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Aims/objective: The aim of this study is to compare vertical midline wound closure with far-near technique using nylon and interrupted -X technique using polyglactin 910. Methods: This was a Multi-center prospective descriptive follow up study conducted by the department of Surgery from January 2017 to December 2019. Eighty cases were divided into two different groups and studied. Association between categorical variables was calculated by Chi-square test and association between quantitative variables by student's t test. The level of significance was set at P<0.05. Results: Most of the patients (55% in group 1 and 42.5% in group 2) were within the age range of 21-40 years. The most common indication of surgery was gastrointestinal perforation followed obstruction and malignancy. The laparotomy wound closure with far near techniques using nylon was better than interrupted technique using polyglactin 910. Discussion: Far near suturing technique with nylon was associated with less number of wound infections, dehiscence and burst abdomen resulting in reduced hospital stay and morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exacerbations in Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a considerable impact on morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. Procalcitonin (PCT) a polypeptide normally produced in neuroendocrine cells of the thyroid and lungs is a marker of systemic inflammation and bacterial infection. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the levels of PCT in serum of acute exacerbation of COPD patients (AECOPD) and stable COPD patients in North Indian population. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 80 AECOPD and 80 stable COPD patients in respiratory medicine department at tertiary care hospital in north India. PCT levels were measured in serum by ELISA kit. GraphPad Prism version 6.01 (GraphPad software Inc.; La, Jolla, CA, USA) was used for analysis of data. Results: The present study showed that mean serum PCT levels were significantly higher in AECOPD group (1.31 ± 0.79) as compared to stable COPD group (0.1 ± 0.09) (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The study confirms that PCT levels were higher in AECOPD patients as compared to stable COPD patients. PCT could be used as a biomarker of exacerbations of COPD and can be used to target management and guiding the treatment in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Hypertension is one of the most common medical complications during pregnancy and a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Severe preeclampsia is defined as blood pressure (BP) >160/110 mmHg with warning signs such as headache, blurring of vision, and epigastric pain. Nifedipine (C 17 H 18 N 2 O 6 ), labetalol (C 19 H 24 N 2 O 3 ), and hydralazine (C 8 H 8 N 4 ) are commonly used drugs, and all are recommended as first-line agents. Hydralazine is associated with a higher incidence of adverse outcomes, so oral nifedipine has been proposed as a first-line alternative to intravenous labetalol. Consequently, this study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of oral nifedipine with that of intravenous labetalol. The objective is to compare the ability/effectiveness of oral nifedipine and intravenous labetalol to normalize acute hypertension in severe preeclampsia and to assess the birth outcome. Relations between different factors were established by appropriate statistical tests. The p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant., Methods: The study was conducted on 120 antenatal women with blood pressure ≥160/110 mmHg admitted to our hospital, a tertiary care center, from January 1st, 2020 to June 30th, 2021. Patients were randomized by a single blinding method to receive intravenous labetalol and oral nifedipine. The primary outcome measures were the time taken to control the blood pressure and the number of doses of drugs required. The secondary outcome measures were the birth outcome like a method of delivery, side effect profile, and the number of admissions in the neonatal intensive care unit., Results: A total of 120 patients were included with 60 patients in each group. The labetalol group took 48.67 ± 17.80 minutes and the nifedipine group took 64.33 ± 9.81 minutes to achieve a target BP of <=140/90 mmHg ( p  < 0.05). No side effects were seen in 70% of patients in the labetalol group and 71.67% in the nifedipine group ( p > 0.05)., Conclusion and Global Health Implications: Intravenous labetalol is faster in restoring blood pressure in pregnant women with preeclampsia than oral nifedipine and may be used as a first-line drug in the acute control of blood pressure in a hypertensive emergency during pregnancy. More studies are needed in order to evaluate the findings from this pilot study in a large sample of patients., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc., USA.)

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Systemic inflammation and oxidant/antioxidant imbalance has been seen to play a key role in pathogenesis of COPD. The present study investigated the levels of inflammatory and antioxidant/oxidative stress biomarker in COPD patients and healthy subjects., Materials and Methods: The present study enrolled seventy COPD patients and seventy healthy controls from Department of Respiratory Medicine at a tertiary care hospital. Vitamin D, C-reactive protein (CRP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured in both cases and control. GraphPad PRISM version 6.01 was used for analysis of data., Results: The levels of Vitamin D, SOD, Catalase, were found to be significantly lower among the COPD patients in comparison to healthy controls while levels of MDA and CRP were significantly higher ( P = 0.0001)., Conclusion: The results showed oxidant/antioxidant imbalance and Vitamin D deficiency in COPD patients. Higher levels of CRP and oxidative stress markers were observed in COPD patients in comparison to healthy controls. A biomarker based study testing the efficacy of novel antioxidant or other agents will be helpful that can modify the course of this disease., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Tzu Chi Medical Journal.)

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Anemia is seen as a common comorbidity in COPD patients associated with reduced functional capacity, impaired quality of life, greater likelihood of hospitalization, and early mortality. The aim is to study the prevalence of anemia in patients with COPD and to study its association with different parameters., Materials and Methods: In the present case-control study, 150 stable COPD patients were enrolled from the Outpatient Department of Respiratory Medicine, King George Medical University, Lucknow, from October 2015 to January 2017. GraphPad PRISM version 6.01 was used for the analysis of data. Chi-square test was used to compare between the groups. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: The present study showed the prevalence of anemia in COPD patients to be 31.6%. The mean hemoglobin level in anemic group was 11.04 ± 1.1 g/dl, whereas in nonanemic group, it was 13.9 ± 0.8 g/dl. Anemia was significantly associated with increased dyspnea in our study which was assessed by modified Medical Research Council grade ( P = 0.04)., Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia in COPD patients was 31.6%. Anemia is present as comorbidity in COPD patients and is associated with poor quality of life and increased morbidity in the form of number of exacerbation and hospital admission. Identification and correction of anemia in COPD patients may improve their clinical outcome., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.