Baseline findings of a multicentric ambispective cohort study (2021-2022) among hospitalised mucormycosis patients in India.

In India, the incidence of mucormycosis reached high levels during 2021-2022, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this, we established a multicentric ambispective cohort of patients hospitalised with mucormycosis across India. In this paper, we report their baseline profile, clinical characteristics and outcomes at discharge. Patients hospitalized for mucormycosis during March-July 2021 were included. Mucormycosis was diagnosed based on mycological confirmation on direct microscopy (KOH/Calcofluor white stain), culture, histopathology, or supportive evidence from endoscopy or imaging. After consent, trained data collectors used medical records and telephonic interviews to capture data in a pre-tested structured questionnaire. At baseline, we recruited 686 patients from 26 study hospitals, of whom 72.3% were males, 78% had a prior history of diabetes, 53.2% had a history of corticosteroid treatment, and 80% were associated with COVID-19. Pain, numbness or swelling of the face were the commonest symptoms (73.3%). Liposomal Amphotericin B was the commonest drug formulation used (67.1%), and endoscopic sinus surgery was the most common surgical procedure (73.6%). At discharge, the disease was stable in 43.3%, in regression for 29.9% but 9.6% died during hospitalization. Among survivors, commonly reported disabilities included facial disfigurement (18.4%) and difficulties in chewing/swallowing (17.8%). Though the risk of mortality was only 1 in 10, the disability due to the disease was very high. This cohort study could enhance our understanding of the disease's clinical progression and help frame standard treatment guidelines.

Comprehensive coordinated community based palliative care (C3PaC) model for cancer patients in North India: a mixed-method implementation research study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Cancer remains an escalating and challenging public health issue. The management, especially palliative care (PC), is disintegrated and out of reach of in need patients. The overall aim of the project is to develop a feasible and scalable Comprehensive Coordinated Community based PC model for Cancer Patients (C3PaC); congruent with socio-cultural, context and unmet needs in north India. METHODS: A mixed method approach will be used for three-phased pre- and post-intervention study in one of the districts of North India, having a high incidence of cancer. During phase I, validated tools will be used for quantitative assessment of palliative needs among cancer patients and their caregivers. Barriers and challenges for provision of palliative care will be explored using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions among participants and health care workers. The findings of phase I along with inputs from national experts and literature review will provide inputs for the development of the C3PAC model in phase II. During phase III C3PAC model will be deployed over a period of 12 months and its impact assessed. Categorical and continuous variables will be depicted as frequency (percentages) and mean ± SD/median (IQR) respectively. Chi-square test/Fischer test, independent samples Student t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests will be used for categorical, normally and non-normally distributed continuous variables, respectively. Qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic analysis using Atlas.ti 8 software. DISCUSSION: The proposed model is designed to address the unmet palliative care needs, to empower community-based healthcare providers in comprehensive home-based PC and to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and caregivers. This model will provide pragmatic scalable solutions in comparable health systems particularly in low- and lower-middle Income countries. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study has been registered with the Clinical Trial Registry-India (CTRI/2023/04/051357).

Awareness regarding the adverse effect of tobacco among adults in India: findings from secondary data analysis of Global Adult Tobacco Survey.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the extent of awareness regarding the harmful effects of tobacco among the users (both smoked and smokeless) and non-users in India, and explore the determinants of comprehensive knowledge among the participants of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), India. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The nationally representative GATS I (2009-2010) included 69 296 participants using a multistage sampling method, while GATS II (2015-2016) interviewed 74 037 respondents aged >15 years using a similar sampling method from all the states and union territories in India. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Comprehensive score were derived from nine items that explored awareness regarding the adverse effects of tobacco use among both users and non-users of tobacco in GATS II. Secondary outcome included predictors of awareness regarding adverse effects of tobacco and changes in the awareness compared with the previous round of the survey. RESULTS: About 60.2%, 57.5% and 66.5% of the smokers, smokeless tobacco (SLT) users and non-users were aware of the adverse effects of tobacco, respectively. The awareness depicted significant age, gender, marital status, education status, urban-rural, wealth and regional disparities (p<0.05). Intention to quit tobacco use also varied significantly with awareness. Among smokers, awareness was high in those residing in eastern India and the poorest participants. Among SLT users, awareness was more among male participants, those who were poorest and lived in western India. Among non-users, awareness was more among middle-aged, more educated, rich participants of west India. Compared with GATS I, an increase in awareness was observed in GATS II across gender, age groups, residential areas and geographical regions in India. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive awareness of tobacco's harmful effects is far from desirable among Indian users. We recommend further customised health promotion campaigns to counter the regional disparities, adopt a gender-neutral approach and target adolescents.

