ICMR drafts guidelines for doctors to perform CPR on cardiac patients

New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has drafted a guide for doctors to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on a patient with cardiac arrest.

The apex medical research body has drafted a position paper on Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) with the help of a multi-disciplinary team of experts, which would act as a guide for treating physicians to take the decision whether or not to perform the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on the background of incurable disease where the patients chances of survival are extremely low… (ET Healthworld – ANI, December 3, 2019)

एंटीरेट्रोवाइरल थैरेपी (एआरटी) से एचआईवी पॉजिटिव मरीज के पार्टनर को इस स्थिति से बचाया जा सकता है

दिल्ली:- (आरजेएस पाॅजिटिव मीडिया रिपोर्ट) भारत को बीमारी मुक्त बनाने की दिशा में काम कर रहे अग्रणी स्वयंसेवी संगठन हार्ट केयर फाउंडेशन ऑफ इंडिया द्वारा वर्ल्ड एड्स डे पर एक जागरूकता कार्यक्रम का आयोजन एशियाड विलेज कार्यालय पर किया गया। इस कार्यक्रम में एचआईवी पॉजिटिव मरीज भी सहभागी हुए। कार्यक्रम के मुख्य अतिथि डीएसएसी के एडिशनल प्रोजेक्ट डायरेक्टर डॉ प्रवीण कुमार रहे। इस कार्यक्रम का उद्देश्य इस बात की जानकारी देना था कि एचआईवी मरीज को दिए जाने वाले उपचार से न केवल उसकी स्थिति का प्रबंधन किया जा सकता है, बल्कि उनके पार्टनर को भी बचाया जा सकता है। ....read more

High-Protein Diet May not be Safe

(Excerpts from Medscape): Even a high-protein diet, often recommended to lose weight or build muscles can be harmful to normally functioning kidneys as per two separate new studies from the Netherlands and Korea, published online in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. Many earlier studies have shown that a high-protein diet may harm kidney function, and this is why doctors recommend kidney patients a low-protein diet.

The high-protein culture (Atkins, Zone, South Beach, and Ketogenic diets) involve daily protein intake of 20% to 25% or more of the total daily energy intake. As per the studies one should avoid recommending high-protein intake for weight loss in obese or diabetic patients, or those with prior cardiovascular events, or a solitary kidney if kidney health cannot be adequately protected...read more

Spirituality The Key To Health

To stay healthy, we must eat right, get plenty of exercise and rest, and avoid bad habits such as smoking. But, now it is said that “what you believe in” can have a big impact on health and longevity. There have been a lot of studies that show how patients with strong spirituality can improve their health from a variety of chronic conditions, like hypertension, heart disease, recover from surgery and more. ....read more

Healthcare News Monitor

Swedish firms interested in Ayushman Bharat data to develop new medicines in India

Business Today – PTI

The scale of Modi governments flagship Ayushman Bharat has attracted Swedish pharmaceutical industry which is exploring to use data from the health scheme for the development of better medicines here, Swedish Minister Ibrahim Baylan said Tuesday. Underlining pharmaceuticals as one of the areas of co-operation between the two countries, the minister for business, industry and innovation said Swedish pharmaceutical companies have "innovations that hold huge potential" but what India has and the nordic country does not is masses. "Data collected will be so important. The new ambition that Indian government has for additionally 500 million people getting health care and Swedish know how, if that can be linked and utilised in a way that it will also (help) develop new medicines...it has huge potential," Baylan said. He is accompanying Swedish Royal Couple King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on their five-day state visit to India. Ayushman Bharat is Indias national health protection scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families. The minister lauded tax reforms initiated by India during the last few years, saying such measures are huge steps for a country which is so big and diverse.

Northeastern states to step up efforts to curb drug menace

The New Indian Express – IANS

The eight northeastern states on Tuesday decided to intensify their efforts to curb the drug menace as the region, bordering China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, has turned into a corridor for drug smuggling, a police official said. Police chiefs of all the northeastern states held a meeting here on Tuesday. Senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana, Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau, presided over the day-long meeting. Senior officials of the Border Security Force (BSF), Assam Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force, intelligence agencies and other law enforcing agencies also attended the meeting. "The meeting decided to intensify coordinated efforts among the law enforcing agencies of the northeastern states to curb the drug menace," a top Tripura police official told IANS on condition of anonymity. He said that the meeting also decided to share information and intelligence inputs related to drug smuggling across the border among various security and intelligence agencies. While talking to IANS, BSF Tripura frontier Inspector General Solomon Yash Kumar Minz admitted that the India-Myanmar border with Mizoram and Manipur was the main transit route for smuggling of yaba tablets and other drugs. Only 250 km (with West Bengal) out of the northeasts 5,687 km outer perimeter touches India. The remaining 5,437 km represents international boundaries with China (1,300), Myanmar (1,643 km), Bangladesh (1,880 km), Bhutan (516 km) and Nepal (98 km).

DCGI directs state DCs to take action against online pharmacies based on Delhi HC order

Pharmabiz India - Yash Ved

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr V G Somani has directed state drug controllers (DCs) to take stringent action against online pharmacies based on the Delhi High Court (HC) verdict. The DCGI has given the directive based on the Delhi HC order dated December 12, 2018 in a petition filed by Dr Zaheer Ahmed against Union of India on online sales of prescription drugs in violation of Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Act. The order further stated that Union of India has been granted four weeks time to file the counter affidavit. "Arvind Nigam, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner Dr Zaheer Ahmed submits that online sale of drugs is prohibited in law. There is no control and the sale is being done in total violation of the statutory provisions, namely, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. That apart, Arvind Nigam invites attention to the draft rules prepared and circulated wherein online dispensation of drugs is prohibited,” the court observed. The court further stated, “Arvind Nigam also invites attention of the Union of India to an interim order passed by the Madras High Court (HC) on October 31, 2018 wherein taking note of all these factors and the seriousness of the issue and the public cause involved , interim injunction has been granted with regard to online sale of medicines and the competent authority has been directed to stall such online sales forthwith. We see no reasons as why similar directions be not issued in the present case.”

Ayurvedic doctor arrested for gender test, forgery

The Times of India- TNN

Chandigarh: Jhajjar police have arrested an ayurvedic medical practitioner for facilitating ultrasound examination of an expectant mother for sex determination test. The accused charged Rs 15,000 and even forged a slip to get the test done. Identified as Deepak Dahiya, the accused was arrested under various sections of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act and forgery in a case registered on the complaint of Dr Anchal, head of the PCPNDT team of Jhajjar. According to police, acting on a tip off that Deepak facilitated families get banned gender test done, a district-level committee roped in an expectant mother as decoy. Initially, Dahiya had demanded an amount of Rs 25,000 but later the deal was finalised for Rs 15,000. On Monday, he forged a referral slip using the rubber stamp of his female colleague for the purpose of ultrasound. He took the decoy to a ultrasound centre where scanning was done. Later, when contacted by decoy, Dahiya told her that report was negative and the pregnancy could not be terminated as it was risky. Reportedly, it was a way of disclosing the sex of the fetus. Soon after the conversation, a team of health officials rounded up Dr Deepak Dahiya and another team raided the ultrasound centre where the decoy was taken for the ultrasound scan. “An amount of Rs 15,000 was recovered from Dahiya and the conversation confirmed his involvement in the violation of PNDT Act and referral slip proved that its was forged one. The doctor whose signed were forged was found to be on leave. We had recorded the statement of the owner of the hospital where Dahiya worked. He has been arrested and further investigations are in progress,’’ said a police official.