Seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and predictors of seropositivity among employees of a teaching hospital in New Delhi, India

Pragya Sharma,Rohit Chawla,Ritika Bakshi,Sonal Saxena,Saurav Basu,Pradeep Kumar Bharti,Meera Dhuria,S. K. Singh,Panna Lal 질병관리본부 2021 Osong Public Health and Research Persptectives Vol.12 No.2

Objectives: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at a high risk of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) due to the increased likelihood of clinical exposure during patient management. The study objective was to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and its predictors among hospital employees. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at a teaching hospital from August 2020 to September 2020 among 1,401 employees, including 1,217 HCWs, in New Delhi, India. The serum samples were examined for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 using the COVID Kavach-Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibody Detection enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Data were collected electronically using the EpiCollect mobile platform. A p<0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: A total of 169 participants (12.1%) had detectable IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The highest seropositivity rate was observed in the administrative staff (20.1%), while it was lowest among medical doctors (5.5%, p<0.001). Male sex and ever having lived in a containment zone were independently associated with past infection with SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health workers may be lower than in the general population in New Delhi. However, nonpharmaceutical interventions were not associated with a reduction in the risk of acquisition of SARS-CoV-2.

Seroprevalence of immunoglobulin G antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents in Delhi, India, from January to October 2021: a repeated cross-sectional analysis

Pragya Sharma,Saurav Basu,Suruchi Mishra,Mongjam Meghachandra Singh 질병관리본부 2022 Osong Public Health and Research Persptectives Vol.13 No.3

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess changes in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunoglobulin G (IgG) seroprevalence among children and adolescents in Delhi, India from January 2021 to October 2021Methods: This was a repeated cross-sectional analysis of participants aged 5 to 17 years from 2 SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence surveys conducted in Delhi, India during January 2021 and September to October 2021. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were detected by using the VITROS assay (90% sensitivity, 100% specificity).Results: The seroprevalence among 5- to 17-year-old school-age children and adolescents increased from 52.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 51.3%−54.3%) in January 2021 to 81.8% (95% CI, 80.9%−82.6%) in September to October 2021. The assay-adjusted seroprevalence was 90.8% (95% CI, 89.8%−91.7%). Seropositivity positively correlated with participants’ age (p<0.001), but not sex (p=0.388). A signal to cut-off ratio ≥4.00, correlating with the presence of neutralization antibodies, was observed in 4,814 (57.9%) participants.Conclusion: The high percentage of seroconversion among children and adolescents indicates the presence of natural infection-induced immunity from past exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, the lack of hybrid immunity and the concomitant likelihood of lower levels of neutralization antibodies than in adults due to the absence of vaccination warrants careful monitoring and surveillance of infection risk and disease severity from newer and emergent variants.

Clinical and Social Outcomes of Cochlear Implantation in Older Prelinguals

Tyagi Pragya,Chauhan Divya,Singh Anup,Bhutada Mayank,Sikka Kapil,Chaudhary Tanvi,Sharma Sonam,Agarwal Shivani,Verma Hitesh,Sagar Prem,Kumar Rakesh,Thakar Alok 대한청각학회 2023 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.27 No.2

Background and Objectives: Cochlear implantation in late implanted prelinguals necessitates a complex decision-making process for clinicians and patients due to the uncertainty of achieving adequate benefit in auditory and speech perception. This study longitudinally evaluated clinical and social outcomes of prelingually deaf children with implantation in their late childhood.Subjects and Methods: A total of 113 (49 females and 64 males) participants, with an age range of 5-15 years, were assessed for the pre-implant parameters such as hearing loss etiology, aided responses, anatomical aspects, and psychological evaluation. The Category of Auditory Performance, Speech Awareness Threshold, Speech Reception Threshold, and Speech Discrimination Score were administered to assess the patient’s auditory skills. Further, the Speech Intelligibility Rating scale was administered to evaluate the patient’s speech intelligibility at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months post-surgery. Subjectively perceived benefits were evaluated using the satisfaction rating scale and a questionnaire.Results: The statistical results showed a significant impact of cochlear implantation in all domains. Positive impact and improvement post-implantation were noted in all the spheres, including auditory, linguistic, social, and educational.Conclusions: The study highlighted that the outcomes of a cochlear implant at a later age might not parallel with the implantation at a younger age. However, this still provides measurable benefits even after a longer period of auditory deprivation.

The dilemma of differentiating between acute hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis B with acute exacerbation: Is quantitative serology the answer?

Sujata Lall,Pragya Agarwala,Guresh Kumar,Manoj Kumar Sharma,Ekta Gupta 대한간학회 2020 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.26 No.2

Background/Aims: Acute exacerbations of chronic hepatitis B (CHB-AEs) are common in endemic areas and are often presumed to be acute hepatitis B (AHB) due to their similarities in clinical and serological pictures, presenting a major diagnostic dilemma. This study aimed to identify laboratory markers for differentiating between the two groups, and to establish the cut-off value for significant markers. Methods: A retrospective analysis of records was conducted for patients who presented with clinical features of acute hepatitis along with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (IgM anti-HBc) positivity from May 2015 to May 2017. A total of 172 patients were enrolled and grouped as AHB (n=89) and CHB-AE (n=83) based on their history of hepatitis B virus infection and duration of HBsAg persistence. Virological and biochemical parameters were analyzed and compared. Cut-off values, sensitivity, and specificity of the variables were calculated. Results: The median value of signal by cut-off (S/Co) ratio for IgM anti-HBc was significantly higher in AHB group (30.44) compared to CHB-AE group (8.63) with a sensitivity and specificity of 97% and 84%, respectively, at a cut-off of 20.5 (P<0.01). The mean international normalized ratio (INR) was significantly greater in CHB-AE (1.88±1.24) group compared to AHB group (1.62±0.17) with a sensitivity and specificity of 57.9% and 45.1%, respectively, at a cut-off value of 1.27. Conclusions: A value of 20.5 S/Co of IgM anti-HBc and 1.27 INR could be helpful in differentiating between AHB and CHB-AE.

Physicochemical characterization of naproxen microcrystals for colon specific pulsatile drug delivery designed using pulsincap technique

Ravi Bhattarai,Rocky Thapaliya,Kailash Shrestha,Asmita Sharma,Neelam Dhakal,Pragya Manandhar,Sahana Shrestha 한국약제학회 2019 Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation Vol.49 No.5

Colon targeted pulsatile drug delivery system of naproxen microcrystals (NMs) was developed using pulsincap technique in order to match release of drug with circadian rhythm of the clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. NMs were prepared by anti-solvent precipitation method using various solubilizers, viz, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC K4M), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP K-30) and polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) in order to enhance solubility of drug. Solubility analysis revealed SLS and HPMC K4M as suitable solubilizers for improving solubility of drug. Thus, NMs embedded with same solubilizers at 0.01% w/w were subjected for further evaluation. Particle size, surface morphology, degree of crystallinity and purity were determined for NMs. Pulsincap formulations were prepared by incorporating granulates of NMs inside formaldehyde treated body of hard gelatin capsules which were plugged using HPMC K15M at various concentrations. Drug release studies were performed in simulated gastric, intestinal and colonic fluid for 2, 4 and 2.5 h respectively in a successive manner. In vitro release data revealed that a capsule containing 35 mg of HPMC K15M exhibited complete drug release after lag time of 6 h. HPMC K4M as superior solubility enhancer for naproxen in multiparticulate microcrystals was also revealed from release studies.