Preparedness of diabetic patients for receiving telemedical health care: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: This study evaluates feasibility of telemedicine to deliver diabetic care among different regions of the country. Materials and Methods: Medical interns affiliated with Rotaract Club of Medicrew (RCM) organized a Free Diabetes Screening Camp called "Diab-at-ease" at multiple sites across the country. Of all beneficiaries of the camp >18 years of age, patients previously diagnosed with diabetes and undiagnosed patients with a random blood sugar level of more than 200 mg/dL were interviewed regarding their knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding diabetes care and preparedness and vigilance to receiving care through telemedicine. Random blood sugar, height, weight, and waist circumference were also documented. Results: About 51.1% (N = 223) of female patients aged 57.57 ± 13.84 years (>18 years) with body mass index (BMI) =26.11 ± 4.63 were the beneficiaries of the health camps. About 75.3% (n = 168) of them were on oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs), 15.7% (n = 35) were on insulin preparations, and 59.6% (n = 156) and 88.5% (n = 31) of which were highly compliant with treatment, respectively. About 35% (n = 78) and 43.9% (n = 98) of them were unaware of their frequency of hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic episodes, respectively. About 64.6% (n = 144) of the patients were equipped for receiving teleconsultation. Glucometer was only possessed by 51.6% (115) of which only 46.95% (n = 54) can operate it independently. Only 80 patients (35.9%) were aware of the correct value of blood glucose levels. Conclusion: While a majority of the population is compliant with treatment and aware about diabetes self-care, they lack adequate knowledge and resource equipment for the same leading to very limited utilization.

Prevalence and Assessment of Factors Associated With Malnutrition in Children Residing in Slums of Mumbai: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Malnutrition in children continues to be a serious public health problem in India. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition and assess factors contributing to it in children of the marginalized slum population of India, masked in the metropolitan cities.  Methods A retrospective data analysis with a cross-sectional model was conducted by medical volunteers affiliated with the Rotaract Club of Medicrew who had organized a free pediatric health check-up camp in the Dharavi village of Mumbai, India for children under five. Children under five years of age group of either sex residing in the slums of Dharavi and whose parents consented are included in the study. Neonates, children older than five years of age, and children whose parents did not consent for them to be included in the study were excluded. A pretested, pre-validated questionnaire was administered, and statistical analysis was done with p-values <0.05 considered to be statistically significant. Results  A total of 126 children were included. Out of these children, 109 of them (86.50%) had a mid-arm circumference of more than 12.5 cm (normal), 11 (8.73%) were between 11.5 cm and 12.5 cm (moderate acute malnutrition), and five (4.77%) were less than 11.5 cm (severe acute malnutrition). Among the 126 kids, 86 kids were above the age of two and their BMI was assessed, 36 (44.19%) were found to be underweight (<5th percentile) while 14 (16.3%) were obese (>95th percentile), and four (4.65%) were overweight (85th-95th percentile). For 106 (84.13%) of these children, the caregivers were mothers while others were fathers (n=4; 3.18%), grandmothers (n=5; 3.97%), sisters (n=5; 3.97%), and aunts (n=6; 4.76%). Out of those who had commenced receiving formal education, only 39 (55.71%) were in an appropriate grade for their age. The mean expenditure on food as a proportion of the total household income was 36.40% (standard deviation (SD) 15.0%). On the single-item sleep quality scale, the sleep of only 36 kids (28.58%) was reported by their caregivers as excellent. A high proportion of other medical problems were reported in the children. Conclusion Our study reports a substantial burden of malnutrition among children residing in the slums of Dharavi. Rigorous strengthening and conceptualization of on-ground nutritional programs targeted toward slum children should be done by Indian healthcare policymakers.

Multifactorial Causation of Alzheimer's Disease Due to COVID-19.

