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New Delhi, September 03, 2018
The Health Ministry has issued draft rules on sale of drugs by e-pharmacy to regulate online sale of medicines across the country and to also provide patients accessibility to genuine drugs from authentic online portals. The draft rules on “sale of drugs by e-pharmacy” state that no person will distribute or sell, stock, exhibit or offer for sale of drugs through e-pharmacy portal unless registered… (ET Healthworld-PTI, Sept. 2, 2018).
Think before you prescribe: Monitor electrolytes in hypertensive patients on thiazide diuretics. The effectiveness of thiazide diuretics in hypertensive patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially those with a glomerular filtration rate less than 30 ml/min/1.73 m2, has been of concern. Consequently, they were thought to be ineffective in patients with advanced CKD.
Studies have documented the beneficial effects of thiazide diuretics in moderate to advanced CKD challenging this widely held belief. Chlorthalidone was found to significantly reduce BP among people with moderate to advanced CKD with poorly controlled hypertension in a small study. Albuminuria was significantly reduced by 40-45% (Am J Nephrol. 2014;39(2):171-82). But, the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline for treatment of hypertension recommend loop diuretics in patients with moderate to severe CKD.
Thiazide diuretics are a common cause of hyponatremia. When prescribed to elderly patients who are also taking drugs e.g. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the resulting hyponatremia can be more severe. Hence, electrolytes should be monitored in these patients.
Obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of gout. The risk of incident gout among OSA patients compared to those without was highest one to two years after index date (1.64). This finding persisted among those overweight and obese (August 30, 2018 in Arthritis and Rheumatology).
Boarding a moving train should be an offence, says Gujarat High Court. The Court denied compensation to a sweeper who lost his leg while trying to board a running train, and said that boarding a moving train should be an offence, especially when the train has left the station and if a passenger sustains injury while boarding a train in motion, he will not get compensation. “This aspect can be looked into by the legislation in accordance with law,” the order reads.
Cardiac surgeries are most costly in India than other Asian countries, according to a study reported in TOI. The study conducted between 2011 and 2014 compared the costs of cardiac procedures across seven Asian countries and showed that India had the highest cost of angioplasty other than in Singapore, but that was before the prices of cardiac stents were capped by the pharmaceutical pricing regulator in 2017. The cost of most procedures in India was cheaper than in China or Thailand but more expensive than in South Korea and Vietnam.
Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Goa have more doctors than the WHO norm of one for 1,000 people. The density of doctors per 1,000 people in Tamil Nadu is as high as 4, almost at the same level as Norway and Sweden. In Delhi, the density is 3, higher than the UK, US, Canada and Japan, where it ranges from 2.3 to 2.8.
TB Harega Desh Jeetega … The Health Ministry has launched an active case finding campaign with Mobile TB vans, to reduce transmission time of tuberculosis. This campaign has shown effective result in screening and diagnosis of TB patients. Between January 2017 and July 2018, 10.31 crore population were screened and 39,437 new TB cases were diagnosed.
Listening to yoga music at bedtime is good for the heart, according to research presented August 27, 2018 at the ESC Congress 2018. The heart rate variability increased during the yoga music, decreased during the pop music, and did not significantly change during the silence. Anxiety levels fell significantly after the yoga music, increased significantly post the pop music, and increased after the no music session.
Video to watch: TEDx Talks
Dr KK Aggarwal: Modern day doctor-patient relationship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
Vice President CMAAO
President HCFI
HealthySoch
