Effects of Ultrasound-Guided Lower Extremity Nerve Blocks for Below-Knee Procedures in the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Central Gujarat

Background and objectives Ultrasound-guided femoral and popliteal sciatic nerve blocks are useful adjuncts for many below-knee procedures like debridement, amputation, etc. The objectives of the study were to find the efficacy and feasibility of the ultrasound-guided combined femoral and popliteal sciatic nerve block for below-knee procedures in the Emergency Medicine Department (ED). Methodology This prospective clinical study was carried out over three months in ED. A total of 30 patients undergoing below-knee procedures were included in the study. Femoral and popliteal sciatic nerve blocks were administered to each patient using the high-frequency linear ultrasound probe by emergency physicians trained in ultrasound. The effect of blocks, amount of local anesthetic (LA) used, duration of the procedure, and post-block analgesia were recorded. Patients were monitored for possible complications, if any. Data were entered and analyzed using a Microsoft Excel worksheet. Results The average volume of LAs required was around 34.5 cc for both blocks combined. No complications like vascular puncture or nerve injury were reported during the study. The time taken to complete the procedure was around 33 minutes, and the average time to achieve sensory block was around 9 minutes after completing the procedure. Conclusions An ultrasound-guided combined femoral and popliteal sciatic nerve block is an effective and feasible procedure and thus should be considered in ED for below-knee procedures.

Prevalence of menopausal symptoms among women in Vadodara, Central Gujarat: The urban-rural divide

Aim

The aim of this article is to estimate prevalence of menopausal symptoms among women in the menopausal age group and study the urban-rural differences.

Methods and Design

Analytical cross-sectional study conducted in rural and urban field practice areas of a tertiary care center affiliated to Medical College, where 290 women (145 each from urban and rural areas) were interviewed to measure prevalence of menopausal symptoms. Forty-one symptoms were divided into 'Psycho-somatic' (17 symptoms), 'genito-urinary (9 symptoms)' and musculo-skeletal (5 symptoms) domains. The prevalence of each of these symptoms is reported as proportion and the differences in the median scores in the two groups were tested using Mann-Whitney U test.

Results

From among 145 women each, in urban and rural settings, most common psychosomatic symptoms were physical exhaustion-fatigue (73.1%), difficulty climbing stairs (59.3%), sleep problems (45.2%), body ache (43.4%), and hot flushes (41.4%). Among the urban participants, most common was physical exhaustion (42.1%), difficulty climbing stairs (62.1%), anger (46.9%), sleep problems (45.5%), and irritability (42.1%), while among the rural participants they were physical exhaustion (66.2%), difficulty climbing stairs (56.6%), insomnia (54.5%), and body ache (46.2%). Most common genito-urinary symptoms overall and in rural areas were urinary urgency (35.9% and 38.6%), increased frequency of urine (31.7% and 37.2%) and incontinence (30% and 35.2% respectively). Among the urban women, common symptoms were urinary urgency (33.1%) followed by itching of private parts (30.3%) and increased frequency of urination (26.2%). Among musculo-skeletal symptoms, joint pain (74.1%, 74.5%, 73.8%) was the most common symptom followed by joint and muscular discomfort (71.7%, 73.8%, 69.7%) among the overall, urban and rural participants. There was a significant difference in the median psychosomatic score as per the symptoms experienced by the urban and rural participants (U = 36, Z statistic = 2.31, and P = 0.02). However, there was no significant difference in the scores for genito-urinary and musculo-skeletal symptoms; thereby, median scores under both these domains were almost similar in both urban and rural groups.

Conclusion

There was significant difference in the median psychosomatic score as per the symptoms experienced by the urban and rural participants however; there was no significant difference in genito-urinary and musculo-skeletal symptom scores.

Screening for gestational diabetes, Ahmedabad, India

Objective

To implement a community-based screening and awareness-raising project for gestational diabetes in Ahmedabad, India.

Methods

The project took place between April 2016 and August 2019 in Ahmedabad. Medical college faculty members and medical officers trained 3582 paramedical staff on screening for gestational diabetes. These paramedical staff tested all pregnant women 24–28 weeks gestation, who were attending village health and nutrition days – also called mamta days – in urban and rural health centres for routine antenatal care, for gestational diabetes. An oral glucose tolerance test was used and blood sugar ≥ 7.8 mmol/L was the cut-off for gestational diabetes. Women with gestational diabetes were referred for counselling and treatment and all women were followed until 6 weeks after delivery.

