Road accidents on Indian National highways, ambulance reachability and transportation of injured to trauma facility: Survey-based introspection of golden hour.

Background: The transportation system plays a crucial role in the context of socioeconomic development, whereas the highway infrastructure acts as a base for the transportation system. In recent years, a rich impetus has been given to the development of road infrastructure by Indian governance. There is a need to introspect how well the prevailing highway infrastructure is equipped with emergency rescue management during road accidents. Lack of ambulance service and trauma facilities along the highways results in a steady loss of lives and injuries and increases people's exposure to risks. Objective: This study aims to determine the response time of ambulance reachability to the accident spot on Indian national highways associated with heavy commercial transportation. Also, determining the time to transport the injured to the nearest trauma facility is another factor included as an objective in this investigation. Methods: The study adopted survey-based research, whereby the variables in the questionnaire were designed to record and assess the time for an ambulance to reach the accident spot and, from there, to transport the injured to the trauma management facility on Indian highways. Two hundred twenty-five participants who were either victims/relatives of victims or those involved in the rescue of the injured have participated in the survey. The dates of the accident events were 2017 and 2022. Results: The survey resulted in the identification of two categories of highway accidents. The first category of accidents happened on the highways near city limits/dense settlements, and the second category occurred on the core highways. The percentage of accidents caused on the highways either adjacent to or passing through the city limits/dense settlements was reported to be higher than the accidents on the core highways. Ninety percent of the participants reported successful contact with the ambulance call/service centre, but only ~75% success rate exists for ambulances to reach the accident scene. On the core highways, the time taken for the ambulance to arrive at the accident scene is 25-35 minutes. The results from the survey ascertained that the patients were prioritised for treatment in the nearest hospitals (irrespective of having a trauma facility) at a distance of ~12-20 km, for which the time taken is ~15-25 minutes. Importantly, from the interviews, it is understood that in many cases, these hospitals have further referred to specialty hospitals located in nearby cities or trauma centres with greater facilities. Occasions exist where the injured were taken directly to hospitals 30-40 km from the accident spot, for which the time was more than 40 minutes. Conclusions: The results provide evidence that in either of the accident cases on the highways that are adjacent to/passing through the city limits or on the core highways, the total time for emergency care accessibility is nearly 60 minutes or greater; this implies that in the majority of cases, there is very meagre time left to provide emergency medical care to the needy and injured on the Indian highways to abide by the concept of golden hour. Plausible reforms backed by technology for enabling highways into 'emergency rescuable highways' are highly needed to guarantee a safer and more sustainable transportation system in India.

Determinants, risk factors and spatial analysis of multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis in Jodhpur, India.

This study was planned to estimate the proportion of confirmed multi-drug resistance pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) cases out of the presumptive cases referred to DTC (District Tuberculosis Center) Jodhpur for diagnosis; to identify clinical and socio-demographic risk factors associated with the multidrug-resistant pulmonary TB and to assess the spatial distribution to find out clustering and pattern in the distribution of pulmonary TB with the help of Geographic Information System (GIS). In the Jodhpur district, 150 confirmed pulmonary multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases, diagnosed by probe-based molecular drug susceptibility testing method and categorized as MDR in DTC's register (District Tuberculosis Center), were taken. Simultaneously, 300 control of confirmed non-MDR or drug-sensitive pulmonary TB patients were taken. Statistical analysis was done with logistic regression. In addition, for spatial analysis, secondary data from 2013-17 was analyzed using Global Moran's I and Getis and Ordi (Gi*) statistics. In 2012-18, a total of 12563 CBNAAT (Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test) were performed. 2898 (23%) showed M. TB positive but rifampicin sensitive, and 590 (4.7%) showed rifampicin resistant. Independent risk factors for MDR TB were ≤60 years age (AOR 3.0, CI 1.3-7.1); male gender (AOR 3.4, CI 1.8-6.7); overcrowding (AOR 1.6, CI 1.0-2.7); using chulha (smoke appliance) for cooking (AOR 2.5, CI 1.2-4.9), past TB treatment (AOR 5.7, CI 2.9-11.3) and past contact with MDR patient (AOR 10.7, CI 3.7-31.2). All four urban TUs (Tuberculosis Units) had the highest proportion of drug-resistant pulmonary TB. There was no statistically significant clustering, and the pattern of cases was primarily random. Most of the hotspots generated were present near the administrative boundaries of TUs, and the new ones mostly appeared in the area near the previous hotspots. A random pattern seen in cluster analysis supports the universal drug testing policy of India. Hotspot analysis helps cross administrative border initiatives with targeted active case finding and proper follow-up.

Assessment of Epidemiological Implications Due to Serial Tropical Cyclones in India: Introspecting the Recent Sanitation Interventions.

OBJECTIVES: The Indian subcontinent is prone to tropical cyclones that used to originate in the North Indian Ocean. Through this study, an inventory of disease outbreaks for the tropical cyclone-affected regions from 2010 to 2018 has been compiled. This inventory is used to assess the success of recent sanitation intervention, Swachh Bharat Mission, also known as the Clean India Mission. METHODS: Meteorological parameters from the Indian satellites were used to demarcate the cyclone-affected area. Disease outbreaks and epidemics during the tropical cyclones were compiled from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program and other relevant sources. The inventory has been used to track the effect of recent sanitation interventions on disease outbreaks. RESULTS: Districts in the eastern coast of India are frequently affected due to tropical cyclones that have originated from the North Indian Ocean. Infectious diseases like the acute diarrheal diseases, vector-borne diseases, viral fevers, enteric fevers, and food poisoning have recursively occurred during the cyclonic events and persisted up to 2 weeks from the cyclonic episode. The effectiveness of the Clean India Mission is evident during the recent cyclones, Ockhi, Titli, and Gaja, where a significantly lower number of infectious disease outbreaks were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: The Clean India Mission has exhibited positive results on the public health consequences associated with tropical cyclones.