The present study tried to determine the hearing threshold by brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA) in the high-risk infants from a mediocre socioeconomic background at around 1 year of age and correlate different risk factors with hearing loss. BERA was done on 127 infants of 6-18 months age of which 87 were high risk. All were given monaural acoustic stimulus using Cz-M1/ M2 Montage. Based on the appearance of wave V at minimum stimulus intensity, hearing threshold in decibels (dB) of each ear was determined. To study the association of the individual risk factor with hearing loss multiple logistic regression test was applied. Taking BERA threshold for 'Pass' as B40 dBnHL, out of 87 high risk infants 10.34 % (n = 9) had bilateral severe to profound hearing loss, 17.24 % (n = 15) had bilateral mild to moderate hearing loss and 12.64 % (n = 11) had impaired hearing in one ear. All of the control group infants had normal hearing threshold of 30 dBnHL. Twenty major risk factors were identified in the whole study group at an average of 2.3 factors per infant. Twelve factors were examined for correlation using Odd's ratio (OR) with[40 dBnHL threshold as the outcome variable. Factors with very high OR were family history of deafness, Ototoxic drugs and Craniofacial abnormality followed by others. High risk infants have a persistent and definitive risk of hearing loss prompting early intervention.

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic forced everyone to stay indoors for a long period. The institutional education system got a backseat. But Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) syllabus had to be covered within a stipulated time frame. As with every academic curriculum, online teaching had to be implemented in MBBS courses too without any scope for developing adequate logistics beforehand. Teachers, as well as students, tried their best to cope up with this ‘new normal’. Every day student had to be online for few hours to attend their classes as per the modified roster during the pandemic. Aim: To gather the data regarding perspective, satisfaction and problems of online classes from the 1st year MBBS students and also to recommend the modifications for future curriculum and upgrade the quality based on the students’ feedback and suggestions. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was done in a single day across three government medical colleges of West Bengal after eight months of continued online classes since lockdown. An online survey was conducted among the first-year students through google forms, which was mailed to every student’s email ID at a stipulated time of the day with prior notification. Out of 700 google forms sent, 527 responses were received. Responses were automatically analysed by google and were represented graphically. Results: Out of 527 responses received, 145 were from females (27.5%) and 382 were from males (72.5%). Students were ready to adapt to this new development and 54.6% were more or less satisfied with the teaching methodologies, though interruption with the internet hampered their classes very often. Some could not afford the online class due to logistic or financial constraints. A 67.9% of students learnt to acquire in-depth knowledge by themselves though a good number of students (56.7%) disliked online classes and lost interest in the topic. Conclusion: Online teaching cannot replace classroom teaching but can complement it as compulsive prolonged online teaching made the learning self-directed. A thoughtful blending of online and offline classes can be implemented to make an Indian Medical Graduate (IMG) a lifelong learner.

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Introduction: Internet overuse has emerged progressively and the pathological use of the internet- conceptualised as ‘internet addiction’– a menace which disturbs the sleep quality in a community. There is not much evidence proving the association of internet addiction and sleep disturbances and the severity of this association remains unclear. Aim: To find the association between internet addictions and sleep quality among undergraduates in a Government Medical College in West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: This was cross-sectional observational study conducted among 211 undergraduate medical students from January 2019-March 2019 using a predesigned pretested structured selfadministered questionnaire, which consisted of information on the sociodemographic profile and lifestyle questions, Pittsburg Quality of Sleep Index (PQSI) scale and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) scale. The participants were divided into two groups: PSQI score ≤5 (good sleep quality) and those with PSQI score >5 (poor sleep quality) and IAT scores. Statistical analysis was done using the statistical software of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Independent sample t-test (continuous variables) and Fisher’s- exact test (categorical variables) were used to analyse the significance of difference in demographic data and IAT scores and PSQI scores between the groups. Results: Students with poor quality of sleep were having high IAT scores compared to ones with good quality of sleep and this finding was statistically significant (p-value <0.001). Among all participants 33.2% were “moderate users or possible addicts” of internet. Approximately, 49.3% of all participants had poor sleep quality and rest of them had good quality of sleep as per PSQI scale. Mean IAT score was significantly higher among participants living on campus (p=0.006) as compared to ones residing off campus. As far as sleep quality was concerned, mean PSQI scores were significantly higher among participants who were aged more than 20 years and among those who were involved in “less than three times per week physical activity” (p=0.028 and 0.004, respectively). Conclusion: Quality sleep is a key to good health and internet addiction should not hamper it. Proper counseling if needed should be done to attain it.

Introduction: Increased demand of service 24 hours around the clock has divided the workers into 2 domains as “Fixed duty” and “Shift duty”. Personals associated with shift duty are increasing in numbers day by day. Shift duty or more specifically night duty is associated with increased stress which results in high morbidity and decrease in work efficiency. Cortisol hormone and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) are useful parameters to determine the effects of stress. Aim: To find any change in cortisol levels, HRV, Athens score among the fixed duty and shift duty healthcare providers. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital at Kolkata between July, 15th to Sept, 15th 2021. Predesigned and pretested questionnaire was made and ethical clearance was taken from institutional IEC. Then after taking consent total 120 (60 fixed duty and 60 shift duty) healthcare providers were recruited for the study. Subjects of the study filled up a questionnaire {including Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS)}. After applying exclusion criteria (any cardiovascular, neurological, psychological, sleep disorder) 120 health individuals were taken five minutes short-term HRV (time and frequency domain) recording in supine posture and 4 PM blood sample (for cortisol) were obtained from the participants which was further analysed in Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (CLI). Data was analysed in SPSS version 20.0. Statistical tests like student t-test, Cron bach’s alpha and chi-square tests were applied significant p<0.05 (95% CI). Results: After analysis, shift duty workers showed a significant (p<0.001, Odd’s 10.706) higher chance of having insomnia (Athens score >6) than fixed duty workers. Blood test showed that shift duty workers had significantly high evening cortisol level than fixed duty workers (p= 0.036). The time domain of HRV showed that the parameters like Standard Deviation all NN interval (SDNN) (p=0.001), Mean HR (p=0.037), RMSSD (p <0.001), NN50 (p=0.006), pNN50 (p=0.002) were significantly different in the two groups. Whereas the frequency domain of HRV showed that HF power was lower and LF power (p=0.002), LF/HF ratio (p <0.001) were significantly higher in shift duty workers. Conclusion: The study showed that shift duty workers had comparatively higher stress levels resulting in significantly high sympathetic drive and increased risk of insomnia. This can be associated with morbidity and ill health in the shifting duty workers.