Tertiary Care Hospital In Karnataka Research Articles

Knowledge and Practices of Airborne Infection Control at the Household Level among Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Central Karnataka, India

Abstract Background: Airborne transmission of tuberculosis (TB) is a major route of spread. Household contacts of TB patients are at high risk of infection. However, there is limited evidence on airborne infection control knowledge and practices among TB patients in India. This study was done to assess the knowledge and practices related to airborne infection control among pulmonary TB (PTB) patients at the household level and determine associated factors. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 157 smear-positive PTB patients at a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, India, using a pretested questionnaire. Knowledge and self-reported practices regarding airborne precautions were assessed. Bivariate analysis was done to determine associated factors. P <0.005 was considered significant. Results: Major gaps were found in knowledge about ventilation (50.3%), avoiding visitors (39.5%), and sputum disposal (33.8%). Suboptimal practices were reported for using tissues (19%), handwashing (25%), ventilation (66%), sputum handling (54%), and waste disposal (30%). Good knowledge was associated with younger age, higher education, Hindu religion, family history of TB, intensive phase treatment, and presence of symptoms (P < 0.05). Participants with good knowledge had significantly better preventive practices (P < 0.00001). Conclusion: Tailored education on airborne precautions focusing on identified knowledge gaps and risky practices can help improve the adoption of infection control measures among TB patients at the household level. A multifaceted approach is required to translate improved awareness into optimal preventive behaviors.

Clinical profile of herpes zoster in human immunodeficiency virus infected at a rural-based tertiary care center

Background: Due to the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, which had lainissed within sensory ganglions, herpes zoster (HZ) is typified by unilateral radicular pain and grouped vesicular eruption that is typically restricted to the dermatome innervated by a single spinal or cranial sensory ganglion. It is widely known that reactivation of varicella-zoster virus infection as HZ can cause morbidity in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive host. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical profile of HZ among HIV-positive patients in a rural tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: A prospective hospital-based study was conducted in a rural tertiary care hospital in Karnataka for duration of 24 months. All patients attending the outpatient department (OPD) of dermatology with clinical features of HZ and post-herpetic complications irrespective of their age and gender were included in the study. Data collection done in a semi-structured questionnaire on patient particulars as well as pre-existing co-morbidities was documented. Results: A cross-sectional study included 75 HZ patients attending OPD. Among the total 75 HZ patients, 11 were found to be seropositive for HIV infection. Seroprevalence among HZ was 14.6%. Among seropositive patients, the maximum belonged to the age group 41–60 years (63.3%). In the seropositive group, maximum cases (36.4%) occurred during summer while it was in the post monsoon season (39%) in the seronegative group. Conclusion: It is known that multidermatomal and severe pain is more commonly seen in HIV-infected patients than in the normal population. Many HIV-positive patients can present with a typical presentation of zoster as seen in our study.

Volumetric Analysis of Sphenoid Sinus in Patients with Symptomatic Nasal Septal Deviation: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Nasal Septal Deviation (NSD) is known to influence the anatomy of the paraseptal structures, such as the lateral nasal wall and middle turbinate, thereby causing changes in ethmoid cell volume and maxillary sinus. However, there is not much literature on the influence of NSD on sphenoid sinus volume. Aim: To evaluate the effect of NSD on the volume of sphenoid sinus. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of one year at a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, India on 45 patients with symptomatic NSD. Diagnostic Nasal Endoscopy (DNE) and Computed Tomography (CT) scans of the nose and Paranasal Sinuses (PNS) were performed on all patients. NSD was classified into three types based on the degree of septal deviation on CT scan. Sphenoid sinus volumes were measured, and the relationship between NSD and sphenoid sinus volume was analysed using OSIRIX software on the MAC system. Statistical analysis was done using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The mean age of the patients included in the study was 30.89±10.19 years. The male-to-female ratio was 2.75:1. The majority of the patients had NSD to the right (57%). NSD was found to be 1.3 times more frequent on the right-side compared to the left. The angle of NSD ranged between 2.10° and 18°. The majority of the patients were in group I (n=35), while group II and III had seven and three patients, respectively. The total ipsilateral volume was found to be 7.43±3.46 cm3 and the contralateral volume was 7.98±4.19 cm3 . There was no statistically significant difference between ipsilateral and contralateral sphenoid sinus volumes in the population (p-value=0.781). When each group was compared, no significant difference between the total sphenoid cell volumes on the ipsilateral (p-value=0.557) and contralateral (p-value=0.405) sides of the NSD was seen. Conclusion: NSD does not affect the volume of the sphenoid sinus, irrespective of the degree of septal deviation.

