Objective: Substance use is a global public health concern including India. Adolescents being in critical and transformative period of life are more vulnerable. Residing in disadvantaged location of slums might increase the risk. In this context, present study was conducted to assess the prevalence, pattern and factors associated with substance use among adolescents in a slum area of Burdwan Municipality. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November 2017 in the urban field practice area of Burdwan Medical College. The required sample of 144 adolescents (aged 10-19 years) were randomly selected from six slums of the study area in Burdwan Municipality. Adolescents were interviewed at the household level with pre-tested schedule. WHO recommended and validated ASSIST tool (version 3.1) was used for assessment of substance use and it's pattern. Substance users were categorized into High, Moderate and Low risk groups based on ASSIST guideline. Bivariate-multivariable logistic regression wereperformed for analysis. Results:The prevalence of substance use among adolescents was 31.25% (45/144).Common substances used were tobacco products (28.47%), alcoholic beverages (16.67%), cannabis (5.55%) etc. Among users of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis,7 (17.07%), 6 (25%) and 2 (25%) were found to be at high risk group respectively. Logistic regression revealed that gender [AOR=33.36], school dropout [AOR= 4.26] and presence of family problem [AOR= 4.48]were significantly associated with substance use. Conclusion:Prevalence of substance use was quite high among slum dwelling adolescents in the study area. Besides targeted interventions to address the issues, need of larger study is also warranted.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly infectious disease causing millions of cases worldwide. Though pulmonary TB is the most common form of infection, extrapulmonary cases are also very rampant and are responsible for a large number of cases. But the diagnosis of extrapulmonary cases is quite difficult because of varied manifestations and the paucibacillary nature of the infection. Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) is a simple, rapid test that is very efficient in the early diagnosis of these extrapulmonary cases [extrapulmonary TB (EPTB)]. Aim: A study was done to establish the usefulness of CBNAAT in the early diagnosis of EPTB cases. Materials and methods: A comparative study was conducted in a rural tertiary care hospital in West Bengal, India, for 8 months (July 2021–February 2022). Samples were collected from different sites like pleural fluid, lymph nodes, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), pus, ascitic fluid, and tissue aspirate and subjected to both CBNAAT and smear staining and examination under a fluorescent microscope. Positive samples were cultured, examined, and compared. Result: From 593 samples collected from different sites in suspected cases of EPTB—52 samples were positive by CBNAAT, and six cases showed rifampicin resistance (RIF resistant). Smear staining of the samples by auramine-rhodamine stains and examined under the fluorescent microscope for acid-fast bacilli identifying 33 samples; the rest were negative. Slides showing acid-fast bacilli were cultured on Lowenstein–Jensen media. Conclusion: Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) is a very useful assay for the early diagnosis of extrapulmonary cases as it can accurately identify false negative samples by smear microscopy

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Background: Candidemia is a life-threatening bloodstream infection caused by Candida species and is a major concern in pediatric patients, particularly in developing countries like India. Therefore, the goals of the current study are to isolate and identify several Candida species from blood samples, link various risk factors with candidemia, and ascertain the antifungal sensitivity pattern of each species. Methodology: This study is an observational, cross-sectional study conducted to determine the prevalence, distribution, and antifungal susceptibility of Candida species among pediatric patients with candidemia. The current study collected blood samples in BACT/ALERT 3D Pediatric bottles for fungal blood culture. After positive growth was obtained from Blood agar and Sabouraud's dextrose agar (SDA), a range of biochemical reactions, including Gram staining, Germ tube test, CHROM agar Candida Medium, and Sugar fermentation, were carried out. The Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was used for conducting the antifungal susceptibility test. Results: Among the total of 156 different species of Candida, the maximum isolates were Candida albicans (CA) (42.9%), followed by Candida tropicalis (23.1%) and Candida parapsilosis (14.7%). The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) had the most Candida isolates, and catheterization was a leading risk factor. Susceptibility to Amphotericin B, Caspofungin, and Voriconazole was 84.6%, 81.4%, and 76.9%, respectively. Our study observed that the azole group of antifungals revealed pretty high resistance to Non-Candida albicans (NCA). Conclusion: The prevalence of candidemia was higher in the pediatric ICU and neonatal ICU, and the incidence rate was highest among neonates and infants. The study concludes that NCA species are gradually replacing C. albicans as an important pathogen, and clinicians need to be aware of the antifungal resistance patterns of the different Candida species.

Background: Superficial mycosis is a very common fungal infection worldwide of the skin, hair and nails by dermatophytes, non dermatophytes and yeasts. Though they do not cause mortality, but are important agents causing morbidity, cosmetic disfigurement and recurrence leading to a major public health problem. Aim: Determine the clinico-mycological correlation and prevalence of dermatophytosis. Material and Methods: A six months observational cross sectional study was conducted from July 2019-December 2019 on 156 clinically diagnosed cases of superficial mycosis with no systemic complaints. Specimens were examined macroscopically as well as microscopically by KOH and culture. Result: Dermatophytosis was more in the males <40 years. KOH positivity was 100% and dermatophytes were the commonest superficial fungal infection 101/156 (64.74%), followed by Candidiasis 36/156 (23.08%). Non dermatophyte moulds in 06/156 (3.85%) and Malassezia furfur in 13/156 (8.33%) cases. Trichophyton was the commonest dermatophyte isolated (52.47%). Conclusions: Non-dermatophytic fungi are emerging as an important cause of superficial mycoses.