Indian Medical Research Articles

Time series forecasting and mathematical modeling of COVID-19 pandemic in India: a developing country struggling to cope up

COVID-19 has spread around the world since it begun in December 2019. The pandemic has created an unprecedented global health emergency since World War II. This paper studies the impact of pandemic and predicts the anticipated casualty rise in India. The data has been extracted from the API provided by https://www.covid19india.org/ and covers up the time period from 30th January 2020 when the first case occurred in India till 13th January 2021. The paper provides a comparative study of six machine learning algorithms namely SMOreg, Random Forest, lBk, Gaussian Process, Linear Regression, and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) in forecasting deceased COVID 19 cases, via the data mining tool such as Weka and R. The major findings show that the best predictor model for anticipating the frequency of deceased cases in India is ARIMA (5,2,0). Utilizing this model, we estimated the propagation rate of deceased cases for the next month. The findings reveal that the fatal cases in India could rise from 151,174 to 157,179 within one month with an average of 190 death reports every day. This study will be helpful for the Indian Government and Medical Practitioners in assessing the spread of pandemic in India and devising a combat plan to mitigate the pandemic.

Trends of Change in Empathy Among Indian Medical Students: A Two-Year Follow-Up Study.

The development of an empathic approach is essential for doctor-patient relationships. Medical training is a challenging time that may affect empathy. This study aimed to assess the change in empathy in students during medical education. One hundred and fifty MBBS students were recruited at admission and assessed for empathy, interpersonal reactivity, and general health. They were followed for two years and assessed at three intervals. A significant decline was seen in empathy for both male and female students. The decline was correlated with psychological stress. Gender, family structure, having siblings, and increasing General Health Questionnaire score predicted change in empathy. Empathy declines with advancing training, varying with constitutional and situational factors. The medical curriculum should include skills like empathic communication as well.

Questionnaire Based Survey on Medicolegal Autopsy among Medical Students in Sikkim

Background: Contemplating the curriculum of an Indian Medical Undergraduate, demonstration of autopsyis still considered to be the cornerstone in Forensic Medicine. Medicolegal autopsy has always been perceivednegatively by the public either due to their religious beliefs or due to their preconceived notions or fear. Consideringthese prejudices, a study was undertaken not only to assess the knowledge, attitude & perception of a medicalundergraduate but also to understand the reflection of these societal stigma on a medical student.Material and Methods: A cross sectional survey was done on 200 medical students pursuing medicine in SMIMS,Gangtok, Sikkim who participated voluntarily in the study wherein structured questionnaire in google form wasdistributed through google link validated through their mail i.d. & registration number.Results: Out of 191 medical students, the number of students were predominantly females with the ratio of 1:1.30(M: F). 87.96% of the students knew that the medicolegal autopsy is done in all sudden, suspicious & unexpecteddeath. 90.05% strongly affirmed that the medicolegal autopsy ascertains the cause of death. The spectrum of easewith which the students watched the autopsy was almost along the same wavelength, 27.75% students werecomfortable, 25.13% were uncomfortable, 17.80% were indifferent while 29.32% were not yet exposed (due toonline teaching). Majority of students (93.72%) are interested in watching watch more of postmortem examination.Conclusions: The attitude of the students were optimistic towards autopsy & awareness among the participantswas found to be acceptable. However, there were still a lot of grey areas that needed to be addressed.

Treatment Practices in Pulmonary Tuberculosis by Private Sector Physicians of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

Majority of the qualified medical practitioners in the country are in the private sector and more than half of patients with tuberculosis (TB) seek treatment from them. The present study was conducted with the objective of assessing the treatment modalities in pulmonary tuberculosis by the private physicians in Meerut City, Uttar Pradesh, India. A cross-sectional study was carried out covering all the private physicians (graduates and postgraduates in Medicine and Chest Diseases) registered under the Indian Medical Association, Meerut Branch (n = 154). The physicians were interviewed by a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire about the treatment modalities practiced by them. Only 43.5% private physicians had attended any Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) training in the past five years. Only 33.1% of them were aware of the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care (ISTC). Fifty-three different regimens were used to treat the patients. Majority of physicians (76%) prescribed daily regimens while 24% administered both daily and intermittent treatment. None of the private physicians prescribed exclusive intermittent regimen. Eighty-seven different treatment regimens were used for the treatment of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) with none of them prescribing standard treatment under RNTCP. As majority of private practitioners do not follow RNTCP guidelines for treating TB, there is an urgent need for their continued education in this area.

