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July 24, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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DRUG
SAFETY PROFILE New Delhi, July 23 Nimesulide, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic and antipyretic drug (NSAID) prescribed for infants in India, is banned in several countries. Even in countries that permit its usage, its use among children is only under strict norms, if at all! Notwithstanding the longstanding debate on the safety profile of nimesulide, pediatricians in the city seem to be shying away from its use. This view is held by senior pediatricians at leading hospitals and other clinics, who agree that they have either never used or now stopped prescribing Nimesulide to their patients due to the toxicity it could cause in the liver, especially in children. Says Dr P. K. Singhal, senior consultant (Pediatrics), Apollo Hospital, “These days, awareness among the general public concerning the safety of such medicines has risen considerably. There has been a marked increase in the number of patients who at the outset request not to prescribe nimesulide. I have never used Nimesulide personally, not only because of the controversy over its safety profile, but also due to a very high risk of Nimesulide over-dosage. Since its dosage is 12 hourly, many parents tend to give the drug in higher quantities, using a teaspoon, as any other antipyretic, which may be damaging.” He further adds: “For fevers up to 102 F, it may suffice to use a safer antipyretic like paracetamol, along with sponging. For higher fevers, a combination of paracetamol with ibuprofen may be given.” Agrees Dr Y. K. Amdekar, former Head and Prof of Pediatrics, JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College, Mumbai. “I have never used nimesulide, not because it is good or bad, but because I have much safer and time-tested alternatives available!” According to these doctors, there is also a visible discontent among the international medical community concerning the progress on this issue in India. In a response to the prestigious ‘British Medical Journal’, US-based Dr Kunal Saha, Assistant Professor at Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, says: “...the continuing use of Nimesulide for Indian children is really shocking.” Numerous studies across the globe where Nimesulide preparations are (were) available have established the life-threatening hepatotoxic effects of Nimesulide not only in children but also in adults. Nimesulide is not used in the USA and as mentioned in the report, several European countries have also banned the use of nimesulide...” He suggests, “Even if the Indian drug control agencies are reluctant to take imminent steps to ban the use of Nimesulide completely, they should immediately forbid its use for treatment of fever or pain in children. There is a plethora of scientific data to suggest that Nimesulide should not be used as the primary mode of therapy as anti-pyretic or analgesic, especially for children where much better and safer choices are available.” He goes on to comment, “It will be truly unfortunate if the Indian Government and the Medical Council of India (MCI) wait for another “committee” report before stopping the use of Nimesulide even for the treatment of pain or fever and let other innocent children die needlessly.” In the same journal, Dr Manan Vasenwala, MD, MRCP, consultant-cardiologist at K K Heart Centre, Aligarh, bluntly comments, “India is a unique country. Despite vast medical manpower resources, it is usually the first country to put on the market an untried drug and of course the last to withdraw in case of adverse effects. I suppose we have to wait for more cases of Reye’s Syndromes and fulminating hepatic failure in children before we can hope the drug to be withdrawn. Some bucks have changed hands surely, that is why it is taking so long to withdraw the offending drug.” He further adds on the role of the medical fraternity, “...they don’t have to wait for any directives. They can stop prescribing Nimesulide in children at once and use simpler ones like time-tested paracetamol or any other till winds blow over.” |
Nishank Bajaj to meet Sunal in boys singles title clash New Delhi, July 23 Esha Monga will clash against Shikha Sharma in the girls singles final. Esha struggled to beat Deepshikha Verma 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 while Shikha overwhelmed Apna Bhalla 11-6, 11-3, 11-5, 11-13, 11-8 in the semi-final matches. Shikha Sharma won the sub-junior girls singles title defeating Esha Monga 11-8, 11-7, 11-3. In the semi-finals, Eash defeated Vidushi Vats 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 while Shikha edged past Sanya Sehgal 7-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6. Rajat Chopra defeated Ashish Dukhlan 13-11, 11-4, 9-11, 10-12, 11-6 to annex the boys singles (under-19) title. In the semi-finals, Rajat Chopra beat Sameer Sahni 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 while Ashish Duklan downed Sunal Jain 11-3, 10-12, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8. King B K beat Dhruv Arora 12-10, 11-4, 11-5 to lift the sub-junior boys singles title. In the semi-finals, Dhruv defeated Tanmay Gupta 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-4 while King BK accounted for Sajal Khandelwal 11-9, 11-4, 11-5. Esha Monga won the cadet girls title, defeating Sanya Sehgal 12-10, 12-10, 11-6. In the semi-finals, Esha beat Nishth Garg 11-4, 5-11, 11-5, 8-11, 1-5 while Sanya beat Vidushi 12-14, 11-2, 11-2, 11-9. Rohan Bhatnagar beat Tarun Gupta 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 to bag the kids boys title. In the semi-finals, Rohan beat Ayush Dwivedi 15-13, 11-4, 11-4 while Tarun Gupta downed Rishab Sachdeva 11-5, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9. Manika Batra annexed the kids girls title defeating Priya Mittal 11-5, 8-11, 11-4, 13-11. In the semi-finals, Manika beat Drishti Modi 12-10, 11-4, 11-5 while Priya Mittal beat Ashita Sachdeva 11-3, 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9. |
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20 candidates in fray for DDCA Sports Committee New Delhi, July 23 Election will be held for 10 posts, and an interesting aspect of the contest this time is that several prominent players have entered the ring to challenge the old order to clean up the act in the DDCA. DDCA sports secretary Sunil Dev, who is the election officer, announced on Wednesday that after scrutiny and withdrawals, the papers of 20 candidates have been found in order. They are: Ajit Chaudhary of Madras Club, Ajit Singh Madhok of Tilak Nagar Colts, Anil Kumar Chaudhary of Darling Club, Ashok Kumar Katyal of Goswami Ganesh Dutt Club, Ashok Sharma of Ravi Brothers, Brij Mohan Gulati of Delhi Police, Gursharan Singh of Gush Club, M K Sharma of Inborn Cricketers, P K Soni of Life Insurance Corporation, Pradeep Aggarwal of Kranti Star, Praveen Jain of Pahari Dhiraj Gymkhana, P S Chauhan of Pusa Youngsters, Ramesh Sachdeva of Friends Club, Sandeep Joshi, Satish Kumar Malhotra of Daryaganj Gymkhana, Surya Prakash Sharma of Gemini Club, Vijay Bahadur Mishra of State Bank of India, Vinod Sharma of Super Star and Vinod Tihara of Lal Bahadur Shastri Club. The new panel comprising players like former India player Gursharan Singh, Ajit Chaudhry and Sandeep Joshi has received a shot in the arm as Vinod Tihara, who was part of the rulin group, has switched allegiance, as he was apparently dissatisfied with the functioning of the present Sports Committee. |
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Youngmen
crush Victory in DSA League New Delhi, July 23 Two goals each were scored in either half. Abdul Waquar opened the account in the 10th minute while Mohd. Kamil made it 2-0 in the 25th minute. In the second half, inside-left Suresh enhanced the lead to 3-0 following a cross from the left flank by Lalit while inside-right Faiz Alam completed the tally in the 51st minute. Youngmen have collected six points from two matches while Victory have drawn a blank, after two matches. In another A Division match played at the Nehru Stadium, Uttrakhand defeated Royal Club by a solitary goal. Inside-left Ram Singh Bisht struck home the match-winner in the 13th minute. Uttrakhand have six points from two matches while Royal have three points from two matches. Rohini Club defeated Shakti 2-1 in a B Division Super Six match. A fine brace from striker Imtiaz enabled Rohini win. Bikramjit reduced the margin for Shakti. In another B Division match, Paschim Heroes were held to a 1-1 draw by Nivia Club. Dinesh Shokeen put Heroes in the lead in the fifth minute while Yash Pal Malik equalised for Nivia in the 45th minute. Thursday’s fixtures: Paschim Heroes vs Goodwill (3.30 pm); South India vs Shakti (4.45 p m)—Nehru Stadium. |