There are several implications of the surge in the incidence of pandemics and epidemics in the last decades. COVID-19 being the most remarkable one, showed the vulnerability of patients with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD). This review studies the pathological interlinks and triggering factors between the two illnesses and proposes a multifactorial pathway of AD causation due to COVID-19. The article evaluates and describes all the postulated hypotheses which explain the etiology and possible pathogenesis of the disease in four domains: Inflammation & Neurobiochemical interactions, Oxidative Stress, Genetic Factors, and Social Isolation. We believe that a probable hypothesis of an underlying cause of AD after COVID-19 infection could be the interplay of all these factors.

Effect of COVID-19 containment measures on access to snakebite care in India.

INTRODUCTION: The extensive spread of COVID-19 meant action to address the pandemic took precedence over routine service delivery, thus impacting access to care for many health conditions, including the effects of snakebite. METHOD: We prospectively collected facility-level data from several health facilities in India, including number of snakebite admissions and snakebite envenoming admissions on modality of transport to reach the health facility. To analyse the effect of a health facility being in cluster-containment zone, we used negative binomial regression analysis. RESULTS: Our findings suggest that that health facilities located within a COVID containment zone saw a significant decrease in total snakebite admissions (incidence rate ratio 0.64 (0.43-0.94), standard error 0.13, p≤0.02)) and envenoming snakebite admissions (incidence rate ratio 0.43 (0.23-0.81), standard error 0.14, p≤0.01) compared to when health facilities were not within a COVID containment zone. There was no statistically significant difference in non-envenoming admissions and modalities of transport used to reach health facilities. CONCLUSION: This article provides the first quantitative estimate of the impact of COVID-19 containment measures on access to snakebite care. More research is needed to understand how containment measures altered care-seeking pathways and the nature of snake-human-environment conflict. Primary healthcare systems need to be safeguarded for snakebite care to mitigate effects of cluster-containment measures.

Poor Representation of Developing Countries in Editorial Boards of Leading Obstetrics and Gynaecology Journals.

Evidence suggests a limited contribution to the total research output in leading obstetrics and gynaecology journals by researchers from the developing world. Editorial bias, quality of scientific research produced and language barriers have been attributed as possible causes for this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to understand the prevalence of editorial board members based out of low and lower-middle income countries in leading journals in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. The top 21 journals in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology were selected based on their impact factor, SCImago ranking and literature search. The composition of the editorial boards of these journals was studied based on World Bank Income Criteria to understand the representation status of researchers from low and lower-middle income countries. A total of 1315 board members make up the editorial composition of leading obstetrics and gynaecology journals. The majority of these editors belong to high-income countries (n = 1148; 87.3%). Low (n = 6; 0.45%) and lower-middle income (n = 55; 4.18%) countries make up for a very minuscule proportion of editorial board members. Only a meagre 9 out of 21 journals have editorial board members from these countries (42.85%). Low and low-middle countries have poor representation in the editorial boards of leading obstetrics and gynaecology journals. Poor representation in research from these countries has grave consequences for a large proportion of the global population and multidisciplinary collaborative efforts must be taken to rapidly change this statistic with immediate effect.

Protocol of a scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses about COVID-19 vaccines and associated adverse events from vaccination.

The continuous dissemination of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) literature can inform decision-makers and the public. Since the widespread use of COVID-19 vaccines, more systematic reviews have summarized the effectiveness and reported adverse events associated with vaccination. Previous systematic and scoping reviews on COVID-19 summarized various aspects surrounding COVID-19, however, a scoping review is needed to summarize the characteristics of COVID-19 vaccines and associated adverse events reported in systematic reviews and meta-analyses to provide comprehensive evidence for informed medical decision-making. We will conduct a scoping review concerning COVID-19 vaccines and adverse events from vaccines. We will search from December 2019 to present in Epistemonikos, Campbell Library, CINAHL (Ovid), MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, CENTRAL (Ovid), Web of Science, WHO COVID-19 database, Joanna Briggs Institute of Excellence, and COVID-19 Evidence Reviews resource. We will include systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or both of randomized controlled trials and observational studies and exclude individual randomized controlled trials and observational studies. Abstracts and full-texts will be screened prior to selection. Investigators will independently use a calibrated quantitative and qualitative data extraction sheet and rate the quality of articles with AMSTAR, resolving disagreements to aim for good agreement (≥80%). An updated scoping review of the characteristics and safety of COVID-19 vaccines would highlight the accuracy of the evidence to inform decision-making concerning COVID-19 vaccination.

