COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and variants in Nepal: study protocol for a test-negative case-control study with SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequencing.

INTRODUCTION: Inactivated, viral vector and mRNA vaccines have been used in the Nepali COVID-19 vaccination programme but there is little evidence on the effectiveness of these vaccines in this setting. The aim of this study is to describe COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in Nepal and provide information on infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a hospital-based, prospective test-negative case-control study conducted at Patan Hospital, Kathmandu. All patients >18 years of age presenting to Patan Hospital with COVID-19-like symptoms who have received a COVID-19 antigen/PCR test are eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome is vaccine effectiveness of licensed COVID-19 vaccines against laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 disease.After enrolment, information will be collected on vaccine status, date of vaccination, type of vaccine, demographics and other medical comorbidities. The primary outcome of interest is laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cases (positive for SARS-CoV-2) and controls (negative for SARS-CoV-2) will be enrolled in a 1:4 ratio. Vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 disease will be analysed by comparing vaccination status with SARS-CoV-2 test results.Positive SARS-CoV-2 samples will be sequenced to identify circulating variants and estimate vaccine effectiveness against common variants.Measuring vaccine effectiveness and identifying SARS-CoV-2 variants in Nepal will help to inform public health efforts. Describing disease severity in relation to specific SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccine status will also inform future prevention and care efforts. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Oxford Tropical Ethics Committee (OxTREC) (ref: 561-21) and the Patan Academy of Health Sciences Institutional Review Board (ref: drs2111121578). The protocol and supporting study documents were approved for use by the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC 550-2021). Results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and to the public health authorities in Nepal.

Qualitative Analysis of Resident as a Teacher Module in Post Graduate General Practice Residency Program.

BACKGROUND: Residents need to show their proficiency in clinical and teaching skills. A good amount of their time during residency is spent teaching their juniors. Moreover, once they graduate, their roles will be clinician and teacher. Therefore, the "Resident as a teacher" module was included in the curriculum of the general practice residency program at Patan Academy of Health Sciences. This study was designed to evaluate the change in the teaching skills of residents after going through the module. METHODS: This was a qualitative study where three groups were interviewed. The first group was residents who underwent 'Resident as Teacher Training' and were involved in teaching their juniors. The second group was junior residents who were involved as learners and the third group was faculties. The questionnaire was used for interviewing and the thematic analysis was done and the findings of these three groups were analyzed. RESULTS: There was a total of 25 general practice residents who were interviewed. The residents who were involved in teaching (N=11) stated that the training program increased their confidence 8(72.7%) and communication skills 8(72.7%). The residents who were learners (N=9) stated that they are more comfortable with the seniors in teaching and learning sessions. Faculties (N=5) stated that residents interacted well. Barriers to effective teaching were, difficult to manage time for preparation and supervision by faculty. CONCLUSIONS: General practice residents who went through the Resident as Teacher module stated that they were confident and had improvement in their teaching skills.

Full-scale simulation exercise-A preparedness for trauma mass casualty incident: Nepal.

OBJECTIVE: This simulation exercise was conducted to test the functionality of the hospital incident command system, triage, treatment areas, and external coordination and communication. DESIGN: This was an observational study. Coordination, logistic, technical design, staging, and evaluation of the exercise were planned for the exercise. The exercise was conducted in six hospitals. Observations were recorded, and a validated checklist was used to score. SETTING: This was a semisurprise exercise in the hospital setup. PARTICIPANTS: Simulated patients and moulage were used for the exercise. INTERVENTION: Full-scale simulation exercise. MAIN OUTCOME: Gaps in knowledge and skills were identified in the running incident command center, skills of patient transferal from ambulance to triage area, and external coordination. RESULT: Out of a total score of 220 in the evaluation sheet, the mean score was 161 ± 3.2 (73.2 percent) and the median score was 161.5. CONCLUSION: Hospital incident command system, triaging, and patient transferal are the areas that can be improved in the future.

