Archive for category: News

Researchers have discovered in a new study that patients with osteoarthritis (OA) are at higher risk of developing sleep apnea (SA), a disease with high morbidity and mortality. Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent joint disease, leading to chronic pain and inflammation, two established risk factors for sleep apnea. The study was published in the journal of Clinical Rheumatology by Yanqiu Zhu and colleagues.

New Delhi: Allowing the appeal of the Telangana Government, the Supreme Court recently upheld the State’s domicile rule that permitted students who have studied for the last four years up to Class 12 in the state, for admissions in medical and dental colleges under the state quota.

In its order, the Apex Court bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran upheld the Telangana Medical and Dental Colleges Admission (Admission into MBBS & BDS Courses) Rules, 2017, which was amended in 2024.

Under this rule, to be eligible for admission to state quota medical and dental seats through the National Eligibility-Entrance Test (NEET), a student must have pursued Classes 9 to 12 in the State.

Earlier, the domicile policy was challenged before the Telangana High Court. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that more than 50 pleas were filed before the Telangana HC challenging the validity of Rule 3(a) of the Telangana Medical and Dental Colleges Admission (Admission into MBBS & BDS Courses) Rules 2017 as amended vide the GO dated July 19, 2024, which made it mandatory for the MBBS and BDS aspirants to study continuously from Classes 9 to 12 in the State.

While considering the matter, the Telangana HC had held that permanent residents of the State did not need to study in Telangana for 4 continuous years for MBBS and BDS admission in the domicile quota seats. The HC bench had observed that the State’s permanent residents could not be denied benefits of admissions in medical colleges only because they lived outside the State for some time.

However, the HC Division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao had declined to strike down Rule 3(a) of the 2017 Rules, which prescribes the criteria for local candidates, in its entirety.

Also Read: Supreme Court to decide on Telangana domicile quota for MBBS admissions

Back then, the HC bench had reasoned that striking down the provision in its entirety would have the unintended consequence of opening the State quota seats to students from across the country. Instead, the Court had read down the rule to exempt permanent residents of Telangana from the four-year study requirement, while holding that the interpretation in this regard was consistent with Article 371D(2)(b)(ii) of the Constitution, which empowers States to frame special provisions for local candidates in educational institutions.

However, challenging the HC order, the State had approached the top court bench. In its appeal, the Telangana Government argued that the High Court’s expansion of the definition of a “local candidate” undermined the special protection under Article 371D, which was designed to ensure preferential access for students genuinely integrated into the State’s educational system.

On the other hand, the students argued that the definition was unduly rigid and overlooked circumstances such as the transfer of parents in government or allied services, due to which, children get forced to pursue their studies outside of Telangana despite maintaining strong ties to the State.

The top court on August 5 reserved its verdict on the pleas, including one from the Telangana government, against the HC order that struck down its domicile rule for admissions in medical colleges in the state. The state was represented by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi and lawyer Sravan Kumar Karnam, PTI has reported.

Now, the Apex Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran allowed the State’s appeal and affirmed the constitutionality of the Telangana Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Rules, 2017 (2017 Rules) as amended in 2024.

“The appeals of the State and the university are allowed, setting aside both the impugned high court judgments. The students’ writ petitions stand dismissed,” observed the bench.

As per the latest media report by The Hindu, while setting aside the High Court bench’s order, the top court bench observed that in the absence of a statutory definition of residence or a prescribed framework for issuing residence certificates, the directions would result in an “anomalous situation”, rendering the domicile unworkable and exposing it to a spate of litigation.

New Delhi: Taking suo motu cognisance of a newspaper report about a 12-year-old boy who was critically injured and was denied admission to government hospitals due to the unavailability of ICU beds, the Delhi High Court directed a private hospital, where the boy was eventually admitted despite his family’s poor financial condition, to provide treatment under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category and refrain from demanding any payment from his parents.

A division bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet PS Arora further ordered that Shree Aggrasain International Hospital may make its submissions on the next date of hearing, but, in the meantime, must continue to provide all necessary and adequate treatment for the child’s recovery without charging the parents.

On being informed about the need to broaden the eligibility criteria for the EWS category, since many private hospitals fail to extend mandated facilities despite being under a binding obligation, the bench directed that this issue too shall be taken up on the next date, and counsels for all parties, including the Delhi government, should make their submissions.

Also read- Paramedical staff crucial for health management: Delhi HC directs immediate recruitment

The case concerns a 12-year-old boy who sustained severe injuries after he slipped from the first floor of his house on 19th August, 2025, as reported by TOI on August 29. The boy’s father is a daily wager and faced enormous challenges in finding a ventilator bed at any government hospital in the capital, following which the minor was taken to the Shree Aggrasain International Hospital, Rohini, New Delhi.

The news report also states that the parents of the child were looking for an ICU bed in various hospitals across Delhi, including the Safdarjung Hospital and other Delhi Government hospitals. However, due to their inability to find any ICU bed in any government hospital across the city, the child had to be admitted to a private hospital.

The Bench, which spoke to the child’s uncle over a phone call, was initially considering moving the boy to a government hospital. However, noting the progress in the child’s medical condition, the court decided not to shift him from the current facility.

