Objective: To evaluate the most common class of antimicrobial agents used in surgical prophylaxis. To evaluate the timing, dosage, route and duration of use of antimicrobial agents in surgical prophylaxis. Methods:The study subjects were 214 patients who underwent general surgical procedures at Vinayaka Missions Kirupananda Variyar Medical College from July 2013 to June 2014. The use of antimicrobial agents was noted from the first dose of antibiotic given before the induction of anaesthesia. After surgery was completed the duration of antibiotic in the post-operative ward was noted.Results: Majority of the patients were males of age group 50-60 y and the most common surgical procedure was hernioplasty. Combination therapy with two antimicrobial agents was more preferred regimen 126 (58.9%). Among the antimicrobial agent's cefotaxime 114 (24.8%) was the most commonly prescribed drug and it was followed by metronidazole 121 (21.9%). ceftriaxone 60 (13.1%) was the third most commonly prescribed antimicrobial agent. The mean duration of prescription of antimicrobial agents in the present study was 4.78 d and the mean cost of drug treatment was 787.54 rupees. The cost-effective regimen was that of aminoglycosides and imidazole. Conclusion:The choice of antimicrobial agent was based on the local prevalence pattern of microorganisms. The intravenous administration of antibiotic prophylaxis immediately before or after the induction of anaesthesia is the most reliable method for ensuring effective serum concentration at the time of surgery. The antimicrobial agent chosen must cover all the most likely contaminating organisms.

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Seawater incursion and freshwater discharges into the tropical Mandovi Zuari (MZ) estuary is investigated here using stable oxygen isotope data on monthly water samples from locations spatially separated within the estuary. Surface water samples were analysed for d 18 O and salinity relationship, d 18 O ¼ 0:0843 Â S À 2:1; where freshwater end member is designated as À2.1%; similar to the composition recorded for the rain water. We have estimated percentage of monthly freshwater Cuxes into the estuary using mass balance equation adopting an isotopic value of seawater end member. Our estimates showed freshwater contribution to the estuary water during monsoon time was 63%, while in the postmonsoon season the fraction drops to 34.7%. The contribution of the freshwater registered a minimum value of 6.8% during the pre-monsoon season. Further, we analysed the seasonal growth band secreted by the mollusc from the same estuary to understand the potential of mollusc as a recorder of seasonal water composition. The d 18 O of mollusc shell growth layers varied over a range between À4.3% and À2.1%. We interpreted this as seasonal signal assuming the growth rate from the culture experiment. The d 18 O of estuary water and observed temperature are used to simulate the isotopic composition of seasonal growth bands. The lighter d 18 O value of À4.3% precipitated during the month of July 2010, which coincides with the time of low productivity (d 13 C = À3.5%). While the heavier d 18 O (À2.1%) is recorded in the growth layer generated during November 2010 deBning the period of post-monsoon growth.

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Phyllanthus amarus is a small herb used in tradicinal medicine worldwide. The phytoconstituents of seeds of this plant is evaluated for various medicinal properties.This study was done to evaluate analgesic activity of Phyllanthus amarus seeds in albino mice.Analgesic activity of methanolic extract of Phyllanthus seeds was evaluated using hot plate and Tail clip animal models. Normal saline was used as control drug and standard drug was Morphine and 50 mg,100 and 200 mg/kg of methanolic extract of Phyllanthus seeds was used as test drugs. Phyllanthus seed extract showed statistically significant (p<0.05) increase in the reaction time of animals as compared to control at doses of 100mg/kg and 200 mg/kg at 60 min of drug administration in hot plate method and at 30 min and 60 min of drug administration in tail clip method.The results of the present study shows that methanolic extract of seeds of Phyllanthus amarus showed central analgesic activity in both hot plate and tail clip models in albino mice.

Background: Increasing rates of antibiotic drug resistance has been noted in recent times and this adversely affects the prognosis and outcomes of patients. There is a greater need for local resistance prevalence data in order to guide empirical prescription and to identify areas in which medical need for newer antimicrobial agents is greater.Methods: A prospective hospital based observational study was carried out to determine antibiotic sensitivity profile and resistance pattern of microorganisms. Samples were collected from urinary tract infections, while cultures from blood stream infections, sputum samples and Serology. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by the standard disc diffusion method. Data interpretation was based on CLSI, 2017 guidelines for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.Results: The predominant isolates from the samples were, Staphylococcus aureus (16.7%) 67, K. pneumoniae (11.5%) 46, E. coli (29.4%) 118, P. aeruginosa (6%) 24. Escherichia coli, the most common causative organism showed high resistance to commonly used drugs such as Ampicillin (60.1%) 71, Amoxicillin (53.4%) 63, Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (44.1%) 52 and Nalidixic acid (53.4%) 63. E. coli was found to be most sensitive to Amikacin (51.7%) 61, Piperacillin (69.5%) 82, Norfloxacin (61.9%) 73, Meropenem (76.3%) 90 and Imipenem (68.6%) 81. Klebsiella was most sensitive to 30 (65.2%) ofloxacin, 31 (67.4%) ciprofloxacin followed by 24 (52.2%) ceftriaxone and least sensitive to 7 (15.2%) Amoxicillin and 12 (26.1%) Ampicillin.Conclusions: Among commonly used antibiotics resistance to Penicillins (Ampicillin, Amoxicillin) was highest. Resistance to Fluoroquinolones (Ciprofloxacin) was seen in majority of the patients. Among broad spectrum antibiotics Imipenem, Meropenem resistance was seen in lesser proportion of the patients.

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