Superficial venous thrombosisas a possible consequence of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine: two case reports.

BACKGROUND: Many scientists across the world got involved in the race to develop successful anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to overcome COVID-19 pandemic. Among the different vaccines developed against SARS-CoV-2, Covishield was the first vaccine approved for emergency use in Nepal. We report two cases of Superficial Vein Thrombosis (SVT) for the first time in the literature after vaccination with the Chimpanzee Adenovirus-vectored Vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine). CASES PRESENTATION: Two cases, a 24-year-old young Chhetri male and a 62-year-old Chhetri female who have received Covishield (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine, developed pain in left calf after 2 weeks and 10 weeks of vaccination, respectively. Both the case belongs to the Chhetri ethnic group of Nepal. The pain became severe on the fourth week of immunization in the first case while the pain was acute and severe on the 10th week of vaccination in the second case. The first presented to emergency room and second case was referred to the emergency room from Orthopedic Clinic. On evaluation the first patient had normal vitals with no history of fever and swelling yet displayed non-radiating mild to moderate intensity pain localized to left leg below the knee which became aggravated by movements. In the second case however pain was more intense with other characteristics as first case. Both cases had low wells score (< 4). On local examination tenderness was noted on squeezing but other systemic examination findings of the patient were within normal limits in both cases. Among the numerous vaccines used to fight the battle against COVID-19 disease, the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, Covishield, has been widely used in Nepal and India. Apart from other minor side effects, in few cases thromboses have been reported after vaccination of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, Covishield, vaccine. CONCLUSION: These cases reporting Superficial Vein Thrombosis may be an additional adverse effect to the list of adverse events associated with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, Covishield, vaccine. However, the benefits of the vaccine in breaking the chain of COVID 19 spread are certainly greater than the risk of thromboses.

Competency Based Post Graduate Residency Program at Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Nepal.

Competency-based medical education has evolved as an alternative approach in the residency training program. It shows potential to align educational programs with health system priorities through defining the competencies of graduating doctors. Designing and implementing Competency Based Post Graduate (CBPG) training in a resource-limited setting, where most of the trainings are still run in a conventional approach, is a big challenge. Patan Academy of Health Sciences, School of Medicine has taken the competency-based approach in the postgraduate residency training. Defining core competencies and connecting those to teaching methodology and assessment system are important initial steps in implementing the competency-based approach. The institution has implemented Entrustable Professional Activity (EPA), which is a unit of professional practice and helps to measure the trainees' achievements in the form of milestones. This paper describes the process of piloting and implementing the CBPG program at this school. The school launched the CBPG training in 2018 and so far, three batches of residents have been enrolled in nine different subjects/disciplines. The first batch of trainee, having the PAHS Core competencies and the pre-defined discipline-specific EPAs certified, will be completing their training soon. The program is time and resource consuming. Continuous faculty development, commitment, supportive leadership and faculty readiness to adapt to newer approaches are the key to the program's successful implementation. Keywords: Competency based medical education; Nepal; patan academy of health sciences; post graduate training; residency program.

Perception of Students and Faculty on Problem Based Learning in Proficiency Certificate Level Nursing Program.

BACKGROUND: Patan Academy of Health Sciences intended to implement problem based learning in proficiency certificate level nursing program who have just completed grade 10. Presently in Nepal, the available literature on use of problem based learning as teaching learning methods is limited to undergraduate medicine who have passed 10+2 or equivalent. It was conducted to measure the perception of students and faculty on problem based learning in nursing program. METHODS: Nursing faculty who have been involved in teaching learning of nursing curriculum were trained to conduct problem based learning and write problem based learning case. Prior to run problem based learning case, students were also oriented for the problem based learning process. A 44 students and seven faculty returned the filled data collection tool. RESULTS: Both the students and tutors perceived that the problem based learning is an effective teaching learning method. They also found that the attributes of problem based learning such as self-directed learning, collaborative learning, team work and fun learning. Students were eager to have more problem based learning session in their curriculum. Faculty also perceived that problem based learning can be a better teaching learning methods and it can be implemented in proficiency certificate level nursing. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the acceptance of problem based learning as a teaching learning methods in proficiency certificate level nursing program by both the students and faculty.

