Feasibility, effectiveness and cost of a decentralized HCV care model among the general population in Delhi, India.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: India has a significant burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and has committed to achieving national elimination by 2030. This will require a substantial scale-up in testing and treatment. The "HEAD-Start Project Delhi" aimed to enhance HCV diagnosis and treatment pathways among the general population. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted at 5 district hospitals (Arm 1: one-stop shop), 15 polyclinics (Arm 2: referral for viral load (VL) testing and treatment) and 62 screening camps (Arm 3: referral for treatment). HCV prevalence, retention in the HCV care cascade, and turn-around time were measured. RESULTS: Between January and September 2019, 37 425 participants were screened for HCV. The median (IQR) age of participants was 35 (26-48) years, with 50.4% male and 49.6% female. A significantly higher proportion of participants in Arm 1 (93.7%) and Arm 3 (90.3%) received a VL test compared with Arm 2 (52.5%, P < .001). Of those confirmed positive, treatment was initiated at significantly higher rates for participants in both Arms 1 (85.6%) and 2 (73.7%) compared to Arm 3 (41.8%, P < .001). Arm 1 was found to be a cost-saving strategy compared to Arm 2, Arm 3, and no action. CONCLUSIONS: Delivery of all services at a single site (district hospitals) resulted in a higher yield of HCV seropositive cases and retention compared with sites where participants were referred elsewhere for VL testing and/or treatment. The highest level of retention in the care cascade was also associated with the shortest turn-around times.

Minimal anesthetic manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS): A novel technique in use for anesthesia in MSICS.

Ever-evolving modern day cataract extraction techniques have been accompanied by the use of smaller quantities and less invasive methods of anesthesia. Topical anesthesia is routinely used for phacoemulsification. However, peribulbar block or some modification of it is used for anesthesia in manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS) by most practitioners. The authors describe a technique using a combination of 1.5-2 milliliters of anesthetic mixture given subconjunctivally and supplemented with commercially available intracameral anesthetic and mydriatic for MSICS. It is possible to get high level of anesthetic effect and ease of surgery with this technique though there is a small learning curve. Several modifications from topical phacoemulsification like two side ports six o'clock hours apart make this surgery easy to adapt to. No special instrumentation is required. It gives adequate analgesia and anesthesia to complete the surgery. a minimalistic anesthetic approach in MSICS can be used with enhanced safety and by avoiding usual complications of traditional peribulbar and retrobulbar anesthesia.