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Background: Of the various non invasive imaging methods available, carotid artery intima media thickness(CIMT) measurement by B mode ultrasound is recommended by American heart association. Measurement of the carotid intima media thickness by B mode ultrasound is relatively safe, non invasive and inexpensive method of assessment of subclinical atherosclerosis and being and independent predictor of atherosclerosis events. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 patients in the department of Medicine, Government Medical College, Amritsar. The study protocol was approved by the institutional ethics committee and the patients were enrolled in the study after obtaining written informed consent. The patients underwent basic history taking, clinical examination and relevant blood investigations including HbA1C and lipid profile were done. Patients were subjected to Carotid artery Doppler to measure carotid artery intima media thickness. Results: A multivariate analysis was performed to assess the various factors influencing the increase in the thickness of CIMT and among that we found a significant correlation occurred with factors like Age,FBS, HbA1c, total cholesterol, serum triglycerides, serum HDL, serum LDL, serum VLDL. All these parameters showed a positive correlation with CIMT which was statistically significant(p<0.05). Conclusion: The carotid intima media thickness is significantly increased in people with dyslipidemia. Lipid profile is associated with cerebral ischemia by increasing carotid intima media thickness. Chronic hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia both independently and cumulatively influence the Carotid intima media thickness [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are a subgroup of retrovirus which cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV infection leads to low levels of CD4+ T cells causing a weakened immune system, and consequently making the patients prone to opportunistic infection. The present study was conducted to monitor the correlation of opportunistic infections with CD4 counts and viral load in HIV patients. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 patients in the department of Medicine, Government Medical College, Amritsar. The study protocol was approved by the institutional ethics committee and the patients were enrolled in the study after obtaining written informed consent. All the patients were clinically examined, along with detailed history taking. CD4 count was measured with Sysmex CyFlow Counter System with CD4 easy count kit using the flow cytometry method. The results were then analyzed. Results: In the present study, the mean age of the patients was 34.6±10.29 years. There was a male preponderance (82% male vs 18% female patients). The majority of individuals (69.0%) were in WHO Stage IV and 31.0% of patients were in WHO Stage III. The mean CD4 count of patients was 115.27±60.46 cells/mm3 while the mean HIV viral load of patients was 98021.45±20236.58 copies/ml. HIV viral load has a positive correlation with opportunistic infection (r=.572, p=0.000). A significant negative correlation was found between CD4 and opportunistic infections (r=-.672, p=0.000). Conclusion: CD4 count and HIV viral load are essential biomarkers of HIV disease severity. CD4 counts are inversely related to the HIV viral loads. Monitoring the CD4 counts and HIV viral loads help monitor the HIV disease progression and can guide the prevention and treatment of various opportunistic infections on time and consequently providing a better quality of life to HIV patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sleep is an active, repetitive and reversible state of perceptual disengagement from the environment. A chronic lack or poor quality sleep increases the risk ofvarious disorders.Post graduate students is at the top of the list of sleep deprived individuals. Material and methods: A cross sectional study was conducted amongst the post graduate students of Government Medical College, Amritsar. All the post graduate students admitted to various pre, para and clinical departments during the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 formulated the sample size for this study.Semi structured proformae were developed for data collection. Chi-square test was applied, where p-value of <0.05 (on both sides) was considered to be statistically significant Results: According to PSQI poor sleep quality was among 178(58%) post graduate students, excessive daytime sleepiness according to ESS was among 120(40%) post graduate students and sleep hours <7 hrs were among 182 (66%) post graduate students. After compiling results of all three, 223(72%) post graduate students were found to be sleep deprived. Association of sleep deprivation with sleep hygiene and night duties was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Increased amount of workload on the residents and more number of night duties affect the sleep of the post graduate students and majority of them feel exhausted and fatigued after their night duties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Individuals working in the sex industry continue to experience many negative health outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections and HIV/ AIDS, owing to lack of knowledge, careless attitude, inaccessibility of contraceptives or practice of unprotected sex. Aims/objectives: To assess the targeted interventions done to improve the health of female sex workers (FSWs) in Amritsar. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study, in 4 randomly selected hotspot areas under targeted intervention (TI) included 180 FSWs after obtaining written informed consent. We used one to one interview for collecting required information on structured questionnaire. The data was compiled using Microsoft excel and analyzed using EpiInfo07 by calculating proportions and inferential statistics. Results: Age of study participants ranged from 19-45 years and most (66%) belonged to middle socio-economic class. Majority (73%) were in the profession for 3-5 years. Majority i.e. 98% underwent regular health checkups and HIV testing conducted by T.I. site. None was HIV positive. All FSWs (100%) were provided condom regularly by T.I. site. 85% reported to have knowledge about STIs. 95% reported regular conduction of health education programs by T.I. site. Conclusion: Targeted interventions play a key role in conducting regular health check-ups of FSWs, imparting knowledge about STIs, its prevention and provision of condoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]