Aim: Assess the prevalence of Herpes Simplex Type 2 (HSV-2) infections in pregnant women in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: There were a total of one hundred pregnant women that participated in this research. 5 ml blood samples were obtained using vein puncture and placed in a sterile plain tube. These samples were then allowed to clot for 30 minutes before being centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes. Each of the resulting serums was placed in a fresh vial, given a label, and kept at a temperature of -20 degrees Celsius until it was time for the ELISA analysis. In order to determine whether or not the serum included HSV-2 IgG antibodies, an HSV-2 specific IgG ELISA test kit was used. Results: In this research, 100 pregnant women were recruited. HSV-2 infection was found in 40% of people. The largest infected group was pregnant women under the age of 25, with 57.14 percent infected, and the lowest in older age groups. Housewives had the greatest prevalence (71.79 percent), followed by private workers (32%), while government employees had the lowest seroprevalence (8.33 percent). The relationship between viral infection and employment was statistically significant (p≤ 0.05).

Introduction: Fibreoptic Bronchoscopy (FOB) is the gold standard for diagnosis of endobronchial diseases, an invasive procedure not without risks. Computed Tomography (CT) illustration of thoracic anatomy provides guidance in sampling procedure for diagnosis of endobronchial disease through FOB. Yet, in real life scenario, we find discrepancy between findings of CT and bronchoscopy which necessitates the patients to undergo second invasive procedure for a definitive diagnosis. Aim: To assess the diagnostic validity of CT imaging in diagnosing endobronchial diseases by comparing with FOB findings and to correlate FOB findings with pathological results. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional retrospective analysis over six years in a tertiary care centre from January 2012 to December 2018. The findings on CT and FOB were classified as normal, abnormal mucosa, mass and extrinsic compression. FOB samples were sent for pathological examination. Results: A total of 426 patients were included in the study. The sensitivity of CT for presence of normal bronchus, abnormal mucosa, mass and extrinsic compression was 93.03%, 27.50%, 89.00% and 59.52% and specificity was 91.76%, 98.45%, 89.88% and 94.79%, respectively. Pathological diagnosis was obtained in 135(97.12%) out of 139 cases. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common 62 (41.01%) histological diagnosis. Conclusion: Computed Tomography (CT) thorax imaging has good sensitivity and specificity to detect endobronchial mass but has poor sensitivity for detection of extrinsic compression and mucosal abnormalities in bronchi. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common pathological diagnosis.

Pulmonary aplasia is a rare developmental lung anomaly with unknown etiology. Multiloculated effusion and pericardial defects are even less common with no cases reported up until now. Here, we report the first case of an unusual presentation of a 25-year-old female with recurrent cough for four months, who was diagnosed with left pulmonary aplasia with multiloculated effusion and partial pericardial defects, and who underwent uniportal thoracoscopic drainage and pleurectomy.

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Inosine pranobex (IP), an immunomodulatory agent, is used in the treatment of various viral infections. The results of a phase 3 randomized controlled trial are reported, evaluating the efficacy and safety of IP in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID‐19. It includes 416 symptomatic patients with confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. In addition to a defined standard of care, patients  randomly (1:1) receive either IP 500 mg tablet (IP group) or a matching placebo (placebo group) at 50 mg kg −1 body weight/day rounded to the nearest 500 mg dose (maximum 4 g day −1 ) administered in 3–4 divided doses for 10 days. Compared to the placebo group, IP group shows significantly higher rates of clinical response (CR) and clinical cure (CC) on Day‐6 for both non‐hospitalized patients and the total population. IP group shows significantly earlier CR and CC with fewer adverse events and no mortality. Based on these findings and the fact that IP increases natural killer cell‐mediated cytotoxicity of virus‐infected cells as an early immune response to viral infection and enhances NKG2D ligand expression, it is concluded that IP should be started early to maximize the benefit in mild to moderate COVID‐19 patients. (Trial registration number: CTRI/2021/02/030892).