Assessment Of Knowledge Regarding COVID-19 And Its Preventive Protocol Among Dentists Of North Gujarat

Background:The World Health Organization (WHO) had declared the Novel Coronavirus as a Pandemic in March, 2020. As dentists are at an increased risk due to the aerosol transmission, it is extremely important for them to understand the virus spread.Objectives: To assess the knowledge and attitude of the dentists ofnorth Gujarat population towards the novel Coronavirus and their knowledge regarding the spread of their infections. Material And Methods:A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 274 dentists including post graduate and undergraduate dental students, faculty members and private practitioners of North Gujarat. A Questionnaire was circulated using the Google forms, consisting of two parts: first –consisted of demographic details and the second part consisted of 25 questions regarding knowledge of dentists towards the COVID-19 and its impact on their dental practice. The level of significance was set at ?0.05. Result:The study participants were well aware about the COVID-19 prevention protocols. Majority of the participants 59.5% agreed thatelective dental procedures needed to be postponed for at least 3 weeks. Also 73% stated that 90GSM of PPE kit was considered appropriate to protect from cross-infection. The results were statistically significant. Conclusion:The study concluded that dentists had sufficient knowledge regarding COVID-19 protocols but same was not implemented in their practices. Dentists should have proper knowledge regarding the transmission and prevention of infection from the virus as they are at high of developing an infection.

Utility of carotid intimal medial thickness as a screening tool for evaluation of coronary artery disease in pre-transplant end stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with a higher incidence of allograft failure and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) following renal transplant. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of using carotid intimal medial thickness (CIMT) to predict the presence of CAD in patients with ESRD, using coronary angiography (CAG) as the gold standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study enrolled consecutive patients with ESRD who underwent CAG as a part of pretransplant evaluation to rule out the presence of atherosclerotic CAD. An operator who was blinded with respect to the results of the CAG, measured carotid IMT in all patients prior to CAG and recorded it on videotape. Two independent observers blinded to the results of CAG measured carotid IMT offline to validate its predictive accuracy as a noninvasive test in predicting the presence or absence of CAD. Measurement of carotid IMT was done on USG B mode 7.5 MHZ probe [HP 5500 andover, Massachusetts]. Student's t-test was used for inter-group comparisons. Pearson correlation coefficient test was used to assess the relation between CAD and various risk factors and carotid IMT. Linear regression analysis was applied to identify independent factors determining presence of CAD. A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Mean CIMT was significantly higher in those with CAD as compared to those without [0.80+/- 0.06 vs.0.70+/-0.06 mm, P< 0.0001). Patients with CIMT> 0.75 mm were older and had more incidence of diabetes(78% vs. 47%; P=0.001). Only 4/53 (7%) of patients with CIMT< 0.75 mm had CAD, vs. 38/52 (73%) in those with CIMT >0.75 mm. The sensitivity and specificity of using CIMT > 0.75 as a predictor of CAD was 90.47%and 73% and its positive and negative predictive values were 0.73 and 0.92. On multivariate analysis, only CIMT was a significant predictor of CAD. CONCLUSION: Carotid IMT can be used to predict CAD in patients with ESRD. In the absence of other risk factors,patients with IMT< 0.75 mm may not need a pretransplant CAG.

Effect of intracerebroventricular injection of histamine on blood sugar level and hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis of rats.

Intraventricular injection of histamine and normal saline in rats caused a marked fall in adrenal ascorbic acid indicating a stimulatory effect of both on pituitary adrenal axis. Intraventricularly injected histamine caused significant hypoglycaemia also in rats as compared to control series.