Prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype and its association with drug resistance in North India.

The global presence and rapid dissemination of Beijing genotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, makes it an important issue of public health. Its presence and association with multi-drug resistance has been shown in many settings. In present study we tried to find its prevalence and association with drug resistance in North India. One hundred and twenty four M. tuberculosis isolates were analyzed with spoligotyping, further drug susceptibility testing was done by 1% proportional method. Out of these, 11 (8.9%) M. tuberculosis isolates were identified as Beijing and 113 (91.1%) as non-Beijing genotypes. While looking at their drug susceptibility patterns, 6 (54.5%) & 22 (19.5%) were found to be multi drug resistant (MDR) among Beijing and non-Beijing isolates respectively. Our study concluded that the Beijing strains were not so common in north India and these strains do not fully associate with MDR.

Pulmonary rehabilitation in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), neglected in terms of pulmonary rehabilitation some decades ago, have nowadays evidence-based recommendations to attend it. There are no serious limitations excepting the locomotor handicap (neurological and musculoskeletal disability), severe cardiovascular and cognitive impairment. Multiple outcomes are expected to show up, as improvement of cardiovascular fitness and exercise capacity, relieving symptoms as dyspnoea, depression and anxiety. Meeting people like them on pulmonary rehabilitation premises, with same limitations and life beliefs, benefiting of group support and staff encouragement, elderly patients with COPD will find out that a pulmonary rehabilitation course might be both pleasant and useful, despite of distance of journey and physical training.