A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Acupuncture for Treating Allergic Rhinitis

Introduction: Allergic Rhinitis is a common inflammatorydisease of the nasal mucosa. It is a symptomatic disorderof the nose induced after allergen exposure due to an IgEmediated inflammation of membranes lining the nose. Usualtreatment of Allergic rhinitis includes allergen avoidance,effective symptomatic treatment, antihistamines or steroids,standardized immunotherapy, and patient health education.There are also recommended complementary and alternativemedicine (CAM) therapies including, Ayurvedic medicine,herbal medicines, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, and severalother modalities.Material and methods: This study was conducted on 80patients diagnosed positive for Allergic Rhinitis attending theOutdoor Patient Department (OPD) of Dr. D.N. Kotnis Health& Education Centre, Ludhiana, Punjab. The severity of thepatient’s problem was taken on Liker’s scale at their first visitand the last visit of the treatment. The acupuncture points werepunctured until the needling sensation/ Qi was achieved. Thepoints were connected with an electrical stimulator for 30-40 minutes followed by a moxibustion application with stickmoxa for 15-20 minutes. The collected data were subjected tomultinominal logistic regression using ROCR package of theR programming environment.Results: It is noted that, statistically after treatment, theresults for pre and post-treatment varied significantly withp=0.0039, df= 15. There was maximum improvement seen fornasal symptoms and insomnia treatment.Conclusion: Acupuncture provides an effective and safetreatment modality for allergic rhinitis. It provides a significantreduction in major symptoms of allergic rhinitis improving theQuality of life of the patient.

A Retrospective Study to Estimate the Prevalence of Anemia and Associated Factors among First Year MBBS Students of Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha, Hisar.

Introduction: Anemia is a most common public healthproblem affecting around 1.9 billion population of the world.It is a severe public health problem in India. Medical studentsare vulnerable to develop anemia due to irregular eatinghabits due to hectic study schedule. Anemia among this agegroup has significant health consequences resulting in poorcognition, decreased attention span and memory affectingthe performance, depressed immunity, repeated infections,increased fatigue, and shortness of breath, dizziness, blurredvision, low endurance and irregular menstruation.Material and Methods: This study is conducted among 100students of both gender taking admission in MBBS first yearat MAMC, Agroha. Hemoglobin values and other relevantdetails of the students were taken from academic sectionsubmitted at time of admission. World Health Organizationcriteria were taken to determine the severity of anemia.Modified B.G. Prasad scale was used to assess the socioeconomic status of the family. Data was first entered into MSexcel sheet and then was exported to SPSS version 20.0 forappropriate analysis.Results: Prevalence of anemia came out to be 54% amongstudy subjects. Difference between the mean levels ofhemoglobin across the genders came out be statisticallysignificant (P=<0.001).Conclusion: Prevalence of anemia is high among the studysubjects with more prevalence among females study subjects.There is a need to accelerate efforts for achieving control ofanemia by strengthening multi-sectoral partnership involvinggovernment departments, academic institutions, bilateralagencies and food industry.

Interventional Study to Evaluate Efficacy of Acupuncture for Treating Sciatica Pain

Introduction: Low back pain has a profound impact bothdirectly and indirectly on individuals. It is estimated that 60%to 80% of any population will experience low back pain atsome point in their lives. There are number of causes for lowback pain and Sciatica is one of them. Study aimed to assessthe efficacy of Acupuncture for the management of Sciaticapain.Material and Methods: This study was conducted among 200patients attending the Outdoor Patient department at Dr D.N.Kotnis Health and Education Center. With each subject a priorinformed and written consent was obtained. A predesigned andpretested proforma was used to collect the socio demographicprofile. Severity of Pain was measured with the help of LikertScale whereas the reading on Likert scale was taken at thetime of first visit and last visit of patients for comparison ofpain. Data was first entered into MS excel sheet and then wasexported to SPSS version 20.0 for appropriate analysis.Results: Wilcoxon signed rank test was applied to determinethe efficacy of the treatment on reducing the pain, further itwas observed that the effect of the treatment was statisticallysignificant (p<0.001)Conclusion: Acupuncture provides effective relief fromSciatica pain. However initiation of treatment at young ageprovides quick response and healing by reducing suffering ofsciatica pain.