Findings

Of 53 522 pregnant women screened, 6786 (12.7%) had gestational diabetes and were referred for nutritional therapy or medication; 836 (12.3%) of these women started medication. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of stillbirths between women with gestational diabetes (0.8%; 54/6786) and women without (0.7%; 338/46 736; P-value: 0.51). Of the women on treatment, 38 had abnormal blood glucose after delivery and continued with the medication. Two women with gestational diabetes died; they had other associated co-morbidities – pre-eclampsia and anaemia.

Conclusion

We found a high prevalence of gestational diabetes, indicating the need for gestational diabetes screening and implementation of this project on a larger scale. Gestational diabetes screening at the community level is operationally feasible using the existing human resources and infrastructure of the reproductive health programmes.

Delay before drug susceptibility testing among patients with presumptive multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Gujarat, India

Background

Reducing delay in the diagnosis of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) by performing genotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) among eligible patients as early as possible can improve clinical presentation and treatment outcomes and reduce transmission. We aimed to determine the delay from being eligible for DST to performing DST and factors associated with the delay.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study involving record review among presumptive MDR-TB patients who underwent genotypic DST from five selected districts in the state of Gujarat, India (2014). Specimens were couriered from the designated microscopy centres (DMCs) to two designated genotypic DST facilities located outside the districts.

Results

Of 2212 patients, the median duration from eligibility to the specimen being sent, from the specimen being sent to DST and from eligibility to DST was 3, 5 and 8 d, respectively. Patients from DMCs in teaching hospitals and with presumptive MDR-TB criteria 'follow-up smear positive' and 'TB-human immunodeficiency virus co-infection' had a significantly higher risk of delay between eligibility and testing (≥8 d). The delay in the specimen being sent after eligibility contributed to high delays in these subgroups.

Conclusion

The districts were doing well in implementing timely DST among presumptive MDR-TB patients. However, there is room for improvement in reducing the delays in the sending of specimens among certain patient subgroups.

Paediatric RIFLE and AKIN Classification for Detection and Outcome of Acute Kidney Injury in Critically Sick Children. Which is Better? A Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is becoming increasingly common in both developed and developing countries with significant morbidity and mortality. However, the precise incidence of AKI in children is not well known due to lack of uniformity in various definitions of AKI. This study was carried out to compare incidence of AKI using two different definitions-pRIFLE and AKIN.Material and Methods: This was a prospective cohort study conducted in the paediatric ICU of a tertiary care government hospital attached to a Medical College of Central Gujarat, India. Total 115 critically ill paediatric patients aged one month to 12 years were included in the study. Serum Creatinine (SCr) levels were tested and Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated using the Schwartz formula at 0, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours of admission. Patients were assessed for AKI using AKIN and pRIFLE classification.Results: Incidence of AKI was 80% and 66.9% in critically ill children, as classified by pRIFLE and AKIN classification respectively. Paediatric RIFLE labelled 15 more patients as AKI which were classified as non-AKI by AKIN criteria. There was moderate agreement in between the two classifications to diagnose stages of AKI (Kappa 0.474, CI- 0.359 to 0.589). With increasing grades of AKI, mortality was higher using pRIFLE staging; unlike the AKIN staging wherein this was not observed.Conclusion: The pRIFLE criteria detects a greater number of cases of AKI compared to AKIN criteria. Based on severity staging, pRIFLE is more consistent with adverse outcome of patients with AKI compared to AKIN classification. Overall mortality is significant high in patients with AKI compared to patients without AKI using any of the classifications.  

Cost-effectiveness of GeneXpert and LED-FM for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Early and accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis is a priority for TB programs globally to initiate treatment early and improve treatment outcomes. Currently, Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain-based microscopy, GeneXpert and Light Emitting Diode-Fluorescence Microscopy (LED-FM) are used for diagnosing pulmonary drug sensitive tuberculosis. Published evidence synthesising the cost-effectiveness of these diagnostic tools is scarce.

