Asian Pacific Journal of Health Sciences
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Evaluation of Total Serum Immunoglobulin E Levels in Asthma Patients
Get PDFBackground and aim: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease mediated by immunologic mechanisms. The pathogenic role of immunoglobulin E (IgE) is always associated with the development of allergic diseases, especially asthma because it is highly responsive to the allergen. The present study aimed to estimate and compare total serum IgE levels in mild, moderate, and severe asthmatics and healthy controls (HC) and to obtain the relationship between serum IgE levels and asthma. Materials and Methods: For the present study, a total of 200 subjects that, include 100 asthma patients and 100 HC, were recruited from the south Indian population with prior consent. Spirometry with reversibility testing was done in all cases, and serum IgE levels were estimated using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Result: The total IgE levels were significantly high in asthmatics than in HC (P < 0.001). Total IgE levels in normal, mild, and moderate asthmatics were 121.51 IU/mL, 382.78 IU/mL, and 540 IU/mL, respectively, and no severe asthmatics were found in the study. Serum total IgE levels in allergic asthma patients were significantly higher than in smoking and family history of asthma patients. The receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to compare the total IgE levels in asthma patients versus HC, and the area under the curve for IgE was 0.62 (95% CI: 0.541–0.700), indicating the test was satisfactory with a statistically significant at P < 0.005. Conclusion: Total IgE levels were found to increase as the severity of asthma increased. Total IgE is essential in asthma and may be used as a diagnostics marker
Understanding Amblyopia in Ayurveda Perspective: A Review Article
Get PDFVision is prime sense to have facile life and abnormalities of vision are very common in all populations with various pathologies in different parts of eye such as cornea, lens, and vitreous retina. Amblyopia is one such condition which is characterized by reversible loss of vision affecting one or both the eyes. Examination is important to rule out any organic defect in various parts of the eye. In Ayurveda, many of the visual differences are coined under the heading of Timira which is characterized by blurred vision. The Vataja Timira symptoms can be correlated to Amblyopia hence the management
Association of Post-COVID Fatigue, Dyspnea, and Functional State with Sociodemographic Variable among the COVID-19 Sufferer of an Urban Section in Northeast India
Get PDFCoronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), produced by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 a global pandemic, has many non-respiratory symptoms which persist for several months after the initial infection. The presence of post-COVID-19 conditions may affect the functional state and quality of life in COVID-19 patients who were recovered in either home isolation or acute care hospital settings. The present study is a community-based cross-sectional survey undertaken during the devastating second wave of COVID-19 and the subjects recruited were ≥ 18 years with more than 3 weeks of post-COVID state selected from the municipality areas of Guwahati Urban, Northeast India. All the participants were screened for their sociodemographic characteristics, fatigue with Chalder fatigue scale (CFS), dyspnea, and functional state with MRC dyspnea grade and post-COVID functional scale (PCFS). Descriptive statistics and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient analysis were used for statistical analysis where the fatigue total score and variable such as smoking status (P = 0.050) and time since symptom onset of COVID-19 (P = 0.046) in weeks showing a statistical significant relationship. There is a significant association between CFS and MRC grade with PCFS with P = 0.000 and 0.008, respectively. The study concluded that post-COVID conditions such as fatigue are more prevalent among the all individuals irrespective of their COVID-19 management in either home isolation or acute hospital care settings
Standardization and Evaluation of an In-house Multiplex Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction for Simultaneous Detection of Pathogenic Species of Brucella, Rickettsia, and Leptospira in Patients with Acute Febrile Illness
Get PDFBackground and Objectives: Acute febrile illness is caused by a wide range of etiologies. Brucella, Rickettsia and Leptospira as a cause of acute febrile illness have not been well studied. Identification by culture is laborious and diagnosis is often based on serological tests. We aimed to develop an in-house multiplex real-time PCR assay for the simultaneous detection of Brucella, Rickettsia and Leptospira and evaluate on samples collected from patients presenting with acute febrile illness. Methods: Samples (n=1101) were collected from patients presenting with acute febrile illness from different regions. An inhouse multiplex real-time PCR was developed for the specific detection of Brucella species, Rickettsia species and pathogenic species of Leptospira. The assay was evaluated on clinical samples. IgM ELISA was carried out on randomly selected samples (n=178). Results: The detection limit of the multiplex real-time PCR assay was 6.3, 43.7 and 1.2 genome copies per 10 μl of PCR input for Brucella, Rickettsia and Leptospira respectively. Among 1101 samples, Leptospira was positive in 1.36% samples and Rickettsia was positive in 0.36% samples. Among random samples, 37.1% of samples were positive for Brucella IgM, 19.6% were positive for Rickettsia IgM and 11.2% were positive for Leptospira IgM. Interpretation and Conclusions: The study showed a high seroprevalence of Brucellosis and Rickettsiosis among the samples. The in-house multiplex real-time PCR assay will be a useful tool in the syndromic diagnosis for a specific and comprehensive laboratory diagnostic testing
Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Fish as an Antibacterial and Anticancer Agent- A Review
Get PDFFish contain many essential compounds that are important for human health. The presence of omega-3 fatty acids which includes eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid increases the beneficial aspect of fish. This review intends to briefly describe the antibacterial and anticancer of fish oil extract. Several fish species which are enriched with omega-3 fatty acids content inhibits the growth of several pathogenic bacteria and cancer cell lines. Consumption of these types of fish also helps in control or reduction of health problems such as asthma and inflammation
Aspect of Identity Crisis Faced by Adolescents: A Comparative Study of Rudrapur and Lucknow
