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Motivation is an important factor influencing important outcomes in medical education. The choice of medicine as a higher study depends upon various factors such as interest in the medical field, good job opportunities, a desire to serve others, medical background of the parents and many more. This study is aimed at identifying those factors influencing medical students in choosing medicine as a career. As part of the first day of the foundation program for first year MBBS students of a tertiary care teaching hospital, the students were asked to introduce themselves in front of faculty, parents of the students, and fellow batch mates and also to say in their own words, "Why did they choose medicine as their career?" in a few sentences. The responses from 141 students were compiled and subjected for qualitative analysis. This study found out that there are several factors influencing the choice of career in medicine, however, highly influencing factors among this group were found to be the influence by parents and the perceived respect that they would get in the society. The responses were further grouped into different themes and discussed with reference to similar studies conducted in other parts of the world.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) disrupts iron balance through systemic inflammation. Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is linked to diverse anaemia types, necessitating intricate haematological and biochemical assessments for diagnosis. This study aims to describe the prevalence of anaemia of chronic disease (ACD), iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among PTB patients and factors associated with these types of anaemia. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted from community-based cohort study involving sputum-positive PTB patients from 2018 to 2020 in urban Puducherry. Participants were enrolled from 10 primary health centres within 2 weeks of initiating anti-tubercular treatment (ATT). Blood samples were collected for assessing haematological and biochemical parameters. The sTfR/log ferritin ratio was used to distinguish between ACD and IDA. Data were captured using Epicollect5 and analysed using STATA V14. Result: Of the 176 PTB patients included, 63.07% (111/176) had anaemia, with ACD being the predominant type (84.6%, 94/111). The C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were higher among the anaemic group [40.77 (16.66-58.51) mg/dl vs 24.65 (14.23-47.26) mg/dl] and higher among the ACD as compared to IDA [46.9 (22.3-61.2) vs 20.8 (13.0-39.1) mg/dl]. Undernourished [adjusted prevalence ratio (APR) =3.43; confidence interval (CI): 1.21-9.69] and patients having low risk of dependence on tobacco [APR = 1.52; CI: 1.10-2.11] had higher risk of ACD. Female patients had higher risk of IDA [APR = 4.95, P < 0.01]. Conclusion: The largest proportion of the PTB participants with anaemia had ACD. Acute-phase reactant and inflammatory marker are increased among newly diagnosed new sputum smear-positive (NSP) PTB participants at the start of ATT. Addressing inflammation is needed for combating anaemia in PTB patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Asymptomatic microcytosis may be a prelude to microcytic hypochromic anemia of varied causes. Evaluation of red cell indices may help delineate cases needing further investigation like hemoglobin high-performance liquid chromatography (Hb-HPLC). In addition, markers of iron homeostasis will help confirm iron-deficient erythropoiesis (IDE)/iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Materials and Methods: This was a single institutional hospital-based study over a period of 18 months. The sample size was 60, which include all age groups, males and females, and values of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) < 80 fL, Hb ≥ 10g/dL were taken as the inclusion criteria. Various derived red cell indices, Hb-HPLC, and iron parameters were assessed. HbHPLC and serum ferritin with transferrin saturation (TSAT) values were taken as the gold standard for diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies/thalassemia trait and IDA/IDE, respectively. Statistical Analysis: Mean with standard deviation was calculated for normally distributed data such as Hb, RBC count, RDW, MCV, MCH, MCHC, and hematocrit. Median with range was calculated for non-normally distributed data. Results: Out of 60 samples, 24 (40%) and 36 (60%) had abnormal and normal proportion of Hb variants, respectively. In total, seven indices were evaluated, which included Mentzer's index, red cell distribution width index, Ehsani's index, Sirdah's formula, Matos–Carvalho index, Shine and Lal index, and Sehgal's index. The Shine and Lal index showed better sensitivity (89%) and specificity (73%) for diagnosing pure thalassemia trait. The Sirdah index showed better sensitivity (78%) and specificity (42%) in diagnosing IDE/IDA. Ferritin showed better sensitivity (74%) and specificity (84%) in diagnosing pure IDA and TSAT showed better results in diagnosing IDA/IDE. Conclusion: The Shine and Lal index and Mentzer index can be used as screening tools and help detect subjects who require appropriate follow-up with confirmation by HbHPLC. Serum ferritin remains the gold standard for diagnosis of IDA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]