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BACKGROUND: In India, the prevalence of Latent TB infection (LTBI) is estimated to be around 40%. Various formulations of PPD(Purified protein derivative) are available, for diagnosis of LTBI, which may give variable responses. The commercially available PPD in India is by Arkray Healthcare (TST-Arkray). It is unclear if this product may have a similar sensitivity compared to other internationally accepted tuberculins (TST-Tubersol). OBJECTIVES: To assess the performance of the two TSTs compared to Quantiferon-Gold Plus (QFT-Plus). METHODOLOGY: A blood sample was collected for the QFT-Plus test. Both the TSTs were placed in the right and the left volar aspect of the forearms and 48 hrs later, the subjects came back to the study site for reading. RESULTS: Among the 512 participants who were recruited, 326 subjects were healthcare professionals and 186 subjects were household contacts of patients with tuberculosis. They were tested with both TST-Tubersol and TST-Arkray, 139(27 %) participants tested positive for TST-Tubersol (≥10 mm), whereas 203 participants (40.1 %)tested positive for TST-Arkray. There was moderate agreement between the two tests with k = 0.58. Also, there was only poor agreement between both the TSTs with QFT Plus(kappa = 0.19 for Tubersol and 0.17 for Arkray). With QFT-Plus as gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of TST-Tubersol, ast an induration cut-off of 10 mm was 46.8 %,76.3 %,31.8 % and 85.8 %. respectively and TST- Arkray; 60.6 %, 64 %, 28.5 % and 87.2 % respectively. CONCLUSION: The Indian TST (Arkray Diagnostics) has shown moderate agreement with the internationally accepted Tubersol. Additionally, there was poor agreement between the TSTs and QFT plus test.

Background: Pharmacological drugs and medications are being widely used for the control of non-communicable diseases like hypertension. Hill-Bone--Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy Scale (HB-HBP) is a newly developed specific questionnaire for assessing the anti-hypertensive medication adherence. Hence, this study was done to translate the HB-HBP in Tamil and to assess the construct validity and reliability of the Tamil version. Materials and Methods: Translation of HB-HBP to native language, Tamil was done by experts and piloted with subsample of hypertensive patients from rural Puducherry. Final Tamil-translated HB-HBP was administered among 328 Tamilspeaking hypertensive patients in the selected villages of rural Puducherry (union territory in South India). Construct validity was assessed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) through the principal component method. Based on the minimum average partial and parallel analysis, three-factor model was distinguished. Confirmatory factor analysis was done to obtain the goodness-of-fit. Reliability of questionnaire was assessed through Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results: Three factor structures were obtained with eigenvalues of 6.5045, 2.8165, and 1.2261, respectively, which accounted for 75.34% of variance. Three-factor model assessed by the confirmatory factor method found Chi-square value of 1055.048 (P value <0.001). Goodness of fit revealed acceptable comparative fit index (0.773), Tucker-Lewis index (0721), standardized root mean square residual (0.077), and root mean square error of approximation (0.201). The reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) for the scale was 0.9020. Conclusion: Our study concludes that the HB-HBP questionnaire is internally valid and consistent with a good reliability coefficient for application in Tamil-speaking patients with hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnitude of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has not been fully assessed because most those infected [...]

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]

In the present cross-sectional study, the researchers aimed to assess the contraceptive knowledge, practice, and associated factors among 2228 women in Puducherry, India. National Family Health Survey questionnaire was adopted for data collection and about 1924 women participated. Current use of any contraceptive was 78.6% and female sterilization was 62%. The majority (99.8%) knew female sterilization, but below average for other contraceptive methods. About 10.4% were aware of more than three contraceptive methods. Age group, homemaker, with children or one son, aware of less than three methods, residing nearby to health facility were associated with the higher practice of contraceptive methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Families are crucial in providing comprehensive support to cancer patients, including physical, psychological, spiritual, and financial assistance. Unfortunately, cancer-related myths and stigma can have detrimental effects on those affected and their caregivers. This study aims to remove the misconceptions prevailing in a rural population of Puducherry regarding caregiving for cancer among elderly through a health education campaign. Materials and Methods: A pre- and post-intervention study was conducted among 217 adults above 18 years of age in a rural area of Puducherry. The intervention was delivered through pamphlet distribution, health talks, and discussion. Attitude, beliefs, and knowledge regarding the misconceptions about cancer were assessed in a five-point Likert scale and then the difference in the proportion of subjects with misconceptions about cancer before and after the intervention was tested using the McNemar test. Results: Among the respondents, 77% were females, 15% were illiterate, and 9.6% had a history of cancer in the family. About 23% felt cancer lends a bad name to the family and 24% considered palliative care as not necessary since end-stage cancer patients would die. Post-intervention, the perception that herbal items or diets may treat cancer declined from 45% to 18%, and that a cancer patient in the family lends bad name to the family declined from 23% to 3% (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Community-based intervention can effectively reduce misconceptions related to caregiving for cancer among elderly in rural areas. These interventions can also improve the quality of care and support provided to cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is well-known for causing wasting. Patients on treatment gain weight and weight loss is associated with unfavorable treatment outcomes. There is limited description of weight loss and its predictors during intensive treatment phase. The objective of this study was to assess the predictors of weight loss during intensive phase and to see if there is any association exists with sputum conversion at the end of intensive phase of treatment. Methods Data collected as a part of the prospective TB cohort (Regional Prospective Observational Research for TB India Phase 1) conducted in Pondicherry, Cuddalore and Viluppuram districts of Tamil Nadu were used for this study. Sputum smear and body weight comparison were made in the baseline and at the end of second month of treatment. Results In all, 726 participants had weight measurements at the two time points and 18.7% had weight loss; mean weight lost being 2.3 kg (SD 3.05). Mean weight loss was more among males (2.4 kg, SD 3.2), diabetics (2.8 kg, SD 3.9) and alcoholics (2.1 kg, SD 2.4). Alcohol consumption was the only predictor of weight loss after adjusting for age, diabetes, marital status and BMI (aRR 1.52, P 0.02). Weight loss was not associated with sputum conversion at the end of second month. Conclusions Alcohol use emerged as the major predictor for weight loss during intensive phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]