Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Infection Control Procedures among Dentists of Karachi

Aim: Infection control is crucial in any clinical setting. It is vital that all dentists must follow the infection control protocols in their clinics to prevent cross-infection. In a dental clinic, even simple dental procedures including extractions, scaling and root planning, dental crown preparations and root canal treatment, have a high risk of exposure to blood, which may cause transmission blood-borne diseases. Dentist’s compliance with these guidelines and recommendations have been recently studied in different parts of the world. Hence this study was performed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding infection control measures among private dental practioners in Karachi, Pakistan.Study Design:Cross-sectional study.Place and Duration of Study:This study was conducted for a period of four months in Karachi, Pakistan. Materialsand Methods: Present cross–sectional study was performed by interviewing 234dentists via a questionnaire based upon various questions regarding infection control. Sample were collected using convenience sampling, from private dental clinics in Karachi, Pakistan. Setting:Questionnaire were sent to 400 general dentist in Karachi,out of which 234 replied.Results: Mostly (69%) dentists who took part in the study were males. Regarding infection control, most of the individuals had a comprehensive understanding of infection control techniques. Isolation was considered to play a vital role in cross-infection prevention by 97.3% of the dentists. 93.2% used autoclave for sterilization and majority had thorough knowledge of the process involved. Regarding preventive measures, 66.7% of the dentists were vaccinated against major infectiousagents in our society and 92.2% took protective measures required to prevent cross-infection.Conclusion: Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding infection control of dentists in private clinic of Karachi, Pakistan are satisfactory.

Influence of gender, BMI, and ethnicity on serum ALT levels of healthy students of a medical school

Alanine Aminotransferase [ALT] is an enzyme found in Liver and indicates injury to Hepatocytes. It is influenced by various factors. The objectives of this study were to identify the correlates of ALT activity among healthy medical students of Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, aged 18-22 years. This was to establish the mean ALT levels of the students and compare them with those in various parts of the world and observe various correlations that exist and factors that may influence ALT levels. This population included 143 volunteer students [93 men and 50 women] selected on the basis of negative answers to a detailed medical questionnaire including past medical history, drug and alcohol consumption, on the absence of clinical signs of liver disease, on the negativity of serological testing for Hepatitis B and C virus. The mean ALT level of the entire population was 28.7 IU/L. A major sex-difference in ALT value was observed, the mean ALT value being higher in men than in women [32.1 +/- 21.7 vs. 22.6 +/- 9.7 IU/L, p<0.004]. According to WHO criteria for Asians, normal BMI was taken from 18.5-23.0 Kg/m[2]. There was a positive significant correlation between serum ALT level and BMI [p<0.002]. ALT level strongly correlates with body mass index and gender. There was no significant variation in ALT levels among Punjabis and Sindhis, Balochis, Pathans, and Kashmiris. We suggest the need of taking into account these parameters in a clinical interpretation of ALT level

Nested PCR based diagnosis of salmonella enterica serovar paratyphi a directly from blood samples

Development of a rapid, reliable PCR - based method for molecular identification of Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi A directly from blood samples. S. Paratyphi A isolates were used for regular PCR targeting specific region of fliC-a gene. New primers were designed and conditions were optimized for a nested PCR that could be directly applicable on blood samples. The procedure was tested on 70 blood samples from suspected cases of typhoidal infection and comparison made with blood culture. Blood culture was able to diagnose only four patients as infected with S. Paratyphi A. Regular PCR was unable to detect S. Paratyphi A directly from blood where as nested PCR detected S. Paratyphi A in blood of thirteen patients. S. Paratyphi A, which is emerging as a major pathogen can be detected with better sensitivity by nested PCR as compared with blood culture

Differentiation of common gram negative pathogens by PCR- ribotyping

Gram negative bacteria especially members of family Enterobacteriaceae are among the most frequently isolated organisms from the clinical specimens. Rapid diagnosis of the pathogen in a clinical sample is always very important. Conventional methods are time-consuming. Among molecular techniques, PCR is very useful but unless very specific primers are used, non-specific amplifications are a problem. PCR-ribotying is a technique that gives very specific multiple bands by use of a single primer set. This study was designed to establish patterns for five common pathogens of Enterobacteriaceae, namely Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi [Salmonella Typhi], Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella aerogenes, and Cirtobacter freundii along with another very common and problematic gram negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Each species gave a specific ribotyping pattern. Escherichia coli gave four amplification products of 1200, 850, 800, and 700 bps. Four amplification products of different sizes were also observed in Citrobacter freundii [3000, 850, 700, and 580 bps], Proteus vulgaris [900, 800, 750 and 700 bps], and Klebisella aerogenes [3000, 870, 700 and 520 bps]. More discrimination with five amplification products was seen in Salmonella Typhi [3000, 1200, 900, 850, and 700 bps]. On the other side of spectrum was Pseudomonas aeruginosa only a single amplification product of 750 bps was observed. PCR-ribotyping can very efficiently and specifically differentiate between opportunistic gram negative human pathogens