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Introduction and Aim: Tobacco cessation programs by and large use self-reporting as the gold standard for assessing tobacco use. However, self-reporting may be skewed due to the socio-demographic profile and the context in which the respondents share their tobacco history after undergoing tobacco cessation treatment. It is therefore, imperative to validate the respondents’ self-reported smoking status in an effective manner. Hence, this study aimed in validating the self-reported smoking status of study participants with their urine cotinine levels in a randomized controlled trial on smoking cessation. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka to validate the self-reported smoking status of 300 participants. A seven-day point prevalence of smoking status was assessed based on a questionnaire and validated further using the semi-quantitative urine cotinine test at the end of a randomized smoking cessation study. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of self-reported smoking status was 73.17% and 95.79% respectively. Other validity indicators like positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and accuracy were estimated to be 97.40%, 62.33%, 17.38%, 0.28%, and 80.33% respectively. Cohen’s kappa statistics showed a substantial agreement (k=0.61; SE= 0.04) between the two test methods. Educational status and the level of motivation to quit showed a significant association between the test methods. Conclusion: Self-reported smoking status of participants is not sensitive in identifying smokers thus leading to under-reporting.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is the major underlying co-morbidity in many of the non-communicable diseases (NCD) due to obesity as a common risk factor. Incidence and prevalence of OSA is on the constant rise ever since this entity came to forefront three decades ago. Precise treatment of underlying OSA is extremely important in major NCDs like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, endocrine disorders and vascular diseases. OSA is subcategorized in to mild, moderate and severe based of apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI). Based on the severity grading, treatment of OSA ranges from life style modifications to oral appliances, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and surgeries. AHI system of severity grading in OSA has several inherent shortcomings and using AHI system for severity grading as the holy grail is likely to be counter-productive. AHI system equates apnoea and hypopnea as equal events, whereas physiological effects vary significantly. AHI system does not account duration of apnoea or body position during apnoeic events. We discuss at length the pitfalls of AHI system of severity grading in OSA.

A young adult male with no previous comorbidities presented with complaints of fever since 10 days and right cheek swelling since one week duration. Ultrasonography (USG) guided fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of intraparotid lymph node showed ‘reactive lymphadenitis’. He was started on antibiotics and symptomatic treatment. He later developed breathlessness and desaturation following which he was shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and given non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Chest X-Ray (CXR) showed features suggestive of bilateral pneumonia. Mumps immunoglobulin-meta (IgM) was found to be positive. He improved over the next few days and was discharged.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has various known complications in its natural course of the illness. Pneumothorax is one of the emerging complications in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-positive patients, not initiated on invasive mechanical ventilation. Case studies and autopsy reports across the globe suggest alveolar pathology to be responsible for the outcome.COVID-19 infection in humans caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has various known complications in its natural course of the illness. Pneumothorax is one of the emerging complications in COVID-19-positive patients. Prior identification and anticipation of such life-threatening complications aid in the treatment of COVID-19-positive patients.

Melioidosis is an endemic infection in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia commonly manifesting with pneumonia and localized skin infection. Though most exposures do not lead to severe illness, a fulminant infection can occur among patients with risk factors. A 59-year-old male presented with cough with expectoration and fever for 1 week. He had diabetes for 10 years with poorly controlled blood sugars. Contrast-enhanced computerized tomography (CECT) of thorax showed right upper lobe consolidation with diffuse ground-glass opacities in right upper lobe along with microabscesses in liver and spleen. Sputum culture and Xpert mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and resistance to rifampin (MTB/RIF) for tuberculosis were negative. Bronchoalveolar lavage culture grew Burkholderia pseudomallei. He was treated with initial intensive therapy with injection amoxicillin-clavulanic acid for 2 weeks and subsequently started on eradication therapy with tablet trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Diagnosis of melioidosis should be considered in a patient of pneumonia with multiorgan involvement in an endemic area, especially with underlying risk factors.

Foreign body aspiration (FBA) can be potentially fatal if the object is large enough to cause nearly complete obstruction of the upper airway. The object causing obstruction beyond the carina can result in less severe clinical presentation. FBA is rare in adults than in children. If the clinical history is not suggestive of FBA, then a high index of suspicion and flexible bronchoscopy can ensure proper diagnosis and prompt intervention. We present a case of an adult with aspirated betel nut in the left main bronchus, removed using flexible bronchoscopy with the aid of a Fogarty balloon catheter following the failure of rigid bronchoscopy.

Tuberculosis can involve most of the body parts, and tubercular lymphadenitis is common. But isolated involvement of mediastinal lymph nodes without lung parenchymal involvement is rare in adults. A 45-year-old lady presented with subcarinal lymph node enlargement. A conventional transbronchial needle aspiration done at a local hospital was inconclusive. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration was done. Cytology showed epithelioid histiocytes and caseous necrosis. Stain for acid-fast bacilli and cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test for tuberculosis were positive. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration is a minimally invasive bronchoscopic technique to visualize and sample mediastinal lymph nodes. However, its availability is limited to specific centers and expertise is required to interpret images and take diagnostic samples.

