Indian J Med Res
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Comparison of efficacy & safety of iron polymaltose complex & ferrous ascorbate with ferrous sulphate in pregnant women with iron-deficiency anaemia.
Iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a common nutritional deficiency among pregnant women in India. It has a significant impact on the health of the mother as well as that of the foetus. IDA generally responds well to treatment with oral iron supplementation. However, oral iron supplements are toxic to the gastrointestinal mucosa and intolerance is common, resulting in poor compliance and failure of treatment. The iron salts such as iron hydroxide polymaltose complex (IPC) and ferrous ascorbate (FeA) are claimed to have low gastrointestinal intolerance, therefore better patient compliance than the conventionally used ferrous sulphate (FS). These preparations also claim to increase haemoglobin level faster as well as improve the iron storage better than FS. This study was done to compare the efficacy and safety of FS with IPC and FeA. ⋯ The results of the study showed that FS, IPC and FeA have comparable efficacy and safety profile in the treatment of IDA of pregnancy.
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the leading causes of mortality in developing countries, however, evidence from some geographical areas of India is scantly available on its risk factors. Other than diabetes and hypertension, several personal and environmental factors are also associated with CKD. ⋯ The presence of CKD among younger age groups and association of multiple factors including personal and environmental suggest for more research to establish the cause and effect relation of these factors.
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The elimination goal for leprosy as a public health problem at the national level was achieved in 2005 in India. However, the number of new cases reporting annually remained nearly the same during the last 10-15 years. Moreover, a substantial number of these new cases reported disabilities for the first time. Therefore, besides multidrug therapy (MDT), newer strategies with focus on effectively decreasing the number of new cases, optimizing the treatment of detected cases, averting disabilities and arresting the transmission of the disease are required. So the objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP) vaccine implementation in National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) for newly diagnosed leprosy patients as well as their contacts to arrest/decrease the transmission and occurrence of new cases. ⋯ Introduction of MIP vaccination in the NLEP appears to be a cost-effective strategy for India. Significant health gains were reduction in the number of new leprosy cases, decreased incidence and severity of reactions during treatment, and after release from treatment, prevention of disabilities, thus reducing the cost as well as stigma of the disease.
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Since the bacterium, Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) has acquired resistance to almost all commercially available antibiotics, the search for alternative treatment options continues to be need of the hour. Bacteriophage therapy seems to be the most promising amongst various proposed alternatives (e.g. antimicrobial peptides, bacteriocin, probiotics, etc.). The present study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the effect of different dosages of specific phages in immunocompromised rodents in a septicaemia model caused by AB mimicking real clinical situations. ⋯ As per the results of this study, it may be concluded that even if patients with acute infections report late to the hospital, a relatively low dose of the phage cocktail may be therapeutically beneficial.