An infection (COVID-19) without any specific cure makes the people more vulnerable to get affected due to insufficient knowledge and unhealthy practices. In this scenario, healthcare students can act as reliable information providers. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and perception about COVID-19 among medical and allied health science students. A web-based cross sectional survey was conducted during February and March 2020. A 24-item survey was developed and randomly distributed among the study population. Descriptive statistics was applied to represent participant characteristics and Chi-square test was used to evaluate the level of association among variables with a significance level of p < 0.01. Total, 97.95% (715/730) participants completed the survey. High proportion of students were from pharmacy (45.73%) followed by medical (22.52%), physiotherapy, nursing and dental background. Majority of participants were having adequate knowledge while about 18% had partial knowledge about the symptoms of severe COVID-19 cases. Students have shown a positive perception of COVID-19 prevention and control while few invalid responses related to the use of herbal medicines or garlic were noted. About 50% had rightly stated that, the antibiotics and vaccine are not effective in COVID-19 infection at present. As the COVID-19 cases are rapidly increasing worldwide, it is essential to improve the knowledge and beliefs among general public to prevent its spread. Health care students with their education background and basic understanding about COVID-19 can play a significant role by making community people aware about the seriousness of this pandemic situation.

Objective: The axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) mainly affects young population and often leads to reduced mobility, but less is known about the impact it has on mental health. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression among axSpA patients and explore the underlying associated factors. Methods: A cross sectional survey-based study was conducted from a single center. A convenient sampling was done to include 100 patients. We included questions about disease activity, sleep, fatigue, quality of life (QoL), and work productivity. All patients were asked to fill the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ) for depression and general anxiety disorder-7 (GAD) for anxiety. A multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to determine associations between PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores with various socio-demographic factors, disease activity scores, and other variables. Results: Clinically significant symptoms of anxiety and depression were present in 38% and 36% patients, respectively. Both were significantly associated with younger age at disease onset (P < .05), high disease activity, sleep disturbances, fatigue, poor QoL, and high impact on work productivity. Misbeliefs that “doctors hide side-effects of medicines” and “all modern medicine used in treatment of axSpA causes side-effects” were also related to higher anxiety and depression scores. Depression was also found to be associated with female patients. Conclusion: Anxiety and depression are common in axSpA. They are associated with high disease activity and reduced work productivity. Patients should be regularly screened for these symptoms. Cite this article as: Reddy KN, Sabu N, Pandey N, Raut A, Joag K, Patil P. Anxiety and depression among patients with axial spondyloarthritis. Eur J Rheumatol. 2021;9(1):8-13.

The determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal remain poorly understood. We assessed the general population of Pune after visiting tertiary care hospital for their willingness to accept the vaccine and the reason for their hesitancy and refusal. A six-month descriptive cross-sectional study with 386 community members over the age of 18 who visited the Tertiary Hospital OPD was conducted. The vaccine acceptance and hesitancy was assessed using a self designed detailed questionnaire with a one-time face-to-face interview. Acceptance for vaccine was observed in 235 (60.8%) participants, while 151 (39.2%) hesitated and refused. Participants with lower education (P < 0.00001), no employment did not readily accept the vaccine (P < 0.00001). Pregnant, breast-feeding women (21.8%) hesitated vaccine because of lack of evidence regarding vaccine safety. Participants (73.6%) were readily accepting (third dose) booster dose of vaccine when available. The reason for vaccine hesitance was the concern about side effects (58.2%) and reason for acceptance was to get immunity against COVID-19 (76.1%). Vaccine information source appears to be an influential aspect, as participants who obtained vaccination information from healthcare providers had no concerns regarding vaccination. The study has found a link between average education level, unemployment and vaccine acceptance and hesitancy. Factors influencing vaccine hesitancy include lack of vaccine information, vaccine side effects, and misinformation spread via social media. Clinical pharmacists can play an important role in boosting up vaccine acceptance by providing appropriate information in community.

