We conducted a prospective cohort study in order to determine whether suction drain specimen cultures from orthopaedic surgery predicted an early wound infection. We included 218 consecutive clean orthopaedic operations requiring drains in one unit over a period of 1 year. The suction drain tip, drain fluid and wound discharge specimens were cultured, and the surgical wound was followed up for 3 months. There were six deep and two superficial wound infections. Wound infection was significantly related to positive suction tip culture but not to positive drain fluid culture. Following our methodology for culture, a positive drain tip culture predicts wound infection in 50% and a negative culture virtually excludes the possibility of a deep infection.Résumé Nous avons conduit prospectivement une étude de cohorte pour déterminer si les cultures d'un échantillon du produit de drainage aspiratif peuvent être prédictives précocément d'une infection. Nous avons inclus 218 opérations orthopédiques propres consécutives, exigeant un drainage, sur une période d'une année. L'extrémité du drain, le liquide de drainage, et des prélévements opératoires étaient mis en culture et la cicatrice chirurgicale surveillée pendant 3 mois. Il y avaient 2 infections superficielles et 6 pronfondes. L'infection était en rapport significatif avec la culture du drain mais sans rapport avec celle du liquide de drainage. En suivant notre méthodo-logie, une culture positive de l'extrémité du drain prédit l'infection de la blessure dans 50% et une culture négative exclut la possibilité d'une infection profonde.

Introduction. Drug promotional advertisements (DPAs) form a major marketing technique of pharmaceutical companies for promoting their products and disseminating ambiguous drug information which can affect prescribing pattern of physicians. Drug information includes product characteristics, various marketing claims with references in support to increase its credibility and authenticity. Material and Methods. An observational study was carried out on fifty printed drug advertisement brochures which were collected from different OPDs of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital attached to Government Medical College, Amritsar, India. These advertisements were analyzed and claims were categorized into true, false, exaggerated, vague, and controversial on criteria as reported by Rohraa et al. (2006). References of DPAs in support of the claims were critically analyzed for their retrievability from web and validity pertaining to claims. Results. Out of 209 claims from 50 advertisements, only 46% were found to be true, 21% false, 16% vague, 7% exaggerated, and 10% controversial in nature. Out of 160 references given in support of claims, 49 (30%) of references were irretrievable. Out of 111 (70%) retrievable references, 92 (83%) references were found valid. Conclusion. Drug information provided in the DPAs was biased, incomplete, unauthentic, and unreliable with references exhibiting questionable credibility.

Use of diacerein and diclofenac sodium together decreases pain and improves joint function significantly more than diclofenac alone in OA knee.

The incidence of antimicrobial resistance is on continued rise with a threat to return to the “pre-antibiotic” era. This has led to emergence of such bacterial infections which are essentially untreatable by the current armamentarium of available treatment options. Various efforts have been made to develop the newer antimicrobials with novel modes of action which can act against these multi-drug resistant strains. This review aims to focus on these newly available and investigational antibacterials approved after year 2000, their mechanism of actions/resistance, and spectrum of activity and their phases of clinical trials. Newer unexploited targets and strategies for the next generation of antimicrobial drugs for combating the drug resistance and emerging pathogens in the 21st century have also been reviewed in the present article.

INTRODUCTIONAD is a chronic relapsing eczematous skin disease characterized by pruritus and inflammation and accompanied by cutaneous physiological dysfunction [1]. Vitamin D deficiency is the pandemic and most under-diagnosed and under-treated nutritional deficiency in the world [2]. Vitamin D maintains the integrity of the permeability barrier, can stimulate or inhibit keratinocyte differentiation and stimulate synthesis of proteins such as filaggrin that are necessary for formation of stratum corneum barrier [3]. Statistics have shown a rising trend in the occurrence of AD in India in last four decades. Studies shows that vitamin D plays a role in AD pathogenesis mainly through its immunomodulatory action [4]. Most of data related to AD is available from hospital based studies [5]. SCORAD is a clinical tool used to assess the extent and severity of eczema [6].Peroni DG et al., found that vitamin D deficiency may be related to the severity of atopic dermatitis [7]. Han TY et al., conducted a study on 72 Korean childrens and adults it was found that serum-25 hydroxyvitamin D concentration was not significantly correlated with AD severity [8].Our study was a hospital based controlled cross-sectional study, a first of its kind in north western region of India. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D {25(OH)D3} levels and SCORAD Index. MATERIALS AND METHODSIt was a controlled cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Dermatology after taking approval from ethical committee. Eighty patients of either sex between age group of 2 to 18 years attending the outpatient department of skin and STD were enrolled. The study was conducted between the months of June 2016 to November 2016. These patients were divided into 2 groups, where, in group A, 40 patients of AD were taken according to the UK refinement of the Hanifin and Rajka diagnostic criteria [9] for atopic eczema and in group B, 40 patients of same age group were taken attending Skin and STD department with minor ailments like superficial bacterial, fungal or viral infections and not suffering from AD. Patients with any chronic dermatitis other than atopic dermatitis, patients with chronic medical illness like diabetes mellitus, hypertension and tuberculosis, patients with current consumption of vitamin D (within two months), patients receiving concomitant treatment with the ability to influence vitamin D3 and patients suffering from bowel disease with malabsorption of vitamin D3 were not included in the study groups.Physical and dermatological examination was done for every patient. The detailed history (age, sex, occupation, residence, total duration of disease, associated itching, seasonal variation, asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopy and family history of AD) was recorded in a proforma. The blood samples of all the cases and controls were assessed on the same day.The SCORAD index includes the assessment, by a physician, of objective signs (extent and intensity) and of subjective symptoms (pruritus and s...