Asian Pacific Journal of Health Sciences
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Impact of 24-hour Postural Care in Management of Scoliosis, Windswept Deformity, Hip Dislocation, and Subluxation in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Literature Review
Get PDFCerebral Palsy (CP) describes various challenges with movement and coordination caused by early brain damage which does not progress with age. CP is a lifelong condition and is usually associated with secondary complications across the lifespan. This review aims to explore the impact of twenty-four-hour postural care in prevention and management of secondary complications such as scoliosis, windswept deformity and hip dislocation or subluxation in children with cerebral palsy. The studies published between 2014 and 2025, in English language in databases PubMed and Google Scholar were included. 19 studies were reviewed which indicated use of postural care and control in preventing subsequent issues such as hip dislocation, contractures, windswept deformities, and scoliosis. Supported standing, weight-bearing exercises, and neurodevelopmental treatment were among the interventions that have been shown to increase comfort, involvement, and caring ease. Postural management has been shown to improve alignment, decrease hip migration, and thereby increase functional independence. While proactive and early postural control is encouraging overall, more research is needed to determine how best to use it and what will be its long-term effects. There seems to be a lacunae of information regarding use of 24 hour postural care in preventing complications in children with CP, what protocol to follow and addressing the most vulnerable CP children with severe motor deficits. A key component of long-term postural care will also be incorporating caregiver education and adjustments to everyday routines. All measures and ways which can help to prevent or prolong the incidence of secondary complications in individuals with CP are supposed to have a positive impact on the life of individuals and their family
Childhood Obesity: The Role of Sleep, Physical Activity, and Lifestyle Interventions
Get PDFChildhood obesity has become one of the most pressing global health challenges, driven by a complex interaction of behavioral, biological, and environmental influences. While traditional models emphasize diet and energy imbalance, recent evidence highlights the significance of sleep timing, sedentary lifestyles, and family and school environments. This review synthesizes findings from observational research, randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and policy guidelines to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue. Key themes include the role of circadian misalignment in obesity risk, the protective effects of physical activity, the independent risks of prolonged sedentary behavior, and the cognitive and academic benefits of school-based programs. Multicomponent interventions that integrate nutrition, physical activity, behavioral counseling, and parental involvement show sustained benefits in reducing body mass index and improving metabolic health. Despite encouraging short-term outcomes, long-term effectiveness remains constrained by adherence challenges, cultural variability, and limited policy enforcement. Addressing childhood obesity requires a multidisciplinary and multilevel approach involving families, schools, healthcare systems, and policymakers. Such integrated strategies not only reduce obesity risk but also improve cognitive performance, psychosocial health, and lifelong well-being
Study on Determinants of gender preference and use of family planning methods among married women of the reproductive age group in the Urlabari Municipality of Morang District, Eastern Nepal
Get PDFIntroduction: Son preference is predominant in developing countries, especially South Asian countries and its effect is most visible when the fertility is on transition. Nepal is a country in South Asia where the fertility has declined and son is valued highly. Objectives: To find out the effects of gender preference on the use of family planning and to identify the determinants of gender Preference. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among the 350 married women of reproductive age group (15–49 years) in Urlabari Municipality of Nepal. Semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Chi-square test was applied to measure the association between socio-demographic characteristics, Fertility Profile and use of contraceptive methods with gender preference, and binary logistic regression was applied to identify the determinants of gender Preference. Results: The husband’s education has been illiterate (79.3%) have seen more gender preference as compared to those below SEE (71.7%) and above SEE (66.9%) but the difference was not significant. The study population belong to the labor (85.7%) was seen insignificantly more gender preference in comparison to other occupational groups. The study populations have desired children as ≤2 have found significantly more gender preference (73.0%) than those having desired children as >2 (57.9%) (P = 0.022). The study population having last child as male (75.1%) was found significantly more gender preference than those as female (63.8%) (P = 0.023). The married women not using natural contraceptives (75.7%) was found significantly more gender preference than those using natural contraceptives (62.5%) (P = 0.008). The women whose desired children ≤2 are 2.4 times more gender preferences as compared to those desired child are <2 (P = 0.007). Those women who are using natural practice for family planning for gender preferences are 2.2 times more than those not using natural practice (P = 0.002). Conclusion: The study concludes that the women desiring less number of children, sex preference compared to non-preference in the first child, and those not practicing natural family were found to be the determinant of gender preference
