Epidemiology of Coronavirus Disease 2019 during the Second and Third Wave in Chennai, India: An Analysis of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Surveillance System, February 2021-February 2022.

INTRODUCTION: Analysis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance system in the first wave indicated that the data-driven approach helped in resource allocation and public health interventions. OBJECTIVES: We described the epidemiology of COVID-19 cases in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, from February 2021 to February 2022. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the COVID-19 surveillance data from Chennai City, Tamil Nadu, India's Greater Chennai Corporation. We described the deidentified line list of COVID-19 cases and deaths by months, zones, age, and gender. We estimated the incidence of COVID-19 cases per million population, test positivity rate (TPR), and case fatality ratio (CFR). RESULTS: Of the 434,040 cases reported in Chennai from February 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022, 53% were male. The incidence per million peaked in May 2021 (19,210) and January 2022 (15,881). Age groups more than 60 years reported maximum incidence. Southern region zones reported higher incidence. Overall TPR was 5.8%, peaked in May 2021 (17.5%) and January 2022 (15.1%). Over half of the 4929 reported deaths were in May 2021 (56%). Almost half of the deaths were 61-80 years (52%), followed by 41-60 years (26%). Overall CFR was 1%, which peaked in June 2021 (4%). CONCLUSION: We conclude that Chennai city experienced a surge in COVID-19 due to delta and omicron variants. Understanding descriptive epidemiology is vital for planning the public health response, resource allocation, vaccination policies, and risk communication to the community.

Respectful Maternity Care Practices During Normal Delivery at the Public Health Facilities in Tamil Nadu, Southern India: A Descriptive Study.

INTRODUCTION: The quality of maternity care in Tamil Nadu has significantly improved in the past few years and various public health initiatives have helped to reduce crucial indicators like Maternal Mortality Ratio and Infant Mortality Rate. The improvement in quality of interface between the mothers and service providers in term of language, behaviour and attitude for ensuring 'Respectful Maternity Care' would support further enhancement of maternal and new born outcomes. Delivery of appropriate and respectful care to each pregnant woman would not only go a long way in reducing mortality and morbidity for the woman and new-born but also help in improved cognitive development of the baby. OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of delivery care practices provided during normal delivery among women accessing public health facilities in Tamil Nadu. METHODS: A descriptive evaluation study was conducted from May to December 2018 in 16 facilities across 14 districts in Tamil Nadu. The health facilities were stratified according to the level of services, Government Medical College hospitals (MC), District headquarter hospitals (DHQ), Sub-district hospitals (SDH), and PHCs, 4 facilities in each category were selected. Data was collected by direct observation using a facility observation check list in an Android-based tablet application. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. RESULTS: A total of 1006 pregnant women out of 2242 women who had normal delivery were assessed and included in the study. More than 50% of deliveries were conducted by nurses and midwives and the perinatal and maternal outcomes were found to be good. The parameters for the respectful maternity care were recorded. Routine care monitoring parameters helped to reduce mortality rate and improved delivery care. CONCLUSION: The state though has achieved substantial success in promoting institutional delivery practices, still needs certain crucial improvements in the quality of respectful maternal care during the delivery.

The overall pooled prevalence of disrespectful maternity care in India was 71.31% (95% CI 39.84­102.78) where every individual study prevalence ranged from 20.9 to 100%. Institutional delivery is 100 percent in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu (NFHS V) and hence it is important to assess the quality of maternity care provided in public healthcare facilities in the state. The improvement in the quality of the interface between the women and service providers in terms of language, behavior, and attitude for ensuring 'Respectful Maternity Care' would thus contribute to positive outcomes for women and their newborns, and also to ensure the cognitive development of children later in life.

Experiences, Challenges, and Lessons Learned During Implementation of a Remote Monitoring Program for Home-Isolated COVID-19 Patients in Chennai, India.