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Jyoti, Arjun light up the course with hot display New Delhi, July 23 Randhawa, the No 1 player in the continent after winning the Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit crown in 2002, and Arjun Singh, twice PGA champion, shot rounds of five under-67 each to lead a quality field. Ranjit Singh of Chandigarh and Pappan of Delhi were tied at the third place, one stroke better than Mukesh Kumar and Uttam Singh Mundy. Defending champion Digvijay Singh started well, with a two-under 70, that gave him a tied seventh place, alongside Feroz Ali of Kolkata. Among the other big names in the field, Vijay Kumar, Shiv Prakash, Sanjay Kumar and Rahul Ganapathy were among the eleven players tied for the ninth place at one-under 71, while Gaurav Ghei and Sri Lankan sensation Anura Rohana were tied for the 21st place at even-par 72. Randhawa, who started the day from the 10th tee, missed a birdie chance on the opening hole when he three-putted after reaching the par-5 green in two
shots. Thereafter, he stuggled with his new putter, but managed to make four birdies and one eagle on the par-5 seventh. The Delhi-based pro sank a 25-footer after hitting a seven-iron to the green on the seventh. |
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Yoga team returns with a rich haul New Delhi, July 23 Pallavi Kavhane of Maharashtra and Rajni of Punjab lifted the gold medals in rope malakhamb and Olympic yoga respectively. Pallavi also won a silver and bronze medal in rhythmic yoga and artistic yoga respectively. Rajni also annexed a silver and bronze in artistic pair and rhythmic pair event respectively. D N Rudra Swami of Karnataka won a silver and bronze in artistic pair and Olympic yoga, Rupali Thorat of Maharashtra lifted a silver in rhythmic pair and two bronze medals in artistic pair and rope malakhamb while Mamta Rani of Punjab won a silver in Olympic yoga and bronze in rythmic pair. Sonia of Punjab lifted a bronze in artistic yoga while Parminder Kaur of Punjab bagged a silver in rope malakhamb. Vipur Bhatti of Delhi lifted two silver medals in Olympic Yoga and artistic yoga and a bronze in rope
malakhamb. |
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Gaurav Bhatia hits century New Delhi, July 23 Scores: Bharat National Academy: 295 for 7 in 40 overs (Gaurav Bhatia 108, Somesh Sharma 93, Sahil Kumar 3 for 45, Vijit Kumar 3 for 49).
Crifit Academy: 245 all out in 38.3 overs (Digvijay 49, Sahil 48, Vijit Kumar 45, Saurabh Nischal 3 for 40, Sunny 3 for 39, Siddarth Malhotra 2 for 31). Ramjas Inter-School Cricket The Ramjas Inter-School Under-17 Cricket Tournament will be held from August 19 at the Ramjas Sports Complex ground. Sixteen teams will participate in the tournament. Entries close on August 6 on phone numbers 25888929, 25727806. Samand Hussain shines An all-round performance by Samand Hussain, who scored 110 and claimed four wickets for 30 runs, helped MCA defeat Kutub Nursery by 192 runs in the Adventure Cup Cricket Tournament. Scores: MCA:
310 all out in 40 overs (Samand Hussain 110, Mahib Hussain 37, Rahul Bajaj 51, Siddarth Lohia 5 for 60, Gaurav 4 for 50). Kutub Nursery:
118 all out in 32.3 overs (Manish Kumar 37, Samand Hussain 4 for 30, Mahib Hussain 3 for 29). Roller Skating event
on august 2-3 The sixth RSA Roller Skating Race Championship will be held at the DDA Sports Complex, Paschim Vihar, on August 2 and 3. Entries close with Ms Priti Sahni and Mr Naresh Sharma on telephone numbers 23643052 and 9818011664. Dhampur team to tour Scotland The Dhampur Sugar Mills will take a cricket team to Scotland and South Africa in August. The selection of the boys will be held on July 26 at 9.30 am at the Bharat National School ground at Ram Vihar, near Yamuna Sports Complex. More information can be had on phones 9811620210 or 9810379468.
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