A cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim to explore the present status of birth preparedness and complication readiness in rural area of West Bengal and determine the possible factor(s) influencing their knowledge and practice regarding this concern. Thirty villages with homogenous characteristics were identified by cluster sampling methods from a rural block (Bhatar, Burdwan district, West Bengal) of India on April 2013 to November 2013. From every cluster 7 mothers who had delivered baby within the last year and were available first, interviewed consecutively using a guided questionnaire adapted from JHPIEGO Maternal and Neonatal Health Programme survey tools. Multivariate logistic regression was applied in analysis to predict how much the independent variables influenced the birth preparedness of mothers. 62.4% mothers were found to be well prepared. Trained birth attendants and health facilities were identified before delivery in 81.9% and 78.1% cases respectively. Mode of transportation for complication management or delivery was pre-decided by about 60% of family. Only 35.7% family saved money for the same purpose. Logistic regression revealed that well preparedness increased 11 times with every new pregnancy, but it did not depend on caste and education status of the mothers. The overall birth preparedness status of the rural mothers is poor and they acquire more knowledge regarding birth preparedness from their self experience rather than from existing health system. ​
Parturition ; Rural Population ; India

No abstract available.
Complement Factor H*

INTRODUCTIONWe aimed to analyse the pregnancy outcome of women with extrahepatic portal vein obstruction.

METHODSThis was a retrospective observational analysis conducted at the Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, India, between January 2007 and September 2009. A total of 41 pregnancies in 24 women were evaluated.

RESULTSAll women conceived spontaneously (maternal age 20-35 years). 17 women had moderate-to-severe anaemia, and five women had pancytopenia. Variceal bleeding occurred in ten women during pregnancy, which was managed successfully with endoscopic sclerotherapy in eight women and endoscopic variceal ligation in two women. Preterm labour (14.63%), postpartum haemorrhage (7.31%), abortion (4.87%) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (4.87%) were observed in the 41 pregnancies. There were 39 live births and almost all mothers delivered vaginally, except for four who underwent Caesarean section for obstetric indications. Prematurity (15.38%), low birth weight (10.25%), admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (12.82%), stillbirth (2.56%) and neonatal death (2.56%) were noted in the newborns.

CONCLUSIONVariceal bleeding during pregnancy coincided with unfavourable outcomes. Although endoscopic obliteration of varices is a safe and effective method for antenatal management of varices in women, prenatal obliteration results in less morbidity. On rare occasions, obliterated varices can bleed in subsequent pregnancies. Therefore, preconception evaluation of the state of varices prior to each pregnancy and their ligation are important aspects of counselling. A successful foetomaternal outcome is achievable with multidisciplinary backup in a tertiary care centre.

Adult ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Female ; Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease ; complications ; epidemiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; complications ; epidemiology ; therapy ; Liver ; blood supply ; Portal Vein ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; epidemiology ; therapy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

INTRODUCTIONThe introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has led to the reduction of mortality and the improvement of the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The present study was conducted to determine the pattern of adherence to HAART among PLWHA, and to assess the factor(s) affecting nonadherence, if any.

METHODSThis study was a hospital-based analytical, cross-sectional epidemiological study conducted between July and October 2011. A total of 370 adult HIV-positive patients registered in the Antiretroviral Therapy Centre of Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India, were included. Nonadherence was defined as missing at least a single dose of medicine within the last four days. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 19.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA).

RESULTSA total of 87.6% of patients were found to be adherent to HAART. Principal causes of nonadherence were forgetting to take medicine (70.2%), being away from home (65.2%), and busyness with other things (64.7%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that nonadherence was significantly associated with a positive family history of HIV/AIDS (odds ratio [OR] 16; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.2-114.3; p = 0.01), occurrence of side effects with HAART (OR 9.81; 95% CI 1.9-51.7; p = 0.01) and employment (OR 5.93; 95% CI 1.5-23.2; p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONAlthough overall adherence was high, the factors that affect nonadherence can be addressed with proper counselling and motivation of patients and their family members. Adherence to HAART could delay the progression of this lethal disease and minimise the risk of developing drug resistance.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ; methods ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drug Resistance ; Female ; HIV Infections ; drug therapy ; Humans ; India ; Male ; Medication Adherence ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Quality of Life ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To explore potential natural products against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) via the study of structural and non-structural proteins of human coronaviruses. METHODS: In this study, we performed an in-silico survey of 25 potential natural compounds acting against SARS-CoV-2. Molecular docking studies were carried out using compounds against 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CL^PRO), papain-like protease (PL^PRO), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), non-structural protein (nsp), human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor (hACE2R), spike glycoprotein (S protein), abelson murine leukemia viral oncogene homolog 1 (ABL1), calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) and transmembrane protease serine 2. RESULTS: Among the screened compounds, amentoflavone showed the best binding affinity with the 3CL^PRO, RdRp, nsp13, nsp15, hACE2R. ABL1 and calcineurin-NFAT; berbamine with hACE2R and ABL1; cepharanthine with nsp10, nsp14, nsp16, S protein and ABL1; glucogallin with nsp15; and papyriflavonol A with PL^PRO protein. Other good interacting compounds were juglanin, betulinic acid, betulonic acid, broussooflavan A, tomentin A, B and E, 7-methoxycryptopleurine, aloe emodin, quercetin, tanshinone I, tylophorine and furruginol, which also showed excellent binding affinity towards a number of target proteins. Most of these compounds showed better binding affinities towards the target proteins than the standard drugs used in this study. CONCLUSION Natural products or their derivatives may be one of the potential targets to fight against SARS-CoV-2.
Animals ; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use* ; Biological Products/pharmacology* ; COVID-19/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Mice ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; SARS-CoV-2