Prevalence of asthenopia among computer operators in Central India and effectiveness of educational intervention

Background: Objective was to study the prevalence of asthenopic symptoms among computer operators in central India and assess the change in their practices related to factors affecting asthenopia symptoms and relief measures.. Methods: Longitudinal Educational Interventional Study, done on 150 employees of computer based company offices of Bhopal city in duration of 3 months from August 2018 to October 2018 after obtaining Ethical clearance from the institutional ethics committee and they were asked to fill a pre-tested questionnaire, after obtaining their verbal consent. Other relevant information was obtained by personal interview and inspection of their working area. The data was entered in MS excel and analysis was done using Epi-info 7 software. Results: Among the 150 participants studied, the overall prevalence of asthenopia (at least 1 symptom present) is 87.3%. The prevalence of various asthenopic symptoms varied from 85.3% (eye fatigue) to 18.7% (blurring of vision). With educational intervention, significant change was observed in symptoms and relief measures. Conclusions: Prevalence of asthenopia was found to be quite high in computer operators, especially in those who started its use at an early age. Individual as well as work-related factors were found to be associated with asthenopia.

Clinical characteristics of renal cell carcinoma: Five years review from a tertiary hospital in Eastern India.

BACKGROUND: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the one of the dreadful urological carcinoma. In comparison to the West, it is very rarely seen in Asia as well in India. Very small number of studies is available in this geographical area. AIMS: We studied the demographic pattern, presentation, risk factors and survival of RCC in an Eastern Indian institution. We characterized and compared these data with available literature SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Retrospective study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 81 patients of RCC from January 2008 to December 2012 were enrolled. Their pre‑operative data were reviewed. They were followed as per institutional follow‑up protocol. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Kaplan‑Meier plot was constructed for survival analysis. Comparison of survival curves was performed by Logrank test. P < 0.05 was considered to be significant. RESULTS: A total of 75 patients were analyzed with a mean follow‑up of 26.3 ± 17.7 months. The mean age of presentation in our study was 52.79 years with a peak at 5th decade. Nearly 73.33% patients having one or more risk factors. 9 out of 10 had presented with some symptoms. The survival for localized RCC was 100% and significantly greater than advanced RCC ( P < 0.0001). Similarly in the stage III, significant greater survival ( P < 0.0001) was noted compare to stage IV. CONCLUSIONS: The age of presentation of RCC in India has been found in 5th decade, which is a decade earlier than the western countries. Symptomatic RCC is still majority in India. Organ confined tumors have good prognosis. When it metastasizes to lymph node or distant organ, the outcome is poor. Our results may form the basis for further studies and it may be used as future reference.

A cross sectional study of sociodemographic profile and treatment seeking behavior of cases of animal bite attending anti Rabies clinic at tertiary health care center in central India.

Rabies is 100% fatal zoonotic disease which can be prevented by appropriate anti rabies post exposure prophylaxis. The incidence of animal bite is managed poorly due to ignorance and rampant myths & misconceptions. It is discovered that a vital time period is lost in taking medical aid as people due to ignorance opt for traditional medications the authenticity of which is not completely established. Aims & objectives: 1) To study the social, demographic characteristics of victims of animal bites. 2) To study the treatment seeking behavior of persons and to find their correlations. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study. The respondents were selected amongst new cases of animal bites attending Anti Rabies clinic of Gandhi medical college Bhopal M.P. India for 3 months using pretested questionnaire. Data was analyzed & interpreted using percentages and tests of significance using Epi info 7. Results: Out of total 315 cases of animal bite nearly 38.75% were below 15 years of age. In total, 82.5% cases were bitten by dogs. The majority of cases (73%) had a category III bite, only 45% consulted within 24 hours of the bite. Nearly 9% did not wash the wound with soap & water instead applied home remedies or opted for traditional or non-allopathic treatment. A statistically significant (P <0.0001) association was found between educational status & knowledge of fatality due to rabies. Conclusions: Rising level of literacy enhances knowledge about the fatality of rabies.