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the majority of the identified COVID-19 patients in Chennai, a southern metropolitan city of India, presented as asymptomatic or with mild clinical illness. Providing facility-based care for these patients was not feasible in an overburdened health system. Thus, providing home-based clinical care for patients who were asymptomatic or with mild clinical illnesses was a viable solution. Because of the imminent possibility of worsening clinical conditions in home-isolated COVID-19 patients, continuous monitoring for red flag signs was essential. With growing evidence of the effectiveness of remote monitoring of patients, the Greater Chennai Corporation in partnership with the National Institute of Epidemiology conceptualized and implemented a remote monitoring program for home-isolated COVID-19 patients. The key steps used to develop the program were to (1) decentralize triage systems and establish a home-isolation protocol, (2) develop a remote monitoring platform and remote health care workforce, and (3) onboard patients and conduct remote hybrid monitoring. In this article, we share the pragmatic solutions, critical components of the systems and processes, lessons, and experiences in implementing a remote monitoring program for home-isolated COVID-19 patients in a large metropolitan setting.

Duration of seroprotection of the live attenuated SA-14-14-2 Japanese encephalitis vaccine in children in India.

BACKGROUND: Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a major public health concern in India, and the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus is the most common cause of viral encephalitis in Asia affecting children under the age of 15 years. In India, despite the introduction of the JE vaccine (SA-14-14-2) in the immunization programme, JE continues to account for 15-20% of AES cases to date. This study evaluates the immunogenicity of live attenuated SA-14-14-2 JE vaccine in terms of persistence of the humoral response after two doses. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 266 children belonging to one of the JE endemic regions of Uttar Pradesh, India. Blood samples were taken from children (2-10 years) and grouped according to the duration (in years) after two doses of the vaccine (5 groups with a class interval of 2 years). Informed written consent was obtained from the parents/guardians. All the samples collected were tested for the presence of anti-JEV-specific IgG antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and further confirmed by micro neutralization test (MNT) and immunofluorescence assays. RESULTS: Of the 266 samples tested by ELISA for anti-JEV-specific IgG antibodies, 260 (97.74%) were negative and 6 (2.26%) were equivocal. The geometric mean immune status ratio across the five groups, 0-2 years (n = 59), 2-4 years (n = 73), 4-6 years (n = 65), 6-8 years (n = 48) and 8-10 years (n = 21) post-two doses of SA-14-14-2 JE vaccine was 1.143, 1.059, 1.138, 1.075 and 1.130, respectively, and the geometric mean titre obtained from MNT across the five groups was 10.77, 8.400, 8.453, 9.517 and 9.674, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study showed a decreasing trend of anti-JEV specific IgG antibody titres across the five groups based on the duration following two doses of SA-14-14-2 vaccine. The results emphasize the significance of booster doses of vaccine for children living in endemic areas.

Effectiveness of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Corona Virus Vaccine (CovishieldTM) in preventing SARS-CoV2 infection, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 2021

BackgroundIndia experienced the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021, driven by the delta variant. Apprehensions around the usefulness of vaccines against delta variant posed a risk to the vaccination program. Therefore, we estimated the effectiveness of two doses of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Covishield) vaccine against COVID-19 infection among individuals [≥]45 years in Chennai, India. MethodsA community-based cohort study was conducted from May to September 2021 in a selected geographic area in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The estimated sample size was 10,232. We enumerated individuals from all eligible households and periodically updated vaccination and COVID-19 infection data. We computed vaccine effectiveness with its 95% confidence interval for two doses of the Covishield vaccine against any COVID-19 infection. ResultsWe enrolled 69,435 individuals, of which 21,793 were above 45 years. Two dose coverage of Covishield in the 18+ and 45+ age group was 18% and 31%, respectively. The overall incidence of COVID-19 infection was 1099 per 100,000 population. The vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 disease in the [≥]45 age group was 61.3% (95% CI: 43.6 - 73.4) at least two weeks after receiving the second dose of Covishield. Genomic analysis of 74 (28 with two doses, 15 with one dose, and 31 with zero dose) out of the 90 aliquots collected from the 303 COVID-19 positive individuals in the 45+ age group showed delta variants and their sub-lineages. ConclusionWe demonstrated the effectiveness of two doses of the ChAdOx1 vaccine against the delta variant in the general population of Chennai. We recommend similar future studies considering emerging variants and newer vaccines. Two-dose vaccine coverage could be ensured to protect against COVID-19 infection.

Age- & sex-specific infection fatality ratios for COVID-19 estimated from two serially conducted community-based serosurveys, Chennai, India, 2020.

