Publication Details:
Bhat, A., Rao, S. S., Bhat, S., Vidyalakshmi, K., & Dhanashree, B. (2023). Molecular diagnosis of bacterial and viral diarrhoea using multiplex-PCR assays: An observational prospective study among paediatric patients from India. Indian journal of medical microbiology, 41, 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmmb.2023.01.002
Quartile 4; Impact factor - 1.34
Publication Link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1gTX5v--5w1pQ

Grant Details

The present study is a hospital-based prospective multidisciplinary study. Objectives of the study are a. To study the utility of flow cytometry (FCM) analysis of CD64 ratio expressed on neutrophil,lymphocyte and monocyte subsets in diagnosis of early onset neonatal sepsis(NS) in neonatal intensive care unit(NICU). b. To study role of serum C-reactive protein(CRP), hematological scoring system(HSS) and serum procalcitonin(sPCT) in the diagnosis of NS. c. To correlate CD64 expression,CRP,sPCT and blood culture with clinical findings. Inclusion criteria included study population of neonates born to those pregnant women who were considered high risk mothers due to various risk factors that contributed to development of NS and admitted for delivery. Neonates born to these mothers, will be assessed in the first 3 days of birth to look for EONS.

Various tests such as CBC,IT ratio,ANC, platelet indices, sPCT, CRP and blood culture have been used to diagnose neonatal sepsis either singly or in any combinations. These tests either lack sensitivity or specificity or tests like blood culture takes longer time which delays the initiation of antibiotic or results in usage of broad spectrum antibiotics. Thus, the need for a test for early diagnosis of NS that has got high sensitivity and specificity. CD64 expression is a rapid yet accurate method to detect early sepsis and when combined with sPCT can be a significant diagnostic tool. We believe that utility of CD64 to diagnose NS has implication on antibiotic stewardship for timely initiation or termination of antibiotic therapy in NICU.

Publication Details:

Presentation Details:
E-poster presentation at 48th Annual National Conference of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine – IAPSMCON 2021, held from 19th -21st March 2021, organized by PGIMER, Chandigarh – Virtual conference

Awards:
Awarded 2nd prize in e-poster category for “Evaluation of microbial quality of household drinking water samples from coastal community of Southern Karnataka”, at the 48th Annual National Conference of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine – IAPSMCON 2021, held from 19th-21st March 2021, organized by PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Grant Details

Title of Project	Agency	Grant Amount
Socio-cultural and environmental drivers of antibiotic resistance in the community: people, physicians and pharmacists’ perspective – a mixed methods approach.	ICMR	INR 27,20,933/-

PhD Student Trained : 2

Publication Details:
1. Shilia Jacob Kurian, Sonal Sekhar Miraj, Ruby Benson, Murali Munisamy, Kavitha Saravu, Gabriel Sunil Rodrigues, Mahadev Rao. Vitamin D Supplementation in Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Current Perspective. Current Diabetes Reviews. 2021;17(4):512-521. doi: 10.2174/1573399816999201012195735.
Quartile 2; Impact factor - 1.953
Publication Link: https://www.eurekaselect.com/186815/article

2. Ruby Benson, Mazhuvancherry Kesavan Unnikrishnan, Shilia Jacob Kurian, Saleena Ummer Velladath, Gabriel Sunil Rodrigues, Raghu Chandrashekar Hariharapura, Anju Muraleedharan, Dinesh Bangalore Venkateshiah, Barnini Banerjee, Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay, Aieshel Serafin Johnson, Murali Munisamy, Mahadev Rao, Benson Mathai Kochikuzhyil, Sonal Sekhar Miraj. Vitamin D attenuates biofilm-associated infections via immunomodulation and cathelicidin expression: a narrative review, Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy 2023;21(1): 15-27. DOI: 10.1080/14787210.2023.2151439
Quartile 1; Impact factor - 5.854
Publication Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14787210.2023.2151439

3. Sonal Sekhar Miraj, Shilia Jacob Kurian, Gabriel Sunil Rodrigues, Kavitha Saravu, Mahadev Rao, Siba Prasad Raychaudhury, Bernard W. Downs, Debasis Bagchi. Phytotherapy in Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Promising Strategy for Effective Wound Healing. Journal of American College of Nutrition. 2023;42(3): 295-310 (IF: 3.571 ; Q2)
Quartile 2; Impact factor - 3.571
Publication Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2022.2034069

