COMPARISON OF THE EFFICACY OF TOTAL LARYNGEAL ANESTHESIA AND SIMPLE LOCAL ANESTHESIA DURING AWAKE FIBEROPTIC BRONCHOSCOPY

Objective: To compare the efficacy of total laryngeal anesthesia and simple local anesthesia during awake fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pulmonology, Combined Military Hospital Lahore, from Jan to Jul 2020. Methodology: A total of 70 patients, who were undergoing fiberoptic bronchoscopy were divided into two groups. Group-I patients were given topical anesthesia with 2% Lignocaine while group-II patients, in addition to topical Lignocaine, had 2% Lignocaine injected into bilateral internal laryngeal nerves for total laryngeal anesthesia. Assessment of efficacy of anesthesia was evaluated by Reasoner scale. Results: In group-I, 26 (74.28%) patients showed mild or moderate cough and gagging during stage-1. Fifteen (42.85%) patients showed moderate cough and gagging that interfered with the procedure during stage-2 and 19 (54.28%) patients showed mild cough or gagging that did not interfere with the procedure in stage-3. In group-II, 17 (48.57%) patients exhibited mild cough or gagging during stage-1. Sixteen (45.71%) exhibited mild cough or gagging that did not interfere with the procedure during stage-2 with all the patients showing either no cough or mild cough and gagging that did not interfere with the procedure during stage-3. More patients of group-II 32 (91.42%) agreed to a repeat test if required medically as compared to group-I 28 (80%). Conclusion: Patients undergoing fiberoptic bronchoscopy who underwent total laryngeal anesthesia and sedation, in addition to topical anesthesia experienced less cough and gagging than those receiving only local anesthesia.

Incidence of Oncogenic HPV and HPV-Related Dysplasia Five Years After a Negative HPV Test by Self-Sampling in Elderly Women

PURPOSE: Cervical cancer prevention for older women can be challenging since there are no specific guidelines for this group. This study aimed to determine the incidence of oncogenic HPV and HPV-related dysplasia in elderly women 5 years after being HPV negative. METHODS: Invited women participated five years earlier in a study where self-sampling for HPV testing was applied, at this time, they were all HPV negative. The women were now invited to perform self-sampling for HPV testing. Women with a positive result performed a repeat HPV test. Those with a positive repeat HPV test were examined by colposcopy, biopsy and cytology. RESULTS: Of the 804 invited women, 634 (76.9%) agreed to participate in the study and a self-sampling kit was sent to them. Of these, 99.6% (632/634) sent a sample to the HPV laboratory. The participation rate in each age group was 93.3% at age 65, 74.0% at age 70, 80.7% at age 75 and 64.6 % at age 80. Overall 18 women (2.8%, 95% CI 3.2 to 6.0) were HPV positive in the first test and 8 (1.3%, 95% CI 0.6 to 2.6) in the second test. Sampling for the second test was done on average 5.4 months after the first test. Fifty per cent (4/8) of the women with a positive repeat test had dysplasia in histology. CONCLUSION: The incidence of HPV in previously HPV-negative elderly women was low. Among women who were HPV positive in a repeat test, there was a high prevalence of low grade dysplasia.

Burnout, does the university entrance test failing attribute? A Bangladeshi exploratory study

Getting admission into a university is highly competitive globally and can be regarded as a mental stressor for some individuals. In Bangladesh, most of the universities allow students to repeat the test, whereas repeat test-taking students are supposed to suffer from psychological issues like burnout because of academic non-achievement in their first attempt. But there is no prior study assessing burnout to the population, which was investigated herein. A cross-sectional study was carried out among a total of 911 Bangladeshi university entrance test-taking students (i.e., 49.5% first-time test-takers). The survey measures included socio-demographics, admission-related issues, and mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and burnout). Of the mental health problems, depression, anxiety, and burnout were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7), and Maslach Burnout Inventory—Student Survey (MBI–SS), respectively. In light of two-dimensional and three-dimensional cutoff schemes of the MBI—SS, about 43.7% and 17.3% of the test-taking students, respectively, were classified to be burnout in the total sample. Additionally, 48.1%, 71.4%, and 49.1% of the students in the total sample reported higher emotional exhaustion, higher cynicism, and lower academic efficacy, respectively. In respect to the student status, two-dimensional burnout (48.0% vs. 39.2%; χ2 = 7.164, p = 0.007), and emotional exhaustion (52.2% vs. 43.9%, χ2 = 6.789, p = 0.034) were significantly higher among the repeat test-taking students. Satisfaction with previous mock tests, depression, and anxiety were the associated factors of burnout in all three samples. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that the university entrance test appearing students are highly prevalent to burnout, and the rate increases with academic non-achievement. As the first study assessing burnout to the population, the findings are anticipated to be helpful for policymaking and further studies both inside and outside Bangladesh.

