Defaecation disorders among information technology personnel: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND Individuals working in the information technology (IT) industry are likely to develop lifestyle disorders. We aimed to determine the presence of defaecation-related disorders in IT personnel in Chennai. METHODS This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was done from June to December 2018. We included employees between 18 and 60 years of age and excluded those with <1 year stay in Chennai, pregnancy and those who sent incomplete responses. The cohort was classified as normal, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), faecal evacuation disorder (FED) and a combination of the latter two. RESULTS The overall response rate was 95.6%. The study included 54.7% of men, and the median age was 31 years. The majority of respondents used an Indian toilet (554; 58%). Almost all (96.2%) passed stools daily, and stool consistency was soft in 59%. Based on the study criteria, 180 (18.8%) had FED, 56 (5.9%) had IBS and a small group had a combination of symptoms of IBS and FED (20; 2.1%). Respondents with symptoms of IBS had a higher proportion of comorbid states (p<0.0001), lesser stool frequency (p<0.0001) and required more toilet time (p<0.00001). CONCLUSION Over one-fourth (26.7%) of the respondents had defaecation-related issues, 18.8% had symptoms suggestive of FED and 5.6% that of IBS, often above 30 years of age.

Formulation and Evaluation of Microemulsion Based Topical Hydrogel Containing Lornoxicam.

The objective of present study was to formulate hydrogel thickened Lornoxicam transdermal formulation. Eutectic mixture of camphor and menthol was chosen as oily phase (maximum 10%), solvent for Lornoxicam and powerful penetration enhancer. Tween 80, ethanol and Carbopol 934p, HPMC K-15M and Xanthan gum were selected as surfactant, co-surfactant and hydrogel thickening agent respectively. Ternary phase diagrams were constructed to obtain the concentration range of oil phase, surfactant and co-surfactant for microemulsion formulation. Hydrogel thickened microemulsions were characterized for pH, viscosity, spreadability, in vitro drug transport study with excised rat skins and invivo anti inflammatory activity. The average drug transport rate of optimized hydrogel thickened microemulsion containing 1 % w/w Lornoxicam, 10 % w/w oily phase of camphor and menthol, 30 % w/w tween 80, ethanol (2:1), 57 % w/w water, 1.5 % w/w Carbopol 934p and 0.5 % w/w Triethanolamine through rat skin was 2.02 μg/cm2/h . The percentage in vitro drug release of optimized hydrogel thickened microemulsion was 78.91 %. pH, viscosity and spreadability of optimizes batch was 6.4, 5291 cps and 5.98 gcm/sec.

Effect of altered levels of micronutrients on lipid parameters in thyroid dysfunction.

Trace elements are extremely important for normal metabolism. Copper is one of the trace metals which has important physiological function in maintaining thyroid activity. Copper is known to effect lipid metabolism. Increase in serum copper level is associated with decrease in concentration of total cholesterol (TC). Thyroid hormone binding transcription factors, which are essential for modulation of gene expression, contain zinc bound to cysteine residues and also thyroid hormones influence zinc metabolism by affecting zinc absorption and excretion. Zinc is required for enzymes involved in lipid synthesis and lipoprotein excretion. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of various levels of serum copper and zinc on total cholesterol, plasma triglyceride and low density lipoprotein cholesterol in subjects with thyroid dysfunction. 61 subjects were divided into three groups of 13 hypothyroid, 23 hyperthyroid and 25 euthyroid based on thyroid stimulating hormone levels. The correlation between serum copper and low density lipoprotein (p <0.01) (r = -0.842), serum zinc correlated strongly negative and significantly with total cholesterol (r= -0.564) , low density lipoprotein cholesterol (r= -0.666) in hyperthyroid group. But the correlation in hypothyroid and euthyroid group differed and was not significant. Elevated levels of total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol may be proatherogenic and increase the risk of cardio vascular diseases hence measures must be taken in correcting and maintaining levels of micronutrients in thyroid dysfunction.

