The COVID-19 pandemic is a major disruptive event of our times. It has necessitated changes in all aspects of health-care practices. Non-invasive brain stimulation procedures (NIBS) such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) are no exceptions. The practice of NIBS in India in COVID-19 is expected to be hospital based and in a non-COVID setting. There are no specific guidelines for safe practice of NIBS in the Indian context for COVID-19. However, the Government of India (GOI) has from time to time issued guidelines for different aspects of hospital infection control practices. We present guidelines for safe practice of NIBS procedures, specifically repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and TDCS in the Indian context based on hospital infection control guidelines as issued by the GOI and the tertiary care hospital in North India where the authors work, available literature and the clinical experience of the authors.

Objective: (1) To evaluate the awareness and knowledge of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices among patients and their families in an Indian ambulatory care setting. (2) To impart subsequent training and education to the subjects utilising innovative teaching modules. Methods: The present study is a survey-based observational study conducted in the outpatient department (OPD) of a tertiary care setting. A sample size of 300 patients/visitors in the OPD was randomly selected for a questionnaire-based interview which had questions relevant to awareness of basic IPC practices and judicious use of antibiotics. Subsequently, training and education was imparted to all the patients/visitors arriving at the OPD by infection control (IC) nurses and IC-linked nurses through innovative role plays, pamphlets, posters, standees and banners. The data was compiled and statistically evaluated. Results: The maximum awareness in the group for healthcare-associated infections and standard precautions was reported as 88.8% and 67.6%, respectively. Among the other important parameters, hand hygiene and infection prevention at home were reported as 63.8% and 64.5% awareness, respectively. An overall knowledge and awareness on judicious use of antibiotics was reported as 76.5%. Out of which, a relatively less awareness was reported 62% (185) in people regarding the increasing antimicrobial resistance. Conclusions: Patient and family education in hospitals has been relatively unaddressed in the IC field. This study was successful in making a beginning to promoting this concept and effectively contributing to the culture of patient safety.

In this qualitative prospective survey, usefulness of a mouth-dissolving turmeric lozenge was evaluated among health-care workers (HCWs) directly involved in COVID-19 duty. 303, HCWs serving COVID-19 ward duties received a globally patented mouth-dissolving turmeric lozenge three times daily for 1 month as an additional protective intervention on top of the standard recommended preventive measures. An intervention that can control the portal of entry of the virus and its replication in the oral cavity must be considered for further research to control the pandemic. The preliminary results with this mouth-dissolving turmeric lozenge hold promise for further research in this area.