A Metasynthesis and Meta-analysis of the Impact and Diagnostic Safety of COVID-19 Symptom Agnostic Rapid Testing in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Amid all public health measures to contain COVID-19, the most challenging has been how to break the transmission chain. This has been even more challenging in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A public health emergency warrants a public health perspective, which comes down to prevention. Rapid mass testing has been advocated throughout the pandemic as a way to promptly deal with asymptomatic infections, but its usefulness in LMICs is yet to be fully understood. OBJECTIVE: The study objectives of this paper are to (1) investigate the impact of the different rapid mass testing options for SARS-CoV-2 that have been delivered at point of care in LMICs and (2) evaluate the diagnostic safety (accuracy) of rapid mass testing for SARS-CoV-2 in LMICs. METHODS: This review will systematically search records in PubMed, EBSCOhost, Cochrane library, Global Index Medicus COVID-19 Register, and Scopus. Records will be managed using Mendeley reference manager and SWIFT-Review. Risk of bias for randomized controlled trials will be assessed using the RoB 2 assessment tool, while nonrandomized interventions will be assessed using the tool developed by the Evidence Project. A narrative approach will be used to synthesize data under the first objective, and either a meta-analysis or synthesis without meta-analysis for the second objective. Tables, figures, and textual descriptions will be used to present findings. The overall body of evidence for the first objective will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation-Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (GRADE-CERQual) approach, and for the second objective using GRADE. RESULTS: The screening of records has been finalized. We hope to finalize the synthesis by the end of February 2023 and to prepare the manuscript for publication by April 2023. The study will be reported in accordance with standard guidelines for the reporting of systematic reviews. Review results will be disseminated through conferences and their peer-reviewed publication in a relevant journal. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the role of a preventive approach in infection control using rapid mass testing. It also flags the overriding need to involve users and providers in the evaluation of such tests in the settings for which they are intended. This will be the first review to the best of our knowledge to generate both qualitative and quantitative evidence regarding rapid mass testing specific to LMICs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42022283776; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=283776. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/41132.

Prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among diabetes, prediabetes and healthy population.

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global emerging health issue, which is due to extra fat deposition in the liver that poses a serious risk of liver cirrhosis. Our study assessed the glycaemic status and NAFLD in health patients coming for a regular health check-ups. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was done on 192 healthy populations aged 30-70 years who underwent general health check-ups. History, clinical examination, heamtological and radiological workup were done and data were statistically evaluated. Results: The age of the study population was between 30 and 70 years with an average age of 50 years and the study sample size was 190. Prevalence of prediabetes was 35.93%, diabetes at 17.18% and euglycaemics were 45.83% in our study group. Among diabetics and prediabetics, 30% and 31% were having raised transaminase. Among euglycaemics, around 19% had raised transaminase. On ultrasound scans among the diabetic group, the prevalence of fatty liver was 57.6% whereas in the prediabetic group it was 46.4%. Among the normal euglycaemic group, 22.7% had fatty liver. Conclusion: NAFLD is multifactorial and associated with diabetes and can progress to cirrhosis of the liver if untreated. There is a need to have more focus on screening, awareness, nutritional counselling and treatment at the primary care level.

Barriers and facilitators of providing standard of care diabetes management at primary care level in geriatric population.