METHODOLOGY

PubMed, EMBASE and Cost-effectiveness analysis registry were searched for studies that reported on the cost-effectiveness of GeneXpert and LED-FM, compared to ZN microscopy for diagnosing pulmonary TB. Risk of bias was assessed independently by four authors using the Consensus Health Economic Criteria (CHEC) extended checklist. The data variables included the study settings, population, type of intervention, type of comparator, year of study, duration of study, type of study design, costs for the test and the comparator and effectiveness indicators. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was used for assessing the relative cost-effectiveness in this review.

RESULTS

Of the 496 studies identified by the search, thirteen studies were included after removing duplicates and studies that did not fulfil inclusion criteria. Four studies compared LED-FM with ZN and nine studies compared GeneXpert with ZN. Three studies used patient cohorts and eight were modelling studies with hypothetical cohorts used to evaluate cost-effectiveness. All these studies were conducted from a health system perspective, with four studies utilising cost utility analysis. There were considerable variations in costing parameters and effectiveness indicators that precluded meta-analysis. The key findings from the included studies suggest that LED-FM and GeneXpert may be cost effective for pulmonary TB diagnosis from a health system perspective.

CONCLUSION

Our review identifies a consistent trend of the cost effectiveness of LED-FM and GeneXpert for pulmonary TB diagnosis in different countries with diverse context of socio-economic condition, HIV burden and geographical distribution. However, all the studies used different parameters to estimate the impact of these tools and this underscores the need for improving the methodological issues related to the conduct and reporting of cost-effectiveness studies.

'M-TRACK' (mobile phone reminders and electronic tracking tool) cuts the risk of pre-treatment loss to follow-up by 80% among people living with HIV under programme settings: a mixed-methods study from Gujarat, India

Background: In 2016, the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) in Gujarat, India implemented an innovative intervention called ‘M-TRACK’ (mobile phone reminders once every week for four weeks after diagnosis and electronic patient tracking tool) to reduce pre-treatment loss to follow-up (LFU) among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Vadodara district while other districts received standard of care.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of M-TRACK in reducing pre-treatment LFU (proportion of diagnosed PLHIV not registering for HIV care by four weeks after diagnosis) and to explore the implementation enablers and challenges from health care providers’ and PLHIV perspective.

Methods: An explanatory mixed-methods study design was used wherein the quantitative phase (cohort study with two groups: Vadodara district exposed to M-TRACK and Rajkot district as unexposed) was followed by a qualitative phase (descriptive study involving group interview with 16 health care providers, personal interviews with two programme managers and telephonic interviews with 16 PLHIV). Data were collected during October 2016 to February 2017.

Results: During the pre-M-TRACK period (July–September 2016), the LFU proportion was similar [13% (25/191) in Vadodara; 15% (21/141) in Rajkot (p = 0.8)]. During the M-TRACK period (October–December 2016), LFU decreased to 4% (9/209) in Vadodara (exposed), whereas it remained similar at 16% (18/113) in Rajkot (unexposed) district (p = 0.02). PLHIV exposed to M-TRACK had an 80% lower risk of LFU (aRR 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1–0.5) compared with standard care, after adjusting for socio-demographics, time and clustering at district level. During interviews, M-TRACK was welcomed by both PLHIV and the counsellors. The latter felt it saved time by obviating the need for home visits and helped in documentation. Inconvenience of using landline phone available at the health facility, lack of budgets for reimbursement of mobile call expenses and internet connectivity problems were the key implementation challenges.

Conclusion: M-TRACK was highly effective in reducing the gap between diagnosis and treatment. It may be considered for scale-up after addressing the challenges noted.

Delay and attrition before treatment initiation among MDR-TB patients in five districts of Gujarat, India

Setting: Gujarat, a state in west India. Background: Although treatment initiation has been improving among patients diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in programme settings, it has still not reached 100%. Objectives: To determine pre-treatment attrition (not initiated on treatment within 6 months of diagnosis), delay in treatment initiation (>7 days from diagnosis) and associated factors among MDR-TB patients diagnosed in 2014 in five selected districts served by two genotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) facilities and a drug-resistant TB centre in Gujarat. Design: This was a retrospective cohort study involving record review. Results: Among 257 MDR-TB patients, pre-treatment attrition was seen in 20 (8%, 95%CI 5-12). Patients with 'follow-up sputum-positive' as their DST criterion and sputum smear microscopy status 'unknown' at the time of referral for DST were less likely to be initiated on treatment. The median delay to treatment initiation was 8 days (interquartile range 6-13). Patients referred for DST from medical colleges were more likely to face delays in treatment initiation. Conclusion: The Gujarat TB programme is performing well in initiating laboratory-confirmed MDR-TB patients on treatment. However, there is further scope for reducing delay.

