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Background Patients infected with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit may have a higher incidence of developing secondary infections. These infections can further deteriorate the hospital course and increase mortality. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate the incidence, associated risk factors, outcomes, and pathogens associated with secondary bacterial infections in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Methods All adult COVID-19 patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit requiring mechanical ventilation from 1st October 2020 until 31st December 2021 were screened for inclusion in the study. A total of 86 patients were screened, and 65 who met the inclusion criteria were prospectively entered into a customized electronic database. The database was then retrospectively analyzed to investigate secondary bacterial infections. 41.54% acquired at least one of the studied secondary bacterial infections during their ICU stay.. Results The most common secondary infection (59.26%) seen was hospital-acquired pneumonia followed by acquired bacteremia of unknown origin (25.92%), and catheter-related sepsis (14.81%). Diabetes mellitus (P =

Asthma is coined as a chronic inflammatory disorder and disarrays of the airways and respiratory tract which manifests as recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and cough. The World Health Organization recognizes asthma as a major health problem. Although asthma can occur at any age, children and young adults are the age groups which are affected more commonly.The objective of this study is to find the prevalence of bronchial asthma in school-going children (6-16 years) and its associated factors.A cross-sectional study among the school-going children in the age group of 6-16 years was done in the field practice areas of urban health and training center and rural health and training center of the Department of Community Medicine, JNMCH, A. M. U., Aligarh, U.P. the study done for a period of one year. The validated questionnaire (International Study on Allergy and Asthma in Childhood) was used. The sample size was taken as 902. The data were entered and analyzed in the SPSS statistical software version 20.0. Chi-square was used.The prevalence of asthma among the study population was found to be 26.9%. Family history of smoking and history of allergy in an individual came out to be a significant factor associated with asthma. The association is also significant between asthma and the diet of an individual.Asthma among school children is a public health problem in urban and rural areas. There was a rising pattern in the prevalence of asthma at national and subnational levels.

INTRODUCTION: Allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma are thought to be sequela of the same allergic airway disease. The relationship between both diseases has been confirmed by various clinicopathological epidemiological and immunological studies. In this study, we tried to establish a different relationship between both diseases and strengthen the concept of “One-airway one disease.” MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 patients visiting ear, nose, and throat and respiratory medicine outpatient department were taken. They were divided into two groups of fifty each and were studied for various mediators of inflammation. Group 1 consisted of patients of allergic rhinitis and Group 2 consisted of patients of bronchial asthma. RESULTS: Most of the patients in Group 1 were in the age group of 21–30 years (40%) and in Group 2, in the age group of 11–20 years (38%) with a mean age 28.4 ± 1.3 years. The most common symptoms in Group 1 patients were sneezing (90%) and rhinorrhea (68%) and in Group 2 wheezing (86%), followed by shortness of breath (66%). The most common sign in Group 1 was B/L inferior turbinate hypertrophy (70%), while in Group 2, it was rhonchi (76%). Mean absolute eosinophil count was 575.35 in Group 1 and was 446.61 in Group 2. Nasal smear for eosinophil was positive for 86% of patients in Group 1 and bronchial lavage showed eosinophilia in 64% of Group 2 patients. Mean total serum immunoglobulin E was 777.23 IU/ml in Group 1 and 662.08 IU/ml in Group 2. The incidence of bronchial asthma in patients of allergic rhinitis was 36%, while the incidence of allergic rhinitis in patients in bronchial asthma was 74%. CONCLUSION: Thus, in our study, we found that both the diseases were closely linked clinicopathologically epidemiologically as well as immunologically pointing toward the concept one-airway one disease.

