A prospective observational study of prescription pattern in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Jharkhand

Background: Prescription error and irrational prescribing are the avoidable problems imposed on health care delivery system from prescriber side which must be addressed. Periodic prescription audit helps to curtail the error and irrational prescribing.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted on patients visiting various Outpatient Department of RIMS, Ranchi, Jharkhand on all working days at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. Various aspects of collected prescriptions were analyzed by using World Health Organization (WHO) prescribing indicators.Results: In this study, out of 700 prescriptions collected, 76 were excluded. Out of total 624 patients analyzed, 382 (61.28%) were male and 242 (38.72%) were female. 48 (7.69%) patients belonged to ?18, 464 (74.36%) to 19-64 and 112 (17.95%) to ?65 years of age group. Tablet (71%) was the most common dosage form. None of prescriptions were having registration number of the doctor. 242 (38.78%) prescriptions did not have a diagnosis duly written. The total no. of drugs prescribed in 624 prescriptions was 2176. Only 32 (5.13%) prescriptions were found to have medicines prescribed in block letters. Antibiotics (29%) were the most common class of drugs prescribed. Average number of drugs per prescription was 3.47. Only 48 (2.20%) drugs were prescribed by their generic name while total of injectables prescribed were 102 (4.68%). Total number of drugs from NLEM was 848 (38.97%). 196 (9.00%) drugs were fixed-dose combination.Conclusions: In our study, we found deficiencies in various parts of prescriptions. Prescribing pattern was not in accordance with WHO recommendation for prescribing practice.

Indian older adults and the digit span: a preliminary report / Idosos indianos e extensão de dígitos: um relatório preliminar

ABSTRACT: The digit span test is widely used to assess attention and working memory. It is a portable, relatively culture-free and frequently used test. However, the cultural validity of this test, particularly in the Indian older population, is not well established. Objective: This study explores the usefulness of the digit span test for Indian older adults with different levels of education. Methods: Two hundred and fifty-eight community-dwelling healthy normal older adults formed the sample of this study. All study participants were screened using a semi-structured interview schedule, the modified MINI Screen, the Indian version of the Mini-Mental State Examination, a measure of activities of daily living and the digit span test administered verbally. Results: The results indicated that participants with higher educational level performed significantly better than low-educated participants on the digit span test. Participants with low education often struggled with the digit span test and resorted to guessing the digits. Conclusion: Our study clearly demonstrates that the digit span test can be useful for educated participants. However, its usefulness and ecological validity is questionable for those with low education and low literacy, warranting future research.

RESUMO: O teste de span de dígitos é amplamente utilizado para avaliar a atenção e a memória de trabalho. É um teste portátil, relativamente livre de cultura e frequentemente usado. No entanto, a validade cultural deste teste, particularmente na população idosa indiana, não está bem estabelecida. Objetivo: Este estudo explora a utilidade do teste de amplitude de dígitos para idosos indianos com diferentes níveis de educação. Métodos: Duzentos e cinquenta e oito idosos saudáveis ​​normais residentes na comunidade formaram a amostra deste estudo. Todos os participantes da pesquisa foram selecionados usando uma entrevista semiestruturado, MINI Screen modificado, versão indiana do Mini Mental State Examination, uma medida de atividade da vida diária e teste do span de dígitos administrados verbalmente. Resultados: Os resultados indicaram que os participantes com alto nível de escolaridade tiveram desempenho significativamente melhor do que os participantes com baixo nível de escolaridade no teste de amplitude de dígitos. Participantes com baixa escolaridade muitas vezes enfrentaram difficuldades com o teste de amplitude de dígitos e recorreram a adivinhar os dígitos. Conclusão: Nosso estudo demonstra claramente que o teste de amplitude de dígitos pode ser útil para participantes instruídos. No entanto, sua utilidade e validade ecológica são questionáveis ​​para aqueles com baixa escolaridade e letramento, requerendo pesquisas futuras.

