To study the awareness of Basic Life Support (BLS) among students, doctors and nurses of medical, dental, homeopathy and nursing colleges. A cross-sectional study was conducted by assessing responses to 20 selected basic questions regarding BLS among students, doctors and nurses of medical, dental, homeopathy and nursing colleges. After excluding the incomplete response forms the data was analysed on 1,054 responders. The results were analysed using an answer key prepared with the use of the Advanced Cardiac Life Support manual. Out of 1,054 responders 345 were medical students, 75 were medical interns, 19 were dental students, 59 were dental interns, 105 were homeopathy interns, 319 were nursing students, 72 were doctors, 29 were dentists, 25 were nursing faculty and six were homeopathy doctors. No one among them had complete knowledge of BLS. Only two out of 1054 (0.19%) had secured 80 – 89% marks, 10 out of 1054 (0.95%) had secured 70 – 79% marks, 40 of 1054 (4.08%) had secured 60 – 69% marks and 105 of 1054 (9.96%) had secured 50 – 59% marks. A majority of them, that is, 894 (84.82%) had secured less than 50% marks. Awareness of BLS among students, doctors and nurses of medical, dental, homeopathy and nursing colleges is very poor.

Accurate body fluid assessment and estimation of fluid status are essential in guiding fluid therapy in emergency setup. This prospective cross-sectional descriptive study conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of inferior vena cava and aorta (IVC/Aorta) index in assessing the fluid status by comparing it with the central venous pressure (CVP). Results showed the mean IVC/Aorta index in patients who had normal CVP range was 1.2 ± 0.12 SD, while in patients with low CVP, the mean index was 0.7 ± 0.09 SD, and, patients with high CVP, the mean index was 1.6 ± 0.05 SD. In conclusion, the sonographic IVC/Aorta index assessment seems to be a quick, simple, noninvasive, and reliable method to access the fluid status in a busy setup like an emergency room.

There has been a reduction in the reported cases of acute myocardial infarction (MI) across the globe during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2). An attempt was made to find out the number of acute MI cases treated during the COVID-19 lockdown period (April 2020) and highlight the possible reasons for the changes in the occurrence. A multicentric retrospective observational study was performed to collect the selected data from 12 private hospitals distributed in 4 citiesdMadurai, Trichy (Thiruchirapalli), Erode, and Salemdof the Tamil Nadu state in southern India. There was a significant (P<.001) reduction in ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI), non-STEMI (NSTEMI), and total (STEMI and NSTEMI together) cases during the lockdown period (April 1 to 30, 2020) as compared with no-lockdown periods such as January and February 2020 and April 2019 and April 2018 in all cities, whereas the reduction was not significant for NSTEMI in Trichy when data for the lockdown period was compared with those for January and February 2020. Overall, there is a reduction in acute MI cases, which may be due to alterations in modifiable risk factors during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Hence, implementation of public education and polices on controlling modifiable risk factors is likely to pay dividends.

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