Narcolepsy, a sleep disorder, has its onset in childhood and early adulthood but rarely in older adults. This case report focuses on a man in his late fifties who was noticed to have excessive daytime sleepiness during his stay in our hospital for an unrelated medical ailment. He was further evaluated with overnight polysomnography and next day multiple sleep latency test which confirmed the diagnosis of narcolepsy.

An elderly man without history of travel presented with complaints of intermittent fever for 2 months, cough with scanty expectoration for 15 days and history of weight loss of 5 kg in 1 year. The chest X-ray and CT scan of the thorax showed dispersed centrilobular nodules and patchy subpleural consolidation in both lungs with mediastinal lymphadenopathy. He underwent bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage culture grew Pseudomonas aeruginosa. He was prescribed antibiotics based on culture sensitivity; however, patient continued to have symptoms. All relevant blood investigations were within normal limits. He underwent CT-guided biopsy of the right lung lesion during which clearing of the radio-opacities present in the initial CT scan and appearance of fresh lesions in different locations were observed. Migratory shadows were suspected. Fine-needle aspiration cytology showed features suggestive of coccidioidomycosis for which antifungals were started. After 1 month, he improved symptomatically and chest X-ray showed clearance of shadows.

COVID-19 has a broad spectrum of cardiac manifestations, and cardiac tamponade leading to cardiogenic shock is a rare presentation. A 30-year-old man with a history of COVID-19-positive, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) done 1 week ago and who was home-quarantined, came to the emergency department with palpitations, breathlessness and orthopnoea. His ECG showed sinus tachycardia with low-voltage complexes, chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly and left pleural effusion and two-dimensional echocardiography showed large pericardial effusion with features suggestive of cardiac tamponade. He was taken up for emergency pericardiocentesis which showed haemorrhagic pericardial fluid. Intercostal drainage insertion was done for left-sided large pleural effusion. After ruling out all the other causes for haemorrhagic pericardial effusion, the patient was started on colchicine, steroids, ibuprofen and antibiotics to which he responded. Both pericardial and pleural effusions resolved completely on follow-up.

The tenets of mechanical ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) include the utilization of low tidal volume and optimal application of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Optimal PEEP in ARDS is characterized by reduction in alveolar dead space along with improvement in the lung compliance and resultant betterment in oxygenation. There are various methods of setting PEEP in ARDS. Herein, we report a patient of ARDS, wherein we employed measurement of dead space using volumetric capnography to compare two different PEEP strategies, namely, the lower inflection point and transpulmonary pressure monitoring.

Background Tubercular lymphadenitis (TBLA) is one of the most common extrapulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis in patients with HIV. With several other pathological conditions presenting as lymphadenitis and lack of consensus regarding a gold standard test, the diagnosis of TBLA remains a challenge for the clinician. Objectives and design: In this study, we have assessed the potential of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test for the diagnosis of TBLA in HIV-infected patients. The study group included samples collected by fine needle aspiration (FNAC) of lymph nodes from 24 HIV-infected patients with TBLA. A composite reference standard was used to identify cases of TBLA based on clinical suspicion, results of cytology, AFB smear, MGIT culture, GeneXpert MTB/RIF, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (MPCR) and subsequently clinical response to antitubercular therapy. These tests were also carried out in 26 control samples of lymph node FNAC from HIV-infected patients with non-tubercular lymphadenitis. Results LAMP assay was positive in 19/24 TBLA cases and yielded a sensitivity of 79.17% with 100% specificity. Cytology was suggestive in 18/24 (75%) TBLA cases. GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay correctly identified 16/24 TBLA cases, but the test did show one false positive result reducing its specificity. MPCR had the highest sensitivity of 91.67% as it correctly identified 22/24 cases and showed no false positive result. Conclusion The current study highlights the potential of LAMP test for the specific diagnosis of tubercular lymphadenitis in FNAC samples from HIV-infected patients, especially when cytology is either non-conclusive or non-available. Though MPCR had a higher sensitivity than LAMP assay, the added advantages of low cost, minimal technical expertise and simplicity of procedure make LAMP assay a suitable diagnostic test in resource-limited settings.

Thoracic endometriosis is a rare entity, wherein thoracic endometrial tissue deposition occurs. Recurrent pleural effusion is one of its manifestations. Diagnosis and treatment are often challenging, owing to the rarity of the condition and recurrences. We present an interesting case of a young woman of childbearing age who presented with recurrent haemorrhagic pleural effusion. She was referred to our centre after her initial video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy was inconclusive. She was re-evaluated, and video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy confirmed thoracic endometriosis. She underwent pleurodesis two times and currently on hormonal treatment, maintaining well.