4. Shilia Jacob Kurian, Tejaswini Baral, Mazhuvancherry K Unnikrishnan, Ruby Benson, Murali Munisamy, Kavitha Saravu, Gabriel Sunil Rodrigues, Mahadev Rao, Amit Kumar, Sonal Sekhar Miraj.The association between Micronutrient levels and Diabetic Foot Ulcer: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023; . 14:1152854. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1152854
Quartile 2; Impact factor - 6.055
Publication Link: https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1152854

Presentation Details
Title of presentation: Vitamin D Supplements in Diabetic Foot Infection: A Prospective Observational Study in a Tertiary Healthcare Facility
Authors: Sonal Sekhar M, Gabriel Sunil Rodrigues, Shilia Jacob Kurian
Conference: 3rd Manipal International Infectious Disease Conference on 10-11 August 2019 at Manipal

Grant Details

Title of Project	Agency/scheme	Grant Amount
Effect of Vitamin Supplements and Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in South-Indian Patients with Diabetic Foot Infections	ICMR SRF	Rs. 14,20,800/-
Effect of vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D receptor gene expression and wound healing in diabetic foot ulcer patients infected with biofilm forming organism	IMF, MAHE	Rs. 3,90,000/-
Effect of vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D receptor gene expression and wound healing in diabetic foot ulcer patients infected with biofilm forming organism - a prospective cohort study	DHR-Grant-in-Aid (GHA) scheme	INR 34,06,368

Design and evaluation of a nanogel formulation for biofilm based burn infections

The study was performed to identify the possible targets of bacterial signaling process that can be exploited to develop antibiofilm therapeutics. With the help of computational biology, we were successful in designing a hypothesis and screening the molecules available in the database. Since the procurement of these molecules were beyond the reach of our project similar molecules were synthesized in the laboratory. These molecules were tested in the lab and were found to be effective in standard organisms procured from national repositories a topical formulation was developed and tested on reference strains. However, due to the outbreak of the pandemic, the formulation could not be tested in the clinical isolates.

HLA molecules are involved in induction and regulation of immune responses, but are associated with disease too. HLA-B*5701 allele carriage has been strongly associated with hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir (ABC) with up to 100% positive predictive value. Occurrence (<5%) of hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) has restricted the usage of ABC.A prospective study was conducted to assess the frequency of HLAB*57:01 allele carriage by DNA Microarray among 52 HIV-1 infected individuals attending HIV clinic and to document the usage of ABC and its adverse event profile. The mean age of the study subjects was 49 yrs, with majority of them males (67%). Antiretroviral therapy was started in 90% patients. The most frequent ART regimen (60%) instituted was a combination of 2 NRTIs and 1 NNRTI. Mean CD4+ lymphocyte cell count was 480 cells/cu.mm. HIV-1 viral load of less than 1000 copies/mL was found in 67% study subjects. HLA-B*57:01 carriage was seen in 2 (3.8%) patients who were not on ABC based ART regimen currently or in the past. Even though low sample size was a limitation, the frequency rate which we found reflects the prevalence rates found in earlier studies (ASSURE) including those from India.

The frequency of ABC usage in our hospital setting was found to be low. During the study period, 10 patients were found to be on ABC based ART regimen, including 6 patients for whom HLAB*57:01 testing was performed. Tenofovir induced renal adverse effects (50%), chronic kidney disease (30%) and hepatitis with dolutegravir based regimen (20%) were the reasons for introduction of ABC. None of the patients on ABC had experienced signs or symptoms suggestive of ABC-associated HSR.

Predicting the occurrence of ABC HSR or its avoidance through HLA-B*57:01 screening is possible. Considering the evidence of varied prevalence of HLAB*57:01 across different racial and ethnic populations and gender wise differences in allele carriage, it is appropriate that multi-centric studies across India may be planned to know the HLAB*57:01 prevalence rates across different geographical regions of our country among HIV-infected individuals. Cost can be a limiting factor for HLAB*57:01 screening which needs consideration. Kit based microarray testing seems to require relatively less technical expertise and also allows easy analysis of results compared to other molecular typing methods. Screening for HLA-B*5701 allele carriage among HIV-infected patients should be performed before initiation of therapy with ABC-containing regimens. There is further scope to work on the role of various HLA phenotypes and clinical outcomes in HIV infection in Indian settings.