Indian J Med Res
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COVID-19 pandemic has triggered social stigma towards individuals affected and their families. This study describes the process undertaken for the development and validation of scales to assess stigmatizing attitudes and experiences among COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 participants from the community. ⋯ Validity and reliability of the two stigma scales indicated that the scales were comprehensible and had moderate internal consistency. These scales could be used to assess COVID-19 stigma and help in the development of appropriate stigma reduction interventions for COVID-19 infected, and mitigation of stigmatizing attitudes in the community.
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To implement the strategy of test, track and treat to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the number of real-time RT-PCR-based testing laboratories was increased for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 in the country. To ensure reliability of the laboratory results, the Indian Council of Medical Research initiated external quality assessment (EQA) by deploying inter-laboratory quality control (ILQC) activity for these laboratories by nominating 34 quality control (QC) laboratories. ⋯ A total of 597 laboratories participated in this activity and 86 per cent of these scored ≥90 per cent concordance with QC laboratories. This ILQC activity showcased India's preparedness in quality diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2.
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The COVID-19 disease profile in Indian patients has been found to be different from the Western world. Changes in lymphocyte compartment have been correlated with disease course, illness severity and clinical outcome. This study was aimed to assess the peripheral lymphocyte phenotype and subset distribution in patients with COVID-19 disease from India with differential clinical manifestations. ⋯ The observed lower CD4+Th cells in moderate+severe group requiring oxygen support compared to asymptomatic+mild symptomatic group not requiring oxygen support could be indicative of poor prognosis. Higher Th memory, Tc memory and B memory cells in the recovered group compared to mild symptomatic patient groups might be markers of recovery from mild infection; however, it remains to be established if the persistence of any of these cells could be considered as a correlate of protection.
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Autopsy study has been considered the gold standard method for studying the effects of any disease on the body. Since COVID-19 is a novel disease, autopsy is crucial to understand its pathophysiology. This study was conducted to analyze the microscopic and macroscopic findings of various organs in COVID-19 and to associate those findings with clinical observations and laboratory findings. ⋯ COVID-19 primarily affected the respiratory and the renal systems in the vast majority of severely affected patients in our study. We also found signs of hypercoagulability, as evidenced by widespread thrombi in multiple organs, along with a raised d-dimer level and a hyperinflammatory state manifested by elevated inflammatory markers. Our autopsy findings and altered laboratory investigations support the role of immune-mediated cellular injury along with direct virus-mediated cellular damage.
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COVID-19 cases have been rising rapidly in countries where the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC), Omicron (B.1.1.529) has been reported. We conducted a study to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients with 'S' gene target failure (SGTF, suspected Omicron). Furthermore, their clinical outcomes with COVID-19 patients with non-SGTF (non-Omicron) were also compared. ⋯ Majority of the suspected Omicron cases had a mild course of illness. The overall severity of these cases was less compared to the suspected non-Omicron cases.