To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice about prescribing fixed-dose combinations among medical doctors in a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka: A cross-sectional study

Background: Fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) constitute a substantial portion of prescribed medications worldwide and offer benefits such as enhanced efficacy, reduced pill burden, and improved patient compliance. However, their improper utilization can lead to inefficacies, increased costs, and adverse health outcomes. The assessment of clinicians’ understanding, attitudes, and practices regarding FDC prescription at a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India serves as a crucial step toward ensuring informed and rational medication practices. Aims and Objectives: The aim and objectives of the study are to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of prescribing FDCs among medical doctors. Materials and Methods: Following approval from the Ethics Committee at Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, as well as obtaining written informed consent from medical doctors working in the institute, a selfadministered, structured, and pre-tested questionnaire was utilized. This questionnaire had been adapted from prior studies with similarities and was adjusted to align with the specific context of the present study. Results: The study of 72 doctors highlighted high FDC awareness (91.7%). The generic name of FDC was employed by 69.4% of the participants in the study. Most advocated proper prescriptions (84.8%). 57% of them identified FDC rationality. 22.2% relied on drug indexes, among other varied sources, for FDC information. Conclusion: It is essential to emphasize gaps in knowledge, attitude, and practice as it increases the risk of irrational prescriptions. Measures aiming to educate and rectify this issue, particularly in a tertiary hospital setting, help in mitigating the irrational use of drugs and optimizing patient care.

Study of Phospholipase A2 Levels and Its Comparison With Procalcitonin Levels in Patients With Sepsis Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Karnataka, India.

Sepsis is a complicated host response to infection involving organ failure which ultimately causes death of the host. Procalcitonin (PCT) is an effective marker used to diagnose sepsis but until now, there has been no ideal marker for sepsis. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) also increases infections; however, only a few studies have assessed its capacity as a biomarker to diagnose sepsis. Thus, we aimed to examine PLA2 and compare its diagnostic capacity and accuracy with PCT as a biomarker of sepsis. Our study was a hospital-oriented cross-sectional study. Our study group included 80 patients of both sexes older than 18 years, meeting the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) or systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria of ≥2, hospitalized in a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, India from January 2021 to December 2021. Out of them, 59 were found to have sepsis. Samples of all the patients were evaluated for relevant parameters, and data were statistically analyzed using SPSS v21 running on Windows 10. The statistical significance was set at p-value <0.05. The mean PCT and PLA2 were significantly raised in sepsis patients compared to non-sepsis patients. Out of 59 septic patients, 45.76% had positive blood cultures, and 16.95% had positive urine culture reports. In blood cultures, the most common Gram-positive organism found was Staphylococcus, and the most common Gram-negative organism was Enterobacter. In urine cultures, Escherichia coli was the most common species. PLA2 was significantly higher in patients with bacterial etiology and Gram-positive cultures. The diagnostic capability, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of PLA2 were demonstrably higher than those of PCT. Our study proves that PLA2 is a much better and more efficient biomarker in sepsis than PCT. The diagnostic capacity and accuracy of PLA2 clearly surpass PCT, so using PLA2 in sepsis as a biomarker can help clinicians in deciding on timely and appropriate management to speed the recovery of patients.

Association of ABO blood groups with the severity of coronary artery disease in southern India population: A prospective cross-sectional study

This study aimed to find an association between ABO blood groups with presence and severity of Coronary artery disease (CAD) among Indian population. 1500 patients undergoing elective coronary angiogram (CAG) at a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka were enrolled in the study. Baseline demographic data and the presence of cardiac comorbidities were documented. Data from baseline echocardiography and angiographic studies were compiled. The incidence of CAD was higher among patients with blood group A. Blood group A also showed a higher incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), left ventricular dysfunction, triple vessel disease, and severe CAD among the patients who underwent CAG.

