Abhishek Kashyap | Sir Seewosagur Ramgoolam Medical College, Mauritius (original) (raw)
Papers by Abhishek Kashyap
Journal of Advances in Internal Medicine, Jul 15, 2023
Nepal Journal of Epidemiology
Background: The objectives of the study were to identify the psychological impact of lockdown on ... more Background: The objectives of the study were to identify the psychological impact of lockdown on medical students due to COVID-19 and to discover the educational perplexities being faced by these students during the lockdown due to COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Medical College (SSRMC), Mauritius. Questions were designed after extensive review of the literature, so that they were relevant to meet the objectives of the study. Results: Out of 700 undergraduate medical students, 663 students participated in the study, this equates to a substantial response rate of 95%. Due to the pandemic 348 (52.5 %) of the students were stationed in their hometown and the remaining 315 (47.5 %) were stationed in Mauritius. 464(70%) of the students suffered from the psychological impact of lockdown whereas 634(95.6%) of the students suffered from the educational impact of lockdown. Mauritian students suffered from a greater educational impact aOR4...
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH, 2020
Introduction: Cancer care studies suggest that being diagnosed with cancer, the patients and thei... more Introduction: Cancer care studies suggest that being diagnosed with cancer, the patients and their families face various hardships such as financial crisis, increased mental stress, difficulty in managing their relationships and routine lifestyle activities. Moreover, psycho-oncological studies also describe the intense distress and disbelief experienced by patients on their initial diagnosis. The role of cancer care needs to be understood as well as implemented in cancer treatment, thus further enriching the insights of the treating oncologist about their patient’s state of mind. This ultimately allows for the betterment of treatment compliance. Aim: To study the experience of cancer patients on their visit to the cancer clinic and the emotional turmoil after diagnosis and throughout treatment. Materials and Methods: A descriptive phenomenological qualitative study was designed and conducted from August to September 2019 at the Oncology Department of Victoria Hospital, Mauritius. P...
Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 2020
COVID-19 remains a threat to the entire world. In an attempt to curb its spread and facilitate it... more COVID-19 remains a threat to the entire world. In an attempt to curb its spread and facilitate its treatment, the technological tool that is Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being researched as a potential alternative to conventional methods. Industrial Revolution 4.0 marks the dawn to the combination of digital, physical and biological systems, by application of digital skills such as Blockchain, Internet of things, Artificial Intelligence and Big data. AI tools in SARS-COV-2 pandemic are highly competitive to human performance, such as rapid screening and diagnosis of the disease, surveilling the efficacy of the treatment, keeping record and depicting active cases and mortality, inventions of medications and vaccines, relieving the workload of healthcare workers and extinguishing the spread of the disease. Contact tracing platforms like Aarogya Setu App, implemented by the Government of India, Australian Government's COVID Safe app, Trace Together- a Bluetooth-based contact tra...
Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
Background: In response to the urgency of increasing death toll due to COVID-19, caused due to SA... more Background: In response to the urgency of increasing death toll due to COVID-19, caused due to SARS CoV-2, various drugs are under clinical trial, as there is no specific drug for its treatment. In an international survey that was recently conducted in which about 7500 physicians participated from all over the world considered that Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin were among the most effective ones for the pharmacotherapy of COVID-19. Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic whose mechanism of action against COVID-19 is still unknown, but various theories have been postulated. In vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted; however, their results are quite contradictory. Azithromycin is said to increase the risk of QT prolongation in elderly patients and when given in combination with Hydroxychloroquine can increase the risk of Torsade’s de pointes. Therefore, caution has to be paid before prescribing Azithromycin. Conclusion: The mass loss of human lives is regrettable and needs...
Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
Background: SARS-CoV-2 is the highly infectious new coronavirus, which has been associated with t... more Background: SARS-CoV-2 is the highly infectious new coronavirus, which has been associated with the pandemic COVID-19. The majority of those pathogenic coronaviruses are benign, namely HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1, and they have been linked to common cases of flu. Two of these viruses namely SARS coronavirus and MERS coronavirus are known to have caused more severe infections. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the Coronaviruses are divided into four groups, which are: Alpha-CoV, Beta -CoV, Gamma-CoV, and Delta -CoV. The Beta- CoV genus is further classified into four lineages, which are referred to as Groups A, B, C, and D. At the genomic level, SARS-CoV-2 has been identified to match with the lineage B of Beta coronavirus. This infection affects the respiratory tract, mainly the lungs' alveoli, and can cause a wide variety of symptoms ranging from discharge from the nose and a sore throat to respiratory distress, septic shock, and failure of multiple organs. To d...
Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 2020
This narrative review of the literature aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the younger age ... more This narrative review of the literature aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the younger age group in terms of the Global mortality of COVID-19 in comparison to Nepal. An extensive literature survey of English literature was conducted using Pubmed, Medline, Google Scholar, Embase, WHO Nepal Situation Updates on COVID-19, Situation update report, Ministry of Health and Population-Nepal from January 25, 2020 to June20, 2020. According to the Ministry of Health and population of The Government of Nepal, as of June 20 , 2020, out of a total of 8,605 laboratory confirmed cases reported to date, the pattern shows that most of the cases fell into the cohort of 21-30 years (37.72%), followed by 11-20 years (24.35 %), 31-40 years (21.97%) and 41-50 years (9.2%). To date Nepal has recorded a total of twenty-two deaths. At first evaluation thesefigures may not strike one as alarming, but on further investigation it is noted that the mean age is 42. 32 ± 19.632 SD years, and out of which ma...
Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
Background:The causative virus of COVID-19 has been named SARS-CoV-2. It is the seventh coronavir... more Background:The causative virus of COVID-19 has been named SARS-CoV-2. It is the seventh coronavirus that is pathogenic to humans and the third in the series of human pathogenic beta coronaviruses. Patient zero was identified to have contracted the virus in Wuhan, China. Shortly after the initial identification of the virus and its symptoms, multiple studies concluded that the virus originated from the “Wuhan seafood market”, a notorious market place for illegal wildlife trade based in Wuhan, a city in the Hubei region of the People’s Republic of China. Globally, as of 7:02 pm CEST, 29 May 2020, there have been 5704736 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 357736 deaths, reported to the WHO. The transmission of COVID-19 is primarily by way of respiratory droplets, which can be developed via means of coughing or sneezing, hence spreading the disease from one person to another person. The research proposed indicates the possibility of bats as being the natural cistern of SARS-CoV-2, h...
Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
Background: In response to the urgency of increasing death toll due to COVID-19, caused due to SA... more Background: In response to the urgency of increasing death toll due to COVID-19, caused due to SARS CoV-2, various drugs are under clinical trial, as there is no specific drug for its treatment. In an international survey that was recently conducted in which about 7500 physicians participated from all over the world considered that Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin were among the most effective ones for the pharmacotherapy of COVID-19. Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic whose mechanism of action against COVID-19 is still unknown, but various theories have been postulated. In vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted; however, their results are quite contradictory. Azithromycin is said to increase the risk of QT prolongation in elderly patients and when given in combination with Hydroxychloroquine can increase the risk of Torsade’s de pointes. Therefore, caution has to be paid before prescribing Azithromycin.
Conclusion: The mass loss of human lives is regrettable and needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Azithromycin could be the future drug for COVID-19, but such limited data is insufficient to support the drug's safety or efficacy and needs to be reconsidered.