Background & objectives: Infection fatality ratio (IFR) is considered a more robust and reliable indicator than case fatality ratio for severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Age- and sex-stratified IFRs are crucial to guide public health response. Infections estimated through representative community-based serosurveys would gauge more accurate IFRs than through modelling studies. We describe age- and sex-stratified IFR for COVID-19 estimated through serosurveys conducted in Chennai, India. Methods: Two community-based serosurveys were conducted among individuals aged ≥10 yr during July and October 2020 in 51 of the 200 wards spread across 15 zones of Chennai. Total number of SARS-CoV-2 infections were estimated by multiplying the total population of the city aged ≥10 yr with the weighted seroprevalence and IFR was calculated by dividing the number of deaths with the estimated number of infections. Results: IFR was 17.3 [95% confidence interval (CI): 14.1-21.6] and 16.6 (95% CI: 13.8-20.2) deaths/10,000 infections during July and October 2020, respectively. Individuals aged 10-19 years had the lowest IFR [first serosurvey (R1): 0.2/10,000, 95% CI: 0.2-0.3 and second serosurvey (R2): 0.2/10,000, 95% CI: 0.1-0.2], and it increased with age and was highest among individuals aged above 60 yr (R1: 140.0/10,000, 95% CI: 107.0-183.8 and R2: 111.2/10,000, 95% CI: 89.2-142.0). Interpretation & conclusions: Our findings suggested that the IFR increased with age and was high among the elderly. Therefore, elderly population need to be prioritized for public health interventions including vaccination, frequent testing in long-term care facilities and old age homes, close clinical monitoring of the infected and promoting strict adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions.

A comparison of enoxaparin with unfractionated heparins in patients with coronary heart disease in an emergency department in rural South Indian tertiary care teaching hospital.

AIM: Antithrombotic therapy with heparin plus antiplatelets reduces the rate of ischemic events in patients with coronary heart disease. Low molecular weight heparin has a more predictable anticoagulant effect than standard unfractionated heparin, is easier to administer, does not require monitoring and is associated with less ADRs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare the clinical and cost outcomes of Enoxaparin with a standard unfractionated heparin in patients with coronary heart disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a noninvasive prospective observational descriptive study carried out at a multi-specialty tertiary care teaching hospital situated in rural Tamil Nadu, India. Male and female coronary heart disease (CHD) patients aged 35-75 years newly diagnosed or those having a history of CHD were included. The intervention group received enoxaparin for 5 days. A series of resting the electrocardiogram, prothrombin time and ADRs were measured in all patients during days 1 and 21 respectively. RESULTS: Compared to unfractionated heparin group of patients, the average prothrombin time was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) whereas hypokalemia was significantly lower (P < 0.02) in enoxaparin group of patients. Even though recurrence of angina and ADRs such as bleeding, nausea, headache and sudden cough occurred less frequently in the enoxaparin group of patients compared to unfractionated heparin group of patients, the differences were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Antithrombotic therapy with enoxaparin plus aspirin was safer and more effective than unfractionated heparin plus aspirin, in reducing the incidence of ischemic events in patients with unstable angina or myocardial infarction in the early phase.

Treatment-seeking behavior and compliance of diabetic patients in a rural area of south India.

India, being a rural country, has unique problems regarding the treatment compliance of diabetic patients. This community-based study was undertaken in a rural primary health center area near Chennai (Madras) in order to better understand treatment-seeking behavior, compliance patterns, and reasons for noncompliance among rural diabetics. Compliance was indirectly measured through patient interviews and drug use charts. Of the 112 patients interviewed, 72% had some symptoms at the time of diagnosis, and the majority of them were diagnosed in government health centers. Noncompliance was seen in 57% of the 112 patients interviewed, and reasons were elicited. Interruption of treatment was significantly associated with lack of education. The study identified the lack of a patient-friendly, flexible health care system as the primary reason for noncompliance.

Impact of clinical pharmacy services on renal transplant patients' compliance with immunosuppressive medications.