Management of Various Musculoskeletal Disorders by Different Kinds of Agnikarma Methods- A Systematic Review
Get PDFMusculoskeletal disorder is a very common condition that affects a person in one or any other form, irrespective of the age group. It includes various conditions, i.e., osteoarthritis of the knee, calcaneal spur, plantar fasciitis, sciatica, and frozen shoulder. Such conditions can be considered under the wide umbrella of Vata Vyadhi with its various presentations according to Ayurveda. Agnikarma, a para-surgical procedure, is mentioned as a treatment modality for different conditions of Vata Vyadhi in the classics. Acharya Sushruta has mentioned 10 different types of Dahana Upakarana according to the manifestation site of the disease. Many research works or clinical trials are being carried out by researchers on different forms of Agnikarma for the management of various musculoskeletal disorders. Among them, many research works remain as grey literature in the library. Hence, summarization of research works published in the research journals is necessary to know the treatment methodology of different forms of Agnikarma for the management of various musculoskeletal conditions. In this review article, all the clinical studies or trials are included that are available in online databases. To accomplish this purpose, data mining was carried out through various search engines such as Ayush portal, DHARA, Google Scholar, J Gate, PubMed, Research Gate, Sci-Hub, and Shodhaganga, and journals such as ASL, AYU, AyuCaRe, IAMJ, IJA CaRe, IJAR, JAIM, Journal of Ayurveda, JRAAS. During the search with different keywords related to Agnikarma and musculoskeletal disorders, a total of 237 articles were found online. Among these, some articles were scattered on various digital platforms with duplications and the same work on various search engines and Ayurveda journals. In this review article, a total of 38 different research works have been included. Among them, 01 work a pilot study, 12 works are case reports, 01 work a case series, 05 works are single-arm studies, and 19 works are comparative clinical studies. The present review article provides information about different methodologies of Agnikarma in the management of various conditions of the musculoskeletal system
Management of Hospital Care Operations in the Inpatient Department at Different Stages: An Analytical Study through the Perspective of Patients’ Complaints
Get PDFA study on patient satisfaction was based on pre-admission, post-admission, and post-discharge phases in the inpatient department of a corporate hospital in Delhi-NCR. The hospital offers multi-specialty care, including outpatient and inpatient services. An inpatient undergoes three distinct stages: pre-admission, post-admission, and post-discharge. The analysis in all these stages focused on understanding patients’ dissatisfaction with hospital services and the underlying reasons for it. Key areas examined included delays in admission and discharge, inadequate nursing care, poor communication, billing errors, and service delays such as food delivery or responses to patient calls
Study the Need of Pharmaceutical Care for Pain in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFBackground: A heterogeneous neuropsychiatric disorder called autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is frequently accompanied by significant behavioral disorders that might vary significantly in how they react to pain. It is primarily unknown how to quantify pain in people with ASD. An effective pain evaluation in this population will ultimately lead to more effective pharmaceutical pain management strategies. Aim: The current study aims to identify the need for pharmaceutical care in children with ASD by evaluating their pain and correlating the autism score with the pain score. Materials and Methods: In total, 73 ASD children between the ages of 3 and 14 were enrolled in this study. The pain was evaluated using the non-communicating children’s pain checklist-revised (NCCPC-R). The statistical analysis was carried out with the aid of Microsoft Excel. Results: The mean age of participating children is 6.3 ± 3.25 years (mean ± standard deviation) in this male population is dominating. The total score of NCCPC-R of more than 6 was 93.2% of the children indicating pain. The degree of pain is directly proportional to the degree of autism. Conclusion: Most children reported pain scores were greater than average, indicating that they could require pharmaceutical care to control their discomfort. It is strongly advised to conduct additional research using this technique’s multicenter prospective use in real-world settings with observations of “real-life” pain events
The Use of Mannose-Binding Lectin as a Predictive Signal for Renal Decline in Non-Hypertensive Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Males