Increased risk of subsequent chlamydia infection among women not tested at the anorectal anatomical location

BackgroundUniversal anorectal testing for Chlamydia trachomatis (chlamydia) among women is not recommended in many countries, while anorectal chlamydia infections are common. Missed anorectal infections might cause sequelae at the genital site if autoinoculation from the anorectum is possible, but evidence is limited. This study investigates the association between potentially missed anorectal infections and subsequent genital chlamydia infections in women, using not being tested at the anorectal site as a proxy for having a potentially missed anorectal infection.MethodsWe included all women with a repeat chlamydia test within 1 year (with at least a genital test) from the Dutch sexual health centre surveillance between 2014 and 2019. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were used to identify determinants of genital chlamydia infection at the repeat test, with anorectal testing at the previous chlamydia test as the main determinant.ResultsA total of 40 217 women were included in the analyses, of whom 15.4% tested chlamydia-positive genitally at their second test. Not being tested anorectally at the first test was an independent risk factor for genital chlamydia infection at the repeat test (adjusted OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.33). This association was in the same range as most other significant risk factors in the model: low education level, no condom use, STI symptoms and previous STI diagnosis. Young age (<20 years) (2.67, 2.39–2.98) and those who received partner notification (3.11, 2.91–3.31) showed stronger associations. The findings were robust; correcting for interactions and a sensitivity analysis stratifying by chlamydia infection at first visit did not show significant differences in the adjusted OR of not being tested anorectally at first test.ConclusionThe results are suggestive of an autoinoculation process from the anorectal to the genital anatomical site in women. To enhance chlamydia control, future studies on the role of extragenital testing and autoinoculation in chlamydia transmission are needed.

A study on the timing of HIV repeat test: A case study of Mary Immaculate VCT Center, Nairobi, Kenya

Population testing, especially those at risk, plays an important role in preventing and managing the HIV pandemic. It helps practitioners in identifying individuals who need to be counseled on behavior change as well as those who need to be enrolled in HIV care and treatment programs. Further still, policy makers also use outcomes of such tests in determining whether their strategies are bearing fruits or not. In this study, we sought to determine the time interval within which sexually active individuals seek HIV repeat tests in relation to their gender and marital statuses. We observed that majority of the respondents (39.8%, n=47) sought HIV repeat test within a period of 7-12 months, which we considered as short interval that leads to early diagnosis. We also observed a section of the respondents were also seeking HIV repeat test after a period that exceeded 13 months. We considered the latter as long interval that leads to late diagnosis of HIV. We further observed that, a majority of the respondents who were either married or had never been married before, sought HIV repeat tests within a short interval compared to those who were either divorced or widowed. We concluded that most widowed and divorced respondents were more likely to receive late diagnosis of HIV than those who were either married or had never been married before. Most studies have indicated that people who are unaware of their HIV status carry a higher risk of infecting others.

Role of ultrasound in cardiopulmonary resuscitation: Ultrasound CPR

Ultrasound has predictive value of identification and management of reversible causes of cardiac arrest on the outcome after applied CPR, in terms of ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation) and the hospital discharge and neurological findings after applied CPR measures. Ultrasound is used in all phases of resuscitation including period before cardiac arrest, during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and in the period after that. Ultrasound use during CPR offers numerous advantages including non-invasiveness, easiness, the short time for examination and a safe possibility for a repeat test whenever it is needed. Focused Echocardiography Examination in Life support (FEEL) and Focused Echocardiographic Evaluation in Resuscitation (FEER) protocols are mostly used when we talk about heart examination in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Exposure to Mycobacteria influences disease progression in COVID-19 patients

