About
63
Publications
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384
Citations
Introduction
Current institution
Additional affiliations
March 1993 - March 2022
Makunda Christian Hospital
Position
- General and Paediatric Surgeon
Description
- Restarted the closed down hospital in 1993, built various departments, CEO till 2020, started the Makunda Nature Club and Global Health training programs. Initiated research work. Clinical work included general and paediatric surgery, endoscopy, ultrasound and echocardiography and work in other departments according to need.
Position
- Lecturer
March 1999 - March 2000
Education
January 1997 - January 1999
August 1990 - August 1992
December 1981 - July 1987
Kilpauk Medical College
Field of study
- Undergraduate Medicine
Publications
Publications (63)
Describes the current world scenario where a gap exists between those who can and those who cannot access reliable healthcare. The Dutch MD (GHTM) course is one of few course available for doctors who are willing to work in the neediest parts of the world confidently. Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital in Assam, India is one of the site...
Daily devotions for Christian managers focusing on principles of decision-making and planning from a missionary perspective.
Background: Mission hospitals in low-resource regions of the world face significant challenges in providing high-quality, accessible care to patients. External funding is limited and can fluctuate significantly from year to year. Additionally, attracting and retaining well-qualified healthcare professionals for more than short stints can seem almos...
Background: Congenital anomalies are the 5th leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the sev...
Safety considerations in anaesthesia provision in resource constrained settings
The jumping spider Foliabitus weihangi Lin et Li, 2020 is new for Assam State and the genus Foliabitus Zhang et Maddison, 2012 is recorded from India for the first time.
Background: Historically, many Christian mission hospitals were established by home churches from developed countries in their colonies. With countries gaining independence and missionary medical staff leaving these hospitals, the majority have closed. These hospitals provide critical assistance to communities that need their services the most, yet...
Article published in "Civil Society" journal along with several similar articles with short observations and suggestions to the new government of India on different fields. This one is on supporting small hospitals to improve healthcare in the country for the poor and marginalized.
An emesine bug, Lutevula hortensia (Distant), is recorded from India for the first time; type locality of this species is Sri Lanka and
it was recently collected from Vellore, Tamil Nadu, in southern India. This is a rediscovery of the species after more than 50 years. Digital images of the species are presented along with comments on recent classi...
In rural settings worldwide, many people live in effective blood deserts without access to any blood transfusion. The traditional system of blood banking is logistically complex and expensive for many resource-restricted settings and demands innovative and multidisciplinary solutions. 17 international experts in medicine, industry, and policy parti...
Describes the Christian mission hospitals in India today with changes that have occurred in the past 20 years. - Article published in "Civil Society" 20th Anniversary Issue
Despite the importance of
blood transfusions to life-saving medical care, millions of
people live in “blood deserts” where there is no access to
transfusion, particularly in rural parts of low- and
middle-income countries (LMICs). Intraoperative autotransfusion
(IAT) is a well-established method for meeting
emergent demands for blood and, with broa...
Examines issues involved in rural community healthcare ethics in India using several case studies and discusses contributing factors while suggesting ways forward.
strategies of minimizing errors during a trial
Background:
To identify and summarize the global research literature on validation of automated noninvasive blood pressure measurement devices (BPMDs) with upper arm cuff, develop a repository of validated BPMDs in compliance with the 2020 World Health Organization technical specifications, and identify challenges and gaps in evidence base on vali...
To (1) identify and summarize the global research literature on validation of automated non-invasive blood pressure measurement devices (BPMD) with upper arm cuff, (2) develop a repository of validated BPMD in compliance 2020 WHO technical specifications (3) identify challenges and gaps in evidence base on validated BPMD and develop novel strategie...
Background
Surgical site infection (SSI) remains the most common complication of surgery around the world. WHO does not make recommendations for changing gloves and instruments before wound closure owing to a lack of evidence. This study aimed to test whether a routine change of gloves and instruments before wound closure reduced abdominal SSI.
Me...
A cluster-randomized multicentric study with 13,301 patients in seven low and middle-income countries to compare between sterile glove and instrument change at the time of abdominal wall closure in contaminated and clean-contaminated abdominal surgeries.
The trial showed a robust benefit to routinely changing gloves and instruments before abdomin...