BACKGROUND: Non-compliance with immunosuppressive medications may result in allograft rejection and is regarded as an important impediment to post-transplant care. This randomized, controlled trial evaluates the impact of clinical pharmacy services on renal transplant patients' compliance with immunosuppressive agents. METHODS: Patients who received a renal transplant at the Medical College of Georgia from February 1997 through January 1999 were randomized in the intervention or control group provided they met study criteria. In addition to routine clinic services at each clinic visit, patients in the intervention group received clinical pharmacy services, which included medication histories and review of patients' medications with an emphasis on optimizing medication therapy to achieve desired outcomes and minimizing adverse medication events. The clinical pharmacist also provided recommendations to the nephrologists with the goal of achieving desired outcomes. To promote medication compliance by using compliance enhancement strategies, the clinical pharmacist counseled patients concerning their medication therapy and instructed them how to properly take their medications. Patients in the control group received the same routine clinic services as the intervention group except that they did not have any clinical pharmacist interaction. Compliance rate (CR) was calculated and patient's compliance status was determined from the CR. The CR, the fraction of patients remaining compliant for each month, and the mean time patients were compliant were compared between groups. Whether there was a difference in the frequency of patients achieving 'target' immunosuppressive levels in the control and study groups was evaluated. RESULTS: The mean CR for patients who had clinical pharmacist intervention (n=12) was statistically higher than the control group's (n=12) mean CR (p<0.001). During the 12-month post-transplant study period, patients in the intervention group had a longer duration of compliance than patients in the control group (p<0.05). Additionally, patients who had clinical pharmacy services had a greater achievement of 'target' levels than patients who did not receive these services (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who received clinical pharmacy services with traditional patient care services had better compliance with immunosuppressants than patients who only received traditional patient care services. Results of this study suggest a multidisciplinary team that includes a clinical pharmacist as part of the care for post-transplant patients is beneficial for enhancing medication compliance.

Renal transplant patient compliance with free immunosuppressive medications.

BACKGROUND: Noncompliance with immunosuppressive medications after renal transplantation is believed to be a major cause of allograft rejection and graft loss, with the impressive costs of these agents considered a significant reason for noncompliance. Our purpose was to determine the compliance rates of renal transplant patients who received their immunosuppressant therapy free of charge and evaluate their patterns of compliance. METHODS: All patients who received a renal transplant and received their immunosuppressant medications at our institution for their first year posttransplant were included in the study. Compliance rate was calculated and serum immunosuppressant concentrations were obtained to validate compliance assessments. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were included in the study. Approximately 48% of noncompliant patients were found to have subtarget drug concentrations, although only 14% of compliant patients had subtarget levels (chi2=12.9, P<0.001). At 5 months posttransplant, 95% of the patients remained compliant; however, by 12 months posttransplant, only 48% of the patients remained compliant. The mean time to the first noncompliant month was 9.8 months (95% confidence intervals=8.60-11.0). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who received their immunosuppressants free of charge were generally compliant within their first year of transplantation, however, compliance tended to decrease over time. This suggests that drug cost alone does not explain noncompliant behavior. Intensive efforts to increase medication compliance before month 8 posttransplantation should be implemented.

Dilutional acidosis complicating rotational atherectomy.

Rotational atherectomy is an important technique for the relief of atherosclerotic disease in both coronary and peripheral arteries. Here, we describe an unusual complication, dilutional metabolic acidosis, due to hydration during rotational atherectomy.

An ethnobotanical survey of javvadhu hills, Tamil Nadu.

This paper deals with the ethnobotanical observations on the tribals of javvadha Hills of Tamil Nadu. The medicinal uses of about 50 species are recorded.

Changes in erythrocyte membrane lipids in breast cancer after radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

CMF and radiation treatment alter the erythrocyte membrane architecture in breast cancer patients by inducing free radical formation in the system. The increased free radicals hydrolyze the unsaturated fatty acyl chains of membrane phospholipids and thus alter the membrane lipid profile. To assess the erythrocyte membrane damage caused by CMF chemotherapy and radiation treatment among breast cancer patients and to find a way which can protect them from the observed toxic manifestations form the basis of this study.

Alterations in erythrocyte membrane structure of breast cancer patients treated with CMF--a lipid profile.

Most of the breast cancer patients are treated with CMF which is a combination of three anticancer agents namely cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil. The metabolites of CMF induce the level of lipid peroxides in the system, which are circulated in the blood. The present study reports the effect of CMF on the levels of cholesterol and phospholipids in erythrocytes of breast cancer patients showing a significant increase in the level of phospholipids. As the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio increases, the fluidity of the membrane decreases, thereby altering the architecture of the erythrocyte membrane in the breast cancer patients treated with CMF.