ERRORS IN USING INHALER DEVICES AMONG COPD PATIENTS: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Background: Pharmacological treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is mainly based on inhaled medications. Inappropriate use of inhalers due to the unrecovered peak inhalation ow rate (PIFR) results in an increased risk of early treatment failure. Therefore, this study was carried out to address the error patterns in using dry powder inhalers (DPI) versus pressurized metered-dose inhalers (MDI) inhaler devices among COPD patients with acute exacerbation. For this Methods: prospective cohort study, a cohort of 138 COPD patients with acute exacerbation were included from a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka. The inhalation technique and PIFR were evaluated at discharge and twice in follow-up at 15-day and 90 days intervals based on a list of the most common errors in the inhalation techniques. About 63% Results: of patients had comorbidities. The average length of hospital stay was 7.8 days and the mean PIFR value at discharge was 58.9L/min. About 51.4% of the COPD patients were MDI users and 48.6% were DPI users. The most frequent errors were inappropriate inhaling and short breath holding time for DPI (89.6% and 88.1%) and MDI (84.5% and 94.3%) device users, respectively. At follow-ups, these errors- inhaling deeply and shortbreath holding time continued to occur signicantly during 90-day follow-ups for DPI (79.1% and 82.1%) and MDI (79.2% and 90.1%) device users, respectively. However, the breath-out and mouthpiece placing errors were reduced signicantly at 90 days of follow-up among the DPI (50.7% and 40.3%, respectively) and MDI users (47.9% and 19.8%, respectively). Inappropriate inhali Conclusions: ng and short breath holding time were the most frequent and major errors made by inhaler device users. This emphasizes the training in proper inhalation techniques for COPD patients treated with inhalers

Leprosy in the 21st Century - An Evaluation of Clinical Spectrum and Histopathological Correlation of Leprosy in Tertiary Care Hospital in Karnataka

Leprosy in the 21st Century - An Evaluation of Clinical Spectrum and Histopathological Correlation of Leprosy in Tertiary Care Hospital in Karnataka

Thyroid Dysfunction and its Correlation with Section Metabolic Syndrome among Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Women Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Karnataka: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Thyroid dysfunctions are more common among women than men and increase near menopause. These are also associated with metabolic syndrome, increasing cardiovascular risk. These cardiovascular events and cerebrovascular events increase women’s morbidity and mortality, especially after menopause. Though many researchers in the past few decades have tried to highlight this problem, majority of them have focused on the elderly population. Studies on women of the perimenopausal age group are still not frequently found. Aim: To assess the correlation between thyroid dysfunction and metaoblic syndrome among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among women attending the Medicine Outpatient Department (OPD) of Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagara BG, Karnataka, India, from December 2017 to May 2019. Total 100 participants were included in the study, of which 50 were perimenopausal and 50 were postmenopausal women. Clinical history, examination and relevant investigations {Free T3 or Total T3, Free T4 or Total T4, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)} were recorded. Association was studied using Chi-square test, groups were compared using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test, and correlation was estimated using Pearson’s correlation test. Results: Mean age of the study participants was 55.14±8.05 years. Thyroid dysfunction was observed in 17% of the participants, of whom 14% had subclinical hypothyroidism, 2% had overt hypothyroidism and 1% had hyperthyroidism. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 45%. There was a significant association of hypothyroidism with Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) (p-value=0.005) and a positive correlation between FBS and TSH level and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) with T3 and T4 levels. Conclusion: Prevalence of hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome were high among perimenopausal women and as FBS increases or HDL decreases, the chances of hypothyroid increases. Therefore, early identification and reduction of these components of metabolic syndrome decreases hypothyroidism and cardiovascular events.

Understanding the economic burden of cancer care and the utility of health insurance: An exploratory cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, India.

Families and caregivers of cancer patients experience significant financial challenges associated with out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures. This study aims to assess the OOP expenditure and its impact on the livelihood of patients and families, associated with receiving cancer care from a teaching hospital in Karnataka. It focuses on understanding health insurance use and its effects on OOP expenses for cancer care based on data obtained from 271 patients receiving treatment for more than 6 months. A structured questionnaire was developed and used for data collection and focused on obtaining direct costs such as consultation fees, surgery costs, and radiotherapy costs and indirect costs such as travel expenses, food costs, and patient income loss, as well as questions that measure the impact of the financial burden on patients and their associated livelihood. In the present study, the median cost of OOP expense incurred for cancer treatment is estimated to be 3.10 lakh Indian rupees. It was also found that patients enrolled in public health insurance schemes, especially Ayushman Bharath-Arogya Karnataka have lesser OOP expenditure than those with either private health insurance or no health insurance. This indicates the need for effective implementation of various public health insurance schemes and their ability to protect patients from huge OOP expenses and related financial risks.

