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COVID-19 is a highly contagious virus and is transmitted from human to human respiratory droplets or coming in contact with a virus contaminated surface. Cancer patients are more vulnerable than general population to get infected with COVID-19 due to their immunosuppressed condition. Radiotherapy Technologists (RTTs) are among frontline healthcare providers who are at high risks of being exposed to COVID-19. RTTs are directly involved with treatment of cancer patients daily and also provide supporting roles in radiation safety, quality assurance education and training, administration research and service development. To cope with this present pandemic, RTTs would require prior preparation, precaution, judicious use of resources, clear communications and strong leadership. This article will help the RTTs to prepare themselves to tackle the present crisis and to carry out the radiotherapy practices in their respective hospitals.

Background: Uric acid is thought to play a pathogenic role in hypertension mediated by several mechanisms such as inflammation, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in renal microcirculation, endothelial cell dysfunction etc. The study was carried to see the relationship between serum uric acid and hypertension and its correlation with components of metabolic syndrome as it is thought that hyperuricemia is more common in hypertensive patients probably because hyperuricemia may be also a component of metabolic syndrome. Methods: The present observational cross sectional study was conducted in the department of Medicine in a tertiary care hospital in Assam from June 2021 to May 2022. A total of 150 patients who were diagnosed as hypertensives following ACC/AHA guidelines, 2017. Newly detected hypertensives were enrolled for the study. Relevant clinical and laboratory data were recorded using proforma and statistical analysis were done accordingly. Results: 20% cases were found to be hyperuricemic in the study population out of which 67% of the cases who had metabolic syndrome had hyperuricaemia. Conclusion: There can be a direct relation between hypertension and hyperuricemia, hyperuricemia was found in 20% of hypertensive cases. Serum uric acid level correlates significantly with variables like BMI, Dyslipidemia, stage 2 hypertension, which are components of metabolic syndrome. Thus, hyperuricaemia can be an index of suspicion for the concomitant presence of metabolic syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]