Kartik Gupta

Effect of gingival displacement cord and cordless systems on the closure, displacement, and inflammation of the gingival crevice.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEMnThe gingival sulcus should remain open long enough for the impression material to flow into it and completely fill the space provided by the gingival displacement. Impressions with less sulcal width have a higher incidence of voids, tearing of impression materials, and reduction in marginal accuracy.nnnPURPOSEnThe purpose of this clinical study was to investigate the closure, gingival displacement, and gingival inflammation of the gingival crevice after the use of medicated gingival displacement cord and cordless systems.nnnMATERIAL AND METHODSnGingival sulcus closure was studied in 40 participants. They were divided into 4 groups: 2 cord (Ultrapack, SilTrax AS) and 2 cordless (Expasyl, Traxodent Hemodent paste) methods. The labial surfaces of the maxillary right and left central incisors were evaluated. Gingival sulcus was photographed every 20 seconds from 0 to 180 seconds after the removal of the cord or cordless system. The bleeding index (BI) and gingival index (GI) were measured at day 0, day 1, and day 7. The width of the sulcal orifice was measured at the mid-buccal (MB) and transitional line angle (TLA) on a digital image, using computer software (Photoshop version 7.0; Adobe). Data were analyzed with ANOVA, Tukey honest significant difference (HSD), Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests (α=.05).nnnRESULTSnAll groups showed a sulcal width greater than 0.22 mm up to 60 seconds after the removal of the displacement materials at the MB and up to 40 seconds at the TLA. Among all groups, Expasyl showed the fastest closure. Gingival displacement in the MB area for the cord group was greater than for the cordless groups. GI and BI indices were larger for the cord group than for the cordless group at days 0 and 1.nnnCONCLUSIONSnAt up to 60 seconds, the cord and cordless techniques were equally effective. The cord group showed a greater amount of displacement than the cordless group. However, the cordless materials showed reduced frequency of changes to the gingival index.

Case of methaemoglobinaemia caused by tree oils and kerosene

We report a case of a young man who allegedly consumed 100u2009mL of an indigenous pesticide which is used for the killing of rats in households in India. The constituents were azadirachtin oil (40%), tea oil (15%), pine oil (25%) and kerosene oil (20%). He presented to us with shortness of breath and altered sensorium and was found to have fMetHb (fraction of methaemoglobin) level of 80%, which has been postulated to have a fatal outcome. He responded to a low dose of methylene blue along with intravenous vitamin C and the level of fMetHb came down to 20% within 1u2009hour. His sensorium improved markedly with a decrease in fMetHb to non-toxic levels and he was discharged 5u2009days after admission. A literature review pertaining to these constituents individually or in combination causing methaemoglobinaemia is discussed in the context of this case.

Effect of kidney transplantation on sleep-disordered breathing in patients with End Stage Renal Disease: a polysomnographic study

BACKGROUNDnSleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is common in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). SDB is associated with comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and obesity, interplaying with metabolic derangements in the form of uremia, acidosis, and hypervolemia. Renal transplant has been observed to correct most of these metabolic derangements and to control progression of comorbidities. While SDB is highly prevalent among patients in the pretransplant stage, it remains to be seen whether the beneficial aspects of transplant are extended to improvement in SDB in patients with ESRD.nnnMETHODSnEighteen patients undergoing thrice-weekly hemodialysis (HD) for ESRD at the transplant clinic of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, underwent detailed clinical, laboratory, and polysomnographic evaluation. The average number of apneas and hypopneas per hour of sleep, ie, Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI), was used to define the severity of sleep apnea. All patients underwent polysomnography (PSG) within 24xa0h of the last HD and after three months of living-donor transplant.nnnRESULTSnOf 18 patients, there were 14 males and four females. The median age was 28 years (range 19-50 years). They had already spent a median period of six months (range 3-31 months) on HD before inclusion. The prevalence of SDB (AHIxa0≥xa05/h) was 44.4% (8/18) before transplant, which decreased to 5.6% (1/18) after transplant (pxa0=xa00.016). The oxygen desaturation index had a median value of 5.8 events/h (range 0.1-35.4) in the pretransplant stage, which decreased to 0 events/h (range 0-6.6) in the post-transplant stage (pxa0=xa00.035).nnnCONCLUSIONnThere was a significant improvement in the prevalence and severity of SDB after transplant. Whether improvement in SDB is sustained on a long-term follow-up remains to be seen.

