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Background: Traumatic birth experience is an unaddressed arena, especially in Asian women, with several societal stigmas lingering around. Aim: A study was undertaken to simultaneously assess the post-partum mental and physical health follow-up of maternal near-miss (MNM) women and compare it with women of uneventful deliveries. Materials and Methods: The prospective cohort study enrolled 88 MNM women (case cohort) and 80 women with an uneventful peri-partum period (control cohort) at the same time. The participants were followed up with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS), PTSD Checklist – Civilian Version (PLC-C), and a 36-item short-form-survey form over 6 months after the delivery. Results: The case group had higher mean EPDS and PLC-C scores, with poor quality of life (QOL) performance, compared to the control group at 6 weeks and 3 months, and 6 months follow-up (P < 0.05). At the sixth-week follow-up visit, the study observed that 28 (31.8%) women from the case group required a psychiatry consultation compared to the control group with only two (2.5%) participants (P < 0.001). At 3 months, an evident difference was noted on various QOL parameters, such as limitations due to physical health and emotional problems, energy fatigue, general health, and health change parameters between the two groups (P < 0.05). The difference persisted at 6-month follow-up as well for limitations due to physical health, energy fatigue, and general health parameters only (P < 0.05). Conclusion: There is an urgent need for a multi-departmental collaborative approach at the hospital level and policy-making decisions at higher levels for the mental health of Asian women facing MNM events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: There has been a lack of uniformity on how to triage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients visiting the emergency units of hospitals. Triage tools are themselves spreading the pandemic in hospital areas. The present study compared a master two-step (M2ST) exercise stress test versus a 6-min walk test (6MWT) in COVID-19–positive patients visiting the emergency unit of a hospital. Materials and Methods: Thirty-nine patients underwent 6MWT followed by M2ST, while another set of 38 patients underwent M2ST followed by 6MWT in this randomized, crossover, open-label, and noninferiority study. The exercise tests assessed the change from baseline in SpO2, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate, blood pressure, exertion, and dyspnea on the modified-Borg scale. Results: Noninferiority was established for SpO2 (P < 0.05), systolic blood pressure (SBP; P < 0.001), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP; P < 0.05), but not for HR (P = 0.3) and respiratory rate (P = 0.6). The difference between the pretest and posttest (delta change) values for the parameters SpO2, respiratory rate, HR, SBP, and DBP correlated significantly (P < 0.001) with Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.764, 0.783, 0.473, 0.838, and 0.783, respectively). The delta change values of modified-Borg scale for dyspnea (P = 0.291) and exertion (P = 0.208) were statistically insignificant between the two exercise tests. However, the correlation between the tests was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: M2ST, a timesaving, cost-effective, and easy to perform exercise stress test, has been identified as a reliable alternative for 6MWT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To compare the efficacy of pre-incision intravenous single doses of cefazolin versus cefazolin plus azithromycin as an antibiotic prophylaxis in cesarean delivery (CD). Methods: This was a single-center, double blind, randomized controlled trial conducted in the PGIMER, Chandigarh. 200 women undergoing elective/emergency cesarean section were randomized. Group A received single dose of cefazolin plus placebo while Group B received single dose of cefazolin plus azithromycin. Primary outcome evaluated was occurrence of surgical site infections (SSI); secondary outcomes included incidence of febrile morbidity, UTI, endometritis, neonatal outcome, total cost of antibiotics, and duration of hospital stay in both the study arms. Descriptive statistics and χ2 tests were used for analysis of the data. Result: There was an overall significant reduction in the incidence of SSI (15% vs 3%; P = 0.03), endometritis (8% vs 2%; P = 0.048), and post-operative febrile morbidity (17% vs 3%; P = 0.001) with the addition of azithromycin to cefazolin. Duration of hospital stay was almost two days lesser for the cefazolin plus azithromycin group. Subgroup analysis of patients with SSI showed the age, duration of ruptured membranes, and type of anesthesia as important predictors of infection rate. Study observed statistically significant reduction in requirement of additional post operative antibiotics, phototherapy for neonates, hospital stay and cost of therapy in cefazolin plus azithromycin group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Tertiary care hospitals in developing countries such as India can opt for the cefazolin plus azithromycin as antimicrobial prophylaxis during CD to maximize the efficacy as well as for decreasing the cost burden of postoperative infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although ofloxacin-ornidazole fixed-dose combination (FDC) is a rampantly used antibiotic combination for mixed-infection diarrhea in India, the adverse drug reaction (ADR) associated with these FDCs remains underreported. Herein, the authors present a case report of a definitive ofloxacin-ornidazole FDC-induced pancreatitis. The nonalcoholic adult male patient showed a sharp piercing epigastric pain flowing to the back, gradually rising in severity, which started after taking ofloxacin-ornidazole FDC tablet over the counter. Serum lipase concentration measured in the emergency room was 635 units per liter (normal range- 13–60 units/L) and serum amylase was 377 units/L (normal range- 30–110 units/L). Ultrasonography and an axial computed tomography of the abdomen confirmed the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Ofloxacin-ornidazole FDC tablet was stopped immediately. Past treatment records confirmed accidental rechallenge. In conclusion, this is a first case report of ofloxacin-ornidazole FDC-induced pancreatitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]