Post-COVID-19 rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis-A clinico-mycological study from North India.

The second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), during the early 2021, lead to a devastating outbreak of mucormycosis in India. This study aimed to determine the aetiology, clinical features, comorbidities, and risk factors of rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) and antifungal susceptibility pattern for the isolates. The study included all suspected cases of ROCM in post-COVID-19 patients attending the hospital from May to December 2021. A total of 70 patients were diagnosed with mucormycosis during the study period. The commonest presentations were rhino-orbital and rhino-orbito-cerebral in 35.7% of cases each. Diabetes mellitus was the commonest associated risk factor in 95.7% of all patients, while 78.5% of the patients were treated with corticosteroids in the recent past, and 25.7% presented with active COVID-19 pneumonia. The commonest isolate was Rhizopus arrhizus n = 14, followed by Aspergillus flavus n = 16, A. fumigatus n = 4, A. niger n = 3, Fusarium oxysporumn = 1, and Apophysomyces variabilisn = 1. Fungal species identification was done by phenotypic methods for all the isolates and DNA sequence analysis of 18 isolates, and antifungal susceptibility testing of 30 isolates was performed by commercially prepared HiMIC plate (HiMedia, Mumbai, India) using broth microdilution for amphotericin B, isavuconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole. The MIC50 and MIC90 of amphotericin B for R. arrhizus strains were 0.25 and 4 µg/ml, respectively; and the MIC50 and MIC90 results for itraconazole, posaconazole, and isavuconazole were 8 and 8, 2 and 2, and 2 and 8 µg/ml, respectively. In vitro data showed that amphotericin B was the most effective antifungal against most species. The commercially available ready-to-use minimum inhibitory concentration plates are user-friendly for performing antifungal susceptibility, which may be useful in choosing appropriate regimens and monitoring emerging resistance.

Clinicopathological Profile in Patients with Tubercular Cervical Lymphadenitis and Its Treatment Outcome.

Tuberculosis is a common occurrence in developing countries. Drug resistance, co-morbidities, and limited availability of new rapid tests such as the GeneXpert/MTB Rif assay make diagnosis and treatment of extrapulmonary tuberculosis burdensome. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Employees' State Insurance Corporation Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana of patients treated for tubercular cervical lymphadenopathy from December 2021 to March 2023 in the department of ENT. This study included 58 patients. The clinicopathological profile of patients and the outcome of treatment with antitubercular therapy were noted. The majority of patients had level V (39.6%) involvement. Incidental diagnosis of diabetes mellitus was seen in 2 cases (3.4%). Fever was the commonest constitutional symptom observed in 27.5% of cases. FNAC was suggestive of tubercular abscess in 48.2% and the GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay detected Mycobacterial tuberculosis in all the cases with rifampicin resistance in only one case. 56 cases (96.5%) had complete resolution after completion of antitubercular therapy including patients with rifampicin resistance and patients with diabetes mellitus. In the remaining two cases, treatment was prolonged for a few months before the resolution of the disease was observed. Timely diagnosis, patient compliance to antitubercular therapy, and adequate management of comorbidities lead to successful treatment outcomes in tubercular cervical lymphadenitis. Delayed response to treatment in a few cases needs further research into factors like immune status, nutrition, living conditions, and quality of drugs available to the public.

Spheno-Orbital Tuberculosis: A Rare Case.

A 9-year-old girl presented with progressive, painless protrusion of the right eye for 2 months. She also complained of multiple bilateral neck swellings for 2 months. On examination, there was proptosis of the right eye with the eyeball displaced downwards and forwards. The extra ocular movements of the right eye showed limitation of abduction. The vision was normal in both eyes. A detailed clinical evaluation with investigations led to a diagnosis of spheno-orbital tuberculosis. Prompt initiation of anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) led to resolution of the lesion.

Analysis of vertical and horizontal offsets in displaced femoral neck fracture in elderly treated with indigenous bicentric bipolar hip device.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the effect of indigenous bicentric bipolar prosthesis on horizontal and vertical offsets in fracture neck of femur when compared to contralateral normal hip and to evaluate functional outcomes. We hypothesized that our non-modular bipolar device restores satisfactory offsets in such patients. METHODS: All active elderly patients with displaced fracture NOF having contralateral normal hip were included. We used an indigenous bicentric bipolar hip-prosthesis, which is a non-modular single-piece device in all cases by lateral Hardinge approach. Postoperative radiograph AP view was taken in 15° internal rotation to decrease the effect of limb rotation on offset. CT scan was also used to evaluate offsets using ADW4.6 ADVANCED GE optima 128 slice software system. Subjects were followed for a minimum of 12 months postoperatively and functional outcome of effect of offsets change were evaluated by modified Harris Hip Score. RESULTS: There is minimal difference in horizontal and vertical offset after bicentric bipolar hemi-replacement which is statistically insignificant supporting our hypothesis. The clinical outcomes were good to fair according to modified Harris Hip Score. The mean value of horizontal offset after our bipolar hemireplacement was 42.4 ± 2.04 mm and of normal hip was 41.8 ± 1.81 mm and P-value=0.08 in plain radiographs and value of horizontal offset in CT scan was 40.73 ± 0.27on bipolar side and 41.19 ± 0.77 on normal side. Vertical offset after bicentric bipolar was 32.67 ± 2.85 mm and vertical offset of normal hip was 32.53 ± 2.73 mm. Mean 9.77 ± 1.09 mm of calcar was preserved. Modified Harris Hip Score at 6 and 12 months postoperatively was 75.78 ± 4.16 and 79.53 ± 3.95 respectively. There was no incidence of hip dislocation. CONCLUSION: Our study data clearly demonstrates that vertical and horizontal offsets are effectively maintained by the indigenous bicentric hip device. There was insignificant change in offsets as compared to contralateral normal side due to its design modifications. Indigenous bicentric non-modular bipolar device offers an excellent option for femur neck fractures in elderly patients in resource constrained situations. It allows rapid rehabilitation due to reduced surgical time, minimal blood loss and early return to function and activities of daily living.