Journal of Biomedical Sciences , 2020
SARS-CoV-2 is the highly infectious new coronavirus, which has been associated with the pandemic ... more SARS-CoV-2 is the highly infectious new coronavirus, which has been associated with the pandemic COVID-19. The majority of those pathogenic coronaviruses are benign, namely HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1, and they have been linked to common cases of flu. Two of these viruses namely SARS coronavirus and MERS coronavirus are known to have caused more severe infections. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the Coronaviruses are divided into four groups, which are: Alpha-CoV, Beta -CoV, Gamma-CoV, and Delta -CoV. The Beta- CoV genus is further classified into four lineages, which are referred to as Groups A, B, C, and D. At the genomic level, SARS-CoV-2 has been identified to match with the lineage B of Beta coronavirus. This infection affects the respiratory tract, mainly the lungs' alveoli, and can cause a wide variety of symptoms ranging from discharge from the nose and a sore throat to respiratory distress, septic shock, and failure of multiple organs. To date, millions of people have been affected by the virus. The current mortality rate is around 6%. Early diagnosis is essential to prevent the spread of the infection. An extensive literature review was done using Pubmed, Medline, Pubmed Central, Embase, Goggle Scholar databases from January 20, 2020, till October 20, 2020.
Conclusion: COVID-19 is the third outbreak of a pathogenic human coronavirus, after MERS and SARS. Its high rate of transmissibility has taken a toll on citizens' personal and professional lives globally. The peculiarities of SARS-CoV-2, regarding its genomic uniqueness and the role of Malayan pangolins as intermediate hosts, still demands more research to determine the degree to which they partake in the generation of the pathogenicity and infectiousness of the virus.
Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 2020
COVID-19 remains a threat to the entire world. In an attempt to curb its spread and facilitate it... more COVID-19 remains a threat to the entire world. In an attempt to curb its spread and facilitate its treatment, the technological tool that is Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being researched as a potential alternative to conventional methods. Industrial Revolution 4.0 marks the dawn to the combination of digital, physical and biological systems, by application of digital skills such as Blockchain, Internet of things, Artificial Intelligence and Big data. AI tools in SARS-COV-2 pandemic are highly competitive to human performance, such as rapid screening and diagnosis of the disease, surveilling the efficacy of the treatment, keeping record and depicting active cases and mortality, inventions of medications and vaccines, relieving the workload of healthcare workers and extinguishing the spread of the disease. Contact tracing platforms like Aarogya Setu App, implemented by the Government of India, Australian Government's COVID Safe app, Trace Together- a Bluetooth-based contact tracing app developed in Singapore; based on syndromic mapping/surveillance technology. Artificial intelligence will become a mainstay in both the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 as well as similar pandemics in future. The application and system development will be challenging; the accuracy and rapidity of its use far outweigh this drawback. The current global technological leaders have proven that the retro modification of current data systems and applications have been indispensable in the war on COVID-19, thus permanently securing their development and application in future.
Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, Sep 1, 2020
Introduction: Cancer care studies suggest that being diagnosed with cancer, the patients and thei... more Introduction: Cancer care studies suggest that being diagnosed
with cancer, the patients and their families face various hardships
such as financial crisis, increased mental stress, difficulty in
managing their relationships and routine lifestyle activities.
Moreover, psycho-oncological studies also describe the intense
distress and disbelief experienced by patients on their initial
diagnosis. The role of cancer care needs to be understood as
well as implemented in cancer treatment, thus further enriching
the insights of the treating oncologist about their patient’s state
of mind. This ultimately allows for the betterment of treatment
compliance.
Aim: To study the experience of cancer patients on their visit to
the cancer clinic and the emotional turmoil after diagnosis and
throughout treatment.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive phenomenological
qualitative study was designed and conducted from August
to September 2019 at the Oncology Department of Victoria
Hospital, Mauritius. Participation in the study was voluntary, and
written consent was taken from each of the study participants.
The data was collected on an in-depth one on one interview
basis and was recorded, and the purposive sampling technique
was used for collecting the data.
Results: Out of 12 patients, the male/female ratio equated
to 5:7, these patients were from the ages of 23 to 70 years
and the mean age of the participants was 48.2 years. A total
of 25 different codes were generated in the study, 7 main
themes were established there from (Motivational factors,
Psychological factors, Society, Message for others, Awareness
about the disease, Economic factors and Perception towards
the healthcare environment).