Higher Frequency of HIV-1 Drug Resistance and Increased Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Mutations among the HIV-1 Positive Antiretroviral Therapy–Naïve patients Coinfected With Mycobacterium tuberculosis Compared With Only HIV Infection in India

Background: Emergence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug resistance mutations prior to highly active antiretroviral therapy is a serious problem in clinical management of HIV/AIDS. Risk factors for appearance of drug resistance mutations are not known. We hypothesize that Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection may contribute to rapid emergence of such mutations in antiretroviral therapy–naïve patients. Methods: A total of 115 patients were recruited in this study of which 75 were HIV+TB+ coinfected (group 1) and 40 were HIV+TB− (group 2). Blood samples from all the patients were collected and CD4+ cell counts; HIV-1 plasma viral load and sequencing of protease and two-third region of reverse transcriptase of HIV-1 was performed and analyzed for drug resistance pattern. Results: For patients with HIV+TB+, 10.6% (8/75) had mutations to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), 4% (3/75) to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and only 2.6% (2/75) patients had mutations to protease inhibitors. Interestingly, for group 2 (HIV+TB−), there were only NNRTI mutations found among these patients, and only 3 patients (7.5%) had these drug-resistant mutations. Clade typing and phylogenetic tree analysis showed HIV-1 subtype C predominance in these patients. Conclusions: Our study showed that higher percentage of HIV drug resistance mutations was found among HIV+TB+ individuals compared with tuberculosis-uninfected patients. Tuberculosis coinfection may be a risk factor for emergence of high frequency of drug resistance mutations. Studies with a larger sample size will help to confirm these findings from the Indian population.

Sleep quality and quantity in intensive care unit patients: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Lack of restorative sleep and altered sleep-wake cycle is a frequent problem among patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of poor sleep and patients perspective of factors governing poor sleep in the ICU. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in medical ICU of a tertiary care hospital. A total of 32 patients admitted to the ICU for at least 24 h were recruited. A 72-h actigraphy was done followed by a subjective assessment of sleep quality by the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ). Patients perspective of sleep quality and quantity and possible risk factors for poor sleep were recorded. Results: Poor sleep (defined as RCSQ <50, sensitivity 88% and specificity 87%) was found in 15 out of the 32 patients (47%). The prevalence of poor sleep was higher among patients on mechanical ventilation (n = 15) (66.7% vs. 33.3%, P < 0.05). Patients with poor sleep had higher age (median age [in years] 42.8 vs. 31.4, P = 0.008), acute physiology, and chronic health evaluation II score (mean 14 ± 5.15 vs. 9.3 ± 5.64, P = 0.02), SAPS 3 score (62.7 ± 8.9 vs. 45.6 ± 10.5, P ≤ 0.0001), and worse actigraphy parameters. Only 55.63% of total sleep time was in the night (2200–0600). All patients had discomfort from indwelling catheters and suctioning of endotracheal tubes. All patients suggested that there be a minimum interruption in the sleep for interventions or medications. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of poor sleep among patients admitted to the ICU. There is a dire need to minimize untimely interventions and design nonpharmacological techniques to allow patients to sleep comfortably.

Levosulpiride-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome in rheumatoid arthritis

A 53-year-old woman, known case of diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis, presented with a 4-day history of hyperthermia, rigidity, tremor and altered sensorium. She developed these symptoms after having been administered parenteral levosulpiride to control vomiting due to secondary adrenal insufficiency. We managed her as a case of life-threatening neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) requiring mechanical ventilation, bromocriptine and other supportive care. She subsequently recovered and was discharged in a stable condition. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented case report describing levosulpiride-induced NMS.

Intravenous immunoglobulin for severe thrombocytopenia in secondary dengue

A 30-year-old woman with severe dengue presented on the sixth day of her illness with life-threatening thrombocytopenia, refractory to multiple platelet transfusions. Dengue IgM antibody and the non-structural-1 antigen tests as of day 3 were negative. The IgG antibody against the same was positive, suggesting a past episode of dengue. Since she had a history of menorrhagia prior to the current illness, a working diagnosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura was made, for which intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) was administered that led to a rapid rise in the platelet count with no adverse events. Subsequently, dengue IgM antibody repeated on day 6 came back positive, confirming dengue. This case report re-emphasises the potential use of IVIg in patients with severe thrombocytopenia in dengue.

