Background Undergraduate medical students in India participate in various research activities However, plagiarism is rampant, and we hypothesize that it is the lack of knowledge on how to avoid plagiarism. This study’s objective was to measure the extent of knowledge and attitudes towards plagiarism among undergraduate medical students in India. Methods It was a multicentre, cross-sectional study conducted over a two-year period (January 2018 – December 2019). Undergraduate medical students were given a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire which contained: (a) Demographic details; (b) A quiz developed by Indiana University, USA to assess knowledge; and (c) Attitudes towards Plagiarism (ATP) questionnaire. Results Eleven medical colleges (n = 4 government medical colleges [GMCs] and n = 7 private medical colleges [PMCs]) participated. A total of N = 4183 students consented. The mean (SD) knowledge score was 4.54 (1.78) out of 10. The factors (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]; 95% Confidence interval [CI]; p value) that emerged as significant predictors of poor knowledge score were early years of medical education (0.110; 0.063, 0.156; < 0.001) and being enrolled in a GMC (0.348; 0.233, 0.463; < 0.001).The overall mean (SD) scores of the three attitude components namely permissive, critical and submissive norms were 37.56 (5.25), 20.35 (4.20) and 31.20 (4.28) respectively, corresponding to the moderate category. Conclusion The overall knowledge score was poor. A vast majority of study participants fell in the moderate category of attitude score. These findings warrant the need for incorporating formal training in the medical education curriculum.

ObjectivesThough dissertation is mandatory for postgraduates (PG), it is unknown if adequate knowledge on plagiarism exists at that level. Thus, we intended to study the knowledge and attitude towards plagiarism among junior doctors in India.DesignCross-sectional studySettingPG medical residents and Junior faculty from various teaching institutions across south India.ParticipantsA total of N=786 doctors filled the questionnaires of which approximately 42.7% were from government medical colleges (GMCs) and the rest from private institutions.MethodsParticipants were given a pretested semistructured questionnaire which contained: (1) demographic details; (2) a quiz developed by Indiana University, USA to assess knowledge and (3) Attitudes towards Plagiarism Questionnaire (ATPQ).Outcome measuresThe Primary outcome measure was knowledge about plagiarism. The secondary outcome measure was ATPQ scores.ResultsA total of N=786 resident doctors and junior faculty from across 11 institutions participated in this study. Of this, 42.7% were from GMCs and 60.6% were women. The mean (SD) knowledge score was 4.43 (1.99) out of 10. The factors (adjusted OR; 95% CI; p value) that emerged as significant predictors of knowledge were number of years in profession (−0.181; −0.299 to –0.062; 0.003), no previous publication (0.298; 0.099 to 0.498; 0.003) and working in a GMC (0.400; 0.106 to 0.694; 0.008). The overall mean (SD) scores of the three attitude components were: Permissive attitudes—37.33 (5.33), critical attitudes —20.32 (4.82) and subjective norms—31.05 (4.58), all of which corresponded to the moderate category.ConclusionParticipants lacked adequate knowledge on how to avoid plagiarism suggesting a need for a revamp in medical education curriculum in India by incorporating research and publication ethics.

In 1937, Siemens described a Dutch family with superficial blistering, flexural hyperkeratosis, and characteristic mauserung appearance. Since then, less than 20 kindreds with this condition have been described in the English dermatologic literature. A 14-year-old boy presented with history of recurrent blistering and peeling of skin since the age of 1 month, predominantly seen over limbs and trunk, often associated with secondary infection. His mother also had similar symptoms from childhood. On examination, the child had typical mauserung peeling of the skin and dirty gray hyperkeratosis in a rippled pattern over flexures. Skin biopsy from the boy showed intracorneal blistering with epidermolytic hyperkeratosis in the upper spinous layers. The typical history and clinical features along with characteristic histological findings confirmed our diagnosis of ichthyosis bullosa of Siemens. It must be differentiated from other conditions with epidermolytic hyperkeratosis and skin peeling, such as bullous ichthyosiform erythroderma of Brocq and peeling skin syndrome. Our patient responded well to 0.05% topical tazarotene gel over four weeks.

Palmoplantar keratodermas are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by hyperkeratosis of palms and soles. We report the case of a 65 year old male who presented with diffuse hyperkeratosis of palms and soles along with dystrophy and shedding of nails of six months duration. Investigations to detect an underlying malignancy were negative. He was treated symptomatically and kept under follow up. Three months later, he presented with generalized pruritus and hard jugulo digastric and axillary lymph nodes, which revealed metastatic deposits. Investigation failed to show the focus of malignancy and was given chemotherapy under "metastasis of unknown origin" category with which there was marked improvement of his cutaneous symptoms.

Background: Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in humans today. In India, as per WHO there are approximately 63 million people, who are suffering from significant auditory impairment and estimated prevalence at 6.3% in Indian population. The objective of the study was to determine the potential hearing loss in patients on analgesics.Methods: Prospective, observational study examined the association between analgesic use and potential hearing loss in 30 patients receiving NSAIDS. Data was collected using specialized designed case record form. The clinical signs like onset of tinnitus, appearance of another sound that didn't exist before, sinus infection or a respiratory illness, development of vertigo or spinning sensation were looked for. Audiometry test was advised for all the patients receiving analgesics.Results: Total of 30 patients were included in the study. Male predominance was noted Maximum patients were in the age group between 35-45 years (33.33%). The socioeconomic status was analyzed using revised kuppuswamy scale. 30% (n=09) of patients were in lower class. Majority of the patients were reported with road traffic accidents (n=19; 63.33%) and received analgesics for more than 2 weeks. Patients received different combination of NSAIDs among which aceclofenac was most commonly prescribed. 11 (36.66%) patients had hearing loss received either diclofenac or aceclofenac for more than 25 days.Conclusions: Regular usage of NSAIDS may increase the risk of hearing loss and the impact could be larger on younger individuals. Hence, extra precaution to be taken while prescribing NSAIDS.