Background and Objective: Cardiovascular diseases and its risk factors, such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia, are common in Indian population. Statin utilization is high across the country and it is important to assess the adherence because it plays an important role in treatment outcome. Statin adherence is not studied well in India. This study aims at measuring the adherence, perception, and knowledge of individuals on statin therapy.Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study on 130 consented individuals visiting a tertiary care teaching hospital. Study was conducted for a duration of 9 months.Methods and Materials: After obtaining approval from the institutional ethics committee the study subjects were assessed for knowledge, perception, and adherence to statin therapy using a systematically developed interview questionnaire.Results: Good adherence was seen in 42.30% patients. Higher proportions of females were reported to have good adherence. Good adherence was observed in patients with a history of coronary heart disease and atorvastatin as monotherapy (P= 0.0029) and fixed dose combination (P= 0.0012), whereas lipid reduction was found directly related to type of adherence. Lack of knowledge, cost, re-fill issues, and adverse effects were some of the barriers identified.Interpretation and Conclusion: Knowledge and patient perception plays a very important role in determining the adherence to statin therapy. A history of coronary heart disease, choice of statin, and cost of therapy are the contributing factors to adherence. Patient counselling and improving the cost-effectiveness of statin therapy can be considered as interventional strategies to overcome adherence issues.

Background: Sepsis can be defined as the body’s response to an infection. Sepsis in children remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Objectives: This study focuses on the etiological factors, risk factors, and clinical characteristics of sepsis in neonate and pediatric patients. Patients and Methods: A prospective study was conducted over a six-month period in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units of Bharati hospital and research centre, Pune. Fifty-two patients aged 0 - 12 years who were diagnosed with sepsis were included in the study. Data collected from the cases included demography, history, etiology, and diagnosis. Air contamination was assessed using the settle plate method. Results: The incidence rate of sepsis was found to be 2.04%. Children aged 0 - 3 months accounted for the greatest percentage of admissions (57.6%). The male to female ratio was 1.7:1. Common etiologies that presented as risk factors included pneumonia, meningitis associated with catheterization, and very low birth weight. The most commonly seen organisms were gram-negative (Klebsiella, Enterococcus) and (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) MRSA. Microbiological testing was conducted in different wards of the hospital to determine the risk of developing sepsis, and it was found that the highest colony count was present in the labor rooms. On the basis of the onset of sepsis, patients were classified into early onset sepsis (3.84%) and late onset sepsis (9.61%). SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) with severe sepsis (51%) was the most prominent clinical characteristic of sepsis. There was a significant relationship between the severity of sepsis and mortality (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Sepsis remains the most common cause of mortality, with gram-negative infection and catheterization being the most significant risk factors. The more severe the sepsis, the greater the chances of mortality. Keywords: Sepsis; Organ Dysfunction; Catheterization; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome

Objective: The present study aims to determine the pattern of antibiotic utilization at the surgery department of a tertiary care hospital.Method: A prospective observational study was conducted over a period of 6 months period in surgical ward at Bharti Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, a 1000 bedded teaching hospital. Patients above 18 years and receiving antibiotic therapy pre and post-surgery were included in the study.Results:160 patients with surgical operations were included in the study.The disease spectrum was classified into respective system-wise surgical procedures of which 49.37% cases are skin & soft tissue infections, 25.62% cases of general surgical procedure, 12.5% cases of gastrointestinal surgical procedure, 11.25% cases of urinary system and 1.25% case of head neck system. 20.62% of the study patients had hernia, 18.12% patients had cellulitis, 16.87% patients had diabetic foot ulcer, 16.25% patients had abscess, and 10.62% patients had appendicitis and cholelithiasis. In this study, it was found that 471 antibiotics were used in total of 160 patients, among which highest group of antibiotics prescribed were third generation Cephalosporin (28.23%) followed by Penicillins (23.56%). The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were Metronidazole − 19.74% among the Nitroimidazoles followed by Ceftriaxone − 19.53% of the class Cephalosporins.Conclusion: The rate of prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics has increased demonstrably which may result in development of bacterial resistance; however development of guidelines for antibiotic prescription and use of appropriate drugs for the diseases can minimize the unfavourable use of antibiotics and cost of healthcare.