Get PDFAn identity crisis is a personal and psychosocial conflict that occurs during adolescence, though may happen at any time. It involves confusion about one’s social role and sense of self. The present study intends to identify the aspects of identity crisis faced by adolescents. Sample for the study comprised of 160 adolescents (88 boys and 72 girls) between 10 and19 years of age group. Aspects of identity questionnaire by Cheek and Briggs were used to assess the level of identity. The questionnaire measures the identity in terms of who are and what a particular person is and what constitute person’s identity. The scale measures four aspects of identity which include the personal identity, relational identity, social identity, and collective identity. Results reveal that the majority of the adolescents faced personal, relational, and collective identity orientation on an average
Source of Menstrual Knowledge, Reaction, and Restriction during Menstruation in Chinnalapatti, Tamil Nadu: Evidence from a Cross-sectional Survey among Adolescent Schoolgirls
Get PDFBackground: The study aims to determine the factors associated with restriction during menstruation among adolescent girls. To find out the source of knowledge and information regarding menstruation and emotional reaction at the time of menarche. Methods: A Cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Schools of Chinnalapatti, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu in southern India. A sample size of 116 adolescent girls aged 9–18 years. The questionnaire included questions regarding demographics, socio-category, education, family income, age at menarche, emotion response at menarche, social restriction, source of knowledge, and information. Results: The mean age year of menarche was 11.72 ± 1.27 years. Most adolescent girls (52.59%) informed their mothers first menarche. Furthermore, significant participants responded that mothers and relatives were the common sources of knowledge and information regarding menstruation. Participants were not allowed to go in religious activities (99.14%), not allowed to go near plants (99%), forced to be separated from others (35.34%). Parent qualification had a significant influence on restriction during menstruation. Conclusion: A significant percentage of girls have to face many kinds of restrictions during menstruation. Socioeconomic factors were significantly associated with the types of restrictions during menstruation. The study suggests that elementary knowledge and awareness about menstruation must be dispersed by the schools/NGOs where teachers, students (male and female), and their parents should participate for better awareness, leading to overcoming the efficiency
Effect of Micronutrients Intake and Physical Activity on Depression and Anxiety: A Review
Get PDFDepression and anxiety are increasing at global and national level at the rampant rate and hence are the main reason for deterioration in mental health. This, in turn, leads to a poor physical health. With the increase in the incidence of the rate of both the disorder, it is a silent killer as well. There are many medical and non-medical treatments are available for the cure of anxiety and depression. A few nutrients such as zinc, selenium, iron, magnesium, iodine, and Vitamin A, B complex, D, and Vitamin C have also shown a beneficial role in the improvement of anxiety and depression symptoms. There is a possible role of optimal physical activity in reduction of symptoms of anxiety and depression. Very few studies are available on the role of these micronutrient intakes and physical activity on anxiety and depression. Hence more research is required in this field of study
Prevalence of Scapulothoracic Dysfunction in Primipara after One Year of Delivery
Get PDFBackground: During pregnancy, there are various physiological, biomechanical, postural, and emotional changes taking place. The changes in posture which occurs during pregnancy are even maintained in postpartum period if they remain uncorrected. Due to the enlargement of breasts, size of the uterus, and mother’s weight, there is increase in lumbar and cervical lordosis and there is compensatory thoracic kyphosis, the shoulder and upper back become rounded. There is scapular protraction and internal rotation of the upper extremity; these adaptations of posture may also persist in the postpartum period due to infant care demands. Pectoralis muscles tightness and weakness of the scapular stabilizers may be pre-existing to or may occur due to pregnancy postural changes. Hence, there is a need of evaluating the upper quadrant musculoskeletal involvement during the postpartum period and its correlation with changes that occur during pregnancy. Objective: The objective of this study was to study the prevalence of scapulothoracic dysfunction in primipara after 1 year of delivery. Methods: A total 150 primipara women who had completed 1 year of delivery were randomly selected from the Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Karad in this analytical observational study. Scapulothoracic dysfunction was assessed using postural examination chart in the anterior, lateral and posterior views by plumb line, manual muscle testing for muscle strength, and special tests for scapular dysfunction. Results: The result showed that 71% found to be positive for scapulothoracic dysfunction through YES/NO test, respectively. Majority of the subjects (45%) had type II scapular dyskinesis, while 18% subjects had type I, 11% had type III, and 22% had type IV. On postural examination, 27% had forward head posture, 55% had protracted shoulder, and 60% had kyphotic posture. The strength test showed that 57% subjects had weak trapezius, 60% had serratus anterior weak and significant amount of weakness with gradings in the range of −3–+3 for 57% subjects in trapezius, 60% in serratus anterior, and 65% had weak rhomboid’s major with gradings in the range of −3–+3, respectively. Conclusion: The study concludes that, statistically, there was high prevalence of scapulothoracic dysfunction in primipara women after 1 year of delivery. This was due of the slouched posture that the women’s adapted due to increase in breast size, increased size of the uterus, breast feeding positioning, and also infant care which demanded hunched back posture. It was also found that women had lack of knowledge about posture
Integrative Management of a Case with a Known History of Diabetes Mellitus with Acute Pancreatitis – A Rare Case Report
Get PDFDiabetes Mellitus is one of the common causes of Acute Pancreatitis. After Pancreatitis the endocrine functions of the pancreas may still worsen, and hence Diabetes Mellitus may be difficult to treat. If HbA1c gets elevated, it may prone the patient to the risk of complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and cardiovascular disorders. There may be a possibility of a recurrent attack of pancreatitis which may further complicate the condition, and it may be difficult to treat the person. Hence, there is a need to increase the dosage of allopathic medicine which may harm the patient. Sometimes Insulin may be required to control the condition. In such cases, an integrated approach can be tried with a complementary system of medicine. This is a case with a known history of Diabetes Mellitus with Acute Pancreatitis, improved with an integrative approach. The blood parameters came within normal limits and acute exacerbation of pancreatitis was also taken care of