Knowledge and practices concerning disaster preparedness among Rural Health Unit personnel in Aurora Province, Philippines

Background@#Public health workers play significant roles in communities in terms of disaster management. Disaster risk reduction management laws and country plans serve as the legal basis and framework in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to a disaster.@*Objective@#This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practices of Rural Health Unit (RHU) personnel on disaster preparedness. @*Methodology@#A descriptive survey design using a self-report questionnaire developed by the researchers obtained from the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Act of 2010 and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP) 2011-2028 was employed. Via total enumeration, participants from eight RHUs in Aurora Province voluntarily consented to take part. The data were analyzed by employing descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and measure of central tendency or median by SPSS statistics. @*Results@#The majority of the participants were aged 55 years and above (25.90%), females (78.42%), and were Rural Health Midwives (RHMs) (39.57%). One hundred and thirty-eight (99%) of the RHU personnel in Aurora Province were found to be knowledgeable about disaster preparedness and 90 (65%) of the participants had practiced activities in this regard. @*Conclusion@#The Rural Health Unit (RHU) personnel of Aurora Province are knowledgeable about disaster preparedness and its practices. Public health workers with these characteristics are pillars of strength for the local government units (LGUs). They can continue to enhance comprehensive disaster preparedness education programs in their communities, and assist their LGUs during municipal disaster management planning.

Hemichorea-Hemiballism Syndrome Caused by Nonketotic Hyperglycemia in a Newly Diagnosed Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Patient with Euglycemia at Presentation

@#INTRODUCTION: Nonketotic hyperglycemia among type 2 diabetic patients have recently been documented to cause the rare movement disorder called Hemichorea-hemiballism syndrome which is a hyperkinetic movement disorder presenting as a continuous, non-patterned, involuntary movements caused by a basal ganglia dysfunction. METHODS: A 76-year-old male with a known history of hypertension and no history of stroke and diabetes presented with a 10-day history of increasingly persistent involuntary movements of the right extremities. On admission, the patient was conscious with stable vital signs and unremarkable neurologic findings except for the involuntary flailing movements of the right extremities. Diagnostic testing revealed first documentation of hyperglycemia with brain MRI changes on T1 hyperintensity signals on the basal ganglia and T2/FLAIR weighted imaging showing mixed hypointense and hyperintense signals which is a classical MRI finding in patients with HC-HB syndrome caused by nonketotic hyperglycemia. The patient was treated for diabetes and was maintained on anti-dopaminergic medications for the uncontrollable involuntary movements. After five months, resolution of the hemiballism-hemichorea syndrome was noted after appropriate treatment. CONCLUSION: This case report highlights hemichoreahemiballism syndrome in a newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patient who had normal glucose levels at presentation. The prompt recognition and correction of uncontrolled newly diagnosed diabetes and administration of anti-dopamine agents lead to a rapid improvement of symptoms, less neurologic sequelae and an overall favorable prognosis.

Cross-neutralization of the coagulant activity of Crotalus durissus terrificus venom from the northeast of Argentina by bivalent bothropic antivenom

Cross-neutralization of Crotalus durissus terrificus venom coagulant activity was tested using bivalent horse antivenom against Bothrops alternatus and Bothrops diporus venoms. Our in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that bothropic antivenom neutralizes the thrombin-like activity of crotalic snake venom and this cross-reaction was demonstrated by immunoassays either with whole venom or a purified thrombin-like enzyme. These results suggest common antigenic properties and, consequently, similar molecular structure among venom thrombin-like enzymes. Besides, they provide information that could be further used in the development of new antivenom formulations.

Edematogenic and myotoxic activities of the Duvernoy's gland secretion of Philodryas olfersii from the north-east region of Argentina

Philodryas olfersii is found in South America, from Amazonas to Patagonia. It is important to characterize the venom of P. olfersii, who inhabits the North-East region of Argentina, since snake venoms are known to exhibit considerable variability in composition and biological activities. In this work, mice weighing 18-20 g (n = 4 for each experimental group) were used. For the edematogenic activity mice were injected s.c. in the right foot pad with 50 microl of solutions containing different amounts of venom, whereas the left foot pad was injected with 50 microl of PBS. Two hours after injection mice were killed by cervical dislocation and both feet were cut off and weighed individually. For the myotoxic activity mice were injected i.m. with 100 microl of solutions containing 40 microg of venom. Blood samples were extracted after 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 24 h of venom injection to determinate serum CPK activity and mice were sacrificed at the same time intervals to obtain the inoculated gastrocnemius muscle. They were fixed with Bouin solution and stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin. Results showed that P. olfersii venom exhibits a high edematogenic activity (MED = 0.31 microg) and a moderate myotoxic activity. Myonecrosis reached its highest level after 12 h of venom injection as shown by plasmatic CPK levels (5,401 +/- 330 IU/l) and microscopic assay. It demonstrates the potential toxicity of the venom of P. olfersii, who inhabits the North-East region of Argentina. It also reinforces the original warning concerning the potential danger of bites by colubrids.