Conclusion: The main implication that emerged from this study
is the notion of the lateral views of informal caregivers, family
members and medical professionals, towards the patient’s
feelings and emotional reactions in respect to their experience
of cancer. It has been noted that the positivity of the caregiver
corresponds directly to positive outcomes in the cancer
treatment whilst simultaneously decreasing the psychological
ramifications of the process.
Malayan Pangolins: The missing piece to the puzzle of COVID- 19, 2020
Letter to Editor, Jul 1, 2020
The novel beta coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in the Wuhan seafood market of C... more The novel beta coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in the Wuhan seafood market of China has viciously spread its roots across 216 countries. Up until the date of this writing (3:47 pm CEST, 7 June 2020), it has infected 6,799,713 people and caused 397,388 deaths globally. [1] SARS-CoV-2 spreads from one person to another, particularly when the latter comes in close contact with an infected patient or is exposed to respiratory droplets produced by coughing or sneezing. These droplets enter the body through the oral cavity, nasal cavity, uncovered eyes, and exposed mucous membrane. [2] In addition to this, the Japanese Association for Infectious Disease has suggested the high possibility of microdroplets transmission of COVID-19. [3] The effortless mode of transmission of COVID-19 has contributed extensively to its spread globally, to the extent our routine life has been brought to a halt, in wait for a potential solution to this disease.
Bats have been known as the natural reservoir of members of the Coronavirus family, including SARS-CoV-2. [4] However, a fact, which has not yet been profoundly explored, is the implication of an intermediate host in the spread of the 7th human coronavirus. Surprisingly, bats were not being sold at the Wuhan seafood market, yet it was where SARS-CoV-2 saw the light of day. [5] This is highly suggestive of the presence of an intermediate host, possibly the Malayan pangolin.
COVID-19: Recent advances in epidemiology, virologyetiopathogenesis, clinical trials and vaccine development, 2020
The changing pattern of COVID-19 in Nepal: A Global concern- A Narrative Review, 2020
This narrative review of the literature aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the younger age ... more This narrative review of the literature aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the younger age group in terms of the Global mortality of COVID-19 in comparison to Nepal. An extensive literature survey of English literature was conducted using Pubmed, Medline, Google Scholar, Embase, WHO Nepal Situation Updates on COVID-19, Situation update report, Ministry of Health and Population-Nepal from January 25, 2020 to June 20, 2020. According to the Ministry of Health and population of The Government of Nepal, as of June 20 , 2020, out of a total of 8,605 laboratory confirmed cases reported to date, the pattern shows that most of the cases fell into the cohort of 21-30 years (37.72%), followed by 11-20 years (24.35 %), 31-40 years (21.97%) and 41-50 years (9.2%). To date Nepal has recorded a total of twenty-two deaths. At first evaluation these figures may not strike one as alarming, but on further investigation it is noted that the mean age is 42. 32 ± 19.632 SD years, and out of which male patients accounted for 77.3% and female accounted for 22.7%. The current situation of COVID-19 and how it develops in Nepal should be closely monitored and could be of international concern as it may be the early indicator of a changing pattern in COVID-19 infections. Nepal may therefore act as a global watch dog, due to the fact that the world could very possibly expose the younger age group under the notion that they are more resilient to the virus, when in reality that notion may be changing. This trend must be monitored and further investigated in order to establish the risk of the events unfolding in Nepal.
Keywords: Coronavirus; COVID-19; Mortality; Nepal; SARS-COV-2; Youth
Scholars Journal of Applied Medical Sciences , 2018
Living in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, technology is a blessing which none can av... more Living in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, technology is a blessing which none can avoid. This article will be focusing on recent advents in the technology of Artificial Intelligence. The article purports to make the case that artificial intelligence is being used and continuously researched upon to make it ready for use in all domains of life and more importantly in the field of medicine where precision can mean life or death of a patient. The article closes with the economic and practical benefits of the use of Artificial Intelligence in the medical diagnostic procedures and the author relies on the works of renowned publicists to establish this case.
