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Background: As per the vaccine management policy of the Government of India all vaccine vials opened for an immunization session were discarded at the end of that session, irrespective of the type of vaccine or the number of doses remaining in the vial prior to 2013. Subsequently, open vial policy (OVP) was introduced in 2013 and should reduce both vaccine wastage as well as governmental healthcare costs for immunization. This study evaluates the vaccine wastage after introduction of the OVP and its comparison with the previous study of vaccine wastage in Surat city before implementation of OVP. It needs to mention that the vaccine policy for this period under comparison was uniform except for the OVP. Methods: Information regarding vaccine doses consumed and children vaccinated during immunization sessions of 24 urban health centers (UHCs) of Surat city were retrieved for the period of January 1st, 2014 to March 31st, 2014. The data were analyzed to estimate vaccine wastage rate (WR) and vaccine wastage factor (WF). In order to assess the impact of OVP, vaccine WR of this study was compared with that of previous study conducted in Surat city during January 1st, 2012 to March 31st, 2012. Results: The vaccine WR for oral polio vaccine (OPV) has decreased from 25% to 13.62%, while the WRs for DPT, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the pentavalent vaccine combinedly have decreased from 17.94% to 8.05%. Thus, by implementation of OVP, an estimated 747 727 doses of OPV and 343 725 doses of diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus toxoid vaccine (DPT), HBV and the pentavalent vaccines combinedly have been saved in Surat city of India in a year. Conclusion: The implementation of the OVP in Surat city has led to a significant lowering in the vaccine wastage, leading to savings due to lower vaccine requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India shares the largest burden of under-nutrition in world. The aim of this study was to conduct follow-up assessment of under-nourished children attending anganwadi center (AWC). Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in 50 AWC of Tapi district. Total 529 children aged 1-6 years diagnosed as under-nourished before 1 year were included. Pre-structured questionnaire was used for present day assessment of these children followed by Epi-info mediated analysis. Results: Children of literate mothers had higher weight gain. Ninety percent of children attended anganwadi regularly, however 25% of children dropped out for more than 1 month. In 1 year, growth had faltered in 20% children and was stagnant in 63% of them. Children who were treated for under-nutrition; that completed course at Child Development and Nutrition Center; and whose parents were counseled about the under-nourished status of child had higher weight gain than their counterparts. Conclusions: Parents of under-nourished children must be counseled about the nutritional status of their child. In cases of under-nourished child, referral to higher center must be ensured by health worker. Supplementary feeding as a long-term solution to country's under-nutrition problem should be studied in detail with the alternative solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: As smoking is a major risk factor in India, the objective of present study was to assess smoking patterns, expenditure and awareness amongst smokers and to examine factors associated with the severity of smoking in Surat city. METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with the use of pre-structured questionnaire tool targeting 281 current smokers in the slums of 20 Urban Health Centers. Smokers were categorized based on pack-years, which means the number of packs smoked per day multiplied by the duration of smoking (mild <5, moderate 5-15, and severe >15), and based on the number of cigarette/bidis smoked per day without the duration component (mild <10, moderate 10-19, and severe ≥20). Factors associated with severity of smoking were examined within two approaches with help of Epi-info mediated analysis. RESULTS: Lower severity of smoking was associated with smaller number of family members who smoke (p<0.001). Groups of mild and moderate-severe smokers were similar with regards to education, socioeconomic class, and awareness regarding hazards of smoking (p>0.05). With the influence of friends (50%), about 60% smokers engage into this habit before the age of 20 years. Though only 20% of current smokers were not aware of the consequences of active smoking, more than 50% did not know about the same for passive smoking. The lowest socioeconomic class spends 44% of their income on tobacco products compared to 7% in the highest class. CONCLUSION: The study provides insights for information, education and counseling (IEC) activi- ties which should take into account health impact of bidi smoking, low awareness of health impact of passive smoking, and higher percentage of total monthly expenditure on tobacco among low-in-come household resulting in crowding out of ex- penditures on other needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topical and local anesthetics are employed during minor invasive procedures to increase patient tolerance and to reduce the need for intravenous sedation. A potentially fatal complication of these anesthetics is methemoglobinemia (Met-Hgb). Met-Hgb should be suspected in patients with cyanosis that does not respond to administration of oxygen and who have a discrepancy in oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry compared with the arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) determined by blood gas analysis. We present a patient who developed life-threatening Met-Hgb from the local anesthesia required during percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement.