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Biomedical subjects

A K Gupta

Publications and source records attributed to A K Gupta.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Disposable devices for measuring intraocular pressure: a clinical study to assess their accuracy.

AIMS: We conducted a study to compare the accuracy of two commercially available disposable tonometry devices (the acrylic biprism, Tonosafe and the silicone shield, Tonoshield) with the standard Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT). METHODS: A total of 80 eyes of 40 patients were randomly assigned to two groups. Group A (40 eyes) had the intraocular pressure IOP measured using GAT and the acrylic biprism (Tonosafe), while Group B (40 eyes) had IOP measured using GAT and the disposable silicone shield (Tonoshield). IOP was measured using the GAT both before and after the disposable device and average of the two standard Goldmann readings was compared with the IOP measured using the disposable devices. RESULTS: The mean difference in IOP in Group A was 0.29 mmHg (SD 0.54) (P=0.0018) while in Group B the mean difference in IOP was 2.09 mmHg (SD 1.23) (P<0.0001). The Altman-Bland method was used to assess the agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. This shows a positive bias of 0.29 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.11-0.46) when using the disposable acrylic biprism and a positive bias of 2.09 (95% CI 1.69-2.48) with the silicone shield. CONCLUSION: The IOP recorded using the disposable acrylic biprism (Tonosafe) was in close agreement with the standard GAT. However, IOP readings obtained with the silicone shield (Tonoshield) tend to be higher than with the standard GAT. These facts should be kept in mind when recording IOP in clinical situations.

Disposable Equipment↗
PubMed2005

Double urethral obstruction in a neonate - a case report.

Posterior urethral valves are the most common cause of lower urinary tract obstruction in a male child, generally occurring as an isolated anomaly. Congenital anterior urethral diverticulum, although less common, can also cause urethral obstruction. We report a rare combination of the two anomalies in which the proximal, more severe anomaly prevented the initial expression of the other.

Diverticulum↗
PubMed2005

Effect of ochratoxin A on broiler chicks challenged with Salmonella gallinarum.

1. A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of ochratoxin A (OA) on broiler chicks challenged with Salmonella gallinarum. 2. One hundred and seventy-six 1-d-old broiler chicks were divided into two groups of 88 chicks each, with one group fed on a control mash diet and the other given a mash diet containing 2 ppm OA. On d 14, each group was further subdivided into two groups with one group infected with S. gallinarum and the other uninfected. 3. Following S. gallinarum inoculation on d 14, 4 birds from each group were killed at 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14 and 21 d post inoculation. 4. S. gallinarum infection caused dullness, depression, weakness, increased thirst, droopy wings, ruffled feathers and greenish-yellow diarrhoea. S. gallinarum infection in the absence of OA caused 11.5% mortality which increased to 28.8% in the presence of OA. 5. Decreased body weight and reduced feed intake were observed in chicks fed on the diet containing OA. S. gallinarum infection also reduced the body weights of chicks, with the effects being more marked in chicks receiving OA. The OA diet led to increased serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, uric acid and creatinine, and decreased levels of total proteins, albumin, globulins, calcium and phosphorus. S. gallinarum infection did not cause significant alteration in any of the serum biochemical parameters. 6. Mortality and the severity of S. gallinarum infection in broiler chicks were increased by the presence of OA in the diet.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed2005

In vitro activities of posaconazole, ravuconazole, terbinafine, itraconazole and fluconazole against dermatophyte, yeast and non-dermatophyte species.

The in vitro activities of two new triazole antifungal agents with broad-spectrum antifungal activity, posaconazole and ravuconazole, were compared with those of three well-established antifungal agents, terbinafine, itraconazole and fluconazole, against 184 clinical isolates. These included 129 dermatophyte isolates (twelve species), 25 yeast isolates (five species) and 28 non-dermatophyte isolates (nine species). In vitro testing was conducted using microdilution plates with RPMI 1640 and National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) guidelines (M27-38P) were followed, except for the preparation of the dermatophyte inoculum. Both posaconazole and ravuconazole showed similar broad-spectrum activity against dermatophyte, yeast and non-dermatophyte species. Mean inhibitory concentrations (MIC) at which 90% [MIC90] of the isolates were inhibited by posaconazole and ravuconazole were 0.25 and 0.5 microg/ml for dermatophytes, 0.5 and 0.25 microg/ml for yeasts, and >4 and 8 microg/ml for non-dermatophytes. The MIC ranges against Trichophyton (six species), Microsporum (five species) and Epidermophyton flocossum were: posaconazole (0.007-1.0/0.007-0.25/0.007-1.0 microg/ml), ravuconazole (0.015-8.0/0.015-1.0/0.015-1.0 microg/ml), itraconazole (0.015- >8.0/0.015-0.5/ 0.015-8.0 microg/ml), fluconazole (0.125- >64.0/4.0 >64.0/0.5-64.0 microg/ml) and terbinafine (0.003 >2.0/0.007-2.0/0.007 >2.0 microg/ml). Overall ranking of the antifungal activity of the five antifungal agents was: terbinafine > posaconazole > ravuconazole > itraconazole > fluconazole, for dermatophytes; ravuconazole > posaconazole > itraconazole > fluconazole > terbinafine, against yeasts; and posaconazole > ravuconazole > terbinafine > itraconazole > fluconazole, for non-dermatophytes.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMed2005

Comorbidity of rosacea and depression: an analysis of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey--Outpatient Department data collected by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics from 1995 to 2002.

BACKGROUND: Psychogenic factors have been considered to be important in the exacerbation and possibly the onset of rosacea. However, there are very few studies that have reported conclusive findings. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between rosacea and major depressive disease, a common and usually treatable psychiatric disorder. METHODS: Data from 1995 to 2002, collected by the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the outpatient component of the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey, which are both nationally representative surveys of healthcare visits in the U.S.A., were studied. The basic sampling unit in both surveys is the patient visit or encounter. A "Rosacea" variable was created by grouping all rosacea (ICD-9-CM code 695.3) visits and a "Depression" variable was created by grouping the patient visits related to major depressive disorder (ICD-9-CM codes 296.2, 296.3 and 311). As alcohol abuse has been implicated in rosacea, and alcohol can confound symptoms of depression, an "Alcohol" variable was created by grouping all ICD-9-CM codes related to alcohol dependence and abuse (codes 303, 303.0, 303.9 and 305.0). All analyses were conducted using the Complex Samples module of SPSS version 13, to account for the multistage probability sampling design used to collect the data. RESULTS: The weighted data were representative of over 608 million dermatology visits between 1995 and 2002. Logistic regression analysis using "Rosacea" as the dependent variable and age, sex, "Alcohol" and "Depression" as independent variables revealed that the odds ratio for depressive disease in the rosacea group was 4.81 (95% confidence interval 1.39-16.62). The association between "Alcohol" and "Rosacea" was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The comorbidity between major depressive disease and rosacea may have important clinical implications. Alcohol abuse does not appear to play a significant role in this association.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

A phase I/II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study evaluating the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of ravuconazole in the treatment of onychomycosis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness and safety of ravuconazole in the treatment of toenail onychomycosis. DESIGN: A phase I/II randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study. Four 12-week dosing regimens were used: 200 mg/day; 100 mg/week; 400 mg/week and placebo. Subjects returned at weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 24, 36 and 48 for assessment. Subjects were enrolled at 10 dermatology practices (seven in the United States, one in Canada, two in France). SUBJECTS: Adults with distal subungual onychomycosis of one great (hallux) toenail (minimum area of 25%), and at least 2 mm of proximal nail clear of disease were selected. Onychomycosis was confirmed by direct microscopy and/or fungal culture. Subjects with conditions known to produce abnormal-appearing nails were excluded. One hundred and fifty-one subjects were randomized in a 2:2:2:1 ratio to the treatments above. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary efficacy was the effective cure rate at week 48 (mycological cure, and clinical cure or > 30% improvement). RESULTS: Effective cure was found in 56% of subjects using 200 mg/day. Effective cure was 10% in subjects receiving 100 mg/week, 8% of subjects using 400 mg/week, and 15% of subjects using placebo. Mycological cure was seen in 59% of subjects in the 200-mg/day group, which was significantly higher than the rates found in the other groups. Drug-related adverse events were infrequent in all treatment arms. Headache was the most frequently reported event. Abnormal laboratory tests were infrequent over the 12 weeks of dosing. Abnormal laboratory findings with increases beyond normal of Grade 2, 3 or 4 were found in 8/148 subjects (5.4%). Only the 200 mg daily regimen had a mean plasma steady state concentration of ravuconazole exceeding the MIC(90) adjusted for 98% protein binding (3000 ng/mL). CONCLUSIONS: For the treatment of onychomycosis, ravuconazole 200 mg/day for 12 weeks is the most effective of the regimens investigated. The safety of all regimens was acceptable. The concentrations of ravuconazole in the plasma compared to the adjusted MIC(90) may be useful in predicting the clinical and mycologic response of therapy.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2005

Rosacea and its management: an overview.

BACKGROUND: Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects 10% of the population. The prevalence of rosacea is highest among fair-skinned individuals, particularly those of Celtic and northern European descent. Since a cure for rosacea does not yet exist, management and treatment regimens are designed to suppress the inflammatory lesions, erythema, and to a lesser extent, the telangiectasia involved with rosacea. OBJECTIVES: This review outlines the treatment options that are available to patients with rosacea. METHODS: Published literature involving the treatment or management of rosacea was examined and summarized. RESULTS: Patients who find that they blush and flush frequently, or have a family history of rosacea are advised to avoid the physiological and environmental stimuli that can cause increased facial redness. Topical agents such as metronidazole, azelaic acid cream or sulfur preparations are effective in managing rosacea. Patients who have progressed to erythematotelangiectatic and papulopustular rosacea may benefit from the use of an oral antibiotic, such as tetracycline, and in severe or recalcitrant cases, isotretinoin to bring the rosacea flare-up under control. Treatment with a topical agent, such as metronidazole, may help maintain remission. Patients with ocular involvement may benefit from a long-term course of an antibiotic and the use of metronidazole gel. A surgical alternative, laser therapy, is recommended for the treatment of telangiectasias and rhinophyma. Patients with distraught feelings due to their rosacea may consider cosmetic camouflage to cover the signs of rosacea. CONCLUSIONS: With the wide variety of oral and topical agents available for the effective management of rosacea, patients no longer need to feel self-conscious because of their disorder.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Usefulness of the direct agglutination test in the early detection of subclinical Leishmania donovani infection: a community-based study.

The value of a direct agglutination test (DAT) in the detection of subclinical infections with Leishmania donovani has recently been investigated in the Indian state of Bihar, after the sensitivity and specificity of the test had been determined. When used to screen sera from 108 parasitologically confirmed cases of visceral leishmaniasis, 50 patients with active, non-leishmanial infection, and 641 healthy controls living close to, or distant from, an endemic area, the test was found to be 91.7% sensitive and 100% specific if a titre of 1:800 was used as the threshold for seropositivity. During a longitudinal clinical study in a rural, VL-endemic area of the Indian state of Bihar, the test was used, with 1:800 set as the threshold titre, to determine the baseline prevalence of infection with L. donovani among villagers who, though showing no symptoms of VL, had recently been febrile for at least 2 weeks. The 234 subjects of this study were either VL-case contacts [i.e. members of households in which there were active or cured VL cases (N=78)] or the members of control households with no cases or history of the disease (N=156). The results of DAT at the start of the study indicated that 49 (20.9%) of the subjects--29 (37.2%) of the VL-case contacts and 20 (12.8%) of the other subjects--were seropositive and therefore probably had subclinical infections with L. donovani. During the subsequent 9 months of follow-up, however, only eight of the subjects found seropositive at the start of the study--seven (24.1%) of the seropositive case contacts but only one (5.0%) of the other seropositives--developed symptomatic VL, all by month 6 of the follow-up. Compared with their neighbours, therefore, individuals who shared households with active or cured cases of VL appeared at greater risk not only of L. donovani infection (indicating focal transmission) but also of developing symptomatic disease once infected. Curiously, among the seropositive case contacts, those from the households that harboured active cases of VL at the baseline survey were less likely to develop symptomatic VL during the 9 months of follow-up than those from households that harboured only cured cases (18.8% v. 30.8%). The wide-spread use of DAT could allow the detection and early treatment of latent L. donovani infections and so contribute to the elimination of VL, at least as a public-health problem, from India.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed2005

