An analysis of ocular firecracker injuries in five consecutive years during a festive season in a tertiary eye care hospital in South India, Expert Review of Ophthalmology, 11:3, 235-240, ABSTRACT Background: To analyse the presentation of ocular firecracker injuries during a festival celebration in five consecutive years. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 541 patients with cracker injuries who presented to a tertiary eye care hospital during the fortnight of Deepavali for five consecutive years. The parameters studied were the age and sex, environmental factors, type of firework, eye involved and whether the involved person was a passer-by or actively involved. Results: Children up to 15 years, males and bystanders were seen to be affected more frequently. The most common firework involved was the flower pots. Conclusions: Fire cracker related ocular injuries are an important public health problem in India where celebrations are not complete without lighting crackers. This study brings to light the importance of safety measures and emphasises the need for restrictive firework legislation which has proved to reduce such injuries in countries across the world.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of metabolic syndrome, which consists of a group of metabolic abnormalities associated with increased cardiovascular risk has been on the rise in India. Unbalanced dietary habits have contributed to this. The cereal millets have been thought to have beneficial properties in combating this illness. Hence, this study set out to compare the effect of millet versus non-millet-based diets on the parameters of metabolic syndrome. METHODS This was a cross sectional study where adults with metabolic syndrome, diagnosed in accordance with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria were enrolled. Anthropometric data and blood pressure measurements were recorded, followed by determination of fasting (FBS) and postprandial blood sugars (PPBS) and fasting lipid profile. All participants answered a questionnaire regarding their dietary patterns and accordingly were divided into the 'millet based diet group' and 'non-milletbased diet group'. RESULTS Of the 142 participants in the study, the millet-based diet group consisted of 69 patients and non-millet-based diet group had 73 patients. The millet based diet group had significantly lower body mass index (26.78 vs. 28.99 Kg/m2, p = 0.08), systolic BP (130.8 vs. 137.8 mmHg, p= 0.023), FBS (113.2 vs. 152.2 mg/dl, p= 0.001), PPBS (122.7 vs. 214 mg/dl, p= 0.001), total serum cholesterol (170.1 vs. 211.2 mg/dl, p= 0.001), serum Low Density Lipoproteins (99.1 vs. 121.1 mg/dl, p= 0.001) and serum triglyceride levels (114.2 vs. 179.8 mg/dl, p= 0.001) and significantly higher HDL (40.7 vs. 36.6 mg/dl, p= 0.021) levels compared to the non-millet based diet group. CONCLUSIONS Findings in this study demonstrate the potential benefits of millet consumption and suggest that their incorporation into the diet may help to curb the ever-growing metabolic syndrome pandemic.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disproportionately affects individuals with various comorbidities. Among these, chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been shown to be strongly associated with the progression to severe disease. This study aimed to assess the severity and disease outcomes in patients with COVID-19 infection and CKD. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted at a tertiary care hospital from July 2021 to September 2021. The case records of patients with CKD and COVID-19 were studied. They were compared with age and gender-matched controls equally. The presenting symptoms, clinical course, severity of illness, laboratory markers, need for ventilator support, and mortality outcomes were studied. Results: In total, 40 CKD and 40 non-CKD patients with COVID-19 were included in the study. It was also observed that among the patients with CKD, more patients had fever, breathlessness, and diarrhea. The requirement for noninvasive ventilation, ventilator, and inotropes was on the higher average for patients with CKD. Overall mortality was 27.5% in the CKD group and 2.5% in the non-CKD group, which was statistically significant (p = 0.002). Conclusions: COVID-19 patients with CKD had more severe illnesses with a requirement of ventilator support and had higher mortality than the patients without CKD. Patients with CKD are a key subset of patients with COVID-19 for whom more aggressive early treatment and stricter preventive measures may be beneficial.

Introduction: COVID-19 infection caused by SARS-Corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused large number of infections and mortality globally. There are no proven medications to prevent and treat COVID-19, nevertheless several potential pharmacotherapeutic agents have been tried. Remdesivir was found to be effective in few studies. Aims: To assess the outcome in COVID-19 confirmed cases receiving Remdesivir as compared to conventional therapy. Methodology: This study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in South India after the approval of the Institutional ethical committee. It was a medical records-based retrospective, longitudinal study. Medical records of the inpatients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were reviewed from the period of June 15, 2020 to September 15, 2020. This study was conducted to assess the clinical and laboratory profile and outcome in the patients admitted with moderate and severe COVID-19 disease who received Remdesivir. Statistical Analysis: The analysis was done using SPSS Inc. released 2009, PASW statistics for Windows version 18.0, Chicago. Results: One hundred eleven (N = 111) patients were included in the study. 56 patients received the conventional treatment (Hydroxychloroquine HCQ) and 55 patients received Remdesivir. It was seen that among patients treated with HCQ, 24 (42.9%) required non-invasive ventilation and seven (12.7%) patients treated with Remdesivir required it (P = 0.001). It was noticed that the mean duration of hospitalization was 16.6 days in HCQ group and was 11.4 days in Remdesivir group (P = 0.021). Conclusion: The study demonstrates that Remdesivir does have benefit in reducing the mortality and duration of hospital stay. There was reduced requirement of non-invasive and invasive ventilation among patients treated with Remdesivir.

BACKGROUND The infection caused due to novel coronavirus 2 can cause wide spectrum of disease from asymptomatic mild disease to life threatening disease. The widespread inflammation is most likely the cause of the adverse outcomes. There are numerous markers of the inflammation which are used to identify the severity and prognosis of the disease. Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is one such marker which is easily available and feasible in all the hospital settings. This study intended to evaluate the NLR as a marker of disease severity and prognosis, in those with Covid-19. METHODS This was a retrospective study to determine the utility of NLR as a marker of severity and prognosis among patients with Covid disease. Medical records of 60 patients admitted with mild to moderate Covid-19 disease were reviewed and relevant data was retrieved. The NLR at admission and 72 hours later was noted. High resolution computerised tomography was done and computerised tomography severity score (CT-SS) was calculated. The outcomes of these patients were noted. RESULTS Mean NLR at admission in mild disease was 5.6 and in moderate disease was 9.2. This difference was found to be statistically significant. It was also seen that NLR had a positive co-relation with CT severity score, duration of hospital stay, Creactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer. For predicting mortality, NLR with cut off of 6.6 had a sensitivity of 100 % and a specificity of 66.07 %. CRP with cut off of 6.8 had sensitivity of 100 %, specificity of 76.79 %. D-dimer with cut off of 1.6 had specificity of 78.58 %. For predicting severity, NLR with cut off of 6.6 had sensitivity of 75 % and specificity of 80 %. CRP with cut off of 7.9 had sensitivity of 65 % and specificity of 100 %. D-dimer with cut off of 1.3, had sensitivity of 90 % and specificity of 97.5 %. CONCLUSIONS The study shows that neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio is a good indicator of disease severity and has prognostic significance in Covid-19. There is a positive correlation with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) chest score and other markers of inflammation among patients with Covid-19. Serial monitoring of NLR can be utilised as a surrogate to HRCT chest to determine disease severity whenever the latter is not available. This can ensure early intervention and help prevent mortality. KEYWORDS Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio, Severity of Covid