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Background and aims Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) often demonstrate impaired antibody response to influenza/hepatitis B vaccines. Hence, we compared anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in non-severe COVID-19 patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods Records of non-severe COVID-19 patients admitted at our institution between April 10, 2020 and May 20, 2020 were retrieved. Qualitative detection of total (IgG + IgM) anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody was performed using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay in plasma samples collected at least 14 days post-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmation of diagnosis. Results Thirty-one non-severe COVID-19 patients were included. Nine patients (29%) had T2DM with mean HbA1c at admission of 8.3 ± 1.0%. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody was estimated at a median of 16 (14–17) days post-PCR confirmation of COVID-19 diagnosis. Only three patients (10%) were seronegative, and all had T2DM. Patients with T2DM were more likely to have non-detectable anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies than those without DM (p = 0.019). Conclusions COVID-19 patients with T2DM may not undergo seroconversion even after two weeks of diagnosis. Impaired seroconversion could theoretically increase the risk of reinfections in patients with DM. However, the finding requires validation in large-scale studies involving serial estimations of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in patients with and without DM., Highlights • Non-severe COVID-19 patients with T2DM were more likely to be seronegative for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. • Seronegative patients had higher HbA1c and longer duration of T2DM than seropositive patients. • Absence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies might increase the risk of reinfections in patients with T2DM.

Renal Doppler to assess renal resistive index (RRI) is an attractive option to prognosticate acute kidney injury (AKI) in acute pancreatitis (AP) as it is feasible within scope of point-of-care ultrasound. However, RRI has been infrequently evaluated in AP.Prospectively study diagnostic and prognostic performance of RRI in patients with AP.75 patients with AP were prospectively enrolled and followed till recovery/death. All patients were subjected to renal Doppler and RRI was compared between patients with and without AKI.Thirty six patients developed AKI and 39 patients did not develop AKI. AKI network stage 1, 2 and 3 AKI was seen in 7(19.4%), 12(33.3%) and 17 (47.2%) patients respectively. Prognostic scoring done at admission by SIRS, modified marshal score, and BISAP scores, as well as duration of hospitalization and mortality rates were significantly higher in patients with AKI. Mean peak systolic velocity and RRI at upper, middle and lower poles of bilateral kidneys were comparable between patients with and without AKI. The RRI was abnormal in 46 (66.6%) patients and it was0.6 in 35/46 (76%) and0.7 in 11/46 (24%) patients respectively. RRI0.6 was observed in 16 (53.3%) and 19 (48.7%) patients with and without AKI respectively (p = 0.80). RRI0.7 was observed in 4 (53.3%) and 7 (48.7%) patients with and without AKI respectively (p = 0.74).AKI is associated with poor prognosis in AP. RRI on renal Doppler at admission seems to have poor diagnostic as well as prognostic performance for AKI in patients with AP.

Background: Scrub typhus has emerged as a major cause of acute febrile illness in India in recent years. The causative agent, Orientia tsutsugamushi has more than 20 prototype strains due to a variable 56-kDa outer membrane protein. It is crucial to know the prevailing types in India for the success of diagnostic immunoassays and prospective vaccine candidates. In north India, the principal types circulating are largely unknown. Our tertiary care hospital caters to a large area of north India (around 7 states and one union territory). Therefore, the current study was planned to identify the genotypes of O. tsutsugamushi strains circulating in this wide area of north India. Materials and methods: Adults and children presenting with suspected scrub typhus between July 2013 and December 2013 were included in this study. DNA was extracted from whole blood and a nested PCR was used to amplify a 483-bp region of the 56-kDa antigen gene of O. tsutsugamushi. The PCR products were purified and DNA sequencing was performed and aligned using the CLUSTAL_X2 program. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using neighbour- joining algorithms and analysed using the sequences obtained in this study and those obtained from the GenBank database. Results: A total of 34 samples were positive for PCR. The amplicons were sequenced and analyzed. Karp-like strains predominated in all states studied (64.7%) followed by Gilliam-like (26.47 %) and 8.82% similar to Hualien 1 or S072. We did not find any Kato or Kawasaki-like strain. Karp like strains showed >99% similarity to TH2033, TH2191, TH2208, Xinjiang & Neimeng strains and Gilliam-like strains showed >99% similarity to Clone ISS -11. Conclusion: Orientia tsutsugamushi shows a great diversity in its strains over a large geographical area of north India. This has implications in the production of both diagnostic assays and vaccine for scrub typhus. Keywords: Scrub typhus, Orientia tsutsugamushi, Eschar, North India