Percutaneous vertebroplasty in the management of vertebral lesions.

BACKGROUND: Debilitating backache due to different types of vertebral lesions is a common cause of morbidity in all age groups. Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) gives substantial pain relief and stabilizes the weak vertebrae. Most of the information regarding PV comes from the Western literature. The effect of PV in our population should be studied. AIMS: The primary objective is to assess the therapeutic benefit of PV in alleviating back pain and improving the functional status in patients with painful pathologic vertebrae. The secondary objectives are to study the technical aspects of the procedure and their relation to outcome and complications. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a retrospective hospital-based (tertiary teaching hospital) study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2001 to December 2004, 46 patients underwent PV procedures. Sixty-five vertebroplasties were done in 13 males and 33 female patients. Twenty-four (36.92%) procedures were done for osteoporotic compression collapse, 26 (40.0%) for hemangioma, and 15 (23.07%) for different vertebral body tumors and metastasis. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to evaluate the statistical significance of differences between the preoperative and postoperative levels of pain, mobility and analgesic usage. RESULTS: Most of the patients had pain relief within 48 h. Only minor side effects were encountered. No patient had any deficit related to the procedure. On follow up of 3-48 months, all patients had statistically significant improvement in clinical condition (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a safe and effective procedure in relieving debilitating backache and can be used to treat vertebral lesions in selected cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Cerebral aneurysms in atrial myxoma: a delayed, rare manifestation.

Atrial myxomas are the most common primary tumors of the heart. Neurologic involvement usually occurs as a stroke with ischemic episodes. Following excision of cardiac myxomas, delayed neurologic events owing to aneurysms are rare and have not been reported from India. We report an operated case of left atrial myxoma. The patient initially presented with a stroke and 6 months after the surgery, developed multiple intracerebral hemorrhages due to the rupture of fusiform cerebral aneurysms, without recurrence of the cardiac tumor.

Cerebral Angiography↗
PubMed2005

Ciclopirox nail lacquer 8% for the treatment of onychomycosis: a Canadian perspective.

Onychomycosis is prevalent in the Canadian population, and risk factors, such as old age and diabetes, are increasing. This condition has traditionally been treated using oral antifungal agents with varying degrees of success. Recently, ciclopirox nail lacquer 8% solution became the first topical agent approved in Canada for onychomycosis. Ciclopirox nail lacquer may be safe and effective for the treatment of onychomycosis, and certain candidates may benefit from therapy. Ciclopirox may be implicated for prophylactic use in order to prevent recurrent infection and may be used in combination with oral agents.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMed2005

Statistical interpretation of weekday/weekend differences of ambient gaseous pollutants, vehicular traffic and meteorological parameters in urban region of Kolkata.

