Tirunelveli Medical College (Tamil: திருநெல்வேலி மருத்துவக்கல்லூரி), also known as TVMC, is a public medical institution in south India, located in the city of Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.The college is affiliated to Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University and is recognized by the Medical Council of India and World Health Organization.
Healthcare associated infections remain a major global health concern because they increase illness, mortality, hospital stay, and healthcare costs. This review provides an updated synthesis of recent evidence on the epidemiology, microbiology, diagnostics, and prevention of healthcare associated infections. These infections arise from patient susceptibility, invasive procedures, antibiotic overuse, contaminated equipment, and poor infection control practices. Device associated infections such as catheter associated urinary tract infection, central line associated bloodstream infection, ventilator associated pneumonia, and surgical site infection are common and often involve multidrug resistant pathogens. Biofilm formation on devices and hospital surfaces creates persistent reservoirs that promote resistance spread. Advances in automated culture systems, rapid molecular assays, metagenomics, and whole genome sequencing improve detection and surveillance. This article integrates evidence from 2020 to 2025 to provide a multidisciplinary framework for understanding and controlling HAIs.
Background: Triple-negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) lacks established hormonal targets, limiting therapeutic options. Androgen receptor (AR) expression has been proposed as a potential biomarker, though its clinicopathological relevance remains unclear. Aims and Objectives: This study evaluated the prevalence of AR expression in TNBC and its association with clinicopathological parameters. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 52 patients with TNBC treated at Tirunelveli Medical College (2017–2019). Primary TNBC cases with adequate formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue were included, while cases receiving neoadjuvant therapy or with inadequate tissue were excluded. AR expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry (≥1% nuclear staining=positive). Tumors were classified and graded according to the World Health Organization Classification of Breast Tumors and the Nottingham-modified Bloom–Richardson system, respectively. Associations with clinicopathological variables were analyzed using appropriate statistical tests, with P<0.05 considered significant. Results: AR expression was identified in 22 of 52 cases (42%). The mean age was 52.41±11.49 years in AR-positive cases and 49.80±10.76 years in AR-negative cases (P=0.701). Mean tumor size was comparable between AR-positive (4.04±2.06 cm) and AR-negative tumors (4.31±2.77 cm; P=0.405). No significant association was observed between AR expression and histological tumor type (P=0.722), tumor grade (P=0.332), tumor necrosis (P=0.879), stromal response (P=0.297), or lymph node status (P=0.281). Conclusion: AR expression was present in 42% of TNBC cases and showed no significant association with clinicopathological parameters.
Background: Globally, it was estimated that hemodialysis (HD) was required in 3.9 million persons with kidney failure in 2017. The global prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the general population is approximated at 0.7% worldwide, and it varies from 1% to 85% in different countries among patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). This study highlights the diagnostic efficacy of Immunochromatography test (ICT), fourth generation Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) which determines anti-HCV antibodies and HCV core antigen, Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for diagnosis of HCV infection in chronic HD patients and also assesses the impact of other factors including age, sex, length of dialysis, number of blood transfusions, and serum transaminases levels. Methods: Seventy-five patients diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), who had been receiving HD for more than six months, were included. Blood samples were collected and subsequently analyzed for the presence of anti-HCV antibodies using an ICT, a fourth-generation ELISA, and RT-PCR. Results: Of the 75 samples tested, ICT, fourth-generation ELISA and RT-PCR were positive in eight (11%), 12 (16%), and 22 (29%) respectively. Conclusions: Solely screening for HCV antibodies is often not sufficient to exclude HCV infection in HD patients. Furthermore, HD patients do not always have detectable HCV RNA. Hence, close monitoring and stringent infection control practices are imperative to mitigate the transmission of HCV.
Renal toxicity is a frequent and often fatal complication of snake envenomation. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the renal pathological changes in 47 fatal snakebite cases subjected to autopsy at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Madras Medical College, between 2017 and 2019. Kidney tissues were collected, processed, and H&E-stained for light microscopic examination. The analysis revealed that renal congestion was the most prevalent finding, occurring in 41 cases (87.23%), followed closely by acute tubular necrosis (ATN) in 35 cases (74.46%). Other significant observations included glomerular inflammation in 12 cases and renal cortical necrosis in one instance. These results demonstrate that snakebite nephropathy encompasses a diverse spectrum of pathological alterations, primarily driven by direct venom toxicity and secondary hemodynamic changes. Understanding these specific renal manifestations—ranging from interstitial nephritis to irreversible cortical necrosis—is essential for clinicians in managing acute kidney injury and for forensic experts in framing precise medico-legal opinions regarding the cause of death in envenomation cases.