Prospective surveillance of device-associated health care-associated infection in an intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India.

BACKGROUND: Surveillance of health care-associated infections (HAIs) plays a key role in the hospital infection control program and reduction of HAIs. In India, most of the surveillance of HAIs is reported from private sector hospitals that do not depict the situation of government sector hospitals. Other studies do not confirm with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) surveillance criterion, or deal with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) instead of ventilator-associated event (VAE). The aim of this study was to identify the incidences of 3 device-associated HAIs (DA-HAIs) (VAE, central line-associated bloodstream infection [CLABSI], and catheter-associated urinary tract infection [CAUTI]) by active surveillance using CDC's NHSN surveillance criteria and to identify the pathogens associated with these DA-HAIs. METHODS: This was a prospective surveillance study (January 2015-December 2016) conducted in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a large, tertiary care, government hospital situated in Delhi, India. Targeted surveillance was done as per the CDC's NHSN 2016 surveillance criteria. RESULTS: There were 343 patients admitted to the ICU that were included in the study. The surveillance data was reported over 3,755 patient days. A DA-HAIs attack rate of 20.1 per 100 admissions and incidence of 18.3 per 1,000 patient days was observed. The duration of use for each device for patients with DA-HAIs was significantly longer than for patients without DA-HAIs. The device utilization ratios of central line, ventilator, and urinary catheters were 0.57, 0.85, and 0.72, respectively. The crude excess length of stay for patients with DA-HAI was 13 days, and crude excess mortality rate was 11.8%. VAE, CLABSI, and CAUTI rates were 11.8, 7.4, and 9.7 per 1,000 device days, respectively. Among 69 DA-HAIs reported, pathogens could be identified for 49 DA-HAI cases. Klebsiella spp was the most common organism isolated, accounting 28.5% for all DA-HAI cases, followed by Enterococcus spp (24.4%). The most common organisms causing VAE, CAUTI, and CLABSI were Acinetobacter (6/15, 40%), Enterococcus spp (11/31, 35.4%), and Candida spp (5/19, 26.3%), respectively. Most of the gram-negative organisms were carbapenem resistant; however, none of the isolates were colistin resistant. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce the risk of infection in hospitalized patients, DA-HAI surveillance is of primary importance because it effectively describes and addresses the importance and characteristics of the threatening situation created by DA-HAIs. The present surveillance shows high rates of ICU-onset DA-HAIs and high resistance patterns of organisms causing HAIs, representing a major risk to patient safety.

Two cases of neurilemmoma of the tongue.

Neurilemmomas of the tongue are uncommon. When they do occur; treatment is simple. However; diagnosis is invariably delayed because of the vagueness of symptoms. We encountered 2 cases of this unusual tumor within weeks of each other In 1 of these cases, the definitive diagnosis was delayed because of the atypical clinical picture-that is, an abscess in the tongue that had caused respiratory distress. We describe our management of these 2 cases, and we discuss what has been published in the literature regarding the presentation, diagnosis, histopathology, treatment, and prognosis for patients with glossal neurilemmoma.

Synchronous cystic teratomas of the craniofacial region.

A case of synchronous cystic teratomas presented with the complaints of a slow-growing facial mass and forward protrusion of the right eye since birth. The patient was examined thoroughly and subjected to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The MRI scan revealed the presence of two separate cysts in the right orbit and right temporal fossa. The patient was operated by a combined effort of ophthalmologists and otorhinolaryngologists. The cysts were excised and subjected to pathological examination. The histopathological survey revealed both the cysts to be mature cystic teratomas similar to each other. This coexistence of a primary temporal fossa teratoma with an orbital teratoma is the first of its kind and to the best of our knowledge has not been reported before.

Bicentric bipolar hip prosthesis: A radiological study of movement at the interprosthetic joint.

BACKGROUND: The bipolar hip prostheses after some time functions as a unipolar device. There is a need to change the design of bipolar hip prostheses to make it function as a bipolar device over a prolonged period of time. A bicentric bipolar hip prosthesis was used as an implant for various conditions of the hip. We evaluated the movement of this newly developed prosthesis at the interprosthetic joint radiologically at periodic intervals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty two cases were operarted with the Bicentric bipolar prosthesis for indications like fracture neck of femur and various other diseases of the hip and were followed up with serial radiographs at periodic intervals to evaluate, what fraction of the total abduction at the hip was occurring at the interprosthetic joint. RESULTS: In cases of intracapsular fracture neck of femur, the percentage of total abduction occurring at the interprosthetic joint at 3 months follow-up was 33.74% (mean value of all the patients), which fell to 25.66% at 1.5 years. In indications for bipolar hemireplacement other than fracture neck of femur, the percentage of total abduction occurring at the interprosthetic joint at 3 months follow-up was 71.71% (mean value) and at 1.5 years it was 67.52%. CONCLUSION: This study shows the relative preservation of inner bearing movement in the bipolar hip prosthesis with time probably due its refined design. Further refinements are needed to make the prosthesis work better in patients of intracapsular fracture neck femur.