Mental health and environmental factors associated with falls in the elderly in North India: A naturalistic community study.

AIM: To determine the prevalence of falls and to assess its relationship with cognitive deficits, depression, visual impairment and self-reported hearing impairment among the elderly. METHODS: This was a community-based, cross-sectional study conducted in 52 villages in the Naraingarh and Barara block of Ambala district which involved 468 participants. A pretested predesigned questionnaire was used to collect data regarding demographic profile, falls, and physical morbidities. Geriatric Depression Scale-Hindi, Hindi-mini-mental state examination, Snellen chart, Katz- Activity of Daily Living were used to collect data for depression, cognitive decline, vision and activity of daily living respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of falls was found to be 28.7%. An association was found between falls and slippery floors in the houses, hearing loss, vertigo, hypertension, use of multiple medications, depression and functional disability in univariate analysis. On multivariate regression analysis, slippery floors (OR = 2.28), use of multiple medications (OR = 1.71), hearing loss(OR = 1.83) and presence of depression (OR = 1.62) were found to be independent risk factors with falls. CONCLUSION: There is high prevalence of falls among the elderly and these are commonly related to preventable factors. Appropriate environmental modifications and exercise programs can help reduce the rate of falls as well as injuries related to falls among the elderly.

Feasibility of implementing cervical cancer screening program using smartphone imaging as a training aid for nurses in rural India.

BACKGROUND: The Indian national program stresses implementation of cervical cancer screening by health workers/nurses using VIA (Visual Inspection under Acetic acid). We demonstrate its feasibility and reliability in rural setting, assessing the role of smartphone-imaging for continuous training of nurses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design to assess the reliability of the nurse-led VIA test. To assess feasibility, VIA positive patients were observed till confirmative diagnosis was made. SAMPLE: Hospital-based purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. MEASURES: A structured questionnaire for recording participants' details, VIA findings and follow-up information; and an observational checklist to record implementation parameters during each clinic. An expert assessed the nurse's judgment using smartphone-images of cervix. RESULTS: During October 2016-June 2017, 2758 patients attended the weekly clinic; 238 (8.6%) met the criteria, of those 180 (75.6%) tested after consent. Nurse reported 25 (13.8%) VIA-positive cases, but only 19 accessed the referral service. Kappa statistic: 0.45 (CI: 0.26-0.63) suggested moderate nurse-expert agreement. Image retrieval and quality affected expert's evaluation. Implementation challenges include low awareness among the population and referral link-up. CONCLUSION: Appropriately trained nurses can reliably conduct screening. Real-time expert feedback might improve reporting. Rigorous awareness activities and on-site treatment can reduce drop-outs. The medical institute's involvement and administrative will were instrumental.

Epidemiological Trends of GI Cancers in Patients Visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital in Chandigarh, North India.

BACKGROUND: Cancer has become an epidemic disease. Nearly ten million new cancer cases are diagnosed annually in the world and out of these about half are from the developing world. To appropriately plan for treatment, management and prevention of the disease, it becomes necessary to study the trends about morbidity caused by cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data for patients diagnosed with any form of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers was extracted from records maintained in the outpatient department registers of the Oncology Department of Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh from 1999 to 2012. Trends were analysed for different categories of GI cancers for the period of 12 years. RESULTS: In present study GI cancers accounted for 23 % of all registered cases (n-9603) of carcinomas. Males predominated for all GI cancers except in the gall bladder. Gastrointestinal cancers as a proportion of total cancers increased from 21% in 1999 to 25.9% in 2012 with a significant increasing trend in our series (χ2 for linear trend=9.36, p<0.003). Cancers of the tonsil, oral cavity and pharynx taken together showed an increasing trend over the years (χ2 for trend=55.2, p<0.001) whereas cancers of the lower GI (χ2=19.6, p<0.0001) and gall bladder (χ2=19.5, p<0.0001) showed a declining trend in our series. CONCLUSIONS: GI cancers form a significant proportion of all cancers reporting to our data. In depth studies to ascertain the reasons for the changing trends are required to design intervention programs. Further information is necessary from cancer registries and from the hospital records of oncology departments.