Journal of Advances in Internal Medicine, Jul 15, 2023
Nepal Journal of Epidemiology
Background: The objectives of the study were to identify the psychological impact of lockdown on ... more Background: The objectives of the study were to identify the psychological impact of lockdown on medical students due to COVID-19 and to discover the educational perplexities being faced by these students during the lockdown due to COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Medical College (SSRMC), Mauritius. Questions were designed after extensive review of the literature, so that they were relevant to meet the objectives of the study. Results: Out of 700 undergraduate medical students, 663 students participated in the study, this equates to a substantial response rate of 95%. Due to the pandemic 348 (52.5 %) of the students were stationed in their hometown and the remaining 315 (47.5 %) were stationed in Mauritius. 464(70%) of the students suffered from the psychological impact of lockdown whereas 634(95.6%) of the students suffered from the educational impact of lockdown. Mauritian students suffered from a greater educational impact aOR4...
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH, 2020
Introduction: Cancer care studies suggest that being diagnosed with cancer, the patients and thei... more Introduction: Cancer care studies suggest that being diagnosed with cancer, the patients and their families face various hardships such as financial crisis, increased mental stress, difficulty in managing their relationships and routine lifestyle activities. Moreover, psycho-oncological studies also describe the intense distress and disbelief experienced by patients on their initial diagnosis. The role of cancer care needs to be understood as well as implemented in cancer treatment, thus further enriching the insights of the treating oncologist about their patient’s state of mind. This ultimately allows for the betterment of treatment compliance. Aim: To study the experience of cancer patients on their visit to the cancer clinic and the emotional turmoil after diagnosis and throughout treatment. Materials and Methods: A descriptive phenomenological qualitative study was designed and conducted from August to September 2019 at the Oncology Department of Victoria Hospital, Mauritius. P...
Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 2020
COVID-19 remains a threat to the entire world. In an attempt to curb its spread and facilitate it... more COVID-19 remains a threat to the entire world. In an attempt to curb its spread and facilitate its treatment, the technological tool that is Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being researched as a potential alternative to conventional methods. Industrial Revolution 4.0 marks the dawn to the combination of digital, physical and biological systems, by application of digital skills such as Blockchain, Internet of things, Artificial Intelligence and Big data. AI tools in SARS-COV-2 pandemic are highly competitive to human performance, such as rapid screening and diagnosis of the disease, surveilling the efficacy of the treatment, keeping record and depicting active cases and mortality, inventions of medications and vaccines, relieving the workload of healthcare workers and extinguishing the spread of the disease. Contact tracing platforms like Aarogya Setu App, implemented by the Government of India, Australian Government's COVID Safe app, Trace Together- a Bluetooth-based contact tra...
Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
Background: In response to the urgency of increasing death toll due to COVID-19, caused due to SA... more Background: In response to the urgency of increasing death toll due to COVID-19, caused due to SARS CoV-2, various drugs are under clinical trial, as there is no specific drug for its treatment. In an international survey that was recently conducted in which about 7500 physicians participated from all over the world considered that Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin were among the most effective ones for the pharmacotherapy of COVID-19. Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic whose mechanism of action against COVID-19 is still unknown, but various theories have been postulated. In vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted; however, their results are quite contradictory. Azithromycin is said to increase the risk of QT prolongation in elderly patients and when given in combination with Hydroxychloroquine can increase the risk of Torsade’s de pointes. Therefore, caution has to be paid before prescribing Azithromycin. Conclusion: The mass loss of human lives is regrettable and needs...
Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
Background: SARS-CoV-2 is the highly infectious new coronavirus, which has been associated with t... more Background: SARS-CoV-2 is the highly infectious new coronavirus, which has been associated with the pandemic COVID-19. The majority of those pathogenic coronaviruses are benign, namely HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1, and they have been linked to common cases of flu. Two of these viruses namely SARS coronavirus and MERS coronavirus are known to have caused more severe infections. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the Coronaviruses are divided into four groups, which are: Alpha-CoV, Beta -CoV, Gamma-CoV, and Delta -CoV. The Beta- CoV genus is further classified into four lineages, which are referred to as Groups A, B, C, and D. At the genomic level, SARS-CoV-2 has been identified to match with the lineage B of Beta coronavirus. This infection affects the respiratory tract, mainly the lungs' alveoli, and can cause a wide variety of symptoms ranging from discharge from the nose and a sore throat to respiratory distress, septic shock, and failure of multiple organs. To d...
Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 2020
This narrative review of the literature aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the younger age ... more This narrative review of the literature aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the younger age group in terms of the Global mortality of COVID-19 in comparison to Nepal. An extensive literature survey of English literature was conducted using Pubmed, Medline, Google Scholar, Embase, WHO Nepal Situation Updates on COVID-19, Situation update report, Ministry of Health and Population-Nepal from January 25, 2020 to June20, 2020. According to the Ministry of Health and population of The Government of Nepal, as of June 20 , 2020, out of a total of 8,605 laboratory confirmed cases reported to date, the pattern shows that most of the cases fell into the cohort of 21-30 years (37.72%), followed by 11-20 years (24.35 %), 31-40 years (21.97%) and 41-50 years (9.2%). To date Nepal has recorded a total of twenty-two deaths. At first evaluation thesefigures may not strike one as alarming, but on further investigation it is noted that the mean age is 42. 32 ± 19.632 SD years, and out of which ma...
Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
Background:The causative virus of COVID-19 has been named SARS-CoV-2. It is the seventh coronavir... more Background:The causative virus of COVID-19 has been named SARS-CoV-2. It is the seventh coronavirus that is pathogenic to humans and the third in the series of human pathogenic beta coronaviruses. Patient zero was identified to have contracted the virus in Wuhan, China. Shortly after the initial identification of the virus and its symptoms, multiple studies concluded that the virus originated from the “Wuhan seafood market”, a notorious market place for illegal wildlife trade based in Wuhan, a city in the Hubei region of the People’s Republic of China. Globally, as of 7:02 pm CEST, 29 May 2020, there have been 5704736 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 357736 deaths, reported to the WHO. The transmission of COVID-19 is primarily by way of respiratory droplets, which can be developed via means of coughing or sneezing, hence spreading the disease from one person to another person. The research proposed indicates the possibility of bats as being the natural cistern of SARS-CoV-2, h...
Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
Background: In response to the urgency of increasing death toll due to COVID-19, caused due to SA... more Background: In response to the urgency of increasing death toll due to COVID-19, caused due to SARS CoV-2, various drugs are under clinical trial, as there is no specific drug for its treatment. In an international survey that was recently conducted in which about 7500 physicians participated from all over the world considered that Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin were among the most effective ones for the pharmacotherapy of COVID-19. Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic whose mechanism of action against COVID-19 is still unknown, but various theories have been postulated. In vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted; however, their results are quite contradictory. Azithromycin is said to increase the risk of QT prolongation in elderly patients and when given in combination with Hydroxychloroquine can increase the risk of Torsade’s de pointes. Therefore, caution has to be paid before prescribing Azithromycin.
Conclusion: The mass loss of human lives is regrettable and needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Azithromycin could be the future drug for COVID-19, but such limited data is insufficient to support the drug's safety or efficacy and needs to be reconsidered.