Background: Geriatric population is gradually increasing and is expected to grow till 20% by 2050 from the current 8.6%, and so is diabetes prevalence and other comorbidities. To improve diabetes control, better coordination of provider, patient and health system is needed. It has been found that almost half of the diabetes patients do not achieve treatment targets. So, it is essential to assess the perceived barriers as well as facilitators from patients' and physicians' perspectives. The aim of the study was assessment of needs, care, barriers and facilitators to achieve treatment goals for patients and physicians. Materials and Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted by the Department of Geriatrics among 100 elderly diabetes patients and 50 physicians after obtaining ethical approval. All participants were interviewed based on a predefined, structured questionnaire with multiple options to grade or choose from. Results: Polypharmacy, mobility issues and dementia were the most common geriatric issues. Hypertension (HTN), arthritis and coronary artery disease (CAD) were the commonest comorbidities. Also, 73% reported that they followed dietary advice, but only 22% accepted that they were doing exercise regularly. Moreover, 5% mentioned that they were taking alcohol, and 15% confirmed of smoking. Also, 47% of patients felt that diabetes was well controlled. Remaining 53% patients gave reasons for poor diabetes control; the most common reason was not following a proper diabetic diet plan in 42% of patients and lack of exercise as instructed was reported by 22% as the reason for their poor diabetic control. Nineteen percent of patients accepted of not measuring their blood glucose as instructed. Among urban doctors, the three most common factors were not being consistent with lifestyle interventions, followed by no regular self-monitoring of blood glucose and no regular follow-up. Top three interventions suggested were to engage or encourage the family members of patients to become involved in diabetes care, provide more convenient diabetes brochures or education materials to patients and improve multidisciplinary and multispeciality collaboration in diabetes control. Conclusion: Diabetes in elderly needs proactive health system and coordinated care. Doctor-patient relationship with good communication skills, family support and multidisciplinary care is needed to improve diabetes care. Health education with a focus on diet control, exercise and other lifestyle modifications are essential factors in improving diabetes care.

Acute encephalitis syndrome and Bihar health profile: Urgent need to revitalize primary health care.

Acute encephalitis syndrome(AES) represents long term public health challenge with recurrent seasonal outbreak in many districts of Bihar for the past two decades. Multiple hypothesis has been postulated linking it as cause of acute encephalitis syndrome. Agrochemicals, lychee toxins, heat stroke, infectious causes and environmental factors have been postulated as AES cause. Although association have been found but no definite causation ascertained yet. Bihar heath performance on various indicators have been poor for past many years. Health index 2019 released by Niti Ayog with ministry of health and family welfare ranked Bihar on 20th place out of 21 large states based on various health indicators. Early access to nearest PHC may significantly improve outcome. As most of the children are from rural areas it's imperative to strengthen rural health care. Rural urban disparity and inequitable distribution of resources, lack of well-trained health workforce has been widely reported. Primary healthcare is the essential foundation of emergencies outbreaks. PHC is the best strategy and most cost-effective investment to provide high quality care ensuring equitable access to all. PHC reduces morbidity and makes public health system resilient to absorb sudden increase in number of cases, rising health demands putting health workforce at stress and strain to available resources.

A Statement of Solidarity on COVID-19 Pandemic 2020 by the South Asian Family Physicians.

The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) is a not-for-profit organization and was founded in 1972 by member organizations in 18 countries. WONCA now has 118 Member Organizations in 131 countries and territories with a membership of about 500,000 family doctors and more than 90 percent of the world's population. WONCA has seven regions, each of which has its own regional Council and run their own regional activities including conferences. WONCA South Asia Region is constituted by the national academies and colleges and academic member organizations of this region namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. In the background of the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, the office bearers, academic leaders, practitioners, and researchers of primary care from the South Asia Region have issued a solidarity statement articulating the role of primary care physicians.

Evaluating the effectiveness of cardiac arrest resuscitation short course (CARS) for rural physicians of Asia: The Rural Emergency Care Training for Physicians (RECTIFY) project.