Genito-urinary tuberculosis revisited - 13 years' experience of a single centre.

Background: Tuberculosis had been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as ‘public health emergency’ in 1993. Extra pulmonary tuberculosis (E.P.T.B.) comprises 20-25% total burden of the disease in which genitourinary tuberculosis (G.U.T.B.) is 4%. Timely diagnosis and treatment will prevent the sequelae of this disease. Aims: To know the varied clinical presentations, diagnostic modalities and management of G.U.T.B. Methods: During a 13-year-period, 117 retrospective cases of GUTB were admitted in the tertiary care centre. They were analyzed for clinical presentation, diagnostic modalities and management. Results: Young patients mainly in third decade of life were commonly affected with higher incidence in females. In our study, the most common presentation was irritative voiding symptoms (66.47%) followed by haematuria (47.60%). Although it can affect the entire organ in genito-urinary system but, in the present study, kidney was the most affected organ (64.9%) following ureter (27.35%), urinary bladder (17.09%), prostate (3.4%) and epididymis (5.19%). In this study, we had not encountered any case of testicular and penile tuberculosis. Among the different diagnostic modalities in this study, the diagnostic positivity rate was 41.6% for the urine AFB test, 55.4% for the urine M. tuberculosis culture test and 67.7% for PCR. Chest x-ray was positive in 25.6% (30). ESR was raised in 62.5% and Mantoux test was positive in 61.2% patients. Conclusion: A high index of suspicion and a wide range of investigations may be required to achieve a complete diagnosis of genitourinary tuberculosis. Though short course chemotherapy with four-drug-regimen for sixmonth- duration is the mainstay of treatment, surgical interventions were required in 60% of cases of this study.

Inverted papilloma of the urinary bladder: Rigorous surveillance needed: An Indian experience.

Aims: Inverted papilloma (IP) is an uncommon benign neoplasm of the urinary tract. Its multiplicity, recurrence, and association with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) leads to conflicting clinical conclusions regarding its biological behavior, and hence, the need for rigorous follow-up protocols. In this study, we review all cases of urinary bladder IP in our institution and determine the need for strict follow-up. Materials and Methods :0 We included consecutive patients from August 2004 to August 2008 with IP of the urinary bladder in this study who did not have prior or concurrent urothelial carcinoma. A single pathologist performed the histologic review. The patients had undergone strict a follow-up schedule every 6 months. Results: In our study of the 24 patients, the mean age at presentation was 53.5 (range 22-81) years. The mean follow-up period was 25.8 months (range 6-58 months). Of the 24 patients, 21 were men and 3 were women. No patient had a synchronous or previous bladder tumor. The most common presenting symptoms were macroscopic hematuria and dysuria. All were solitary tumors except one, most commonly found at the bladder neck and trigone. The average follow-up period was 2.5 years without any evidence of recurrence. Conclusions: We conclude that when diagnosed by strictly defined criteria, IP as benign urothelial neoplasm was with extremely low incidence of recurrence and good prognosis. It does not seem to be a risk factor for TCC, especially if located in the bladder. Therefore, a good transurethral resection is adequate therapy and follow-up protocol as rigorous as those for TCC may not be necessary.

Anti-steroidogenic activity of methanolic extract of Cuscuta reflexa roxb. stem and Corchorus olitorius Linn. seed in mouse ovary.

Methanolic extract (ME) of both C. reflexa stem and C. olitorius seed arrested the normal oestrus cycle of adult female mouse and significantly decreased the weight of ovaries and uterus. The cholesterol and ascorbic acid contents in ovaries were significantly increased in the treated mice. Two key enzymes, delta5-3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, were decreased significantly in ME of both C. reflexa stem and C. olitorius seed after 17 days of treatment. High level of substrates and low level of enzymes indicate the inhibition of steroidogenesis in treated mice and may be due to the presence of flavonoids.

Urethrorectal fistula by bull horn injury.

