Rhesus negative blood incompatibility: knowledge of primiparous in a community

Incidence and the complication rate of Rh incompatibility varies in different parts of the world and the low incidence of Rh negativity often leads to the neglect of rhesus incompatibility in many parts of Asia. To assess the knowledge of primiparous and females with first child, regarding Rh incompatibility and its risk to mother and child and create awareness amongst them about the importance of blood grouping during pregnancy. Cross sectional study, done in Korangi town Sector 33-B to 33-F of Union Council -7 of Karachi, consisting of 5000 randomly selected houses. About 350 primiparous and female with first child were selected by using systemic sampling plan. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge regarding Rh disease and hemolytic disease of newborn, after taking informed written consent. Testing for blood group was done at the site and report cards were issued to all participants. Information about Rh related aliments were also given to all participants to enhance their awareness about Rh disease. A total of 350 females were interviewed and checked for blood group and 8.3% were found to be Rh negative. Only 2% women had knowledge about complications related to negative blood group during and after pregnancy. Majority [94.3%] were not aware that what precautions should be taken if a mother's blood group is Rh negative. Knowledge about blood groups, Rh incompatibility and its complications during pregnancy and after child birth was very low and needs to be addressed through public education. Blood grouping of married pair may be helpful in early diagnosis of Rh -ve blood incompatibility

Stress; a cross sectional study at islamic international medical college [IIMC], Rawalpin

To assess different level of stress and reaction to those stressors among undergraduate medical students and also observe an association between different academic years, if any exists. Cross-sectional study. Islamic International medical college- a private medical college in Rawalpindi. Period: From 2006 to 2007. Questionnaire used was a stress inventory called students life stress inventory. It was distributed to all registered MBBS students at IIMC in years 1- 5 who voluntarily participated. 403 out of 500 students completed the questionnaire with response rate 81.6%. Data was analyzed through SPSS by applying different statistical tests, which were ANOVA, and t test. Results reveal that 21.53% students were mildly stressed, 39.12% students were moderately stressed and 12.64% students were severely stressed. Significant gender differences were found on almost all the sub-scales. The findings reveal that females face more stressors especially conflicts, emotional and behavioral [p < .01], stress was more significant between boarders as compare to non-boarders. One Way Analyses of variance [ANOVA] was computed to check the significance of differences on mean scores. An analysis of variance on Student Life Stress Inventory is significant, F = [3.774], p <.01. Mean difference indicates that prevalence of stress is higher in first year and final year MBBS students. This study presents pragmatic evidence regarding the psychological health of students in our college. These findings suggest that high levels of stress exist in our students especially significant during first and final years of their course. It is important for us to know the prevalence and causes of student stress, which not only affects their health, but also their academic achievement. Information from this study can be used to develop appropriate intervention programs for medical students, in order to decrease their stress levels

Molecular identification of Candida albicans isolated from the oncology patients at four university hospitals in Mazandaran province [2005-6]

Early detection of Candida species in body site could improve the survival of the immunosuppressed patients by allowing the initiation of specific treatment while the fungal biomass is still low. The aim of this study was the identification of Candida albicans isolated from the oncology patients by molecular methods. Sixty two of Candida albicans isolated identified by phenotypic methods [color of colony on CHROMagar medium, germ-tube formation in horse serum, chlamydospore formation on Cornmeal agar with 1% Tween 80]. DNA was extracted by using a glass bead/phenol-chloroform method. The oligonucleotide primer pairs [NL1/NL4] were used to amplify a 620bp fragment of D1/D2 region of large submit [26s] ribosomal DNA gene. PCR-products were electrophoresed in a 1.5% agarose gel. Eighteen PCR-amplified products sequenced and results were evaluated by online BLAST software. Multiple sequence alignment was performed by using online CLUSTAL-W [version 1.83] software. The BLAST search revealed that all of products were Candida albicans. All sequences showed >99% similarity when compared with known reference sequences at the Gene-Bank. Four different strains were obtained of albicans species, including: AA 1622b [13 samples], 24698 [3 samples], TA 62 [1 samples] and 551 FC [1 sample]. A total of 131 nucleotide exchange sites were revealed. The dominant species by phenotypic approaches was Candida albicans. In addition, identification of Candida albicans by [26S] rDNA sequencing was 100% concordant to the results obtained by the phenotypic methods

Geographical patterns of access and utilization of basic health unit in district attock

To measure the distance of villages from the health facility in union council Gali Jagir, District Attock and to analyze the geographical location, pattern of access and health facility utilization. This was a cross sectional study. The study was carried out at union council Gali Jagir, Tehsil Fateh Jang, Distrct Attock from 15 November 2000 to 31 December 2000. Measurement of the distance from the villages to the health facility was done and the facility record was reviewed to assess the utilization pattern by the village population. Information about mode of travel, time for travel and cost of traveling was collected by the key informants. Twenty-two percent of villages and 23% of population was situated within 3 km distance [by foot] from the basic health unit [BHU]. Eleven percent of villages and 10% of population was situated within 3-5 km distance [by foot] from the BHU. Majority [67%] of villages and 70% of population was situated more than 5km [by foot] from the BHU. The overall health facility utilization of BHU Gali Jagir was 8.34%. It was found that a distance of 3 km was accessible distance and the health facility utilization decreased as the distance increased. There were also other causes [financial, cultural and functional] of inaccessibility. This study has identified the gaps in the geographical access patterns that an accessible distance is 3km instead of 5km [as accepted by World Health Organization]. Distance of 3km is accessible for seeking care from a public health care facility and overall health facility utilization was 8.32%, which is alarmingly low