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Papers by Chitra Rajalakshmi

Asian journal of pharmaceutical and health sciences, 2014

Journal of Evolution of medical and Dental Sciences, 2013

OBJECTIVE: To find out the prevalent phage groups of Staphylococcus aureus strains (S. Aureus), a... more OBJECTIVE: To find out the prevalent phage groups of Staphylococcus aureus strains (S. Aureus), and find out their correlation with antibiotic resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 104 S. Aureus isolates were obtained from heterogenous clinical samples and their antimicrobial susceptibility was determined against 13 antibiotics by the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method in accordance with the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. They were phage typed by the international set of Staphylococcal phages at the National reference centre, Maulana Azad Medical College (MAM), New Delhi. RESULTS: Phage groups identified during this study period were III, NT, Mixed, II, and I in the order of 36, 34, 26, 5, and 3 (34.7, 32.7, 25 ,4.8, and 2.9 %) respectively. Based on resistance of S. aureus strains to cefoxitin, it was observed that 78(75%) of the S. aureus were MRSA and only 26 (25%) were MSSA. Analysis of Phage groups in relation to MRSA / MSSA revealed maximum numb...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global problem. It is transmitted by blood or body fluids ... more Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global problem. It is transmitted by blood or body fluids like semen, saliva or vaginal secretions (Weiss et al., 2005). Majority of the patients are asymptomatic (Sampietro et al., 1998) and pose great danger of spreading these infections to the society and medical personnel particularly (Choudhary et al., 2005). The seroprevalence of HCV globally ranges between 0.2-2%( Wilber, 1995) with 170 million persons chronically infected and 3-4 million persons infected each year (Shepard et al., 2005). Among Indian blood donors, the seroprevalence varies from 0.48% in Vellore (Issar et al., 1995) to 1.85% in New Delhi (Panigrahi et al., 1997).

Asian Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Feb 16, 2014

The study was undertaken to analyse the prevalence of Enteric fever in patients with suspected en... more The study was undertaken to analyse the prevalence of Enteric fever in patients with suspected enteric fever, presenting with Pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO), utilizing slide agglutination test (Tydal-Tulip Diagnostics). Out of 1985 samples received, 542 (27.3 %) were positive for Enteric fever. The agglutinins to S.typhi were the most prevalent among the sera of various dilutions (47% for O antigen and 46.7% for H antigen). The levels of agglutinins for Salmonella paratyphi AH and BH were very low (only 4.8% and 1.5% for the AH and BH antigens respectively).Though statistically insignificant, the incidence of Enteric fever was found to be highest in age group 21-40 years (36%) followed by <20 years (30.4%) with a slight female predominance (p value≥0.05).

Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2013

Ocular dirofilariasis is a zoonotic filariasis caused by nematode worm,Dirofilaria. We present a ... more Ocular dirofilariasis is a zoonotic filariasis caused by nematode worm,Dirofilaria. We present a case of dirofilariasis affecting the upper eyelid in a 2-year-old child presenting as an acutely inflammed cyst, from southern Indian state of Kerala. Live adult worm was surgically removed and confirmed to be Dirofilaria repens. Live worm showing continuous movement was seen on the pre-operative high-resolution ultrasound. Ultrasound can be helpful in pre-operative identification of live worm.Imaging findings reported in literature are very few. We describe the clinical, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings.

Indian journal of ophthalmology, 1998

Anterior chamber aspirate cultures were done for 66 patients who underwent either an uncomplicate... more Anterior chamber aspirate cultures were done for 66 patients who underwent either an uncomplicated intracapsular cataract extraction, extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior-chamber intraocular lens implantation, or phacoemulsification with posterior-chamber intraocular lens implantation. The aspirate was obtained at the time of wound closure. The aspirates were immediately transferred to the microbiology laboratory where one drop of the aspirate was placed on a glass slide for gram stain, and the remainder was unequally divided and inoculated into blood agar, chocolate agar and thioglycolate broth. The cultures were incubated at 37 degrees C with 5% CO2 and held for 5 days. Of 66 patients 4 (6%), had smear-positive anterior chamber aspirates. None of the aspirates showed any growth on any of the 3 culture media used. None of the eyes in the study developed endophthalmitis. This study concludes that there is no contamination of the anterior chamber by viable bacteria after ...

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mor... more Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. 80% of acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) are triggered by respiratory viruses, atypical bacteria, and aerobic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The aim of our study was to analyze the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Klebsiella pneumoniae and detection of extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL)-producing K. pneumoniae isolates from COPD patients. Methods: Sputum samples received from seventy-five diagnosed cases of COPD from the department of General Medicine and Chest Medicine, TSRM MCH and RC, Trichy, from March 2022 to August 2022. Direct Gram stain was done for all sputum samples. The suitable sputum samples were cultured. The identification of organism and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done by standard microbiological techniques. Results: Out of seventy-five cases, 64% were ...

Background: Infection with the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a global health problem. Epidemiologica... more Background: Infection with the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a global health problem. Epidemiological studies worldwide show wide variations in the prevalence patterns of the Hepatitis B infections. Early detection can contribute substantially to the timely diagnosis of the patients with acute illnesses and to an early treatment and hence, it can limit the transmission of the infection. Aim: To provide a baseline data on the prevalence of Hepatitis B among the patients who were attending Chennai Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Trichy, Tamilnadu, over a period of 4 years (2010-2013). Methods: This was a retrospective study which was carried out among 19,513 patients who were attending the rural tertiary care teaching hospital, Trichy, over a period of 4 years (January 2010 – December 2013). The sera were screened for the presence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by HEPACARD. Those found positive on screening test were confirmed by Enzyme linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (...

Purpose: To evaluate the nature and prevalence of ocular manifestations in a group of patients wi... more Purpose: To evaluate the nature and prevalence of ocular manifestations in a group of patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) from South India, and to elaborate the impact of the disease on existing health agencies. Methods: We examined 19 consecutive patients with AIDS (Group-A) who presented to our centre. After counselling, HIV screening tests were also performed on 8 individuals related to the patients and those who were seropositive (Group-B) were examined for ophthalmic lesions. Results:In Group-A, HIV retinopathy was present in 34%, CMV retinitis in 39%, Herpes Simplex-related Acute Retinal Necrosis (ARN) and retinitis in 11%, tubercular choroiditis in 11%, while Herpes Zoster retinitis and presumed P. carinii choroidopathy each were observed in 2.5% of the eyes. Results of screening tests in Group-B revealed HIV-seropositive asymptomatic status in 6 (75%) of them with no ocular manifestations. Conclusion: HIV retin...