Journal of Biomedical Sciences , 2020
SARS-CoV-2 is the highly infectious new coronavirus, which has been associated with the pandemic ... more SARS-CoV-2 is the highly infectious new coronavirus, which has been associated with the pandemic COVID-19. The majority of those pathogenic coronaviruses are benign, namely HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1, and they have been linked to common cases of flu. Two of these viruses namely SARS coronavirus and MERS coronavirus are known to have caused more severe infections. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the Coronaviruses are divided into four groups, which are: Alpha-CoV, Beta -CoV, Gamma-CoV, and Delta -CoV. The Beta- CoV genus is further classified into four lineages, which are referred to as Groups A, B, C, and D. At the genomic level, SARS-CoV-2 has been identified to match with the lineage B of Beta coronavirus. This infection affects the respiratory tract, mainly the lungs' alveoli, and can cause a wide variety of symptoms ranging from discharge from the nose and a sore throat to respiratory distress, septic shock, and failure of multiple organs. To date, millions of people have been affected by the virus. The current mortality rate is around 6%. Early diagnosis is essential to prevent the spread of the infection. An extensive literature review was done using Pubmed, Medline, Pubmed Central, Embase, Goggle Scholar databases from January 20, 2020, till October 20, 2020.
Conclusion: COVID-19 is the third outbreak of a pathogenic human coronavirus, after MERS and SARS. Its high rate of transmissibility has taken a toll on citizens' personal and professional lives globally. The peculiarities of SARS-CoV-2, regarding its genomic uniqueness and the role of Malayan pangolins as intermediate hosts, still demands more research to determine the degree to which they partake in the generation of the pathogenicity and infectiousness of the virus.
Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 2020
COVID-19 remains a threat to the entire world. In an attempt to curb its spread and facilitate it... more COVID-19 remains a threat to the entire world. In an attempt to curb its spread and facilitate its treatment, the technological tool that is Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being researched as a potential alternative to conventional methods. Industrial Revolution 4.0 marks the dawn to the combination of digital, physical and biological systems, by application of digital skills such as Blockchain, Internet of things, Artificial Intelligence and Big data. AI tools in SARS-COV-2 pandemic are highly competitive to human performance, such as rapid screening and diagnosis of the disease, surveilling the efficacy of the treatment, keeping record and depicting active cases and mortality, inventions of medications and vaccines, relieving the workload of healthcare workers and extinguishing the spread of the disease. Contact tracing platforms like Aarogya Setu App, implemented by the Government of India, Australian Government's COVID Safe app, Trace Together- a Bluetooth-based contact tracing app developed in Singapore; based on syndromic mapping/surveillance technology. Artificial intelligence will become a mainstay in both the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 as well as similar pandemics in future. The application and system development will be challenging; the accuracy and rapidity of its use far outweigh this drawback. The current global technological leaders have proven that the retro modification of current data systems and applications have been indispensable in the war on COVID-19, thus permanently securing their development and application in future.
Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, Sep 1, 2020
Introduction: Cancer care studies suggest that being diagnosed with cancer, the patients and thei... more Introduction: Cancer care studies suggest that being diagnosed
with cancer, the patients and their families face various hardships
such as financial crisis, increased mental stress, difficulty in
managing their relationships and routine lifestyle activities.
Moreover, psycho-oncological studies also describe the intense
distress and disbelief experienced by patients on their initial
diagnosis. The role of cancer care needs to be understood as
well as implemented in cancer treatment, thus further enriching
the insights of the treating oncologist about their patient’s state
of mind. This ultimately allows for the betterment of treatment
compliance.
Aim: To study the experience of cancer patients on their visit to
the cancer clinic and the emotional turmoil after diagnosis and
throughout treatment.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive phenomenological
qualitative study was designed and conducted from August
to September 2019 at the Oncology Department of Victoria
Hospital, Mauritius. Participation in the study was voluntary, and
written consent was taken from each of the study participants.
The data was collected on an in-depth one on one interview
basis and was recorded, and the purposive sampling technique
was used for collecting the data.
Results: Out of 12 patients, the male/female ratio equated
to 5:7, these patients were from the ages of 23 to 70 years
and the mean age of the participants was 48.2 years. A total
of 25 different codes were generated in the study, 7 main
themes were established there from (Motivational factors,
Psychological factors, Society, Message for others, Awareness
about the disease, Economic factors and Perception towards
the healthcare environment).
