National Medical Journal of India

The Epidemic Diseases Act (EDA) was enacted in February 1897 by the Government of India to prevent and control the spread of the plague. Since then, the Act has become a key legal tool for the control of epidemics/pandemics in India. We attempted to understand the international and domestic pressures that led to the adoption of the EDA in three ways. First, we analyse the legislative structure (Bombay Municipal Act of 1888, Indian Railways Act of 1890, and Act I of 1870) that dealt with infectious or contagious diseases in colonial India before the EDA came into force...

Few medical institutions in India, such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), use the term pre-clinical in their websites and brochures, but many institutions still use the word 'non-clinical'. In my opinion, the non-clinical departments should be renamed pre-clinical departments. In western countries, the curriculum is divided into pre-clinical and clinical. For example, in Oxford University, the initial instruction in courses such as Anatomy and Physiology is regarded as pre-clinical instruction...

Background Social media platforms, especially Facebook and WhatsApp, can spread public health information effectively. We aimed to estimate the influence of health-related messages circulated through these social media platforms on health-related decision-making and its associated factors. Methods We did a cross-sectional analytical study among adults (aged >18 years) who visited the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in suburban West Bengal, during July-September 2021. A structured questionnaire was used regarding receiving health-related messages on social media and the subsequent effect on health-related decision-making in the past year...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Background Membranous tonsillitis is one of the most common forms of acute tonsillitis in childhood. Although many different microorganisms may cause this disease, clinicians generally consider bacterial agents as a possible cause and prescribe a penicillin-group of antibiotic. This study aimed to determine the aetiology of membranous tonsillitis and prescribing errors. In addition, we investigated the effectiveness of epidemiological, clinical and laboratory parameters and their role in guiding treatment. Methods We did this retrospective study at the paediatric emergency department of a tertiary referral hospital including 423 outpatient children aged 0 to 18 years diagnosed with membranous tonsillitis...

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Background The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a novel marker for predicting the prognosis in patients with various diseases and cancers. We aimed to investigate the relationship between SII and disease activity in patients with Behçet disease (BD). Methods Our retrospective study included 513 patients with BD aged ≥18 years. The patients were classified into an active group (n=355) and an inactive group (n=158). Pearson correlation analysis was performed to elucidate correlations between the SII and other markers...

Background We present the experience of telerheumatology consultation services carried out in an eastern state of India. Methods We did this prospective, observational study of patients with rheumatological disorders and followed through telemedicine between December 2015 and May 2019. Results During the study period, we provided teleconsultation to 3583 patients with the help of 11 201 telemedicine visits. Patients resided at a median distance of 248 (13 to 510) km from the telemedicine hub. The cumulative savings of the patients as a result of this service were ₹2...

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has been used increasingly in immunotherapy, including treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, as an adjuvant therapy in metastatic prostate cancer and metastatic melanoma. However, systemic infection from inadvertent intravenous (instead of intravesical) injection is uncommon and can have systemic ramifications. We encountered 3 patients with disseminated Mycobacterium bovis infection that ensued after intravenous BCG injection.

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Background High levels of human HIV and tuberculosis (TB) stigma have been reported among healthcare workers (HCWs). Methods We compared HIV and TB stigma scores reported by nursing students and ward staff from hospitals across India. Transmission worry (TW) and intent to discriminate (ID) for HIV and TB were captured using a validated stigma scale. Results A total of 3733 individuals were interviewed. Nursing students and ward staff expressed higher TW while carrying out high- and low-risk tasks on patients with HIV compared to TB...

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The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic started in December 2019, spread like wildfire and took an immense toll on human life. ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine was used worldwide for the prevention of Covid-19. Covid-19 has been implicated in the causation of severe haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) syndrome. However, the same has not been reported with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in the literature. We report a young man who developed secondary HLH post-ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination.

Herpes zoster is a viral infection caused due to the reactivation of varicella-zoster virus that is localized to a single dermatome unilaterally. The factors responsible for its reactivation are increasing age, immunosuppressive drugs, malignancies, chronic liver and renal diseases. Herpes zoster was found to be one of the cutaneous manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Various skin manifestations post-vaccination are being reported, which include injection site urticarial, maculopapular rash and positive dermographism...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

In October 2022, the launch of first year MBBS books in Hindi language in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India kick started the debate on the introduction of Hindi/local language in medical education, which is currently being imparted in English. Opinions have been divided among the supporters of Hindi and local languages as well as opponents of this move. However, several issues need to be addressed before wider implementation of the policy of imparting medical education in Hindi/local languages. Right from infrastructure, human resource, economic impact, academic impact, international effects to legal issues have to be kept in mind and stakeholders must discuss these before implementation...

Hyperviscosity syndrome can present with haematological, neurological or cardiovascular manifestations. The common differential diagnoses for severe headache and altered sensorium in a patient with Eisenmenger syndrome include brain abscess, meningitis, cortical venous thrombosis and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). We report a patient with Eisenmenger syndrome with hyperviscosity, presenting as pseudo-SAH, which was successfully treated with phlebotomy.

Macroenzymes, formed by polymerization of physiological enzymes with immunoglobulins, have slower renal clearance rates due to their higher molecular mass. They are usually incidentally detected, have no pathophysiological importance, and can potentially lead to over-treatment and iatrogenic morbidity. We present, possibly for the first time, a macro-lipasemia variant of macroenzyme, detected in a 14-year-old girl with type-1 diabetes admitted with severe hyperglycaemia and pain abdomen. Raised lipase levels (414 U/L), initially raised the suspicion of underlying pancreatitis, which was ruled out by the clinical symptoms and normal ultrasound and CT imaging of the pancreas...