Background Surgical site infection (SSI) remains the most common complication of surgery around the world. WHO does not make recommendations for changing gloves and instruments before wound closure owing to a lack of evidence. This study aimed to test whether a routine change of gloves and instruments before wound closure reduced abdominal SSI.
Background
Surgical site infection (SSI) remains the most common complication of surgery around the world. WHO does not make recommendations for changing gloves and instruments before wound closure owing to a lack of evidence. This study aimed to test whether a routine change of gloves and instruments before wound closure reduced abdominal SSI.
Met...
Background
Cardiac complications are a leading cause of maternal death. Cardiac imaging with echocardiography is important for prompt diagnosis, but it is not available in many low-resource settings. The aim of our study was to determine whether focused cardiac ultrasound performed by trained obstetricians and interpreted remotely by experts can id...
A teenage girl presented to our remote rural hospital with history of massive haemoptysis. A CT scan showed a spherical lesion in the right lung. Exploratory thoracotomy was performed with a provisional diagnosis of pulmonary hydatid cyst. Intraoperative findings were consistent with intrapulmonary teratoma and this was confirmed by a histopatholog...
Detailed review of knowledge on the Cachar Bulbul (Iole cacharensis)
A new species, Endoclita makundae sp. nov., from the state of Assam, represents the first new species of Endoclita described for India in the last 60 years. The external female genitalia are illustrated and described. We suggest the species name E. signifer can be applied with confidence only to populations in Meghalaya and northern Bangladesh. Dat...
Background:
Ileal perforation occurs in about 1% of enteric fevers as a complication, with a case fatality risk (CFR) of 20%-30% in the early 1990s that decreased to 15.4% in 2011 in South East Asia. We report nontraumatic ileal perforations and its associated CFR from a 2-year prospective enteric fever surveillance across India.
Methods:
The Su...
The potential for Tele-Health in India for the rural poor and realistic alternatives till the full potential is realised.
Situated at the intersection of the Himalayan and Indo-Chinese biodiversity hotspots, Northeast India is one of the most biodiversity rich areas of South Asia. Despite this, insects such as dragonflies and damselflies (Order: Odonata) of this region remain poorly studied causing an impediment to their conservation assessments. We conducted long-ter...
Background: Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the s...
Describes the response of Christian mission hospitals in India to the Covid-19 pandemic and suggests ways forward.
Describes principles of Christian management of mission hospitals and schools using a study of Hebrews with personal examples from the experience of the author.
We report a case of right paraduodenal hernia with strangulation of almost the entire small bowel at presentation. Since resection of all bowel of doubtful viability would have resulted in too little residual length to sustain life, a Bogota bag was fashioned using transparent plastic material from an urine drainage bag and the patient monitored in...
Five patients with advanced primary abdominal pregnancy presented to our center between 2010 and 2020. The clinical profile, presentation, and management of these patients are described with a discussion on this rare but important condition. Of the five, four women survived. There was preoperative fetal demise in four of them, and one patient had a...
Background: Maternal and perinatal Health Research collaboration, India (MaatHRI) is a research platform that aims to improve evidence-based pregnancy care and outcomes for mothers and babies in India, a country with the second highest burden of maternal and perinatal deaths. The objective of this paper is to describe the methods used to establish...
In this article, we report the different presentations of thiamine deficiency disorders seen at a remote rural mission hospital in Northeast India, including investigations, treatment, and recovery. Two case studies, one of an infant with cardiac beriberi and the other of a nonalcoholic adult presenting with peripheral neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, a...
Describes the first photographic record of the Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine from the Barak Valley of Assam with a short description of the species, its distribution and status.
Twenty eight exclusively breastfed infants presented between 1 July, 2017 and 30 June, 2018 with acute heart failure syndrome, with 23 (92%) showing dramatic clinical resolution of shock within 24 hours of receiving intravenous thiamine (100 mg) bolus. Our findings raise awareness for addressing this neglected nutritional disease in North East Indi...
Background: Maternal and perinatal Health Research collaboration, India (MaatHRI) is a research platform that aims to improve evidence-based pregnancy care and outcomes for mothers and babies in India, a country with the second highest burden of maternal and perinatal deaths. The objective of this paper is to describe the methods used to establish...
