Prescribing pattern of antibiotics for post-tuberculous bronchiectasis treated in a tertiary care hospital.

The present study aimed at assessing the prescription pattern of antibiotics used for the treatment of patients diagnosed with post-tuberculous bronchiectasis in a tertiary care hospital. A prospective study was carried out at Government General Hospital located in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh during April 2011 to June 2011. A total of 120 in-patient prescriptions were analyzed and data was collected on a standard documentation form. Patients who are in the age group of 20 to 80 years were included in the study. The data collected was analyzed for the prescribing patterns of antibiotics based on the demographic profile of patients. The study results showed that among 120 patients, male patients were 92 (76.7 %) and female were 28 (23.3%), indicating higher incidence of the disease in male than female. Out of 120 prescriptions, 108 prescriptions contained double antibiotics, 12 were found with single antibiotic and 6 prescriptions with triple antibiotics. A total of seven different classes of antibiotics were prescribed either alone or in combination. Gentamicin was found in 90 (75.0%) prescriptions, ciprofloxacin in 76 (63.3%) and cefotaxime in 26 (21.7%) prescriptions. It was found that aminoglycosides, cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones were most commonly used in the hospital practice for the treatment as well as management of tuberculosis complications and associated post-TB bronchiectasis.

A comparative evaluation of DIAGNOdent with visual and radiography for detection of occlusal caries: An in vitro study.

Background: The diagnosis of dental caries is fundamental to the practice of dentistry. Despite the fact that dental caries has declined considerably, it is still a problem of great importance. The reduction in caries prevalence has not occurred uniformly for all the surfaces. The greatest reduction was observed at lesions located on smooth surfaces, so that occlusal caries are most common in children. Aim: The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical efficacy of DIAGNOdent in detecting occlusal caries. Materials and Methods: A total number of 50 teeth were subjected for visual, radiographic, and DIAGNOdent examinations. All the three methods were compared to histology which is a gold standard. Results: The result obtained showed that DIAGNOdent is superior to visual and radiographic methods in diagnosing occlusal caries.

5-HT3 receptors in selective animal models of cognition.

Role of 5-HT3 receptors in cholinergic hypofunctional models of cognitive impairment in the elevated plus maze model and a passive avoidance model is studied. Cognitive impairment was caused by scopolamine (1 mg/kg, ip) in mice and 5-HT3 ligands mCPBG (1 and 5 mg/kg, ip) and ondansetron (0.5 and 5 mg/kg, ip) were administered before the pre-learning phase to study the effects on acquisition, while post-learning administration was used to determine the effects on consolidation. Ondansetron improved acquisition and retention in cholinergic hypofunctional models while mCPBG potentiated selected impaired cognitive indices. The results indicate the role of 5-HT3 receptors in cognition and that an ideal evaluation of 5-HT3 ligands in cognition should distinguish true cognitive effects from locomotor, motivational and emotional effects.