Get PDFIntroduction: Mannose-binding lectin is a macromolecule of the innate immune system that provides a third pathway of complement system activation from the protein subfamily called the collectins, it can primarily respond to pathogens that have sugar receptors on cell membranes to mediate phagocytic activity. Methods: 82 type 1 male patients were enrolled in this study as well as 21 healthy control persons, information collected from patients by questionnaire age, body mass index (BMI), duration of disease, chronic diseases, and blood collected for fasting blood sugar (FBS), hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), serum creatinine, and mannan-binding lectin (MBL) measurements, and glomerular filtration rate was calculated using equation dependent on serum creatinine. Results: It shows a significant decrease in BMI in patients’ group as compared with control group; also, there was an increase in FBS, HbA1c, and MBL in patients’ groups as compared with control group. There was a positive correlation between MBL and BMI. Conclusion: We conclude that MBL was increased in patients with type 1 diabetes and may be an early sign of renal disease; also, there was an effect of obesity on the increase of MBL in those patients. Conclusion: The mannose-binding lectin may be used as an early diagnostic index for renal decline and the elevation of this protein is related to an increase in body weight
Pancreatic Cancer, Ascites, Diet, Bioactives and Ayurveda Efficacy: Mini Review and a Case Report
Get PDFBackground: Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the deadliest malignancies, often associated with late diagnosis, resistance to chemotherapy, and complications such as malignant ascites. Ayurveda and functional foods have shown promise in both adjuvant and recovery roles, amid interest in integrative oncology. We review a case study and the literature to find promising action pathways. Materials and Methods: We analyzed the anti-carcinogenic activity of the four most important herbs using literature, which were used sans chemo- or radio-therapy or allopathic drugs to improve the well-being and prolong life without pain of a 80 year old male PC patient in Pune city by 6 months. Results and Discussion: The use of Ayurvedic herbs and their bioactives includes (1) Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra – glycyrrhizin, isoliquiritigenin, and licoflavone (A)), (2) Giloy/Heart-leaved moonseed (Tinospora cordifolia – berberine, octacosanol, and polysaccharides), (3) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare – anethole and flavonoids), and (4) Ash gourd (Benincasa hispida – Cucurbitacin, Terpenoids, and Vitamin C). These are known in the literature to cause apoptosis in cancer cell lines, improve oxidative status by blocking free radicals, boost immunity, and wound healing. Conclusion: The said herbs seem promising medicines in addressing PC, including ascites. Their integration with the current treatments of chemotherapy and radiotherapy demands research
Beyond the Shaker: Quantifying Salt Intake in Tirana through Urinary Sodium Analysis
Get PDFBackground: High salt intake is associated with high blood pressure and adverse cardiovascular health. To figure out average salt intake, we investigated the dietary salt intake from 24-h urinary sodium excretion with a random adult sample from Tirana, the capital city of Albania. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty adults aged 18–75 years were randomly selected from a sample of 100000 people from 2 quarters of Tirana’s adult population. Anthropometric measures and sodium excretion in a 24-h urine collection were measured. The accuracy of urine collections was verified using creatinine excretion in relation to weight. Results: The mean Na excretions over 24 h were 202.54 (standard deviation [SD] 93.56) mmol/day. Urinary sodium excretion was significantly higher in men (223.85 [SD 106.51] mmol Na/day) than in women (190.80 [SD 83.96] mmol Na/d); P = 0,045. Average salt intake was 11.8 (SD 5.48) g/d, higher in men than in women (13.08 [SD 6.23] vs. 11,09 [SD 4.92] g/d, respectively). Salt intake increases slightly with increasing age, but there was no significant correlation between age and salt intake. It was also seen that salt consumption increased with increasing body mass index (r = 0.183, P = 0.001). Conclusion: Dietary salt intake in Tirana adults was high, which exceeds the World Health Organization recommended population nutrient intake. Reducing the intake of table salt and traditionally processed foods will be an important strategy to reduce sodium intake among our adults. A national program for reducing salt intake in Albania needs to be conducted through systematic efforts, including public education and involving the health-care sector and the food industry
The Existence of Gram-Negative Bacteria that do not Digest Lactose in the Feces and their Resistance to Specific Drugs
Get PDFThe study’s objectives were to identify non-lactose fermenting Gram-negative bacteria from stool samples from many diarrheal patients and to use the disc diffusion method to perform an antibiotic sensitivity test to assess the degree of antibiotic resistance. Between December 2022 and March 2023, 100 stool samples were taken from a few patients at Al-Imam Alhasan Hospital. The MacConky agar medium was used to cultivate the samples. 77% of the bacteria were lactose-fermenting, while 22% were not. Out of 100 isolates, 18 fermented lactose. The percentages of the isolates were as follows: Pseudomonas bacteria in 4 out of 18 isolates 23%, Shigella bacteria in 2 out of 18 isolates (12.3%), Salmonella bacteria in 10 out of 18 isolates 54%, and Proteus bacteria in 2 out of 18 isolates (12.5%). The results of a sensitivity test using the diffusion method for ten antibiotics revealed that by measuring the diameter of colony growth inhibition around the antibiotic in millimeters and comparing the results to the international specifications (2020, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute), the bacteria were either sensitive (S) or resistant (R). The most inhibiting antibiotic, ciprofloxacin, was 90% inhibiting, followed by ceftriaxone at 80% and ampicillin at 15%