Triage, Surge Capacity, and Epidemic Emergency Unit: An experience from the 2019 dengue outbreak at a Tertiary Care Centre.

In September 2019, a dengue outbreak was observed in many non-endemic areas of Nepal. The emergency department of Patan Academy of Health Sciences also received febrile patients exceeding usual daily numbers. This surge of the patient was managed by epidemic triage and activation of surge capacity. A part of the surge plan was to activate an epidemic emergency unit. An observation ward adjacent to the emergency was used for the epidemic emergency unit. The febrile patients who were triaged yellow and green were treated in this unit. The patients who were triaged as Red were treated in the emergency department.

Hospital Preparedness for Outbreak at Patan Hospital: Lesson Learnt from COVID-19.

Patan Academy of Health Sciences started preparedness for COVID-19 in response to increasing number of patient in neighboring country. Outbreak preparedness in resource limited setup is challenging. Despite this, preparedness was done in reference to WHO interim guidance utilizing best available resources. During this preparedness, one patient was isolated as suspected COVID-19. This paper presents level of preparedness achieved with the limited resources and the lesson learned while isolating the patient. Keywords: COVID-19; Disaster; hospital preparedness.

Guiding Documents for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Health Care System of Nepal.

The incidence of disaster events has increased over the years. Nepal is vulnerable to various kinds of natural disasters especially earthquakes and floods and infectious disease outbreaks like Dengue and Covid-19 pneumonia. So, it is important to review and know our existing disaster risk reduction and management plans, rules, and regulations of our country to improve disaster risk management for resilience and enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to â€Å“Build Back Better: in recovery rehabilitation and reconstruction.†Nepal has sufficient guiding documents to guide disaster management. Keywords: disaster;Nepal;preparedness.

Symptoms of COVID-19 Confirmed Cases Presenting to Emergency Department in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical presentation of the patient with COVID-19 in an emergency department is very important. The proper assessment of the symptom allows correct intervention. So, this study is conducted specifically to find out the clinical spectrum of the patient on presentation to the emergency department. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. A retrospective analysis of patient records was done. There were 258 COVID-19 positive cases admission from 13th April to 13th August 2020. Out of these cases, 57 cases were excluded as they did not have respiratory symptoms but were admitted for other medical conditions. So, 201 symptomatic patients were analyzed in this study. Symptoms of all patients with the confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 admitted from the emergency department were analyzed. Data entry was done in an excel sheet and presenting symptoms of COVID-19 positive patients were described along with their comorbid conditions. RESULTS: Two hundred and one symptomatic patients were analyzed in this study. The mean age of study population was 37.9 years (median 37) with a minimum age of 2 months and a maximum age of 83 years. There were 114 (56.7%) male and 87 (43.3%) female; 109 (54.2%) patients were from outside the and 92 (45.8%) were from inside of Kathmandu Valley. The most common presenting symptom was fever 131 (65.2%) and cardiovascular condition including hypertension was the most common comorbid condition. CONCLUSIONS: Fever was the most common symptom of the patient presenting to the COVID19 emergency of our hospital. Moreover, fever needs to be analyzed carefully in terms of its onset total duration and associated cough, and underlying comorbid condition.