A Report on Cases with Communication Disorders at a Tertiary care Hospital in Mysore District of Karnataka, India: A Retrospective Study Across Five Years.

Communication disorders affect an individual's social, emotional and behavioural well-being. Estimating the number of clients with various causes of communication disorders can assist in the prevention, early identification, intervention, rehabilitation and counsellingprocess. India is the second-largest populated country with diversity in terms of culture and geography. Therefore, estimating the data on number of clients presenting with communication disorders is warranted across different parts of the country. In a retrospective study, the clinical records of cases reporting to the JSS Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, for the last five years were reviewed. A total of 9511 cases diagnosed with communication disorders were includedin the study. The percentage of male cases was higher than the females amongst all the types of communication disorders. The percentage of paediatric cases with speech and language disorders was the highest, followed by adult cases. Across the hearing disorders, the highest number of cases were from the adult age group, and the lowest number of hearing-disordered cases were noted in the paediatric age group throughout all five years. Among all the risk factors, perinatal history was the highest seen risk factor, and consanguinity was the lowest seen risk factor associated with communication disorders. Theresults of the present study revealed that among cases with communication disorders at the tertiary care hospital in Mysore, hearing impairment was one of the most commonly seen conditions, followed by child language disorders. The history of perinatal factors as a risk for communication disorders was noted in a maximum number of cases.

Prevalence and Age of Hypertension in Patients with Overt Primary Hypothyroidism in a Tertiary Care Centre in India

Introduction: Hypertension and hypothyroidism are common problems in the community. Although the hypothyroidism prevalence in people with hypertension has been reported, there are limited studies about hypertension prevalence in hypothyroid patients. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence and age of hypertension among patients with overt primary hypothyroidism in a tertiary care center in India.&#x0D; Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among hypothyroid patients who consecutively attended a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, India from 1 November 2020 to 30 September 2021. Purposive sampling method was used. Data was tabulated in MS Excel version 16 and analyzed via Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20.0.&#x0D; Results: A total of 520 overt primary hypothyroid patients with 141 (27.1%) men and 379 (72.9%) women were included in the study. The mean age of the hypothyroid patients was 52.20 ± 16.414 years, with 58.27 ± 17.339 years of male and 49.95 ± 15.483 years of female (p &lt; 0.05). The prevalence of hypertension among total hypothyroid patients was 225 (43.3%) (39-47.54, 95% CI) with 77 (54.61%) (46.29-62.93, 95% CI) in men and 148 (39.1%) (34.12-43.98, 95% CI) in women (p &lt; 0.05). The mean age of patients with hypertension was 59.97 ± 13.218 years, with 65.39 ± 11.642 years of male and 57.15 ± 13.144 years of female (p &lt; 0.05). 2&#x0D; Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension in hypothyroid patients was similar to prevalence in the general population and was higher in males than in females. The gender-wise distribution of patients with hypertension among hypothyroidism was more in females due to the high proportions of female in patients with hypothyroidism.

CHEST RADIOGRAPHIC FINDINGS IN RT-PCR POSITIVE COVID-19 PATIENTS

Aims and objectives : To describe the chest radiographic ndings in RT-PCR positive COVID 19 patients and to evaluate the effectiveness of chest radiographs in detecting pulmonary alterations in RT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients. Materials and methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out from May 2021 to June 2021 in a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, India. A total of 100 covid positive patients who underwent chest X-ray were included in the study. The chest X-rays were evaluated for presence or absence and the type of pulmonary alterations, and their distribution. Chi-square test was used to compare percentages and p- value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically signicant. Results: In total, 100 patients consisting of 70 males and 30 females with positive RT-PCR results for COVID-19 pneumonia were included in this study, their mean age being 51.6 years. The presence of at least one chest alteration was found in 90 patients. The presence of ground-glass opacities (51%) and consolidation (41%) was the most common ndings. Reticular opacities were found in 6% of the cases. Seventy percent of the radiographic ndings were bilateral and involvement of both peripheral and central zones was signicantly frequent. Conclusion: Frequent ndings at chest radiography in patients with COVID-19 included bilateral lower zone ground glass opacity and consolidation.

