ABSTRACT
Background: India has made tremendous progress in allfronts since independence including food production. Scurvy isa clinical syndrome that results from vitamin C deficiency.Hence; the present study was undertaken for assessingVitamin C Deficiency among Population in Semi Urban Area.Materials & Methods: The net semi-urban population in thepresent study was 796 patients. After obtaining the writtenconsent in these patients, blood samples were taken and weresent to the department of general pathology. From the bloodsamples, plasma concentrations of vitamin C were calculatedusing an-autoanalyzer. All the results were recorded inMicrosoft excel sheet and were analyzed by SPSS software.Results: A total of 796 semi-urban subjects were analyzed.Among these 796 subjects, deficient levels of vitamin C wasfound to be present in 28.64 percent of the patients, while suboptimal and adequate levels of vitamin C was found to bepresent in 26.64 and 44.72 percent of the patients. Among 228vitamin C deficient subjects, 39.48 percent belonged to the agegroup of more than 45 years. 54.82 percent of the Vitamin Cdeficient patients were males while the remaining werefemales.Conclusion: Vitamin C deficiency is prevalent in significant insignificant amount among semi-urban population.
ABSTRACT
Background:Typhoid (cloudy) fever is a systemic infection, caused mainly by Salmonella typhi found only in man. It is characterized by a continuous fever for 3-4 weeks, relative bradycardia, with involvement of lymphoid tissue and considerable constitutional symptoms. Hence; we planned the present study to assess the efficacy of two different antibiotic regimes in treating patients with typhoid fever. Methods: We planned the present study on a total of 20 patients who were confirmed with diagnosis of typhoid fever and were broadly divided into two study groups as follows: Group 1- Patients who were treated with Ceftriaxone for 5 Days and Group 2- Patients who were treated with Chloramphenicol for 14 Days. Stool samples and venous blood samples were sent to laboratory for further investigation by bacteriologically culturing for confirming the presence of S. typhi. Stool specimens were examined microscopically for the presence of leukocytes, ova, parasites, and occult blood. Repeating of the blood cultures was done on days 3 and 14, and culturing of the stool specimens was done on days 5 and 14 and 1 week after the patient's discharge from the hospital. All the results were analyzed by SPSS software Results Clinical cure was seen in 8 and 9 patients of group 1 and group 2 respectively. Positive blood culture for S. typhi was seen in 4 patients of group 2 on third day whereas none of the patient of group1 exhibited positive blood culture. Conclusion: Ceftriaxone has equal efficacy in comparison to chloramphenicol in treating typhoid patients.