Are partners of HIV-infected people being tested for HIV? A mixed-methods research from Gujarat, India

Setting: Four selected antiretroviral therapy (ART) centres of Gujarat State, India, which accounts for 8% of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden in India. Objectives: 1) To assess the proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) whose partners were not tested for HIV; 2) to assess sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of index cases associated with partner testing; and 3) to understand perceived facilitators and barriers to partner testing and make suggestions on how to improve testing from the perspective of the health-care provider. Design: A mixed-method design with a quantitative phase that involved reviewing the programme records of married PLHIV enrolled during 2011-2015, followed by a qualitative phase of key informant interviews. Results: Of 3884 married PLHIV, 1279 (33%) did not have their partners tested for HIV. Factors including index cases being male, illiterate, aged >25 years, belonging to key populations, substance use and being in advanced clinical stages were more likely to be associated with partner non-testing. Non-disclosure of HIV status (due to fear of marital discord) and lack of awareness and risk perception were the key barriers to testing. Conclusion: One third of PLHIV did not have their partners tested for HIV. Several factors were identified as being associated with the non-testing of partners, and solutions were explored that need to be implemented urgently if we are to achieve the 90-90-90 targets and end HIV.

"When Treatment Is More Challenging than the Disease": A Qualitative Study of MDR-TB Patient Retention

Background

One-fifth of the patients on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment at the Drug-Resistant-TB (DR-TB) Site in Gujarat are lost-to-follow-up(LFU).

Objective

To understand patients’ and providers' perspectives on reasons for LFU and their suggestions to improve retention-in-care.

Design

Qualitative study conducted between December 2013-March 2014, including in-depth interviews with LFU patients and DOT-providers, and a focus group discussion with DR-TB site supervisors. A thematic-network analysis approach was utilised.

Results

Three sub-themes emerged: (i) Struggle with prolonged treatment; (ii) Strive against stigma and toward support; (iii) Divergent perceptions and practices. Daily injections, pill burden, DOT, migratory work, social problems, prior TB treatment, and adverse drugs effects were reported as major barriers to treatment adherence and retention-in-care by patients and providers. Some providers felt that despite their best efforts, LFU patients remain. Patient movements between private practitioners and traditional healers further influenced LFU.

Conclusion

The study points to a need for repeated patient counselling and education, improved co-ordination between various tiers of providers engaged in DR-TB care, collaboration between the public, private and traditional practitioners, and promotion of social and economic support to help patients adhere to MDR-TB treatment and avoid LFU.

Loss-To-Follow-Up on Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment in Gujarat, India: The WHEN and WHO of It

Background

Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a rising global threat to public health and concerted efforts for its treatment are diluted if the outcomes are not successful, loss to follow up (LFU) being one of them. It is therefore necessary to know the proportion and the associated reasons for LFU and devise effective patient-centered strategies to improve retention in care.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the MDR-TB treatment site (DR-TB Site)in Central Gujarat among all patients registered from February 2010 to June 2013.LFU patients were defined as those whose treatment was interrupted for two or more consecutive months for any reason. Descriptive statistics, survival analysis and multivariate modeling were used to determine the proportion of patients LFU and to assess associations between LFU and selected demographic and clinical factors.

Results

A total of 796 patients were enrolled during the study period; 71.9% were male and the median age was 35 years [Interquartile range (IQR) 27-45].The overall proportion of LFU patients was 153/796 (19.2%).The majority of LFU patients (133/153 i.e.87%) were lost within the first 6 months of treatment. Ambulatory treatment initiation (adjusted Hazards ratio aHR=2.63, CI:1.01-6.86), different providers in IP and CP ( aHR=1.27, CI:1.18-1.38)and culture conversion after more than 4 months of treatment(aHR=1.34, CI: 1.21-1.49)were found to be significantly associated with LFU in multivariate models.

Conclusions

A high proportion of LFU among patients on MDR-TB treatment was found in a programmatic setting in India. Clinical but equally important programmatic factors were associated with LFU, accounting for one-fifth of all the outcomes of MDR-TB treatment. Proper training for DOT providers and aggressive counseling and health system strengthening with patient friendly follow up services may help reduce LFU.