An air quality sampling program has been designed and implemented to collect the concentrations of gaseous pollutants (SO2, NO2 and NH3) at weekdays and weekends from a network of three monitoring stations during November 2003 to May 2004 along a populated urban region of Kolkata. Monitoring of ambient SO2 (sulphur dioxide), NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and NH3 (ammonia) was done once in a week for 24 h at the residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) sites while 8 h at the commercial (Lalbazar) site. Average ratio of the weekday/ weekend concentrations of SO2, NO2 and NH3 were 1.41, 1.01 and 0.99 at Kasba; 1.33, 1.13 and 1.10 at Cossipore and 1.09, 1.17 and 1.10 at Lalbazar, respectively. Linear regression analysis between SO2 and NO2 showed good (R2 > 0.70) relationship at weekdays in residential and industrial sites. It also showed moderate (R2 > 0.50) relationship in residential site and good (R2 > 0.70) relationship in industrial sites at weekends. In the commercial site, a strong (R2 > 0.90) linear association has been observed between SO2 and NO2 at weekdays and weekends. Daily average vehicular traffic at weekdays was higher than those on weekends. The spearman rank correlation coefficient showed that measured gaseous pollutants have inverse correlation with meteorological parameters (temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) at all the sites, both on weekdays and weekends.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2005

Preservation of Leishmania donovani promastigotes in blood agar slants.

Long-term cultivation of Leishmania promastigotes by weekly passage to fresh medium was reported to be disadvantageous because needs labor, risk of contamination, lowering in infectivity and virulence pattern. Cryopreservation and Lyophilization require expensive facilities which could be a burden and unaffordable to most laboratories of developing countries where the disease is endemic. These problems could be minimized by simple preservation of Leishmania donovani promastigotes in blood agar slants at 7-8 degrees C for 6-7 months. The preserved promastigotes were examined for viability up to one year at a regular interval of one month. Viable promastigotes were found and revived successfully from all the slants stored up to 7 months after that, the viability of promastigotes was found to be decreased in the slants of 8-9 month storage. No viable promastigotes were recovered from the slants stored up to 11-12 months. By this method, the promastigotes can easily be stored up to 7 months without loss of biological activity. The number of passage of promastigotes to fresh medium has been greatly reduced by this method from 30 times to 01 when compared with weekly passage in liquid medium. This simple and economical method can be recommended for short storage of Leishmania culture without loss of any activity.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Microsynthesis and electron ionisation mass spectrometric analysis of chemical weapons convention (CWC)-related O,O-dialkyl-N,N-dialkylphosphoramidates.

The paper describes microsynthesis and GC/EIMS analysis of O,O-dialkyl-N,N-dialkylphosphoramidates (DADAPs). DADAPs belong to schedule 2B6 category of chemical weapons convention (CWC), as they are important markers of the chemical warfare agent Tabun and its analogues. The study was undertaken to develop a spectral database of DADAPs for verification of CWC. The reported synthetic strategy can be adopted to prepare several analogues of DADAPs simultaneously and rapidly during official proficiency tests, for the unambiguous identification of analytes within a short period. Based on the EIMS data of more than 60 compounds, fragmentation routes are proposed which explain the formation of most of the characteristic fragment ions. Subtle differences in EIMS of isomeric DADAPs are discussed to facilitate their identification.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of trifluoroacetyl derivatives of precursors of nitrogen and sulfur mustards for verification of chemical weapons convention.

Trifluoroacetylation reactions were optimized for gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis of precursors of nitrogen and sulfur mustards using newly developed N-trifluoroacetylbenzimidazole (TFABI) and known N-trifluoroacetylimidazole (TFAI) and N-trifluoroacetylbenzotriazole (TFABT) reagents. TFAI and TFABI gave the best results in terms of yields and reaction time. Trifluoroacetyl derivatives showed clean total ion chromatograms in GC-MS analysis than trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives. The negative ion chemical ionization analysis of these derivatives gave pseudo molecular weight information, with low limit of detection.

Chemical Warfare↗
PubMed2004

Determination of pentafluorobenzyl derivatives of phosphonic and phosphonothioic acids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been evaluated and standardized for the analysis of pentafluorobenzyl (PFB) derivatives of alkylphosphonic, O-alkyl alkylphosphonic and phosphonothioic acids. The pentafluorobenzyl (PFB) derivatives are much more stable as compared to the conventionally used trimethylsilyl derivatives. The conditions for the derivatization and analysis have been optimized to achieve the best detection limits in negative chemical ionization (NCI) mode.

Benzoates↗