Monthly Archives: October 2013

Can follow-up examination of tuberculosis patients be simplified?

By mdCurrent-India staff | Published: Oct 2013

In India, where nearly 1.5 million tuberculosis (TB) patients a year are reported by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), each patient undergoes two sputum smear examinations as follow-up on at least three occasions while on treatment to assess response to therapy.

Read more »
Posted in Infectious Disease | Tagged | Leave a comment

Environmental predictors of seasonal influenza epidemics across temperate and tropical climates

By mdCurrent-India staff | Published: Oct 2013

Influenza exerts a significant health burden on human populations across temperate, subtropical and tropical regions [1]. The striking seasonal pattern that characterizes influenza in temperate populations has long suggested a causal link between seasonal fluctuations in climatic and social factors and influenza transmission [2]–[4]. Temperate regions of the northern and southern hemispheres are characterized by highly synchronized annual influenza epidemics during their respective winter months

Read more »
Posted in Infectious Disease | Tagged | Leave a comment

Carriage of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in the upper respiratory tract of symptomatic and asymptomatic children

By mdCurrent-India staff | Published: Oct 2013

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is considered a major cause of upper and lower respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and respiratory tract disease (RTD) in humans, and particularly in children. Over one-third of the childhood cases of community-acquired pneumonia that require hospitalization are thought to be caused by M. pneumoniae

Read more »
Posted in Pediatrics, Respiratory | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The role of the patient in healthcare quality

By Dr. Shalini Ratan | Published: Oct 2013 Volume: |

Healthcare is changing rapidly, and so is the need for continuous improvement in healthcare quality. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the six domains of quality interventions are: Leadership, Information, Regulation & Standards, Organizational Capacity, Models of Care, and Patient & Population Engagement.1 Maintaining quality has been linked to… 

Read more »
Posted in Practice Management | Tagged , | Volume: | 5 Responses

Scrub typhus meningitis in South India

By mdCurrent-India staff | Published: Oct 2013

Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, and is characterized by an eschar, lymphadenopathy, multisystem involvement and a rapid response to doxycycline. Scrub typhus is seen in all terrains of the tsutsugamushi triangle, a geographical region of south and east Asia and the southwest Pacific and is related mostly to agricultural activities

Read more »
Posted in Infectious Disease, Primary Care | Tagged , | 1 Response

Neuroimmunological blood brain barrier opening in experimental cerebral malaria

By mdCurrent-India staff | Published: Oct 2013

Human cerebral malaria (HCM) is a serious neurological complication that occurs in about 1% of P. falciparum infections. Although the proportion of patients that develop HCM is relatively small, the total death toll in children under 5 years of age is still unacceptably high [1]–[4]. Even with optimal medical care, the mortality rate in comatose pediatric patients is 15–20%.

Read more »
Posted in Infectious Disease | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In The News: October 15, 2013

By mdCurrent-India staff | Published: Oct 2013

Below are links to recent news articles of interest to the medical community in India. Please share your comments below!

Read more »
Posted in In The News | Leave a comment