Impact of Nepal Earthquake on Patients Presenting for Emergency Care at Patan Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: Natural disasters have a significant impact on the health sector. On April 25, 2015, Nepal was struck by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The aim of the study was to compare patient volumes and clinical conditions presenting to the emergency department pre- and post-earthquake. METHODS: A retrospective study was done at Patan Hospital Emergency Department in Kathmandu, Nepal. Volume, demographics, and patient diagnoses were collected for 4 months post-disaster and compared with cases seen the same months the year before the disaster to control for seasonal variations. RESULTS: After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, 12,180 patients were seen in the emergency department. This was a significant decrease in patient volume compared with the 14,971 patients seen during the same months in 2014 (P=0.04). Of those, 5496 patients (4093 pre-disaster and 1433 post-disaster) had a chief complaint or diagnosis recorded for analysis. An increase in cardiovascular and respiratory cases was seen as well as an increase in psychiatric cases (mostly alcohol related) and cases of anemia. There was a decrease in the number of obstetrics/gynecology, infectious disease, and poisoning cases post-earthquake. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding emergency department utilization after the earthquake has the potential to give further insight into improving disaster preparedness plans for post-disaster health needs. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:211-216).

An Experience of Video Based Training on Basic Life Support.

INTRODUCTION: Basic life support is foundation to save lives. In contrast to the developed countries, there is still no national standard BLS training module in Nepal. Basic life support training is being provided by various institutions but lack in consistency and coordination. The Nepal basic life support Course is the video based training in Nepali language with reference to recent advances which was intended for all health care personnel of Nepal in urban as well as rural setting. We aimed to describe the features of this video based training module in local language, to analyse the differences of knowledge before and after the training and to find out the participants perception and satisfaction with this course. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study based on data of trainings conducted over the study period. Ethical approval was taken. The post-test score was recorded and compared with the occupational using ANOVA. On the spot and delayed feedbacks from the participants were collected voluntarily and summarized. RESULTS: Total of 576 participants (435 clinical doctors, 92 nurses/paramedics, 18 non-clinical doctors and 41 intern doctors) successfully completed the training. The difference in post test scores (mean = 12.9±1.8) among the different occupational background was not significant (P=0.159). The feedbacks from the participants were mostly positive and encouraging. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge of basic life support improved significantly irrespective of the occupation of the participants. A universal, nationwide video based training module in Nepali language should be developed focusing all health care personnel of urban as well rural Nepal.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of stroke among high school students in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Baseline stroke knowledge in a targeted population is indispensable to promote the effective stroke education. We report the baseline knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of high school students with respect to stroke from Nepal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-structured questionnaire survey regarding KAP about stroke was conducted in high school students of 33 schools of Bharatpur, Nepal. Descriptive statistics including Chi-square test was used, and the significant variables were subjected to binary logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 1360 participants, 71.1% had heard or read about stroke; 30.2% knew someone with stroke. 39.3% identified brain as the organ affected. Sudden onset limb/s weakness/numbness (72%) and hypertension (74%) were common warning symptom and risk factor identified. 88.9% would take stroke patients to a hospital. Almost half participants (55.5%) felt ayurvedic treatment be effective. 44.8% felt stroke as a hindrance to a happy life and 86.3% believed that family care was helpful for early recovery. Students who identified at least one risk factor were 3.924 times (P < 0.001, confidence interval [CI] = 1.867-8.247) or those who identified at least one warning symptom were 2.833 times (P ≤ 0.023, CI = 1.156-6.944) more likely to take stroke patients to a hospital. CONCLUSION: KAP of high school Nepalese students regarding stroke was satisfactory, and the students having knowledge about the risk factors and warning symptoms were more likely to take stroke patients to a hospital. However, a few misconceptions persisted.

Use of WONCA global standards to evaluate family medicine postgraduate education for curriculum development and review in Nepal and Myanmar.

Family medicine is an integral part of primary care within health systems. Globally, training programmes exhibit a great degree of variability in content and skill acquisition. While this may in part reflect the needs of a given setting, there exists standard criteria that all family medicine programmes should consider core activities. WONCA has provided an open-access list of standards that their expert community considers essential for family medicine (GP) post-graduate training. Evaluation of developing or existing training programmes using these standards can provide insight into the degree of variability, gaps within programmes and equally as important, gaps within recommendations. In collaboration with the host institution, two family medicine programmes in Nepal and Myanmar were evaluated based on WONCA global standards. The results of the evaluation demonstrated that such a process can allow for critical review of curriculum in various stages of development and evaluation. The implications of reviewing training programmes according to WONCA standards can lead to enhanced training world-wide and standardisation of training for post-graduate family medicine.