Background: Maternal and perinatal Health Research collaboration, India (MaatHRI) is a research platform that aims to improve evidence-based pregnancy care and outcomes for mothers and babies in India, a country with the second highest burden of maternal and perinatal deaths. The objective of this paper is to describe the methods used to establish...
Discussion on the response to the Covid 19 pandemic for a Christian mission hospital from a Biblical perspective.
Reporting the occurrence of the Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane) as a rare vagrant to the Barak Valley of Assam along with a study of its previous observations in India.
Introduction:
Congenital anomalies are the 5th leading cause of death in children under 5-years of age globally, contributing an estimated half a million deaths per year. Very limited literature exists from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where most of these deaths occur. The Global PaedSurg Research Collaboration aims to undertake the fir...
Introduction
Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of death in children <5 years of age globally, contributing an estimated half a million deaths per year. Very limited literature exists from low and middle income countries (LMICs) where most of these deaths occur. The Global PaedSurg Research Collaboration aims to undertake the first mu...
Brief description of features, distribution and habitat in northeast India, ecology, behaviour and conservation of the Golden Jackal - Canis aureus
Brief description of features, distribution and habitat in northeast India, ecology, behaviour and conservation of the three known species of otters that occur in North East India, Eurasian Otter - Lutra ultra (Linnaeus, 1758), Smooth-coated Otter - Lutrogale perspicillata (Geoffroy, St. Hilaire, I, 1826) and Small-clawed Otter - Aonyx cinereus (Il...
Reporting an observation of the Tawny-breasted Wren Babbler - Spelaeornis longicaudatus - in the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya. Earlier records have been restricted to the West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya and this observation represents a significant extension of its known distribution. Since the species is classified as "Vulnerable" in the IUCN Red List...
Describes two observations of the Asian Stubtail, Urosphena squameiceps, a rare winter vagrant to the Indian Subcontinent and the first observation from the Barak Valley of Assam.
Sighting of a relatively rare species, the Golden-crested Myna (Ampeliceps coronatus), in a little studied part of the Karimganj District of Assam and a detailed description of all known observations of the species in the past, including locations from which previous specimens were collected and deposited in different museums of the world.
Context: A single case of thiamine deficiency seen in a population reflects a public health problem which is preventable and easily treatable. Aim: This article describes suspected thiamine deficiency among peripartum women in a rural population in Assam presenting as clinically overt peripheral polyneuropathy. Materials and Methods: A retrospectiv...
Taxonomic and biological information is reviewed for the forest Hepialidae of northeastern India, a poorly known group of moths in a region known for the global significance of its biodiversity. The taxonomic and biological characteristics are described for genera known from the northeast - Endoclita, Palpifer, and Hepialiscus. A key is provided fo...
Bulletin of the Netherlands Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health
Background
The genus Platythomisus Doleschall, 1859 presently comprises 13 valid species, nine known from Africa and four from Asia. All Platythomisus species are known from females only, except P.jucundus Thorell, 1894 and P.sudeepi Biswas, 1977 from both sexes and P.quadrimaculatus from juvenile. Only, P.sudeepi was reported from India.
New info...
Schroederia feana (Distant, 1902) is recorded for the first time from the present Indian Territory and redescribed based on male specimen from Assam, India. In addition, Prionolomia gigas Distant, 1879 is redescribed based on male and female specimens from the same locality.
Short testimony and observations on Christian medical missions in India today.
“There are a number of Greater Coucals (Centropus sinensis) residing in our 350 acre campus and when not seen, their loud ‘oop’ calls can be heard.
“On this occasion, I noticed two coucals calling to each other in low tones in the undergrowth with uncharacteristic sounds including mewing sounds (like kittens). After a few minutes, the male flew int...
During the period 1994-1998, three patients with bilateral hydatid cysts of the lung (HCL) underwent operative removal of the cysts. In three of the six lungs operated upon the conventional technique was used: after removal of the cyst and suture closure of bronchial leaks, the chest was closed with an intercostal drainage tube. Two of these patien...
During the period 1996-98, 5 neonates underwent operative repair of gastroschisis at the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore. While one patient was closed primarily, the other 4 patients underwent silo creation using plastic material cut from a urine drainage bag. Two of these had a successful result and hav...