Can the use of ayer’s spatula and cytobrush in combination, improve the adequacy of cervical smears.

Background: The most common cancer affecting women in developing countries is cervical cancer. The most effective tools of cancer detection is cervical smears. The present study is done to see whether the combination two devices can increase the adequacy of smears, The Ayer’s spatula is good sampling device but for sampling endocervical cells it is not that useful, therefore Cytobrush is used in combination to improve the adequacy as it is most efficient in sampling the endocevical cells. Material and methods: The collection of cervical smears was done by combination of Ayer’s spatula and Cytobrush. They were fixed in 95% ethanol and stained by Papanicolaou’s stain. Results: In this study 387 (96.75%) smears were satisfactory and 13(3.25%) were unsatisfactory smears. Conclusion: The combination is better than the devices used alone. The cost is limiting factor in developing countries, but it can be brought down by others ways.

Procedure of venepuncture for blood donation and arterial blood sampling.

Blood banks use various processes to prevent infections that can be transmitted by blood donation. One important measure to prevent infection is to recruit donors from populations that are known to have low rates of infection for blood borne diseases, such as voluntary, unpaid donors and people with no history of intravenous drug use. A second measure is to ask donors a series of additional screening questions (these will vary by region) to help identify those who may be at higher risk of infection. Phlebotomists must adhere strictly to the rules for including and excluding blood donors. The process for collecting blood from donors is similar to that used for blood sampling; however, a few additional measures are required for collection of donated blood. These measures are primarily to ensure patient safety, but also to minimize exogenous contamination of a donated blood unit or its derived components, particularly contamination from the skin flora of the donor’s arm.

A study on APO B100/APO A-I Ratio in uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Dyslipidemia, a very common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), is associated with life threatening complication like coronary artery disease (CAD). Apolipoprotein A-I and apo B100 are the protein components of high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) respectively. Apo B100/apo A-I ratio represents the balance between pro-atherogenic and antiatherogenic factors. Apolipoproteins have recently gained importance as they are said to be a better indicator of coronary artery disease as compared to other lipid and lipoproteins. This study was done to study the apo B100/apo A-I ratio in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), extended lipid profile (total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), HDL, apoA-I and apoB100) were estimated in 34 non diabetic controls and 37 diabetic cases.The cases were further subdivided into 2 groups based on their glycemic control. LDL levels were calculated by Friedewald’s formula. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 11.5. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Poorly controlled diabetic cases had significantly lower levels of HDL and apoA-I and significantly higher levels of TG. Total cholesterol, LDL and apoB-100 were comparable in both the groups. ApoB100/apoA-I ratio was significantly elevated in poorly controlled diabetic. Apo B100/apo A-I ratio showed a strong positive correlation with glycated HbA1c Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus is associated with dyslipidemia. Strict glycemic control is capable of partially improving dyslipidmia. Apo B100/apo A-I ratio can be used as an additional parameter for assessment of risk of CAD in diabetes mellitus.

A comparitive study on iodination of normal and diabetic serum.

It is a well known fact that iodine is a very important trace element for normal growth and metabolism. Iodination of biomolecules has many important functions in the field of research, assay procedures, investigation and diagnosis of diseases. The present study is done to compare the iodine uptake by the serum of diabetes mellitus cases and healthy controls. Methods: The study was carried out on 50 cases of known diabetes mellitus with mean fasting blood glucose level of 324 mg/dl and 25 healthy controls with mean fasting blood glucose level of 78 mg/dl. The modified version of the colorimetric method was employed for the assay of iodine uptake. The data’s were analyzed using SPSS version 10. Results: Serum total iodine uptake was decreased significantly in cases as compared to healthy controls (p <0.01). Conclusion: The results of our study indicate that there is decreased iodine uptake by diabetic serum. The cause for decreased iodine uptake may be related to high blood sugar level which possibly may be causing some alteration in the structure of biomolecules by glycation leading to decrease in the binding sites of iodine.