Competency-Based Medical Education for The Indian Medical Graduate: Implementation & Assessment in Ophthalmology

Competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum has been implemented by National Medical Council from 2019 for the Indian Medical Graduates (IMG). This competency-based curriculum focuses on skill acquisition with incorporation of soft skills related to attitude, communication and ethics. Widespread adoption of a competency-based approach would mean a paradigm shift in the current approach to medical education.

REVIEW ON USE OF ASHWAGANDHA AS A HAIR TONIC

Ashwagandha is a plant utilized in medicine from the time of Ayurveda, an ancient system of Indian medication. this review article is presented to compile all the updated information on its hair growth stimulant activities, which were p e r f o r m e d b y w i d e l y d i ff e r e n t m e t h o d s . A s h w a g a n d h a b e n e  t s h a i r b e c a u s e o f i t s v a r i o u s m e d i c i n a l u s e s l i k e antistress,antidepressant,antioxidant,stimulation of DHEA(Dehydroepiandrosterone),and most importantly by maintaining body tridoshas(vata,pitta,kapha).there are many formulations of ashwagandha in the market proving best results for hair growth. Animal models have been studied to evaluate hair growth stimulation properties of Ashwagandha.

Impact of COVID-19 and increase of patient turnover in Indian medical tourism and its reforms

Covid -19 is the deadliest word for all over the world and leads to loss of economy and human lives. India also suffers a lot in all aspects. This paper highlights the impact of Covid -19 in Indian medical tourism and service reforms. India is the preferred destination for international patients on various aspects of qualified and experienced doctors, excellent nursing services, best pricing, right treatment, culture and hospitality, famous tourism places etc., In India Covid -19 leads to several lockdown issues and restrictions in airlines transportation between countries. But this leads to identify the gaps and opportunities in Indian Medical Tourism to increase the patient turnover in hospitals and country. Various opportunities like elevation of primary health centres to the standard one, partnership between public and private hospitals, awareness and importance of AYUSH treatment to the foreign countries, targeting the underdeveloped and developing countries to promote the medical services and proper healthcare services to the needy patients with affordable cost.

Disease prediction model for secure patient data over cloud using machine learning

Patient data at hospitals is non-sharable in current systems and cost of repeated medication is curse to the patients. Also medical treatment perspective changes at every hospital or doctor or diagnostic center. To resolve the issue of availability of medicinal past history of the patients & reduction in cost of treatment with decisive & secure availability of patient records, like prescriptions and lab reports, we implemented an ERP system over cloud in five hospitals. Based on data retrieved from the hospitals of registration (only to ensure privacy of patients) we implement data analytics using machine learning for the prediction of the disease of patients by tracking the record of medical history and also analyzed hospital and doctors information and performance. Our aim is to provide solution for less cost treatment and for regulation and monitoring of health care to Indian Medical Industry.

A Multicentric Survey of Indian Medical Students about their Knowledge and Perception on Antimicrobial Stewardship

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and appropriate infection prevention practices are essential to decrease the rising trend of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Good antimicrobial prescribing habits formed early in the medical career can make a paradigm shift in combating the menace of AMR. Scarce data is available about the knowledge and perceptions of Indian undergraduates on AMS. This study was planned to analyse the knowledge, attitude and perceptions (KAP) of Indian medical undergraduates on rational antimicrobial prescribing, so that the lacunae in the training curriculum can be identified and addressed effectively. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was carried out, on the pre-final and final year medical students (6th to 9th semester) from six medical colleges across different states of India. A scoring system was used to rate the knowledge, attitude and perceptions of the respondents as poor, average, or good. A total of 1505 students (83.61%) participated in the survey. Majority of the students (81.7%) from all medical colleges favoured more education on antimicrobials and to incorporate AMS in the undergraduate curriculum through integrated teaching. The results showed that overall, 70.9% students had a “good” score for knowledge on antimicrobial use, whereas only 55% scored “good” for being confident in rational antimicrobial prescribing. Surprisingly, only 56.5% correct responses for knowledge on selection of broad-spectrum antibiotics over narrow-spectrum antibiotics were recorded in our study. Most of the students (79.9%) were conscious that irrational prescribing can result to AMR. On the other hand, 54.9% students believed that the supply of new antimicrobials would take care of AMR eventually. 78.1% of our students believed that they were confident in making the right diagnosis of infection, whereas, 63.7% of respondents believed that they were not confident in identifying the clinical scenarios where antibiotics are not required. Significant association (p<0.05) was seen for both “good” knowledge and perception scores with the higher academic semesters reflecting more clinical exposure in later in course semesters. The study has highlighted the areas of clinical weakness and dilemma regarding prescription of antimicrobials. Efforts to address these issues on basic principles of antimicrobial stewardship, is critical for laying the foundation of successful AMS program and contributing in overcoming the antimicrobial resistance. The study recommends targeted training, articulating fine details of prescribing antimicrobials with real time case scenarios through a multi-disciplinary approach. The Indian undergraduate medical curriculum needs to incorporate early well-structured training on AMS by integrating pharmacology and microbiology teaching with the clinical subjects to ensure appropriate antibiotic prescribing practices by the future prescribers.

