Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19: Can we go back to science?

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been the biggest buzzword across the world lately. Until December 2019, this was a meek drug, used mainly by rheumatologists, internists, and dermatologists for inflammatory diseases. Its cousin Chloroquine has been the most popular drug for malaria. We have known and used these drugs for decades. The antiviral properties of these drugs … Read the essay

GMC Nagpur. Class of 1973

This book profiles the art and craft of the class of 1973. A class that is 48-year-old now. It seems like it was only yesterday that we got into Government Medical College Nagpur. 45 years after our admission, when we paused to reflect on how we changed and evolved between 1973 and 2018, we realized … Read the essay

Palliative care at Sevagram

Two years ago, Dr. Sankha Mitra—an oncologist who is keen to reduce inequity, injustice and alleviate healthcare-induced poverty— had visited Sevagram. He spoke a sentence that was an eye-opener for the audience. “In India, the poor die in agony in neglect; the middle-class die in agony in ignorance and the rich die in agony on … Read the essay

Repairing the heart defects

One in 200. A chance that a mother would deliver a baby with heart disease. And some of these heart defects are serious enough to warrant early intervention. A piece of good news is that some holes in the heart, stenosed valves and abnormal connections between the great arteries can be repaired without open heart … Read the essay