Indian J Med Res
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Review Historical Article
A brief history of vaccines & vaccination in India.
The challenges faced in delivering lifesaving vaccines to the targeted beneficiaries need to be addressed from the existing knowledge and learning from the past. This review documents the history of vaccines and vaccination in India with an objective to derive lessons for policy direction to expand the benefits of vaccination in the country. A brief historical perspective on smallpox disease and preventive efforts since antiquity is followed by an overview of 19 th century efforts to replace variolation by vaccination, setting up of a few vaccine institutes, cholera vaccine trial and the discovery of plague vaccine. ⋯ Though the preventive efforts from diseases were practiced in India, the reluctance, opposition and a slow acceptance of vaccination have been the characteristic of vaccination history in the country. The operational challenges keep the coverage inequitable in the country. The lessons from the past events have been analysed and interpreted to guide immunization efforts.
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Nicotine dependence is a widely prevalent and harmful chronic addictive disorder. Quitting tobacco use is however, uncommon in India. We present long-term treatment outcomes of out-patient, tobacco cessation treatments from a specialty clinic setting in southern India. ⋯ Our study has identified low quit-rates in a cohort of patients attending a hospital-based tobacco cessation clinic. In the absence of clear-cut predictors of cessation with low quit-rates, there should be continued efforts to improve cessation outcomes and identify predictors for action.
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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Previous studies identified high white and red blood cell count as potential risk factors for new onset AF. The objective of this retrospective, nested case-control study was to examine the association of different parameters of the blood count with the development of new onset of AF after AMI. ⋯ This study shows a significant independent association between serum haemoglobin, haematocrit, erythrocyte count and occurrence of AF after AMI. However, the pathophysiologic mechanism underlying these associations and its potential clinical applicability need to be further elucidated.