Use of internet by medical students in their basic and clinical skills

The potential of using internet for medical education is widely accepted in enhancing their knowledge, skill and attitude. To assess the ability, accessibility and attitudes of medical students about use of information technology for e-learning in improving their basic and clinical skills. A qualitative descriptive study carried out at Gynae Unit II and ENT Unit I, Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital, Lahore from January 2007 to April 2007. One hundred and fifty medical students each from last three years of MBBS were included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was applied to them which included their demographic details and perceived level of IT [information technology] ability and accessibility. Four hundred fifty undergraduate students participated in the survey. There were 49% females and 51% males with similar average age. Among students 88.5% were using internet for educational purposes either at home or in college computer lab. However, the average use per week was 3.4 hours. Google, Yahoo and Ask were three most commonly used search engines. Majority [90%] of the students said that they are not getting input from their teachers on e-medicine should be the part of education from first year onwards. Undergraduate medical students have a reasonable access and perception for internet based learning and this should become a part of medical curriculum from the first year of MBBS. Medical teachers should facilitate the use of internet as an important tool of learning. Internet facilities should made widely available in the medical colleges to help them in enhancing their skills

CSOM; ossicular damage in atticoantral variant

The current study aims to find the extent of ossicular chain damage in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media, associated with cholesteotoma and/or granulation tissue formation. Descriptive study. The study was conducted at the department of ENT unit 1, Jinnah hospital/ Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore from March, 2007 to March, 2008. A total of fifty consecutive patients presenting with atticoantral disease of different age groups were included in the study. All patients were examined clinically and under microscope. X- rays mastoids and pure tone audiometry was done in all patients. Mastoid exploration was done in all the patients and ossicullar status was assessed peroperatively. Canal wall down procedure was adopted in all the patients. Among different age groups included, majority [more than 70%] of them, were below 30 years of age, showing that atticoantral variant of CSOM is a disease of the young people. Males were more in number [70%]. Duration of the symptoms was usually prolonged. On radiological examination, 39 cases [78%] had sclerotic mastoid. Audiological records of patients showed the air bone gap of more than 40 dB in most of [78%] of patients. Perforation was marginal in most of the patients [64%]. In gross pathologic findings, cholesteotoma only, was seen in 21 cases [42%], granulations seen in 13[26%] cases, while cholesteotoma and granulations seen in 16 cases [32%]. All cases showed erosion of the ossicles, complete or partial. Incus was a most commonly involved ossicle. Chronic suppurative otitis media, atticoantral variant do commonly damage the ossicles and routinely it is multiossicular damage. Incus, is damaged most with involvement of its long process

Pregnancy induced rhinitis

Objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the occurrence of nasal congestion during pregnancy. Nasal congestion during pregnancy in 54 patients was evaluated at 12, 20, 28 and 36 weeks and was correlated to age, parity and body mass index. Results were recorded on the basis of subjective experience of patients. The prevalence of nasal congestion increased during pregnancy and occurred in 16% of women at 12 weeks of gestation, in 25% at 20 weeks, in 29% at 28 weeks and in 30% at 36 weeks. It was more common in multiparous women. Age and body mass index were not associated with nasal stuffiness. More than half of the patients reported nasal congestion for more than two weeks during pregnancy. Nasal congestion should be recognized and referred for treatment to improve the quality of pregnancy