Etiology of short stature in Northern India / Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies

Objective@#Short stature can be caused by a great variety of congenital and acquired conditions, some of which present with additional symptoms and signs. Overall, the number of patients seeking medical attention for short stature may be considered as the tip of the iceberg. The objective of this study was to determine the pattern and etiological factors of short stature in children. @*Methodology@#A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Endocrinology at a tertiary care health center in north India from August 2012 to June 2015. Four hundred and fifty one children (280 boys and 171 girls), ranging from 4 to 18 years presenting with short stature were studied. Anthropometric measurements were plotted on Indian standard growth charts. @*Results@#In this study, the male to female ratio was found to be 1.6:1, with mean chronological age of 11.6+3.2 years, and mean bone age of 7.8+2.8 years. The common etiologic factors in the order of frequency were constitutional delay in growth and puberty (41.2%), familial short stature (15.9%), type 1 diabetes mellitus (9.9%), and hypothyroidism (8.6%) while growth hormone deficiency (2.4%) was a relatively uncommon cause. The most common pathological cause for proportionate short stature was type 1 diabetes and for disproportionate short stature was hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism caused the maximum retardation of bone age while the least bone age retardation was noticed in familial short stature. @*Conclusion@#Physiological/normal variants outnumbered the pathological causes of short stature. Endocrinological causes were found in almost one fourth of children with short stature; however, growth hormone deficiency was found in only 2.4% of the children.

Impact of a gluten-free diet on Sseveral growth parameters in children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Celiac Disease in Western Uttar Pradesh, India / Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies

Background@#Celiac disease is frequently associated with uncontrolled blood sugar and impaired linear growth in a child with type 1 diabetes mellitus. @*Objective@#To study the impact of a gluten-free diet on several growth parameters in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and celiac disease. @*Methodology@#Two hundred and fifty six patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus were screened (149 males and 107 females) during the study period of two years. Patients were evaluated for the clinical signs, biochemical investigations and family history of celiac disease in a tertiary care health centre in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. @*Results@#Twenty four (9.3%) patients were diagnosed to have celiac disease; the mean age at diagnosis of diabetes was 9.37±7 years. Only one out of twenty four patients with celiac disease had been diagnosed before the detection of diabetes mellitus. Weight standard deviation score (SDS) increased from -0.12±1.3 at the start of gluten free diet to 0.8±0.9 after 12 months (p<0.004). Height SDS decreased from -2.46±1.1 at the start of gluten free diet to -2.14±0.9 after 12 months later (p=0.087). Bone age SDS increased from 9.2±6.3 at the start of gluten free diet to 10.3±6.7 after 12 months later. Height velocity increased from 4.7±0.7 cm/year in the year before treatment to 5.1+1.2 cm/year during treatment (p=0.05). The increase in Haemoglobin, serum calcium, and serum iron was statistically significant (p<0.05). @*Conclusion@#Patients with celiac disease associated with type 1 diabetes mellitus frequently have poor glycemic control and impairment in several growth parameters. When these patients are put on a gluten restricted diet, they show signs of improvement in terms of weight gain, height, serum Ca, serum iron, haemoglobin, and in height velocity.

Prevalence and clinical profile of Celiac Disease in patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Western Uttar Pradesh, India / Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies

Background@#Celiac disease is frequently associated with type 1 diabetes mellitus, but is usually ill-defined and not usually suspected until the disease becomes advanced. @*Objective@#To study the prevalence and clinical profile of celiac disease among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus in a tertiary care referral centre in north India. @*Methodology@#Two hundred and fifty six patients were screened (149 males and 107 females) during the study period of two years, patients were evaluated for the clinical signs, biochemical investigations and family history of celiac disease in tertiary care health center in western Uttar Pradesh. @*Results@#Twenty four (9.37%) patients were diagnosed to have celiac disease; the mean age at diagnosis of diabetes was 9.34 ± 7.3 years. Only 1/24 patients with celiac disease had been diagnosed before detection of diabetes mellitus. The common manifestations were normocytic normochromic anemia (66.6%) followed by diarrhoea (62.5%), abdominal pain/bloating sensation (58.3%) and short stature (58.3%). Some uncommon manifestations were also observed in small number of patients: rickets (20.8%), recurrent hypoglycemia (16.6%), carpopedal spasm (8.3%), and night blindness (8.3%). @*Conclusion@#Celiac disease was found in about 10% of patients with type 1 diabetes, almost 10-20 times higher than that observed in general pediatric population. Atypical manifestations (rickets, recurrent hypoglycemia, carpopedal spasm and night blindness) were found to be common in patients with type 1 diabetes as compared to the general population. Unexplained anemia, diarrhoea, short stature and rickets should raise suspicion for the possibility of undiagnosed celiac disease in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Age, education and gender effects on neuropsychological functions in healthy Indian older adults / Efeitos da idade, educação e gênero nas funções neuropsicológicas em indianos adultos idosos saudáveis

It is essential to use culturally appropriate, sensitive and specific tests that reflect true cognitive performance. However, several factors including age, education and gender can influence neuropsychological test performance. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of age, education and gender on neuropsychological function in older adults using measures of global cognitive screening, attention, working memory, executive functions, memory, construction, language and parietal focal signs. METHODS: This is a cross sectional normative study of 180 community-dwelling normal older adults. All participants were screened with the Hindi Mental Status Examination (HMSE), Everyday Activities Scale for India (EASI), Edinburgh handedness inventory (EDI) and MINI Screen, and followed by a detailed neuropsychological assessment. RESULTS: Stepwise regression analysis revealed that education was associated with better performance on all the neuropsychological tests. Females performed significantly better on measures of memory. Further, most of the illiterate subjects, including low educated participants, refused to cooperate on measures of executive functioning. CONCLUSION: Education was found to be the strongest determinant of neuropsychological test performance followed by age and gender. Our study demonstrates that Indian healthy normal older adults with low education perform poorly on measures of planning and working memory. Traditional measures of planning and working memory should be avoided or used cautiously in the presence of low education. There is an urgent need to develop tasks for measuring executive functions, especially in low educated Indian older adults.

É essencial o uso de testes específicos, sensíveis e culturalmente apropriados que reflitam o verdadeiro desempenho cognitivo. Todavia, vários fatores como idade, educação e gênero podem influenciar o desempenho neuropsicológico em testes. OBJETIVO: Examinar os efeitos de idade, educação e gênero na função neuropsicológica em adultos idosos usando medidas de rastreio cognitivo global, atenção, memória operacional, funções executivas, memória, construção, linguagem e sinais parietais focais. MÉTODOS: Este é um estudo normativo de corte transversal de 180 idosos vivendo em comunidade. Todos os paticipantes foram rastreados com o Exame do Estado Mental Hindu (HMSE), Escala de Atividades de Vida Diária para Índia (EASI), Inventário de Dominância Manual de Edinburgh (EDI) e MINI Screen seguidos por uma detalhada avaliação neuropsicológica. RESULTADOS: A análise de regressão stepwise revelou que a educação esteve associada ao melhor desempenho cognitivo em cada teste neuropsicológico. As mulheres tiveram desempenho significativamente melhor em medidas de memória. Além disso, a maioria dos analfabetos incluindo idosos com baixo nível educacional recusou-se a participar em medidas de função executiva. CONCLUSÃO: Educação foi o mais forte determinante do desempenho em testes neuropsicológicos seguido por idade e gênero. Nosso esrudo demonstra que idosos indianos saudáveis com baixo nível educacional tem desempenho pobre em medidas de planejamento e memória de trabalho. Medidas tradicionais de planejamento e memória de trabalho devem ser evitadas ou usadas cautelosamente na presença de baixa escolaridade. Há necessidade urgente do desenvolvimento de tarefas de funções executivas especialmente para idosos indianos com baixo nível educacional.