RESUMEN
Background: About 304 million persons are living in the known endemic areas and are exposed to the risk of filariasis. About 22 million persons are harboring microfilaria in their blood and 16 million persons show clinical manifestations. The objective of the study was to study the prevalence of lymphatic filariasis in a tribal area.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was carried out. Night blood smears were obtained between 9-11.30 pm by finger prick method and thick smears were prepared and usual staining procedure was performed. 451 people out of (enumerated) 565 could be covered excluding infants. Diethyl carbamazine (DEC) provocative test was performed the next day by administering 100 mg DEC orally and collecting blood sample after one hour with usual method. DEC could be administered to only 200 individuals in spite of utmost efforts to ensure cooperation.Results: Out of 451 persons examined, 20 (4.4%) were showing clinical manifestations. Overall microfilaria rate was 14.4%. Total endemicity rate was 17.3%. The lowest number of microfilaria was seen in 5 in 20 cumm of blood while the highest count was 78 in the 20 cumm of the blood. 13 smears (20%) showed that microfilaria count was in the range of 41-50. Maximum average infestation rate was 33.3 per 20 cumm of the blood. The most prominent clinical manifestation seen was hydrocele in males constituting 35% of the total clinical cases.Conclusions: The prevalence of filariasis in this tribal area was high. Mf rate was 14.4%. Endemicity rate was 17.3%. Hydrocele was the commonest clinical manifestation.
RESUMEN
Background: The prevalence of gadgets is increasing among the medical students and this is the matter to worry as they use it for other purposes than the science. Data need to focus on how many proportion of medical students use the gadgets and for what they use it. The objective was to study the prevalence and purposes of gadget use among medical students.Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was carried out in among 306 medical students. This study was based on self-administered questionnaires. The whole batch of students was contacted on a particular day for data collection. Study questionnaires were distributed to them. In between, the doubts regarding any questions were clarified. The questionnaires were taken back after a half hour. An attempt was made to see that all the questions were completely responded to. The data was analyzed using proportions and mean values. Statistical tests like Chi-Square test, and Student’s T-test was used.Results: Majority of people using gadgets were female (71%). More than half of users were in the age group of 21-23 years. Smartphone was the most commonly used gadget. About 2/5th of the students used gadgets for about 1-3 hours. More than half of the students used gadgets in the sitting position. The vast majority of students used gadgets at chest level.Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that use of gadgets takes a prevalent part in the daily lives of medical students.