Assessment of collaborative problem solving skills in undergraduate medical students at Ziauddin college of medicine, Karachi

Objective: Collaborative Problem Solving Empirical Progressions from the Assessment and Teaching of 21[st] Century Skills [ATC21S] framework were used to determine the level of collaborative problem solving skills [CPS] in first, second and third year MBBS students at Ziauddin College of Medicine during Problem-Based Learning [PBL] sessions. Variations based on gender and roles were studied

Methods: It is an analytical comparative cross-sectional study in which seven PBL groups were selected per year by non-probability convenient sampling. Data was collected using the Collaborative Problem Solving Five Strands Empirical Progressions by the primary investigator through observation of the students during PBL sessions. Duration of study was six months

Results: We found that in our students, development of social dimension skills is facilitated to a greater extent than the development of cognitive dimension skills through the process of PBL. These skills are generally better developed in the leader compared to the scribe and members in a group. They are also more developed in females compared to males. Modification in them is also observed as the year's progress

Conclusion: Although PBLs facilitate development of CPS skills' progression however in our curriculum, PBLs mainly focus on social skills development and have less emphasis on cognitive skill development. Thus, hybrid instructional strategies with components from TBL and mentorship are recommended for better development of CPS skills

Relationship of human papilloma virus with trismus in chewable tobacco users

Background: Human Papilloma Virus [HPV] is found in the oral tobacco chewers with precancerous lesions such as submucous fibrosis [SMF], leukoplakia and erythroplakia. Trismus is a common symptom seen in patients with SMF and oral cancers. In Pakistan the risk of oral cancers has been raised up to 8.5 to 10 times due to increase in tobacco chewers in the recent years

Objective: To determine the frequency of oral HPV infection in chewable tobacco users with trismus living in the lowincome areas of Karachi

Methods: Camps were set up in 5 different areas of Karachi. In each camp, 100 people were examined for oral lesions by experienced volunteers. Oral rinse [40ml] was taken after gentle brushing over the lesions. DNA was extracted and PCR was performed using Gp5+/Gp6+ consensus primers. The results were analyzed on SPSS version 17.0

Results: Out of 187 subjects with trismus, 157 [84%] were males and 30 [15.51%] were females with average age of 28.7 years [12 -70 years]. Gutka, Naswar, Chalia and Paan users were 45.45%, 37.56%, 12.83% and 6.95% respectively. Mild trismus was found in 113 [60.43%] subjects followed by moderate trismus in 52 [27.81%] and severe trismus in 22[11.76%]. Out of total 36 [19%] HPV positive subjects, 27[14.44%], 7[3.74%] and 2[1.07%] had mild, moderate and severe trismus respectively. 150 controls tested negative for HPV

Conclusion: The frequency of HPV in oral cavity was high in subjects with trismus suggesting risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma. HPV in subjects with moderate to severe trismus should be tested in blood because it is difficult to get suitable oral sample