Introduction: Amplification of airway inflammation and its destruction due to oxidative stress is a major step in the pathogenesis of chronic obstruction pulmonary disease (COPD). Exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) may be quantified to evaluate the airway inflammation and oxidative stress in such patients. Objectives: To assess the disease severity of COPD and treatment response by measuring eCO as a biomarker. Materials and Methods: COPD patients diagnosed according to the global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease guidelines and healthy individuals as controls were selected. One hundred and fifty patients with COPD and 125 controls were included in the study. Participants were further subdivided on the basis of their smoking habits. Clinical examinations and spirometry were done to diagnose COPD by following the standard protocol. eCO was measured using a piCO + Smokerlyzer (Breath CO Monitor, Bedfont Scientific Ltd., Kent, UK). It was a single-center cross-sectional study. Results: Mean (± standard error of mean) CO levels in ex-smokers with COPD were higher (5.21 ± 1.546 ppm; P < 0.05) than in nonsmoking controls (1.52 ± 0.571 ppm) but were lower than in current smokers with COPD (12.55 ± 4.514 ppm; P < 0.05). eCO levels were higher in current smokers with COPD (12.55 ± 4.514 ppm; P < 0.05) compared to healthy smokers (9.71 ± 5.649). There was a negative correlation between eCO and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) in COPD (r = −0.28; P < 0.05). The mean eCO level was decreased (6.291–4.332; P < 0.001) with improvement in lung function (FEV1 38.75%–50.65%: P < 0.05) after treatment with inhaled steroid. Conclusion: Our study concludes that quantification of eCO level in COPD varies with different grades of airway obstruction and to measure the treatment response. Measuring the level of eCO can be used to assess the indirect assessment of airway inflammation, oxidative stress, and severity of airway obstruction in COPD patients.

Introduction: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infects one third of the world population. Despite advance in therapy, tuberculosis (TB) remains responsible for 2-3 million deaths annually. During TB, cytokines play a role in host defense. Many cytokines are produced during TB with a predominance of Th1 cytokines during the early stage and Th2 cytokines in the later stages of the infection. The present study aims to screen tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-12p70, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-1β among TB patients and controls. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at the Department Of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Different cytokine levels were measured in 65 samples of TB patients of whom 30 (46.1%) were new TB cases and 35 (53.8%) were suspected multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB cases along with 15 bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccinated healthy controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Diaclone, France). Complete clinical, radiological, and treatment data were collected. Informed consent was taken from all subjects. Study was approved by the Institutional Bioethical Committee, Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College. Statistical analysis had been performed by using Sigma plot (10.0). Results: The serum concentration of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-12p 70 , IL-1β, and IL-6 in patients with active TB and MDR-TB was elevated than in patients after anti-TB treatment (P < 0.001), in contacts (P < 0.001) and in controls (P < 0.001). It was found that IL-6 seems critical in resistance to TB. IL-4 concentration increased only in MDR-TB patients (P < 0.001) as compared to controls. All these cytokines showed no significant variations according to the site of involvement in pulmonary versus extrapulmonary TB cases. Conclusions: Measuring the serum levels of several cytokines may be useful for evaluating the activity of TB disease and monitoring the clinical effects of anti-tubercular treatment (ATT). The serum TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-12p 70 , IL-1β and IL-6 level can be a useful marker to diagnose the effectiveness of therapy in the patients.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health problem, with an estimated one-third of the world's population being infected. Cytokines play a major role in protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( M. tuberculosis ) infection and regulate the immune responses at a cellular level. Most studies on cytokines during TB are from in vitro -stimulated lymphoid cells with few reports on in vivo plasma levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in new, undertreatment (UT), and multidrug-resistant (MDR) pulmonary and extrapulmonary cases. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (J.N.M.C.), Aligarh Muslim University (A.M.U.), Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. Results: The levels of TNF-α were measured in 76 serum samples from TB patients by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Diaclone Sas, 1 BD, A Flemming Besancon Cedax, France), along with 10 healthy controls. Complete clinical, radiological and treatment data were collected. The TNF-α levels were elevated in new cases ( P P P > 0.05). Conclusions: An understanding of this response may lead to an insight into the pathogenesis and novel therapies for TB.

Emphysematous bullae in a lung can coalesce into a large lucency and may cause a shift of mediastinal structures. The present report describes a case of multiple emphysematous bullae in a 35 years old man that occupied the entire left hemi­thorax with mediastinal compression of the right lung. The patient underwent a left sided thoracotomy with a left pneumonectomy. The patient had an uneventful recovery.