BACKGROUND: Physicians from resource-constrained rural areas being lone lifesavers pose a unique challenge in resuscitating emergencies like cardiac arrest. Rural Emergency Care Training for Physicians (RECTIFY) was devised as a short course training to equip them to deal with occasional emergencies using minimal gadgets. This study was conceived to assess the effectiveness of the RECTIFY-Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation Short course (CARS) module in improving current knowledge and practice of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among interested rural physicians of Asia. METHODS: A three-tier observational study was conducted to assess current CPR knowledge with a pretested structured questionnaire and skills using a checklist, followed by a 3-h hands-on training and posttest evaluation using the same study instruments. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS 13.0. RESULTS: Out of 622 participants, most of the participants (603; 96.9%) were willing to provide CPR despite poor knowledge and skills. Pretest scores averaged 1.5 ± 0.99 and 0.1 ± 0.3 for CPR knowledge and skills, respectively. Posttest scores for CPR knowledge (10.5 ± 1.5) and skills (2.8 ± 1.6) improved significantly (both P = 0.001). Whereas a majority improved upon chest compression skills, appropriate use of sophisticated gadgets like automated external defibrillators (AED) was low (2.4%) despite training. CONCLUSION: The level of knowledge and skill among participants was poor despite the enthusiasm and positive intent. The impact of RECTIFY-CARS on knowledge and skills among participant physicians was significant and is recommended for implementation by health policymakers in resource-poor rural settings. However, essential gadgets like AED were not impactful which necessitates the use of simpler rural alternatives.

Evaluation of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) quick test for triage in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: *Soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a new biomarker, which is increased in conditions associated with inflammatory immune cell activation. In low resource, densely populated countries, there is a need for a quick test for triage and prognosticating in the emergency department. MATERIALS AND METHODS: *A pilot, observational study was conducted wherein all consenting adult patients (>18 years) presented to casualty with acute medical illnesses were included. Detailed clinical history, examination, and suPAR quick tests were done and patients were categorized into five groups based on the emergency severity index (ESI) triage algorithm. Patients with suPAR level more than 5.5 ng/mL were advised hospitalization and those below were advised follow-up. All patients were followed-up after 3 days. RESULTS: Total 190 patients (20-80 years), 80 males and 110 females participated. ESI triage 1, 2, and 3 had suPAR levels > 5.5 ng/mL and ESI triage 4 and 5 had suPAR level of <5.5 ng/mL. In ESI-1, 29 patients were admitted in ICU and 16 left against medical advice (LAMA) and on follow-up mortality was 96% (P = <0.05). In ESI-2, all patients were admitted in high dependency units and on follow-up they still needed hospitalization. In ESI-3, 22 patients admitted in ward and 24 went LAMA, on follow-up all improved except LAMA patients who required hospitalization (P - <0.05). Patients in ESI-4 and 5 did not require admission (P = <0.001). CONCLUSION: *suPAR can reliably be used in the emergency department to prognosticate and triage.

Healing the heart of healthcare: Leaving No One Behind: Impact of 15th World Rural Health Conference New Delhi.

More than a 1,000 delegates from 40 countries participated in the 15th WONCA World Rural Health Conference held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, from 26-29th April, 2018. The theme of this conference was "Healing the Heart of Healthcare - Leaving no one behind". The conference was organized by the Academy of Family Physicians of India in association with WoRSA - WONCA Rural South Asia. WONCA is the World Organization of Family Doctors. The conference aspired to bring rural healthcare on global agenda. SDG 3 though focuses on healthcare; however rural healthcare hasn't been emphasized enough. The conference was formally endorsed by the National Health Mission (NHM) under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) and the Niti Ayog - the National Policy Commission under Government of India. An extensive scientific program with 13 keynote speakers, 250 oral presentations, 85 e-posters, 60 workshops, 26 Ideathon presentations, 20 panel discussions and 10 symposiums spread over 8 parallel meeting rooms, ran over 4 days, kept the delegates engaged throughout. A national consultation on strengthening rural health care witnessed rural health experts from across the world deliberating on rural health challenges and solutions. Niti Ayog - the policy commission the highest policy making body in India cohosted a national consultation on strengthening rural healthcare in India, during this conference. The conference brought together stakeholders of rural health and primary health care, to address current and future challenges in rural health. The conference culminated with the unanimous adoption of the Delhi Declaration, calling for people living in rural and isolated parts of the country to be given special priority if nations are to achieve universal health coverage. The Declaration identifies six areas as priorities to achieve "Health For All Rural People": equity and access to care, rural proofing of policy, health system development, developing and educating a workforce fit for purpose, realigning the research and people and communities. Delhi declaration was also featured acknowledged by the World Health Organization at its website as an positive outcome.

