Australasian Medical Journal
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Letter to the Editor
No full textBackground
Adolescents account for nearly one fifth of the world’s population. Anaemia in this group attributes to high maternal mortality, high incidence of low-birth weight babies, high perinatal mortality and foetal wastage and consequent high fertility rates. An interventional study was carried out to ascertain the impact of three months iron supplementation along with deworming & health education on anaemic adolescent girls in rural area
Method
The study was conducted at one of the residential school in rural India. All the residential girls of this school (total 209) included in the study. Their haemoglobin status was done and all anaemic girls were treated with 100 mg of Mebendazole two times a day for 3 days. Then all these anaemic girls were randomly allocated in experimental group & control group using random number table. The experimental group was supplemented with 100 mg of iron and 0.5mg of folic acid per day for a period of 3 months. No supplements were given to the control group. For both control & experimental groups, health education regarding anaemia & personal hygiene was given
Results
Overall prevalence of anaemia in present study was 51.67 %.After 3 months of iron supplementation, mean haemoglobin level in experimental group was increased from 8.93 gm% to 12.51 gm %.( z = 11.5,p < 0.01) .Among control group also there was significant increase in mean haemoglobin status from 8.78 gm% to 9.49 gm %.( z = 2.08, p< 0.05).
Conclusion
The study proves that anaemia is a very high magnitude of problem in adolescent girls. There is need for anaemia prophylaxis measures for adolescent girls in India including nutrition education in schools. This prophylaxis should be along with periodic deworming.
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Potential Drug Interactions at One Indian Teaching Hospital.
No full textBackgroundThe potential drug-drug interaction (pDDI) increases as the number of concomitant medications increases. Patients with cardiovascular disorders are at higher risk for drug-drug interactions because of the types and number of drugs they receive. While drug interactions are reported to be common, there is no published report of the prevalence of such interactions among Indian cardiac patients. The aim of the present study was to identify the pattern of pDDI and document any observed interaction. It was also planned to evaluate the demography of patients and correlate it with the drug-drug interactions.Method A prospective observational study from Oct 2007 to Apr 2008 was carried out in ‘cardiology department’ of a hospital in South India. Those patients who were taking at least two drugs and had a hospital stay of at least 48 hours were included in the study. The medications of the patients were analyzed for possible interactions. Factors associated with pDDI were studied. The actual interactions that were observed during the hospital stay in the study subjects were documented.ResultsA total of 812 patients were included in the study. 388 pDDIs were identified among 249 patients. The incidence of pDDI was 30.67%. The most common potential interactions were between aspirin & heparin (29.38%), and clopidogrel & heparin (7.21%). Drug class most commonly involved were antiplatelets, anticoagulants and diuretics. Majority of interactions were of moderate severity, delayed onset, and pharmacodynamic in nature. 68 actual interactions were observed in the observed cases.ConclusionThe present study identified pDDIs and also documented interactions in cardiovascular patients. Factors which had correlation with adverse drug interactions were identified. This study highlights the need for screening prescriptions of cardiovascular patients for pDDIs and proactive monitoring of patients who have identified risk factors; this helps in detection and prevention of possible adverse drug interactions.
E-learning to Enhance the Acquisition of Consulting Skills
Get PDFBackgroundThis study aims to evaluate medical students’ perception of the usefulness and effectiveness of an e-learning package developed to enhance the acquisition of consulting skills. Method A survey with mixed method data analysis was conducted. Participants were 67 medical students completing their third year primary care rotation as part of a five-year degree at the University of Tasmania. Participants completed a 10 question anonymous online survey after using the e-learning package ResultsOf the participants, 92% found it enjoyable and 95% found the e-learning package useful; 75% perceived it to be effective in increasing their performance and 91% believed it increased their knowledge in consulting skills. Benefits for participants’ confidence, style and structure of consulting skills were found.ConclusionParticipants found the e-learning package to be enjoyable and effective. E-learning should be further utilised in a blended learning environment to support face-to-face teaching in consulting skills.
Polio Immunization: What misconceptions?