Web-Based Educational Resources for Indian Medical Graduates

Background: Nowadays, students have a vast knowledge of multimedia. Social media is an online platform that allows community building through collaboration. Objectives: The present study aimed to understand the use of web-based resources for educational purposes by medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted for three months on the students, interns, and residents of a tertiary care hospital and Government Medical College, Surat, India. Informed consent was taken from the participants, and a pre-approved questionnaire was delivered to all of them for data collection. The data were entered using the Google spreadsheet and were expressed using descriptive statistics. Results: Out of the study population consisting of 900 individuals, 646 filled the questionnaires and were finally evaluated. Out of 646, 430 individuals were medical students, 335 were female, and 303 were male. The majority (91.9%) of the responders were exposed to computer education in their schools. We found that 549 (86.4%) people were aware of the free internet access provided to them in the college library. Almost 97% (617) of the responders had mobile phones with internet access, and 80.1% connected to the internet more than once a day. The results of this study showed that 94.4% of the participants accepted that they used internet-based media to enhance their academic knowledge, while 66.5% agreed that internet resources are giving much unreliable information. Moreover, 55.8% of the responders were associated with the academic e-learning groups. Only 55 (8.7%) respondents had received formal training for online literature search. Conclusions: The emergence of various social media applications and web-based resources provides us with more collaborative approaches to medical education. However, implementing new technologies also creates new challenges and opportunities for students and faculties. Training concerning internet search and web-based resources is important to enhance their e-learning skills.

Critical analysis study on various Indian legislations for medical negligence

One of the most pressing issues in India today is medical malpractice. As a result of our own experience, we believe that medicine is one of the most honourable professions. We expect doctors to treat their patients with care, since they are the ones who will ultimately cure and heal them of whatever ailment or health condition they may have, and patients often see them as gods. A medical malpractice case is one in which a doctor, dentist, nurse or other health care practitioner mistreats a patient in a manner that is incompetent, incompetent, or negligent. The Supreme Court of India's ruling in Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shanta& Ors1 in 1995 expanded the definition of "service" under the 1986 Consumer Protection Act to include medical services. By enabling contractual patients to sue physicians in 'procedure-free' consumer protection courts for payment if they were harmed during treatment, this created a relationship between patients and medical providers. In India, the frequency of medical malpractice claims has increased while the quality of treatment has decreased. Examining individual instances of medical negligence may reveal the elements that lead to medical carelessness, as well as the role of the doctor-patient interaction.

Dr. Chunilal Bose: a forgotten scientist and a science communicator

Modern medical education began in Bengal with the establishment of Calcutta Medical College (CMC) in 1835. Soon it became an important centre for medical education and research in India. Chunilal Bose (1861–1930), an alumnus of CMC, worked in his alma mater as the Chemical Examiner of Bengal for more than three decades and conducted pioneering researches on toxins and poisons, food poisoning, food adulteration, diabetes, small pox, forensic science, effects of narcotics etc. His research publications appeared in reputed journals such as British Medical Journal, Transactions of the Chemical Society of London, The Indian Medical Gazette, and Calcutta Medical Journal etc. Bose was also instrumental in passing the Indian Poisons Act (1904) and in creating a public awareness against consumption of narcotics. Bose was an able science communicator of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Bengal and extensively wrote and lectured in a simple language, both in Bengali and English, on the subjects of public health and hygiene, general science and history of science that were connected to the wellbeing of the common people, with an intention of creating science awareness and scientific temper in the society. Honours and awards showered upon him during his lifetime, but Bose’s important contributions to medical sciences and science popularization were less discussed by the historians of science, as the focus generally remained on his more illustrious contemporaries. In the course of time, Chunilal Bose became a nearly forgotten scientist and a science communicator. His 160th birth anniversary was observed in 2021.