Intranasal ketamine for the treatment of patients with acute pain in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Pain in the emergency department (ED) is common but undertreated. The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of intranasal (IN) ketamine used as an analgesic for patients with acute injury with moderate to severe pain. METHODS: This study was a cross sectional, observational study of patients more than 8 years old experiencing moderate to severe pain [visual analog score (VAS) >50 mm]. The initial dose of IN ketamine was 0.7 mg/kg with an additional dose of 0.3 mg/kg if VAS was more than 50 mm after 15 minutes. Pain scores and vital signs were recorded at 0, 15, 30 and 60 minutes. Side-effects, sedation level and patient's satisfaction were also recorded. The primary outcome was the number of patients achieving ≥ 20 mm reductions in VAS at 15 minutes. Other secondary outcome measures were median reduction in VAS at 15, 30 and 60 minutes, changes of vital signs, adverse events, satisfaction of patients, and need for additional ketamine. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients with a median age of 29.5 years (IQR 17.5-38) were enrolled, and they had an initial median VAS of 80 mm (IQR 67-90). The VAS decreased more than 20 mm at 15 minutes in 27 (80%) patients. The reduction of VAS from baseline to 40 mm (IQR 20-40), 20 mm (IQR 14-20) and 20 mm (IQR 10-20) respectively at 15, 30 and 60 minutes (P<0.001). No critical changes of vital signs were noted and adverse effects were mild and transient. CONCLUSION: This study showed that IN ketamine is an analgesic choice for patients with acute injury in moderate to severe pain in an overcrowded and resource limited ED.

Intranasal ketamine for the treatment of patients with acute pain in the emergency department / 世界急诊医学杂志（英文）

@#BACKGROUND:Pain in the emergency department (ED) is common but undertreated. The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of intranasal (IN) ketamine used as an analgesic for patients with acute injury with moderate to severe pain. METHODS:This study was a cross sectional, observational study of patients more than 8 years old experiencing moderate to severe pain [visual analog score (VAS) >50 mm]. The initial dose of IN ketamine was 0.7 mg/kg with an additional dose of 0.3 mg/kg if VAS was more than 50 mm after 15 minutes. Pain scores and vital signs were recorded at 0, 15, 30 and 60 minutes. Side-effects, sedation level and patient's satisfaction were also recorded. The primary outcome was the number of patients achieving ≥ 20 mm reductions in VAS at 15 minutes. Other secondary outcome measures were median reduction in VAS at 15, 30 and 60 minutes, changes of vital signs, adverse events, satisfaction of patients, and need for additional ketamine. RESULTS:Thirty-four patients with a median age of 29.5 years (IQR 17.5–38) were enrolled, and they had an initial median VAS of 80 mm (IQR 67–90). The VAS decreased more than 20 mm at 15 minutes in 27 (80％) patients. The reduction of VAS from baseline to 40 mm (IQR 20–40), 20 mm (IQR 14–20) and 20 mm (IQR 10–20) respectively at 15, 30 and 60 minutes (P<0.001). No critical changes of vital signs were noted and adverse effects were mild and transient. CONCLUSION:This study showed that IN ketamine is an analgesic choice for patients with acute injury in moderate to severe pain in an overcrowded and resource limited ED.

Clinical profile of children with moderate-to-severe eosinophilia presenting to a tertiary hospital in Nepal.

Fifty children (mean age 8 years) with an absolute eosinophil count ranging from 1956 to 28,500 were studied in a tertiary hospital in Nepal. Most had multisystem involvement: 47 had constitutional symptoms; 38 had gastrointestinal symptoms; and 37 had respiratory symptoms. Abdominal pain, fever, cough and weight loss were the most common presentations while pleural effusion, ascites, pericardial effusion, abdominal nodes and high erythrocyte sedimentation rates were the common investigational findings.