No full textBackgroundThe government of India launched the pulse polio immunization (PPI) programme in 1995 with the aim of eradicating poliomyelitis by the end of 2000. Despite this, 733 children with polio were reported in 2009 alone. Therefore, there is a need to understand the reason underlying such high numbers of cases after so many years of programme implementation. This study was performed to assess the knowledge of the general population about poliomyelitis and PPI and their attitude and practice towards PPI.Method This cross-sectional study was undertaken in two semi-urban areas of Mangalore city. Only houses in which children under five lived were included in the study. Data was collected by interviewing any adult member of the household using a pretested questionnaire.ResultsThe literacy rate of study participants was 99%. Only 35(10.9%) participants knew the correct mode of transmission of polio. More than one quarter of the study population were under the impression that polio is a curable disease. The primary source of information about PPI in majority of participants was television (n = 192; 60%). Two-hundred and eighty eight (90%) participants knew that the purpose of PPI was to eradicate polio. Only 128 (40%) participants knew that polio drops can be given to children with mild illnesses and an identical number of participants knew that hot food stuff should not be given for at least half an hour following vaccination administration. Misconceptions such as PPI causing vaccine overdose was identified among 7 (2.2%) participants, it is a substitute for routine immunization was believed among 30 (9.4%) participants and that oral polio vaccine prevents other diseases was seen among 76 (23.7%) participants. The educational status of the participants was significantly associated with their awareness level (χ2 =13.668, DF=6, P=0.033). ConclusionThis study identified a few important misconceptions associated with polio and PPI which need to be addressed by large scale awareness campaigns in order to achieve polio eradication in the near future
Initiation and Adequacy of Complementary Feeding
Get PDFBackgroundInfants and young children are at an increased risk of malnutrition from six months of age onwards, when breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet all their nutritional requirements and complementary feeding should be started. Hence this study was undertaken to assess the practices of complementary feeding.Method This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at two private hospitals – Dr TMA Pai Hospital Udupi and Dr TMA Pai Hospital Karkala and a public hospital, Regional Advanced Paediatric Care Centre, Mangalore, of coastal south India for a two-month period from August 2010 to October 2010. Two-hundred mothers of children between six months and two years attending the paediatric outpatient departments of the above-mentioned hospitals for growth monitoring, immunisation and minor illnesses such as upper respiratory tract infections were selected for the study. The subjects were selected for the study by the order of their arrival to the outpatient department during the study period. ResultsIn the present study 77.5% mothers had started complementary feeding at the recommended time of six months. Only 32% of mothers were giving an adequate quantity of complementary feeds. The association of initiation of complementary feeding with socio-economic status, birth order, place of delivery and maternal education was found to be statistically significant. However the practice of giving an adequate quantity of complementary feeds was significantly associated only with the place of delivery.ConclusionIn the present study, initiation of complementary feeding at the recommended time of six months was seen in the majority of children. However the quantity of complementary feeding was insufficient. Advice about breast feeding and complementary feeding during antenatal check-ups and postnatal visits might improve feeding practices
Anatomy of Nutrient Foramina in the Lower Limb Long Bones
Get PDFBackgroundKnowledge regarding nutrient foramina of bones is useful in surgical procedures such as microvascular bone transfer in order to preserve the circulation. The objective of the present study was to study the morphology and topography of nutrient foramina and to determine the foraminal index of the lower limb long bones to provide detailed data on such features.Method The study comprised examination of 206 lower limb long bones which included femora, tibiae and fibulae. The nutrient foramina were identified analysed macroscopically and the foramen index calculated. Each bone was divided into five parts and topographical analysis was performed on each section. ResultsFemora had single nutrient foramen in 47.7% of the cases, double foramen in 44.2% of the cases, triple in 3.5% of the cases and an absence of foramen in 4.6%. In the case of tibiae, 98.6% showed single foramen and in 1.4% of the cases, the foramen was absent. With respect to fibulae, 90.2% had single foramen and foramen was absent in 9.8%. The mean foraminal index was 38.9 for the femora, 32.5 for tibiae and 49.2 for fibulae. The majority (51.3%) of the foramina in the femora were located at the 2/5th part, 98.3% of the tibiae foramina at the 2/5th part and 60% of the fibulae at the 3/5th part. ConclusionThe study provides information on the morphology and topography of nutrient foramina in lower limb long bones. The double foramina were more common in femur and rare in the tibia and fibula. The foramina of the femur and tibia were commonly observed at their upper part, whereas in the fibula they were present on the lower part. This knowledge of the nutrient foramina has to be kept in mind during surgical procedures