Utility of Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and Platelet Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) as A Predictor of Mortality in COVİD-19

Coronavirus-19 pandemic has stricken our world since December 2019; the disease, first reported in China, is now a pandemic. More than 400 million people have been affected, and 5 million people have succumbed to the disease. Hence, it is the need of the era to find readily available laboratory parameters to assess the mortality chances in these patients. Our study aims to determine the utility of NLR and PLR ratios as a predictor of severity and clinical outcome of COVID-19 patients.100 patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, India, during the months April to July 2020 were studied. Only patients with a positive RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction) report for COVID-19 were included. Demographic data, comorbidities, and mortality status were collected from electronic hospital records. Lab parameters including- Total Count (TC), Absolute count of neutrophils and lymphocytes, platelet count were taken. NLR and PLR were derived from available lab parameters. Patients were categorized into varying severity depending on their SpO2 levels at admission. Neutrophil count (P=0.001) and NLR (P=0.002) were associated with an increased risk of mortality and disease severity. An increase in PLR ratio (P=0.05) shows a mild association with mortality but not with disease severity (P=0.096). In contrast, comorbidities, increasing age, and gender did not show any statistical significance for mortality. The presence of statistical significance concerning NLR and PLR should be utilized as an aid by clinicians to assess disease severity and chances of mortality. As new variants of the disease are uprising and a single therapeutic measure is not available currently for the treatment of COVID-19, clinicians should be well informed about how to monitor the disease in a cost-effective and easily accessible way to reduce the disease mortality and morbidity.

Clinical and laboratory profile of children with COVID-19 admitted at a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, Southern India

The Journal is the primary organ of Continuing Paediatric Medical Education in Sri Lanka. The journal also has a website. Free full text access is available for all readers.The Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health is now indexed in SciVerse Scopus (Source Record ID 19900193609), Index Medicus for South-East Asia Region (IMSEAR), CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International Global Health Database), DOAJ and is available in Google, as well as Google Scholar.The policies of the journal are modelled on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidelines on Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health is recognised by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) as a publication following the ICMJE Recommendations.

A novel study on clinical pharmacist and psychiatrist collaborative pharmacotherapy management services among elderly population with psychiatric illness.

Background:Geriatric psychiatry has yet to receive its due recognition in India. There is increasing evidence of a rise in morbidity, mortality, hospitalization, and loss of functional status related to common mental disorders in the elderly patients. Collaborative care approach, including a clinical pharmacist, is one of the possible approaches to cope with geriatric patients with psychiatric patients.Objective:The study aimed to assess the impact of pharmacotherapy management of geriatric patients in collaboration with pharmacist and psychiatrist.Materials and Methods:A prospective interventional study was conducted in the psychiatry outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Mysore over 6 months. Geriatric patients who were newly diagnosed with depression, bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) and alcohol dependency syndrome (ADS) were included in this study. The clinical pharmacist scrutinized the patients for their participation in the study. Included patients were followed up on monthly basis for up to 4 months. Pharmacotherapy management was provided to the enrolled patients. Interventions provided were discussed with the psychiatrist. Descriptive analysis was performed for categorical variables.Results:A total of 84 geriatric patients were enrolled in the study. Majority of the enrolled patients were female (n = 46, 54.7%). Nearly half of the patients were illiterate (n = 40, 47.6%) and unemployed (n = 38, 45.2%). Among the enrolled patients, half of the study participants were diagnosed with depression (63.09%) followed by BPAD (27.38%), Schizophrenia (7.14%), and ADS (2.38%). A total of 155 medication information services were provided to 84 patients including patient counseling (n = 84, 100%), pharmacist interventions (n = 48, 30.96%) and medication information (n = 23, 14.83%). Most of the interventions were adverse drug reactions followed by drug-drug interactions, failure to receive drugs, untreated indication, subtherapeutic dose, drug use without indication, and overdose. Majority of the interventions (n = 46, 95.8%) provided were accepted by the psychiatrist.Conclusion:The study findings indicate that pharmacotherapy management services provided by the clinical pharmacist in collaboration with the psychiatrist benefited the geriatric psychiatric patients.

