RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of an online educational intervention on improving knowledge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and stewardship among final-year medical students in Chennai, India. METHODS: This was a prospective 'before-after' study conducted across 5 medical colleges in Chennai, India. Participants who were final-year (fourth year) undergraduate medical students were administered a pretest to evaluate baseline knowledge. Students were then provided access to online educational material comprising 20 short lectures. Lectures were delivered by content experts and covered a range of topics which included basics of microbiology, fundamental concepts in AMR and stewardship, diagnosis and management of common infections, basics of antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and vaccination. Students were required to take a posttest at the end of these modules. Primary outcome was improvement in test scores from pretest baseline which was analyzed using a t test. A 30% improvement in the mean scores from baseline was predefined as a measure of success. RESULTS: A total of 599 students participated from 5 medical colleges among whom 339 (56.6%) were female participants; 542 (90.4%) students completed the posttest. Mean pretest score was 11.6 (maximum possible score of 25) (SD: 4.3) and the mean posttest score was 14.0 (SD: 4.6). Comparing pre and posttest scores, there was an improvement of 2.4 marks (20%) from the baseline (95% confidence interval: 1.9, 2.9) (P < .001). Improvement in scores was similar for male and female participants. CONCLUSIONS: In this before-after study evaluating the impact of an educational intervention on AMR among final-year medical students, there was an improvement in knowledge; however, the extent of improvement did not meet the predefined metric of success.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Monoclonal antibodies have gained attention in developing countries owing to its benefits portrayed by few clinical trials. However, no studies until now have been undergone in India. METHODS: A retro-prospective comparative observational study was conducted in symptomatic COVID19 patients to evaluate the impact of Casirivimab and Imdevimab antibody cocktail in the high-risk population. Through an extensive data retrieval for 6 months, 152 samples were documented and sorted into test (Casirivimab and Imdevimab treated patients, n = 79) and control (Non- Casirivimab and Imdevimab treated individuals, n = 73) subsets. The research had two phases; first, estimation of mechanical ventilation and high flow oxygen requirement and mortality in samples amidst the treatment, and second was the post COVID19 patients' feedback through validated (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.7) questionnaire that evaluated their health and vaccination status, and treatment satisfaction. RESULTS: We noticed lesser requisite for mechanical ventilation (6.3%; p < 0.001), high flow oxygen (5.1%; p < 0.001) and no death during Casirivimab and Imdevimab therapy. Meanwhile, non-vaccinated test groups were not on mechanical ventilation and those fully immunized seldom entailed high flow oxygen (test, 6.3%; control, 41.9%, p < 0.01). On evaluating the post COVID19 status of each patient in the study, 90.1% of the test samples were healthy and 97.2% were satisfied with the treatment than those in control group. CONCLUSIONS: Casirivimab and Imdevimab regimen was clinically beneficial for high risk COVID19 patients than those treated without the antibody cocktail.