Background: COVID-19−related deaths are significantly higher in countries with higher quality of life. A strong negative correlation is reported between the BCG index and COVID- 19 mortality. The present study explored if a high Th1immunity due to frequent exposure to strong Th1 antigens like Mycobacteria or Salmonella could be the cause for lesser COVID-19−related deaths in Indian population. Methods: This prospective comparative study was conducted with 3 groups of twenty patients each of mildly symptomatic (A), severely ill (S) Covid patients and healthy volunteers with a Covid Negative report (H).Results: All severely ill patients showed increased leucocyte counts, lymphopenia and raised D-dimer. A gross reversible unresponsiveness of T cells was seen among all patients in S group with absolutely no response even to the mitogen stimulus. Quantiferon TB test value and distribution of test positivity was significantly lower in group S. Three out of 6 survived patients in S group had positive Quantiferon TB test while 2 patients turned positive on repeat test and the sixth patient showed high TH titre on widal test.Conclusion: Altered Th1 immunity associated with frequent community exposure of tuberculosis and typhoid antigen in Indian population might be responsible for its relatively lesser prevalence and mortality following Covid-19.

Drawing on repeat test takers to study test preparation practices and their links to score gains

A key concern of washback research in language testing is with the value of test preparation for facilitating learning and improving test performance. Although test takers may draw on a wide range of preparation activities, the majority of research studies examining test preparation have taken place in classroom settings, leaving self-access approaches largely unexamined. The aim of the current study was to (a) explore possible links between self-access test preparation activities and improved test performance and (b) examine how repeat test takers adjust their test preparation activities from test sitting to test sitting while preparing for the Pearson Test of English (Academic). The study involved the collection and analysis of interviews from 60 recent repeat test takers. The interview data were coded for themes and sub-themes and analyzed for the kind of test preparation activities in which learners engaged, and how these changed over time. The interviews showed that the test takers were strategic in their preparation, by changing their approaches depending on their previous test results. The largest number of significant improvements was identified for speaking, where test takers engaged in a variety of strategies, some of which were construct-irrelevant. The findings are discussed in relation to test validity and washback.

The incidence of treatment related acute kidney injury in cancer patients: A retrospective analysis.

e14150 Background: Development of the Acute kidney injury (AKI) in the patients receiving chemotherapy and immunotherapy is a factor associated with higher admission to the hospital, prolonged hospitalization, increased morbidity and mortality, dose reduction, moving to less effective regimens, inability to enroll in clinical trials. Methods: A retrospective cohort of the 95 patients, who received chemo immunotherapy in the infusion center of Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in 2018-2020 were analysed. The pool of the patients had multiple oncological pathologies and were on different chemo immunotherapeutic regimens. All creatinine levels before starting chemotherapy, before and after each cycle were assessed. We used a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria to define AKI (at least 1.5 increase in creatinine within 7 days of cycle or 0.3 creatinine increase in 48 hours) and grades of AKI. We considered AKI related to chemotherapy, if it developed in specified timeframe after chemotherapy defined above. The cases when patient did not meet criteria for AKI, but had a patterns suggestive of it (no repeat test within 7 days, but repeat test within 3 weeks, with increase in creatinine > 37.5%) were defined as potentially missed AKI. Results: 12 patients developed chemoimmunotherapy related AKI (12.63%). 1 patient had 3 episodes of the AKI related to chemotherapy. 4 patients received platinum-based chemotherapy. On average every patient received 12cycles of chemotherapy. After the first two cycles of chemotherapy AKI developed in 7 Patients (58.33%). 10patients had AKI after 7 cycles (83.33%). It worth mentioning that only 42% of the chemotherapeutic cycles had follow-up creatinine within 7 days. 7 patients (7.37%) had fallen under a potentially missed AKI criteria. 2 more patients were diagnosed with AKI that was not related to the chemotherapy. Conclusions: In our study there was a significant incidence of AKI in the patients receiving chemoimmunotherapy. Current guidelines do not advocate close monitoring(weekly) of renal function in patients receiving chemoimmunotherapy unless the patient receives an chemotherapeutic agent known to cause nephrotoxicity. Repeat creatinine within 7 days after chemotherapy may be necessary to allow early detection of AKI, that can potentially to improved outcomes. Large prospective studies may be necessary to confirm our findings that very close monitoring of renal function can improve detection of the AKI and outcomes due to possibility of early intervention.