Endodontic file separation and its management among dentists in Punjab, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study

The study aimed to find the incidence and awareness of endodontic instrument separation and its management among dental house officers, postgraduate trainees, demonstrators, consultants, and general dentists. Methods: This online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted with the approval of the IRB in private and public dental hospitals and dental clinics in Punjab. The authors developed the survey tool, which comprises 24 closed-ended items regarding demographics, the incidence of file separation, and awareness about its management. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 24. The Chi-Square Test was used to compare percentages of categorical variables. Results: Postgraduate trainees experienced the most instrument separations (43.6%), made the most retrieval attempts (49.2%), and experienced the most secondary errors during retrieval (52.1%) (p<0.001). Around four out of ten respondents always informed the patients (39.6%) and department (41.6%) about errors. Manual files (69.8%), stainless steel files (75.8%), and short files (60.4%) were more frequently separated, and the most frequent cause was older fatigue files (57.7%). Manual files were more frequently broken in public dental institutes (p=0.003). Two-thirds of the file separations (72.5%) occurred during cleaning and shaping in the apical third of molars (65.1%), especially in mesiolingual canal (56.4%). Bypass attempt was the most common in symptomatic teeth (47.7%). Conclusions: Preventive approaches such as limiting file reuse and constructing a glide path can reduce the occurrence of file separation. Operators should be familiar with the number of uses of the instrument before fatigue and should be trained through workshops and refresher courses

Prevalence rate of bronchial asthma in school children aged 6-14 years in Alexandria

Bronchial asthma [BA] is a leading cause of chronic illness in childhood. It is considered the most prevalent chronic condition in children responsible for a significant proportion of both acute and chronic illness and also school absenteeism. The aim of the present work was to determine the prevalence of BA in school children aged 6-14 years in Alexandria, and to reveal some epidemiological features. A representative sample of children [2336] of the target population was surveyed by using stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected using pre-designed questionnaire to be fulfilled by the parents of the child. All asthmatic children detected were included in the study and subjected to thorough history, and clinical examination, x-ray chest, pulmonary function test and samples of them were subjected to bronchial challenge testing. The prevalence rate of asthmatic children aged 6-14 years in Alexandria was 18% in scholastic year 2001-2002. The prevalence rate for males and females were 9.6% and 8.4% respectively, which was not statistically significant [P=0.936]. There was a decrease of asthma incidence and severity with increasing age but this was not statistically significant [P=0.707]. Also, socioeconomic status did not influence the prevalence rate of asthma in the present work. Most children have their asthma exacerbations during cold weather [P=0.047]. The prevalence of asthma was not influenced be the district. Although severe persistent asthma increased in low socioeconomic districts [Borg EI-Arab, and El-Gomrok] but this was not statistically significant

Conclusion: The prevalence rate of BA among school children aged 6-14 years in Alexandria has increased dramatically during the last 25 years to reach 18% in the scholastic year 2001-2002. Asthma exacerbations increased significantly during cold weather. Although severe persistent asthma increased in EI-Gomrok and Borg AI-Arab districts, but this was not statistically significant. Sixty percent of cases of asthmatic children in this study were cases of persistent asthma which are in need for maintenance therapy. Twenty eight percent of cases are under diagnosed due to lack of knowledge about this disease. Asthma in not influenced by sex or age but affect both sex and all age

Study of the body weights, heights and head circumference of illegitimate newborns

Body weights, heights and head circumference of 397 illegitimate newborns were compared with the reported values of normal Egyptian controls. Reduction in body weights, heights and head circumference were the common findings and their relation to controls were presented and discussed