The court further made it clear till the next date, the hospital will not demand money and continue to treat the child properly.

“The child shall be considered in the EWS category, and no payment shall be demanded by the hospital from the parents of the child till the next date of hearing. Issue notice to the hospital. On the next date, the hospital may make its submissions,” the bench said, posting the matter for September 2. The order would be communicated to the head of the hospital.

Advocate Ashok Agarwal, who was appointed amicus curiae by the court in another case relating to the implementation of the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), said in the EWS category, the criteria deserve to be increased in the case of hospitals, for most private hospitals did not properly extend medical facilities to the category, though under a binding obligation.

The news report claimed that a few days into his treatment at the government hospital, the child complained of severe headache, nose bleeding and vomiting and was rushed to the private hospital. The report said the family tried to get an admission in Ambedkar Hospital but was turned down twice and was asked to go to hospitals such as G B Pant or Safdarjung.

The child’s father was caught between mounting medical bills and the absence of support in government hospitals. He said he earns a few thousand rupees a month and has already spent Rs 2 lakh on his son’s treatment after borrowing money.

Recently, the Delhi government health secretary informed the high court that once the HMIS was fully implemented, ICU bed availability would begin in real time, reports PTI.

To view the official order, click on the link below: 

Also read- Doctor challenges ‘arbitrary’ revaluation clause in DNB exam- Delhi HC issues notice to NBE, Centre

New research has found that the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists*, a class of medications commonly prescribed for patients with obesity and diabetes, reduces the environmental footprint of healthcare and clinical outcomes when used to treat heart failure.

Treatment of heart failure patients with these therapies led to fewer hospitalizations and lower calorie intake, which together translated into decreased greenhouse gas emissions, less medical waste, and reduced water usage.

The study is one of the first to quantify the environmental co-benefits of pharmacologic treatment. The findings are being presented today at the 2025 European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid, Spain.

The healthcare sector is responsible for nearly 5% of greenhouse gas emissions globally (1), highlighting the need for interventions to reduce the environmental footprint of clinical care.

Patient level meta-analysis of four randomised controlled trials, SELECT, FLOW, STEP HFpEF, and STEPHFpEF DM, was conducted. All the trials involved patients with a type of heart failure, called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, who had been treated with GLP-1 receptor agonists or a placebo. Estimates of mean inpatient days, ICU admissions, emergency department and ambulatory visits per event of heart failure, and related greenhouse gas emissions were obtained from previously published literature.

A total of 54 worsening heart failure events were reported among 1,914 patients receiving GLP1-receptor antagonist treatment, compared to 86 events among 1,829 patients receiving placebo.

Those receiving the treatment were estimated to have 9.45 kg CO₂-equivalent emissions per patient per year, compared to 9.70 kg CO₂-equivalent emissions per patient per year among placebo users. The differences were predominantly driven by emissions arising from inpatient stays and outpatient visits due to worsening heart failure events.

The study was led by Dr.Sarju Ganatra, Director of Sustainability and Vice Chair of Research at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in the US and the President of Sustain Health Solutions, a non-profit organization that helps healthcare organizations integrate sustainability in care delivery. He explained, “The magnitude of the potential environmental emission savings found in our analysis was striking.”

“0.25 kg of CO2-equivalent per person saved annually from reduced hospitalizations might sound small. However, when this figure is scaled up to the millions of patients eligible for these therapies, it adds up to over 2 billion kilograms of CO2-equivalent saved. Similar-scale reductions were observed in waste generation and water use. This research highlights how even modest incremental individual gains can result in significant collective impact,” Dr Ganatra continued.

2 billion kg of CO2 is approximately equivalent to 20,000 full capacity Boeing 747 long-haul flights, or city-wide emissions from Brussels over 3 months. Around 30 million trees grown over 10 years would be needed to offset 2 billion kg of CO2.

The analysis also showed that those taking the GLP1-receptor antagonist treatment had approximately 695.33 kg CO2-equivalent lower emissions per patient per year due to a reduction in daily calorie consumption compared to placebo.

“By combining clinical trial data with environmental life cycle assessment metrics, we offer a new lens to evaluate the full impact of prescribing decisions. We also show that it is possible for medical treatments to deliver dual benefits-better health for patients and a healthier planet,” Dr Ganatra added. “We hope that in the future, policymakers will integrate sustainability metrics into health technology assessments, drug coverage decisions, and procurement frameworks.”

Each worsening heart failure event was assumed to involve one inpatient admission and a round trip to the hospital. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and use of a GLP1 receptor agonist were obtained from a leading pharmaceutical drug manufacturer.

The study used modelling data from prior trials and established environmental life cycle assessment emissions data sets, rather than direct measurements. It could not take into account patient-level variability such as behavioural differences, and the research used mean values for hospital-related emissions.

“The next step for this research is to validate our modelling with real-world emissions data and clinical outcomes. In the future, we hope that environmental impact will be integrated into clinical trial designs, drug regulatory processes, and formulary decisions to ensure health systems align with planetary health goals,” Dr Ganatra concluded.

The findings from this study also support previous research that found that treatment of patients with GLP-1 receptor agonists reduced hospital visits for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.