Background & Aims: A procoagulant state with pulmonary micro-thrombosis has been described in COVID-19, which contributes to pathophysiology of respiratory failure along with diffuse alveolar damage. Cytokine storm and systemic inflammation in COVID-19 generates endogenous heparinoids from the endothelium which leads to secondary organ failures. We prospectively studied the dynamic association of the coagulation abnormalities with respiratory failure and mortality in patients with COVID-19. Methods: We did a prospective observational study in adults aged between 18-80 years with COVID 19 pneumonia requiring intensive care (ICU) admissions in a tertiary care hospital in North India. All patients received standard medical therapy based on best available evidence. Patients were categorized based on the oxygen support therapy into low flow, high flow and invasive ventilation groups. In patients considered to be at risk of thromboembolic or bleeding phenomena, paired coagulation tests were performed at days 1 and 3 with, Sonoclot ® (glass beaded and heparinase-treated). All patients were consecutively followed for inflammatory markers, ventilator requirements and survival. Activated clotting time (ACT) 75 units were used as the cut-off for hypercoagulable state. The heparin like effect (HLE) was considered by a correction of ≥ 40 s in hACT (heparinized treated ACT). The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04668404). Results: A total of 2324 patients with COVID-19 were screened from August 2020 to November 2020. Two hundred and fifteen patients requiring ICU admission were assessed and 74 patients with a median age of 54(42-67) years were enrolled. A procoagulant profile was seen in 45.5%, 32.4% and 20.7% in low-flow, high-flow, and invasive ventilation. Paired Sonoclot ® assays in 33 patients demonstrated HLE in 17 (51.5%) and 20 (62.5%) at days 1 and 3 respectively. In multivariate analysis, the presence of HLE (HR 1.02; CI 1.08-1.6; p 131 s, clot rate 96.7 mg/l at admission predicted mortality. Conclusions: HLE contributes to hypocoagulable effect, need for invasive ventilation and mortality in patients with COVID-19. Trial Registration: The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04668404). Funding Statement: None Declaration of Interests: None Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (PGI/IEC/2020/000997 dated 24 August 2020)

Highlights • Study of the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for prevention of COVID-19. • PEP with HCQ in asymptomatic, high-risk household contacts of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases. • Significant risk reduction for incidence of COVID-19 in participants receiving PEP with HCQ. • Further studies to prove the virucidal effect of HCQ in vivo are required. • Further randomised clinical trials with larger sample sizes are required for better evaluation of HCQ as PEP for prevention of COVID-19., Many drugs have been tried for the treatment/prevention of COVID-19 with limited success. Direct household contacts of COVID-19 patients are at highest risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been tried against COVID-19 owing to its in vitro virucidal action against SARS-CoV-2, but the role of HCQ as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) remains inconclusive. In this open-label, controlled clinical trial, asymptomatic individuals who had direct contact with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases or had undertaken international travel in the last 2 weeks were offered HCQ prophylaxis and assigned to PEP (n = 132) or control (n = 185) group. The PEP group received HCQ 800 mg on Day 1 followed by 400 mg once weekly for 3 weeks. Both groups undertook home quarantine for 2 weeks along with social distancing and personal hygiene. Over 4-week follow-up, 50/317 participants (15.8%) had new-onset COVID-19. The incidence of COVID-19 was significantly (P = 0.033) lower in the PEP (14/132; 10.6%) compared to the control (36/185; 19.5%) group (total absolute risk reduction, –8.9% points). The NNT to prevent the occurrence of 1 COVID-19 case was 12. Overall relative risk was 0.59 (95% CI 0.33–1.05). Compliance was good. The most common adverse event was epigastric discomfort with burning sensation (three participants), with no serious adverse events. PEP with HCQ has the potential for the prevention of COVID-19 in at-risk individuals. Until definitive therapy is available, continuing PEP with HCQ may be considered in suitable at-risk individuals. Further randomised clinical trials with larger samples are required for better evaluation of HCQ as PEP for COVID-19 prevention.

Background: Health care personnel (HCP) are at an increased risk of acquiring COVID infection during this pandemic especially in developing countries like India, where they work in resource restricted healthcare settings and return to homes, unfit for safe self-isolation. Thus, many HCP were reluctant to accept COVID-19 duty as they were apprehensive about their safety and concerned about carrying the infection home to their families. Methods: We describe a novel multidimensional HCP-centric evidence-based, dynamic policy to address the expressed concerns of HCPs. The hospital was divided into three zones: high, medium, and low risk zones. In the high risk and medium risk zones, we organized pre-duty holistic training, provided on-duty support, ensured post duty HCP welfare, and send them all home after they tested negative for COVID-19. To minimize transmission, we provided appropriate PPE, ensured its proper use, kept all communication paperless. To reduce morbidity, we recruited only willing low risk HCP, aged

Background To date, no study has evaluated the association of alcohol dependence with the outcome of the COVID-19 infection. Aim The current study aimed to evaluate the association of substance dependence (alcohol and tobacco) with the outcome (i.e., time to have two consecutive negative test reports) of the COVID-19 infection. Results The mean age of the study participants (n = 95) was 37.2 yrs (SD-13.2). More than half of the participants were males. About one-fourth (N = 25; 26.3 %) were consuming various substances in a dependent pattern. Alcohol dependence was present in 21 participants (22.1 %), and Tobacco dependence was present in 10.5 % of participants. Even after using gender, age, and physical illness as covariates, patients with any kind of substance dependence had a significantly lower chance of having a negative report on RT-PCR on 14th day, 18th 23rd day. Conclusion Persons with substance dependence takes a longer time to test negative on RT-PCR, once diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. Mental health professionals involved in the care of patients with COVID-19 should accordingly prepare these patients for a possible longer hospital stay to reduce the distress associated with prolongation of hospital stay.

Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in patients with hypertension and to evaluate the association of MCI with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methodology 186 subjects with hypertension were evaluated on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for cognitive decline and depression, respectively and MetS was diagnosed as per the Consensus definition. Results The prevalence of MCI was 65.6 % and that of MetS was 45.7 %. Compared to those without MetS, those with MetS had significantly poorer cognitive functioning on the all cognitive domain of the MoCA, even after controlling for age, education, severity of the depression and duration of illness. Low High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) was found to have a positive correlation with MoCA. Higher age, lower education, higher duration of illness and use of higher numbers of medications were associated with significantly lower score on MoCA. Conclusion Presence of MetS among persons with hypertension is associated with cognitive decline. Hence, there is a need to monitor and manage other parameters of MetS among patients with hypertension, to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and future dementia.

COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a disaster for the human beings. All the Governments across the globe have been preparing to deal with this medical emergency, which is known to be associated with mortality in about 5% of the sufferers. Gradually, it is seen that, many patients with COVID-19 infection have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic. Due to the risk of infecting others, persons with COVID-19 infection are kept in isolation wards. Because of the isolation, the fear of death, and associated stigma, many patients with COVID-19 infection go through mental distress. In this report, we discuss the experience of 3 persons diagnosed with COVId-19 infection and admitted to the COVID ward.

There is controversy about whether 3- or 6-month molecular assessment predicts progression-free and overall survival in those with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The factors predicting molecular response at 3, 6, and 12 months have not been studied extensively. The study objective was to study the factors affecting molecular response at 3 and 6 months in patients with CML who are receiving imatinib mesylate.We prospectively enrolled patients with newly diagnosed CML who were receiving imatinib mesylate as the initial therapy for CML. The diagnosis of CML was based on clinical examination, bone marrow, and demonstration of BCR ABL(IS) transcripts by polymerase chain reaction. The molecular response(IS) was assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months by GeneXpert (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) and co-related with various baseline characteristics of patients. We also looked at whether early achievement of a complete hematologic response within 6 weeks predicts molecular response at 3 or 6 months. The study took place at a tertiary care hospital in Northwest India catering to patients belonging to low-middle socioeconomic status.We enrolled 131 patients with CML in the chronic phase from July 1, 2013, to August 31, 2014. The median age of the patients was 40 years (range, 13-67) with a male preponderance (61% were male). Most patients presented with symptoms of low-grade fever (52.7%) and abdominal fullness (26.7%). Spleen was palpable in 84.7% of patients. The median hemoglobin at presentation was 10.8 g/dL (range, 4.8-18.4 g/dL), white cell count was 138.3 × 10(9)/L (4.1-697 × 10(9)/L), and platelet count was 326 × 10(9)/L (85-1819 × 10(9)/L). The median number of peripheral blood basophils was 3% (range, 0%-20%), and blasts were 3% (range, 0%-10%). Myelofibrosis of more than grade 1 was present in 30% of patients. Most patients belonged to intermediate Sokal (45.8%) and Hasford (55%) scores and low EUropean Treatment Outcome Study (78.6%) score. Of 128 evaluable patients at 3 months, 96.9% achieved complete hematologic remission (CHR) and 82.3% achieved BCR ABL(IS) of less than 10%. None of the patients who had BCR ABL(IS)10% at 3 months achieved BCR ABL(IS)1% at 6 months or0.1% at 12 months. Early achievement of CHR (6 weeks), peripheral blood blast count of5%, and lactate dehydrogenase851 U/L were significantly associated with achievement of BCR ABL(IS)10% at 3 months and BCR ABL(IS)1% at 6 months.We found that BCR ABL(IS) assessment at 3 months is superior to assessment at 6 months. Patients with CML in the chronic phase who achieve CHR within 6 weeks are more likely to achieve BCR ABL(IS)10% at 3 months and1% at 6 months than patients who achieve CHR between 7 and 12 weeks.

S214 408 Standard and High Sensitivity Molecular Analysis in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients Candidate to Discontinuation of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Dogliotti Irene, Fava Carmen, Gottardi Enrico, Daraio Filomena, Giugliano Emilia, Ulisciani Stefan, Giuseppe Saglio, Rege-Cambrin Giovanna Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin; Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, San Luigi Hospital; Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Oncology, San Luigi Hospital; Division of Internal Medicine and Haematology, San Luigi Hospital