Association of serum magnesium with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The rising burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) globally has led to huge morbidity and socioeconomic impact in developing countries. In India, too, it has become a silent epidemic and it is estimated that there are over 60 million diabetics. Although in recent years, a lot of research papers have come up on the management of diabetes, latest treatment modalities may not be affordable to all. So, it becomes imperative to prioritize research on prevention and primary care. Magnesium is an intracellular cation and coenzyme for various reactions of the glycolytic pathway. Hypomagnesemia has been shown to precipitate hyperglycemia and has, therefore, been implicated in insulin resistance and its microvascular complications. Poor glycemic control has been associated with retinopathy. Hence, we evaluated association of serum magnesium with T2DM and diabetic retinopathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional study in North India, 250 consenting adult patients from outpatient department of family medicine of our hospital were recruited. Critically ill patients and those on magnesium supplements were excluded. Clinicolaboratory profile was evaluated. Patients were divided based on serum magnesium level ≤ 1.7 mg/dL (group 1) and > 1.7 mg/dL (group 2). Glycemic control and proportion of diabetic retinopathy were compared between these two groups by using univariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Out of 250 patients, 110 patients (44%) were found to have hypomagnesemia. Glycemia by fasting blood sugar (P = 0.02), post-Prandial blood sugar (P = 0.04), and HbA1C(P = 0.01) was poorly controlled in hypomagnesemia group. In group 1, 62.7% had non proliferative diabetic retinopathy and 21.8% had proliferative diabetic retinopathy, whereas in group 2, 14.3% had nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy and 8.6% had proliferative diabetic retinopathy (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Magnesium deficiency is associated with increased risk of diabetic retinopathy and poor glycemic control. Dietary supplementation may be advised to prevent such complications and improve glycemic control.

Assessment of general practitioners' needs and barriers in primary health care delivery in Asia Pacific region.

BACKGROUND: Primary health care is the key to achieve universal health coverage and health for all. The role of general practitioner is now more important than ever. Gaps exist between primary care doctors' needs and available resources. Primary care professionals everywhere in the world are expected to provide basic standard of care and fulfill the unmet needs of the population. "Needs assessment" is essential in order to develop plans that reflect clinical priorities, educational needs, patient-centered care, and effective and efficient utilization of resources. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A blend of qualitative (28 in-depth interviews) and quantitative (315 survey respondents) research helped to identify the educational gaps of general practitioners in the Asia Pacific (APAC) countries. Our in-depth methodology assessed perceived needs in order to inform educational tactics that will engage physicians and drive changes in clinical practice. Barriers to change and best practices were identified so that those barriers may be addressed by the educational strategy. RESULTS: Key findings include a strong need for education for chronic conditions such as mental illness, skin problems, diabetes, hypertension, and others. The majority of physicians indicated that they prefer education in all aspects of the disease, from screening and diagnosis to maintenance or referral. Most clinicians prefer live presentations and small groups over Internet-based formats. Sub-analysis based on demographic factors showed little differences in the perceived needs, but significant differences in barriers to best practices. CONCLUSION: "Needs assessment" gives an insight into barriers, interest, and necessity related to education and skills in primary care and the best ways to deliver it.