A Comparative Study on Maternal Outcome in Emergency LSCS Versus Elective Lscs in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Karnataka

A Comparative Study on Maternal Outcome in Emergency LSCS Versus Elective Lscs in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Karnataka

Comparison of Micro-ESR Method with Westergren Method for Determination of Erythrocytes Sedimentation Rate

Background: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) is an important diagnostic tool used for diagnosing and monitoring various disease processes. The most important method of ESR estimation is gold standard Westergren method using 3.8% sodium citrate in the ratio of 4:1. Though many other methods are available for ESR estimation not many studies have been done in this regard. This study was done with an aim of comparing gold standard Westergren ESR method with micro ESR method, Modified Westergren ESR method (K3 EDTA using blood in Dilution 0.85% sodium chloride by ratio 4:1) and ESR method using EDTA without blood dilution. Material and Methods: The present study was done in the haematology section of central diagnostic laboratory services of a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka from November 2018 to July 2019 on blood samples from 110 adult patients. The mean values of ESR estimation done by using blood collected with 3.8% sodium citrate in a ratio of 4:1 was compared with ESR estimated through microesr method, ESR estimated using blood collected in K3 EDTA with dilution with normal saline and ESR estimated using blood collected in K3 EDTA without dilution. The Mean, Standard Deviation and confidence interval was measured using SPSS 22IBM version. Paired t-test was used for calculation of p value, which if < .001 was considered statistically significant. Results: Maximum number of cases were in the age group of 21-40years (70%). 40.9% cases were males and 59.1% cases were females. Out of 110 cases the blood sample 75 cases were normal and 35 cases are abnormal (gold standard method). The comparison of mean values obtained between gold standard method micro ESR methods, undiluted EDTA. While the mean values when compared between gold standard ESR estimation with EDTA blood with normal saline dilution had not much significant difference. Conclusion: In this study ESR estimation by dilution of EDTA collected blood with normal saline was as good as gold standard Westergren method. It is easy to perform, needs one single vacuitainer and doesnot need any sophisticated instruments. Hence they can be used interchangeably. Keywords: Westegrens Method, Micro ESR Method, K3 EDTA Dilution.

Clinico-etiological profile of first episode of seizure and its correlation with electroencephalogram in children aged 2 months to 18 years

Background: Seizure is one of the commonest neurological illnesses. About 4-10% of children experience at least one episode in the first 16 years of life. Approximately 30% of children who experience, first afebrile seizure later develop epilepsy. Risk is approximately 20% if neurological examination, electroencephalogram (EEG) and neuroimaging is normal. The objective of the study is to determine the age of onset, etiology of first episode of seizure in children between the age group of 2 months to 18 years and the pattern of EEG changes in the above group of children.Methods: In a prospective single centre observational study at Cheluvamba tertiary care hospital in Mysore, around 80 children who were admitted with first episode of afebrile seizure to our emergency department between October-2020 to July-2021 (10 months) were studied. Seizures defined using international league against epilepsy (ILAE) and EEG was done for all 80 children and their records were analysed.Results: A total of 80 children presenting with first episode of seizure were included in the study. Toddlers represented the major portion of our study with male gender predominance. Idiopathic seizure was the most common etiology identified (81.2%), followed by meningitis (7.5%). EEG abnormality was seen in 58.7% of the children which was statistically significant (p&lt;0.05). MRI was done in 72.5% of the children, of which abnormality was seen in only 8.6% of the children.Conclusions: Seizure is mainly diagnosed clinically and EEG can be normal in many children. First episode of seizure is common in the age group of 1-3 years. Normal EEG at present may not indicate the non-recurrence in future. Though EEG interpretation is useful, treatment can be started based on clinical diagnosis and has to be individualized.

Clinical and laboratory profile of children with COVID-19 admitted at a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, Southern India

The Journal is the primary organ of Continuing Paediatric Medical Education in Sri Lanka. The journal also has a website. Free full text access is available for all readers.The Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health is now indexed in SciVerse Scopus (Source Record ID 19900193609), Index Medicus for South-East Asia Region (IMSEAR), CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International Global Health Database), DOAJ and is available in Google, as well as Google Scholar.The policies of the journal are modelled on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidelines on Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health is recognised by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) as a publication following the ICMJE Recommendations.