A systematic review of CQ-resistant Plasmodium vivax malaria infections in India.

INTRODUCTION: Chloroquine (CQ) is the drug of choice for treating uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria in India. The knowledge about the exact burden of CQ resistance in P. vivax in India is scarce. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to assess the prevalence of CQ resistance in reported P. vivax cases from India. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science, were searched using the search string: 'Malaria AND vivax AND chloroquine AND (resistance OR resistant) AND India'. We systematically reviewed in-vivo and in-vitro drug efficacy studies that investigated the CQ efficacy of P. vivax malaria between January 1995 and December 2022. Those studies where patients were followed up for at least 28 days after initiation of treatment were included. RESULTS: We identified 12 eligible CQ therapeutic efficacy studies involving 2470 patients, Of these 2329 patients were assessed by in-vivo therapeutic efficacy methods and the remaining 141 were assessed by in-vitro methods. CQ resistance was found in 25/1787 (1.39%) patients from in-vivo and in 11/141 (7.8%) patients from in-vitro drug efficacy studies. CONCLUSION: Based on the available studies, the prevalence of CQ resistance in P. vivax was found to be relatively lower in India. However, continued surveillance and monitoring are crucial to identify the emergence of CQ resistance.

Deoxycholate amphotericin for management of mucormycosis: a retrospective cohort study from South India.

Introduction: Liposomal amphotericin use is limited in developing countries due to its extremely high cost and availability. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate deoxycholate amphotericin B's utility and adverse effect profile in patients with mucormycosis. Methodology: This retrospective cohort study from 2019 to 2021 included patients with proven mucormycosis who received deoxycholate amphotericin B for more than or equal to five days and had at least three creatinine values on treatment. Baseline demographic details, risk factors and treatment details of all the patients were recorded. In addition, the details of treatment-related adverse effects and outcomes were ascertained. Results: Of the 57 included patients, a history of diabetes, COVID-19 and steroid use was present in 49 (86%), 43 (75.4%) and 33 (57.9%) patients, respectively. Isolated rhino-orbital mucormycosis was the most common presentation (n=49, 86%). The median time of follow-up was 48 (30.5-90) days. A total of 8 (14%) patients died during the hospital stay. The median duration of amphotericin treatment was 21 (14-40) days. Thirty-nine patients (68.4%) developed hypokalaemia on treatment, while 27 (47.4%) patients developed hypomagnesaemia. A total of 34 (59.6%) patients developed AKI on treatment. The median day of development of AKI was 6 (4-10) days. The median baseline, highest and final creatinine values were 0.78 (0.59-0.94) mg/dl, 1.27 (0.89-2.16) mg/dl and 0.93 (0.74-1.59) mg/ dl respectively. The median percentage change from baseline to highest value and last follow-up value was 45% (0.43%-161%) and 25% (-4.8%-90.1%) respectively. The final creatinine was less than 150% of the baseline in 36 (63.2%) patients. Conclusion: Deoxycholate amphotericin is an acceptable alternative for treating mucormycosis in resource-constrained settings.

Recurrence in Plasmodium vivax malaria: a prospective cohort study with long follow-up from a coastal region in South-West India.

Background:  India is endemic for Plasmodium vivax(Pv) malaria. Despite a decrease in incidence, its elimination is hampered by recurrences. This study aimed to characterize recurrences in Pv malaria and study its association with primaquine (PQ) usage. Methods:  Symptomatic adult Pv patients were followed-up for up to 23 months for recurrences. The time to recurrence was compared by the PQ dosage they received using a log-rank test. Results: Of the 294 malaria patients, 206 (70%) patients had Pv infection during the study period. A total of 20 (9.7%) recurrences were seen in 17 (8.2%) patients of Pv. The percentage of first-time recurrences were highest in the no PQ group (25%), followed by the weekly PQ group (20%), low dose daily PQ (8.2%) group, and high dose daily PQ group (3.1%). Conclusions: Recurrence in Pv malaria is common, especially in those who receive an inappropriate prescription of primaquine.

Neurological manifestations of Kyasanur Forest disease: a retrospective cohort study from South India.

BACKGROUND: Kyasanur Forest disease (KFD) is a viral zoonotic disease where patients present with febrile illness and haemorrhagic manifestations in the first phase. In a small fraction of patients, the fever may be biphasic. This study aimed to describe the neurological manifestations of patients with KFD in the first and second phases of the illness. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of 297 patients admitted with a molecular diagnosis of KFD from December 2018 to December 2020. The case records of these patients were reviewed for evidence of neurological involvement. RESULTS: A total of 34 (11.5%) patients in the first phase and 16 (36.4%) patients in the second phase had neurological involvement. Altered sensorium, seizures and focal infarcts were common in the first phase, while cerebellar signs and leptomeningeal enhancement were common in the second phase. CONCLUSIONS: Neurological involvement is seen in both phases of KFD. While in the first phase it is a result of possible encephalitis/encephalopathy, the second phase involvement is possibly due to postinfectious cerebellitis or meningitis.

Implementing EUCAST rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing method for sepsis: lessons learned in a tertiary care center.

INTRODUCTION: We prospectively evaluated EUCAST rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing methodology for susceptibility testing directly from blood culture bottles in comparison to CLSI disk-diffusion method. METHODOLOGY: During May-November 2019, positively flagged blood culture bottles showing Gram-negative micro-organisms were simultaneously processed by rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing and CLSI methodology. Antibiotics tested were cefotaxime, ceftazidime, piperacillin-tazobactam, imipenem, meropenem, gentamicin, tobramycin and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. RESULTS: Overall, 80 isolates identified as Escherichia coli (n = 24, 30%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 15, 18.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 16, 20%) and Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 25, 31.2%) were included. Categorical agreements  of rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing at 4-, 6- and 8-hour reading times were 88.1% (304/345), 90.8% (425/468) and 92.3% (467/506), respectively. Major Error rates were 14% (21/150), 4.9% (10/206) and 4/236 (1.7%), whereas Very Major Error rates were 1.1% (2/177), 1.3% (3/232) and 3.3% (8/243), respectively. Results categorized as "Area of Technical Uncertainty" were significantly lower at 8-hour {10.2% (39/384) vs 5.2% (28/534), 4- vs 8-hour, p = 0.003, Fischer's exact test}. CONCLUSIONS: Except for a slightly higher Very major error rate, rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing at 8-hour is equivalent to Disk-diffusion method (CLSI-M100) using CLSI-M52 criteria for equivalence: (Categorical agreement ≥ 90%, Very major error ≤ 1.5% and Major error ≤ 3%). Poor Categorical agreements at all reading times were noted for piperacillin-tazobactam, ciprofloxacin and E. coli. Performance of rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing methodology in resource limited settings brings unique challenge of identifying micro-organisms within 8 hours. We suggest reading and reporting of results at a single time point using rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing method i.e. at 8-hour.