ABSTRACT
Background: acne vulgaris is the most common skin disease treated by dermatologists. Misconceptions about acne, regarding its causes, treatment options and their possible outcome are widespread
Objectives: the objective ofthis study was; to evaluate the knowledge and perception of acne patients regarding their understanding of acne pathogenesis, treatment options, and expectations
Patients and methods: this descriptive study was conducted in dermatology clinic, outpatient department of Sheikh Zayed Medical College /Hospital, from 1st January to 15th april,2010 and a total of 105 consecutive study subjects, who were diagnosed with acne were included. An informed verbal consent was ensured from every study subject
Results: the mean age of the patients was 18.8 +/- 2.7 years. Majority of the patients [87%] were females and unmarried [83 %]. 74% had education level matric and above. 48.6% belonged to urban areas, 30.4% to rural areas and 21% to urban slums. 67% of the patients of acne in our study reported that they felt frequently worried about their acne. 55 % of the study subjects had duration of acne less than three months, 41 % had duration between 3 to 12 months and 4% had duration more than one year. When asked about causes of acne, 35% related it with poor skin hygienic conditions, 19% to dietary factors, 13% to blocked skin pores, 10.5 % to inheritance factors, 7.6% to stress, 6.7% related to infection by germs. Regarding dietary aggravating factors; 38 % linked to oily food items, 14 % with tea, 13.3% with milk products. 17 % perceived that acne is not a curable disease. 41 % of the patients had no opinion about mode oftreatment. 67% ofthe patients expected the duration ofacne treatment may beup to 3 months
Conclusion: there is a need for accessible, accurate, community-based education on the natural history of acne, its pathogenesis, risk of sequelae, the effectiveness and expected duration of treatment, and the importance of prompt medical attention
ABSTRACT
To compare different cut-off values of fasting and random plasma glucose as a screening test for diagnosis of gestational Diabetes in comparison to the 50 grams Glucose Challenge Test [GCT]. Comparative, cross-sectional study. This study was carried out between July 2006 to September 2007 at Departments of Pathology, Obstetrics/Gynaecology and Medicine, PNS Rahat Hospital, Karachi. A total of 53 pregnant subjects at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy were selected to undergo random and fasting blood sugar level estimation and 50-g GCT. All the subjects later underwent 100-g OGTT as well. The results were evaluated by both "Carpenter and Coustan criteria" and "NDDG criteria". The results of random plasma glucose random [cut-off: >/= 11.1 mmol/L], fasting plasma glucose [cut-off: > 5.3 mmol/L and > 5.1 mmol/L] and plasma glucose results post 50-g GCT [cut-off: >/= 7.8 mmol/L and >/= 7.2 mmol/L] were evaluated against 100-g OGTT results through ROC curve analysis. Finally, various diagnostic parameters including sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios [LR] and efficiency were evaluated. Nineteen subjects were diagnosed to have GDM as per the "Carpenter and Coustan criteria" and 13 met the "NDDG criteria" as per the results of 100-g OGTT. Fasting plasma glucose at was the most efficient investigation at cut- off of 5.1 mmol/L sensitivity=66.66%, specificity=81.25%, PPV=70%, NPV=78.78%, LR+ =3.56, LR- =0.41, efficiency=75.47%. At the cut-off value of 5.3 mmol/L, the results had 64% sensitivity, 85.71% specificity, 80% PPV, 72.72% NPV, 4.48 LR+, 0.42 LR-, 75.97% efficiency]. It was followed by plasma glucose post 50-g GCT [53.57% sensitivity at cut-off of >/= 7.2 mmol/L and 54.54% sensitivity at cut-off of >/= 7.8 mmol/L]. Fasting plasma glucose is a better investigation for the screening of gestational Diabetes than plasma glucose post 50-g glucose challenge