Neurocognitive Decline in People Living with HIV in India and Correlation with 3T Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Abstract Background Neurocognitive decline in asymptomatic HIV patients and its correlation with metabolic changes in brain has not been studied in developing countries like India. In the present study we aim to examine the correlation between cognitive decline and changes in brain metabolites using MRS. Methods ART naïve HIV-positive patients, in the age group 2050 years attending ART center of the hospital from July to December 2016 were included in the study. All patients underwent evaluation using MRS of left frontal white matter (FWM) and left basal ganglia (BG). Levels of Nacetyl aspartate (tNAA), choline (tCho), creatine (tCr), lipids and macromolecules at 0.9ppm (Lip09+MM09) were measured. Cognition was tested using a battery validated for Indian population. Locally normalized zscores were used to calculate brain dysfunction score. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between two continuous variables. There were 28 (29% female and 71% male) cases and 30 (37% female and 63% male) controls. Results The mean age was comparable in the 2 groups (33 and 34 years). There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the concentration (mmol/kg) of tNAA (9.29 ± 311 vs. 7.45 ± 0.64), tCho (2.08 ± 0.70 vs. 1.74 ± 0.25), tCr (6.95 ± 2.56 vs. 5.43 ± 0.61), in the FWM and Lip09 + MM09 (5.87 ± 1.05 vs. 4.80 ± 0.35) in BG, with higher levels in controls. There was no significant correlation between CD4 count and metabolites or overall dysfunction score and metabolites except Cr in FWM with more dysfunction associated with lower concentration (see Table 1)Table 1: MR spectrum acquired from FWM of a patient.Graph 1: MR spectrum acquired from FWM of a patient. Conclusion The results show that HIV-associated changes are present in asymptomatic people which may be contributing to the early neurocognitive decline. Knowledge of metabolic changes within studied brain regions can help understand the pathology and design interventions to cater to this unmet need in people living with HIV. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Once Daily Dose of Nevirapine (400 mg) Versus Twice-Daily Dose (200 mg) of Nevirapine-Based Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Regimens in Antiretroviral Naïve Patients with HIV and Tuberculosis Infection in India

Nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among Tuberculosis (TB) co-infected individual is complicated as administration of rifampicin along with Nevirapine reduces the plasma concentration of Nevirapine. The objective of the present study is to compare efficacy and safety of Nevirapine 400 mg once daily (OD) based antiretroviral therapy (ART) with efavirenz based ART and twice daily dose (200 mg) of Nevirapine-based ART regimens in HIV-TB co-infected individuals. ART-naive HIV-TB patients were randomly assigned to receive either Nevirapine 400 mg OD with zidovudine and lamivudine (Group 1; n=30), Nevirapine 200 mg BD (Group 2; n=30), efavirenz 600 mg (Group 3, n=31); Nevirapine 400 mg OD with tenofovir (Group 4; n=30) and Nevirapine 400 mg OD without concomitant antitubercular therapy (ATT) (Group 5; n=30). The end points were virological (viral load), immunological (CD4 count) and clinical responses and progression of HIV disease marked by the failure of ART. Our results suggest that Nevirapine 400 mg OD based therapy is as effective as efavirenz-based ART in terms of clinical, immunological and virological response. Our data suggests that Nevirapine 400 mg OD group had favorable treatment outcome as compared to Nevirapine 200 mg 1 BD group. nWe conclude that Nevirapine 400 mg OD based ART combined with tenofovir and lamivudine could be an effective alternative to improve compliance in the resource-limited settings in patients with HIV-TB co-infection. Further large multicentric study with bigger sample size will be required to confirm these findings.

Periodontal Barrier Membranes: A Review with Case Report

Abstract: Periodontal regeneration is healing after periodontal surgery that results in the formation of new attachment apparatus, consisting of cementum,periodontal ligament(PDL) and alveolar bone. Although the goal of complete and predictable regeneration still remains elusive, many techniques and materials have been developed that show good clinical and histologic outcomes.Advancements in periodontal regenerative armamentarium have encouraged clinicians to aggressively seek this therapeutic goal. Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) is effective in halting tissue and bone destruction and promoting new tissue and bone formation. Reconstructive dental professionals are constantly looking for an edge that jump starts the healing process to maximize predictability as well as quality and quantity of regenerated bone.