Bull horn injuries are common in rural India. Here one such case causing urethrorectal fistula has been reported. The patient was presented with history of bull horn injury 6 hours back. He was examined under general anaesthesia and found to have lacerations in the anus and anterior wall of rectum. Urgent retrograde urethrography and cystography showed partial rupture of bulbar urethra and urethrorectal fistula. Initially sigmoid colostomy and suprapubic cystostomy was done. Later optical internal urethrotomy was done. The patient was catheterised for 3 weeks and the fistula healed completely.

Poisoning in children: Indian scenario.

The retrospective data on childhood poisoning from eight regional hospitals in India has been reviewed. The demographic features and types of poisonings encountered have been compared. The analysis of the data indicated that pediatric poisonings constituted 0.23-3.3% of the total poisoning. The mortality ranged from 0.64-11.6% with highest being from Shimla. Accidental poisoning was common involving 50-90% of children below 5 years of age and males outnumbered the females. Suicidal poisoning was seen after 13 years of age and was due to drugs and household chemicals. One of the hospitals in Delhi recorded a very high incidence (66.6%) of drug poisoning in children. The drugs consumed belonged to phenothiazines, antiepileptics and antipyretics. Iron poisoning was seen in younger children. Kerosene was one of the causes of accidental poisoning at all hospitals except Shimla and rural Maharashtra were probably wood charcoal is widely used. Pesticide poisoning was more prevalent in Punjab and West Bengal whereas plant poisoning was very common in Shimla. Significant number of snake envenomation has been recorded from rural Maharashtra. Other less common accidental poisonings in children included alcohol, corrosives, heavy metals, rodenticides, detergents and disinfectants. Thus various regions in the country showed some variation in types and frequency of childhood poisoning which could be attributed to different geographical and socio-economic background.

Simple renal cyst: an observation.

In the present study 1500 patients having abdominal ultrasonography were included. Unsuspected renal cysts were detected in 76 patients (5.06%). The age range was between 8 and 86 years with a maximum incidence being at 41-60 years age group. These asymptomatic cysts were observed commonly in the upper pole of right kidney. Incidence as well as size increased with age. Usually these cysts do not require any surgical intervention unless complicated.

Association of enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis with childhood diarrhoea.

This study was conducted in a hospital setting to determine whether enterotoxigenic strains of Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) were associated with childhood diarrhoea. ETBF was isolated from 6 (2.6%) of 226 patients and 3 (1.7%) of 172 controls and was found mostly in children between 1-5 yr of age. The syndrome associated with ETBF was secretory in nature with watery diarrhoea and of mild severity. ETBF may be associated with diarrhoeal illness in children but is not a major problem in this part of the country.

Effect of propranolol hydrochloride on blood cell lipids in relation to partition coefficient and biological activity.

Considering the high lipophilicity of propranolol (log P = 3.56), its interactions with the cell membrane lipids of goat blood have been investigated. It is observed that lipid loss after incubation of blood cells with propranolol hydrochloride in salt glucose medium for varying periods of time was accompanied with significant increases in PUFAs. Amongst the PUFAs studied the omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, the two important precursors of eicosenoids, have shown increase in varying amounts. This phenomenon is presumably responsible for the significant cardiovascular activity of this drug.

Correlation of phospholipid loss in goat whole blood with solvochromic properties of antiamebics like emetine, metronidazole and diloxanide furoate.

Phospholipid content of whole blood lipid decreases significantly when goat blood is incubated for different length of time with different amebicidal agents (e.g., emetine, metronidazole and diloxanide furoate). The plots of relative per cent phosphate loss against incubation period show biphasic nature and suggest that the rates of phospholipid loss bears some relation with the drug's lipophilicity (log P in 1 octanol/water system). The absolute phospholipid loss seems to be governed by the drug's aquasolubility. Implication of these finding were discussed in terms of their clinical profiles assuming that the loss of phospholipid is due to drug's binding with the phospholipid layer in amebic cyst-coat, being the first step which may trigger a chain of events leading to the onset of drug action.