Conclusion: The main implication that emerged from this study
is the notion of the lateral views of informal caregivers, family
members and medical professionals, towards the patient’s
feelings and emotional reactions in respect to their experience
of cancer. It has been noted that the positivity of the caregiver
corresponds directly to positive outcomes in the cancer
treatment whilst simultaneously decreasing the psychological
ramifications of the process.
Malayan Pangolins: The missing piece to the puzzle of COVID- 19, 2020
Letter to Editor, Jul 1, 2020
The novel beta coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in the Wuhan seafood market of C... more The novel beta coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in the Wuhan seafood market of China has viciously spread its roots across 216 countries. Up until the date of this writing (3:47 pm CEST, 7 June 2020), it has infected 6,799,713 people and caused 397,388 deaths globally. [1] SARS-CoV-2 spreads from one person to another, particularly when the latter comes in close contact with an infected patient or is exposed to respiratory droplets produced by coughing or sneezing. These droplets enter the body through the oral cavity, nasal cavity, uncovered eyes, and exposed mucous membrane. [2] In addition to this, the Japanese Association for Infectious Disease has suggested the high possibility of microdroplets transmission of COVID-19. [3] The effortless mode of transmission of COVID-19 has contributed extensively to its spread globally, to the extent our routine life has been brought to a halt, in wait for a potential solution to this disease.
Bats have been known as the natural reservoir of members of the Coronavirus family, including SARS-CoV-2. [4] However, a fact, which has not yet been profoundly explored, is the implication of an intermediate host in the spread of the 7th human coronavirus. Surprisingly, bats were not being sold at the Wuhan seafood market, yet it was where SARS-CoV-2 saw the light of day. [5] This is highly suggestive of the presence of an intermediate host, possibly the Malayan pangolin.
COVID-19: Recent advances in epidemiology, virologyetiopathogenesis, clinical trials and vaccine development, 2020
The changing pattern of COVID-19 in Nepal: A Global concern- A Narrative Review, 2020
This narrative review of the literature aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the younger age ... more This narrative review of the literature aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the younger age group in terms of the Global mortality of COVID-19 in comparison to Nepal. An extensive literature survey of English literature was conducted using Pubmed, Medline, Google Scholar, Embase, WHO Nepal Situation Updates on COVID-19, Situation update report, Ministry of Health and Population-Nepal from January 25, 2020 to June 20, 2020. According to the Ministry of Health and population of The Government of Nepal, as of June 20 , 2020, out of a total of 8,605 laboratory confirmed cases reported to date, the pattern shows that most of the cases fell into the cohort of 21-30 years (37.72%), followed by 11-20 years (24.35 %), 31-40 years (21.97%) and 41-50 years (9.2%). To date Nepal has recorded a total of twenty-two deaths. At first evaluation these figures may not strike one as alarming, but on further investigation it is noted that the mean age is 42. 32 ± 19.632 SD years, and out of which male patients accounted for 77.3% and female accounted for 22.7%. The current situation of COVID-19 and how it develops in Nepal should be closely monitored and could be of international concern as it may be the early indicator of a changing pattern in COVID-19 infections. Nepal may therefore act as a global watch dog, due to the fact that the world could very possibly expose the younger age group under the notion that they are more resilient to the virus, when in reality that notion may be changing. This trend must be monitored and further investigated in order to establish the risk of the events unfolding in Nepal.
Keywords: Coronavirus; COVID-19; Mortality; Nepal; SARS-COV-2; Youth
Scholars Journal of Applied Medical Sciences , 2018
Living in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, technology is a blessing which none can av... more Living in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, technology is a blessing which none can avoid. This article will be focusing on recent advents in the technology of Artificial Intelligence. The article purports to make the case that artificial intelligence is being used and continuously researched upon to make it ready for use in all domains of life and more importantly in the field of medicine where precision can mean life or death of a patient. The article closes with the economic and practical benefits of the use of Artificial Intelligence in the medical diagnostic procedures and the author relies on the works of renowned publicists to establish this case.