Indian J Med Res
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Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be the second most-leading cause of death due to a single infectious agent as of 2022 after COVID-19. Many affordable new molecular diagnostic tools are being developed for early and more accurate diagnosis, especially for low-resource settings in low- and middle-income countries. In this context, there is a need to develop a standardized protocol for validation of new diagnostic tools. Here, we describe a generic protocol for multi-centric clinical evaluation of molecular diagnostic tests for adult pulmonary TB. ⋯ TB diagnosis poses many challenges as it differs with type of disease, age group, clinical settings and type of diagnostic tests/kits used. Globally, different protocols are used by several investigators. This protocol provides standard methods for the validation of molecular tests for diagnosis of adult pulmonary TB, which can be adopted by investigators.
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Observational Study
Evaluation of prescriptions from tertiary care hospitals across India for deviations from treatment guidelines & their potential consequences.
Irrational prescribing practices have major consequences on patient safety and also increase the economic burden. Real-life examples of impact of irrational prescription have potential to improve prescribing practices. In this context, the present study aimed to capture and evaluate the prevalence of deviations from treatment guidelines in the prescriptions, potential consequence/s of the deviations and corrective actions recommended by clinicians. ⋯ The overall prevalence of deviations found was 45 per cent of which unacceptable deviations was estimated to be 9.8 per cent. To minimize the deviations, clinicians recommended online training on rational prescribing and administrative directives as potential interventions.
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From an initial thought of being used as a cellular garbage bin to a promising target for liquid biopsies, the role of exosomes has drastically evolved in just a few years of their discovery in 1983. Exosomes are naturally secreted nano-sized vesicles, abundant in all types of body fluids and can be isolated intact even from the stored biological samples. ⋯ However, there are certain limitations to overcome which restrict the use of exosome-based liquid biopsy as a gold standard testing procedure in routine clinical practices. The present review summarizes the current knowledge on the role of exosomes as the liquid biopsy tool in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment response monitoring in communicable and non-communicable diseases and highlights the major limitations, technical advancements and future prospects of the utilization of exosome-based liquid biopsy in clinical interventions.