Review on emerging diseases in Indian horizon

Infectious diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals, resulting in substantial health care costs in India. There have been outbreaks and epidemics of many infectious diseases in the country. However, great strides have been made in the fight against major epidemics. such as malaria, plague, leprosy and cholera in the past. The vast topography of the country with extremely serious geological inequalities and uneven population distribution has created unique patterns in the spread of viral diseases. Significant challenges faced in controlling and preventing new and recurring infectious diseases include understanding the implications of emergency essentials on the development of Enhanced Surveillance Systems that can reduce human suffering and death and relapse of viral infections of public health importance included in the Comprehensive Disease Surveillance program were examined.The dynamic interaction of biological, socio - cultural and environmental factors, as well as new aspects of human - animal interaction, creates additional difficulties for the emergence of infectious diseases. The Indian Medical Association fighting very well to stop this all diseases along with our government.

Competency-based Medical Education curriculum for Indian Medical Graduates, will Really be Impactful?

Competency-based Medical Education curriculum for Indian Medical Graduates, will Really be Impactful?

Flipped Classroom versus Traditional Didactic Classroom in Medical Teaching: A Comparative Study.

BackgroundThe effective and efficient delivery of healthcare services that the National Medical Commission (NMC), India desires from Indian Medical Graduate (IMG) can only be fulfilled if the learner’s participation is extensive. Flipped classroom (FC) may promote enhanced as well as meaningful learning and critical thinking in students. By implementing this method trend can be changed from a teacher-centered approach to a student-centered approach, thus teaching-learning becomes more effective and interesting. It promotes learning and thinking helping the students in diagnosis and formulating appropriate management of patients during the clinical years of medical teaching of MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) and thereafter.AimTo compare FC and traditional didactic classroom (TDC) teaching for first-year MBBS students.Objectives-To evaluate FC method teaching for first-year MBBS students.-To compare effectiveness of FC and TDC teaching for first-year MBBS students.-To evaluate perception of students toward FC teaching method.MethodologyThe study was conducted after getting approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. Total of 100 students volunteered to participate in the study after providing informed consent. Two groups based on pseudo randomization were created and subjected to the FC method and TDC method in module A and crossover of groups was done in module B. Both groups were subjected to post-test after intervention in modules. Feedback was obtained from students on their perception toward the FC method.ResultsThere was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in post-test scores of both FC groups in both modules (FC Method: 14.77 ± 2.16 and 11.26 ± 1.76 vs TDC Method: 12.16 ± 2.05 and 10.03 ± 2.57). Overall positive feedback was received for FC method of teaching compared to TDC method.ConclusionsConsidering responses and results of the assessment, it can be concluded that the FC approach is beneficial for students. It enhances the learning of students. Perception of students toward medical teaching can be greatly improved. It helps students achieve better results in their learning. With larger sample size studies, this result of FC method being a better learning tool will gather more strength.

Transgender Healthcare and Indian Medical Students: Is Curricular Revamping the Need of the Hour?

Introduction: Transgender health is a comparatively new area of medicine that has not been explored until the past few decades. In India, the doctors still do not have much knowledge in this area. This highly influences the quality of medical services available for the transgender population. The undergraduate medical curriculum does not include enough information regarding transgender health care. Methodology: 214 participants were included in the study. A questionnaire containing 39 questions was provided to them in order to assess their knowledge regarding the medical and social problems related to transgender health. The questions were in yes or no format and scores were given to each answer. Questions were in 3 sections: general social awareness, medical experience, and knowledge and perception of issues.Result: The median score was 22 out of 39, with a maximum score of 35. Chi-square test showed better scores on general awareness and perception of issues while poorer scores in medical knowledge of transgender health among medical students. Conclusion: The study shows that there is a huge deficit in medical knowledge on transgender health among medical students even though they may be aware of the social aspects and issues in the area. There is a need for improvement of undergraduate medical curriculum to include topics of transgender health so as to better prepare the medical students to care for trans patients.

