curriculum of postgraduate subjects (59.5%), lack of research curriculum (25%), and inadequate facilities (25.8%) were stated as major obstacles for pursuing research. CONCLUSION: Postgraduate students have inadequate knowledge, but have positive attitudes towards health research. Postgraduate training and research facilities at the institution need to undergo major transformation in order to encourage meaningful research by postgraduate trainees.

Knowledge and attitude of medical undergraduate, interns and postgraduate students in India towards emergency contraception.

BACKGROUND: Although India was the first country in the world to have national family planning policy, the acceptance of contraceptive methods has been unsatisfactory. Many women in their peak reproductive years, who wish to control their fertility, are not aware about the different methods of contraceptives available. Unregulated fertility results in unplanned pregnancies. Emergency contraceptive pills can avoid many such unplanned pregnancies. AIM: The study was to assess the knowledge and attitude about emergency contraception (EC) among the undergraduate, interns and postgraduate medical science university students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 180 medical students which include undergraduate (final year MBBS), interns, and postgraduate students (60 from each group) studying at Rural Medical College and Pravara Rural Hospital of Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences University of central India by a convenient sample method over a period of February 2009 to May 2009. Data were collected by pre-designed, pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed in the form of percentage and proportions and Chi-square test was applied. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 180 respondents, of which 110 (61.2%) were male and 70 (38.8%) were female. The knowledge about EC was highest (47.6%) among postgraduates in comparison to interns (43.3%) and undergraduate students (41.6%). Overall positive attitude toward EC was observed among 73.8% of the respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the role of a medical graduate as counselor and health-care provider, the technical knowledge about different aspects of EC among the study population was inadequate.