Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and psychosocial aspects among dentists – A survey

Background: Musculoskeletal symptoms or disorders among dentists have been major concern in recent years. The most frequent injuries occur in spine (neck and back), shoulders, elbow and hands. In order to summarize, the study describes mainly about the prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders among dentists, percentage of affection and prevalence of psychosocial aspects among dentists. Aim and objectives: The aim of the study was to find prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and psychosocial aspects among dentist and among male and female dentists, among age groups (years) of dentists, between right handed and left handed dentists, between four categories of body mass index among dentists, dentists working in private practice, in academics and in both Private practice and academics, under‑ graduate and post‑ graduate level dentists between three categories of clinically experienced dentists between dentists working with assistant and without assistant and to find the prevalence of psychosocial risks among dentists. Materials and methods: To determine prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders by using standardized Nordic questionnaire for analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms and to determine prevalence of psychosocial aspects by using job content questionnaire. Results: Results of the study revealed that there is prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders among dentists. Among 463 dentist’s, total percentage of musculoskeletal affection was Farah Riyazuddin Munshi, Edrish Saifee Contractor, Muzammil Munshi. Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and psychosocial aspects among dentists - A survey. IAIM, 2016; 3(8): 185-192. Page 186 90.7%. The percentage of affection in specific body areas are as follows neck pain 73.8%, Low back 70%, shoulder 62.4%, upper back 23%, elbow 16.7%, hips 14%, ankle 11.2%, knee 7.6%. The prevalence of psychosocial risk was 68%. Conclusion: From this survey, it can be concluded that there was high prevalence of musculoskeletal and psychosocial risk factors among dentists. These work related musculoskeletal disorders can be prevented by correcting awkward posture when working and taking appropriate ergonomic measures.

Efficacy of a modified Ultra Fast Papanicolaou (UFP) stain for breast aspirates.

The chief limitation of Ultra Fast Papanicolaou (UFP) stain, suggested by Yang and Alvarez (1995), is that, Richard Allan Haematoxylin (RA-H) and Richard Allan Cytostain (RA-C), used in the staining procedure are not universally available. It has not been established so far, whether, changes in the reagents and their proportions depending on the local availability, influence the performance of the stain. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility and applicability of a modified UFP stain to suit our local laboratory supplies of chemical dyes, as applied to the permanent smears prepared from Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) of breast lumps. In the present study, smears from FNA from 100 breast lumps were stained by the modified UFP stain. The modification consisted of following two changes: use of Gill's Haematoxylin instead of RAH and omission of Orange G from cytostain. Eighty Six breast aspirates were adequate for interpretation. Smears showed transparent cells with crisp nuclear features, equal to and even better than the conventional Papanicolaou stain, in a blood free background. There was an increase in total staining time by 40 seconds. We recommend the use of this modified UFP stain, only if similar reagents are being used in other laboratories. Otherwise situation specific modifications may be needed. If the UFP stain is to be used for tissues where the chances of cytoplasmic keratinization are negligible, then the use of Orange G component of the stain may become redundant.

Diagnostic dilemma in high intracanalar carcinoma of the cervix.

The use of colposcopy for follow up of patients with abnormal cervical smears has considerably increased the rate of detection of cervical malignancies and intraepithelial lesions in recent years. In case the lesion is situated high up in the cervical canal however, the chances of missing out the lesion are considerable. In our case the malignancy was detected only on endocervical sampling, but was missed on scrape as well as on colposcopically directed biopsy. The patient who was in perimenopausal age group, had complaints of post coital bleeding. The initial cervical scrape smear showed only squamous metaplasia. Colposcopically directed biopsy also showed the same findings. On a high index of suspicion clinically, the endocervical sampling was done with a cytobrush, which showed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix. Subsequent hysterectomy of the patient confirmed the diagnosis. Simultaneous endocervical sampling considerably increases the chances of finding an intracanalar lesion, particularly in older women, in whom the transitional zone (TZ) is situated high up in the cervical canal. In such a situation, even a colposcopically directed biopsy may prove inadequate. This was amply proved in our case.

Cytodiagnosis of lower respiratory tract lesions by transthoracic needle aspiration.

A comprehensive prospective and retrospective study of 130 cases was carried out to evaluate the safety, adequacy and diagnostic accuracy of Transthoracic Needle Aspiration (TTNA) in various pulmonary lesions. Using both guided and unguided TTNA diagnostic material was procured in 86.15% cases. Rotex II, Chiba, lumber puncture and ordinary needles were used depending upon the type of lesion. Overall diagnostic accuracy of the procedure was 79.46 percent. Complication after the procedure were transient and self limiting. Haemoptysis was noted in 3.84 percent cases and pneumothorax in a single case. Thus TTNA can be safely included in the investigative protocol of lung lesions.

Serodiagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis by ELISA.

This study aims at evaluating the specificity and sensitivity of ELISA test in detection of Mycobacterial Antibodies using A60 antigen. Sera from 100 clinically suspected cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis were studied along with 10 sputum positive cases 25 age and sex matched healthy control. Overall positivity of the test was 80.00 per cent with 100 percent sensitivity and 92 per cent specificity. The present study recommends ELISA as an adjunct to other investigative procedures.