Tropical Topographies: Mapping the Malarial in The Calcutta Chromosome

This paper reads colonial archives of malaria in conjunction with Amitav Ghosh’s futuristic medical thriller The Calcutta Chromosome (1995) and contends that the novel, loosely based on Sir Roland Ross, ruptures narratives of colonial expertise. The colonial expertise on malaria is embodied by Ross, an officer in the Indian Medical Service; this is in contrast with the model of expertise proposed by the novel. While Ross’s expertise is predicated on the domination of nature and controlling diseased tropical landscapes, the novel resists imperial strategies of mapping and disease control. This paper argues that The Calcutta Chromosome presents an alternative attempt to map the malarial, rewriting history by displacing actors such as Ross and instead placing two colonial subjects, Murugan and Mangala, at the centre of new mapping practices. The novel further questions the notion of ‘colonial improvement’ which malaria facilitated in imperial regimes. Deviating from the colonial history of improving the native body and landscape as a cure for malaria, the novel foregrounds subjugated subjects working at the peripheries of laboratories and scientific practices and thus subverts the notion of the ‘improved subject’ by proposing the idea of the mutational, transformational ‘Calcutta chromosome.’

National Medical Commission: New Trends In Medical Field

Due to the shortcomings of the Indian Medical Association Act,1956, need was being felt for a long time to replace it by a rational act which could embody in itself all the activities and the foul plays which were deliberately not taken into account or went unnoticed. The Omissions and the Commissions in treatment of patients was of utmost importance as they were directly related to the well-being of the patients under treatment and in some cases would have put the precious life to an unfortunate end. Such replacement was essential keeping in view the aspirations of Indian masses at large and the patients in general who were victims to the medical negligence and medical malpractice which is so common now-a-days that it does not escape bold headings in almost all the newspapers and the electronic channels. The Apex body i.e. Medical Council of India (MCI) was found short of fulfilling its mandated responsibilities, time and again. The prevalent model of medical education was unable to produce that type of medical professionals which were required to meet the country’s primary health needs apart from giving positive results in complex situations related to the patients undergoing treatment in various hospitals. The reason behind all this was that Medical Education and Curricula were not integrated with the health system needs. The medical graduates lacked competence in performing normal deliveries. Moreover unethical practice grew by leaps and bounds so much so that it damaged the respect for medical profession. The State and the Central ministry lacked the power and the will to remove any member of the Medical Council even in those cases in which charges of Corruption against that member were proved

Professor T. Gopinathan

Thekkepat Gopinathan was the former Director and Professor and Head of the department of dermatology and venereology, Government Medical College, Calicut. Due to his hard work and dedication, the department of dermatology of Calicut Medical College grew step by step and became a postgraduate training center in the year 1972. He was the recipient of many awards that included Dr. Ambady Oration Award (1980), American Academy Award (1983), Indian Medical Association (IMA) AMS Award (1982), Fellow Madras Medical College Award (1985), Best Doctor Award, Calicut IMA (1997), and Prof. K. C. Kandhari Foundation Award (2001). He was the National President of Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists, and Leprologists and had been the Honorary Secretary and President of Calicut, IMA. Professor T. Gopinathan was one of the main persons who took initiative in implementing the idea of starting an online journal as he felt that there was a need for better “group-specific communication” among the growing number of young practicing dermatologists in India. This idea later materialized as the Indian Dermatology Online Journal. The legend that he is, he will be remembered and revered by all who ever interacted with him.

Impact of Online Classes on the Health of Indian Medical and Dental Students during the Pandemic Period of COVID-19: An Observational Study

Abstract Background After attending online classes during the coronavirus disease pandemic, drastic changes were observed in their physical, mental, and social health, which were also reflected in their academic performances. All these negative impacts were due to prolonged screen time and sedentary lifestyle due to online classes, no interaction with classmates, and poor teacher–student interaction. Material and Method This was an observational study, and the data were collected through a self-designed questionnaire sent via the mode of electronic message (Google forms) to Indian medical and dental students across India. Eight hundred students responded to our questionnaire. All the responses were then compiled in the form of adequate tables and charts to study the responses. Results Among 800 responders, 83.4% students preferred the offline mode of teaching over the online mode. Online classes had negative impact on the academic performance of 73.6% students and 67% students were frustrated with their academic performance. Weight gain due to lockdown (online classes) was seen in 62.6% students. The low energy level was seen in 58.8% students. Lost interest toward careers was observed in 51.6% students. Complains of frequent headaches were seen in 50.6% students, and 54.3% students had visual problems. Interaction with batch mates during classes was missed by 76.1% students. Conclusion From the present study, we conclude that there is a negative impact of online classes not only on the physical, mental, and social health but also on the academic performance and interest toward the careers of Indian medical and dental students.