A study to identify knowledge, attitude and practices prevalent amongst the caregivers of children below five years presenting with acute diarrhoea in a tertiary care centre

Background: Diarrhoeal infections are the second leading cause of death worldwide in under-five children covering 9% of the total deaths. The objective of the study was to assess and compare mothers' knowledge, attitude and practice regarding prevention and management of diarrhoea in children.Methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based observational study was conducted in a tertiary centre amongst all 356 children between age group 2 months to 60 months admitted with acute watery diarrhea. A pre-tested questionnaire and face-to-face interviews with the mothers was used as a data collection tool.Results: Most of the mothers 282 (79.2%) were 20-30-year-old, 51.4% were illiterate, 57.3% were unemployed and 27.2% were daily wage labourers. 44.6% people came from rural background and 78.9% belonged to lower socio-economic strata. 30.3% were exclusively breastfed and 69.7% were on top feeds. Animal milk was taken by 62.1%, 46.6% had dilution and 50.6% used bottles for feeding. 70.5% of mothers washed their hands at the time of feeding of their child, 93.8% mother covered food in their houses while only 26.7% of mothers gave freshly cooked food. Mother's outlook on various aspects of diarrhea was sought. Very few mothers considered poor sanitation (2.5%) andcontaminated water (12.6%) as a source of diarrhea. Only 8.7% mothers knew about the role of ORS in diarrhea and maximum (53.4%) considered that diarrhea could not be avoided by any measure.Conclusions: Mother's knowledge regarding causes, management and prevention of diarrhea needs to be upgraded to allow better utilisation of health resources by the families.

Knowledge and practices among caregivers in cases of persisitent diarrhoea in children of age group 6 months-12 years

Background: Persistent diarrhoea has a variety of infectious and non-infectious etiology and it seriously affects the growth and development of children. The objective of the is to the identify the knowledge and practices prevalent amongst caregivers of children to understand environmental and behavioral risk factors and their interactions associated with the disease and its management.Methods: It is a hospital based cross-sectional study which included 70 children in the age group 6 months-12 years admitted in a tertiary care center at Bhopal over a period of one year with complaints of loose stools lasting for more than 14 days. A pre-tested questionnaire was used as a data collection tool for face-to-face interviews with the mothers or caretakers of the cases. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS Version 20; Chicago Inc., USA). Data comparison was done by applying specific statistical tests to find out the statistical significance of the comparisons.Results: Most of children's mother were Illiterate, 27.1% were educated till primary school and only 5.7% were graduate. Out of 70 cases, most of 51(72.8%) were have understanding that drinking untreated water is a risk factor, only 11(15.7%) understands the value of filtered water and 8(11.4%) know the importance of doing boiling. Most of 46(65.7%) were using open field for sanitation and only 11(15.7%) were using toilets at home. 42(60.0%) were having the habit of hand washing before taking meal.'Conclusions: Community education about the prevention and management of diarrhoea will reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with persistent diarrhoea.

Histological Study of Mammary Lobule on Pregnant, Lactation and Involution Stage in Murrah Buffalo

Present experiment was conducted on sixty Murrah buffalo divided into three groups : pregnant, lactating and involution stage/Dry stage. No distinct lobulation was observed during nonlactating early pregnant stage. The ratio between maximum diameter of lobule in nonlactating mid and late pregnant stage was 4:5. Mammary lobules were oval to polygonal in shape. In lactating stage the approximate ratio between maximum diameter of lobule in colostrum stage and three months of lactation were 2:1. The number of alveoli were maximum during colostrum phase and reduced from colostrum stage to ten months of lactation. Highly significant statistical difference in the diameter of lobules and number of alveoli was noticed during different stages of lactation from colostrum to ten month. The number of alveoli was minimum during nonlactating nonpregnant stage from one to two month

Submandibular Gland Fossa Assessment with Cone Beam Computed Tomography

Introduction: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is often used in pre-implant planning where it helps assessing theamount of bone availability and its relationship from its surrounding structures. In certain vital areas such as inferior alveolarnerve canal and submandibular gland fossa, it is important to know the dimensions of the bone to avoid post-operativecomplications. The aim of the study was to evaluate the deepest area or the concavity depth submandibular fossa on CBCTand also to measure/determine the distance from the mental foramen to the deepest concavity depth and the height of alveolarcrest from the deepest concavity depth.Materials and Methods: Retrospective studies of CBCT images were obtained on a KODAK 9000 three-dimensional (3D)extraoral imaging systems using CS 3D imaging software. The site of the submandibular gland fossa was identified, andmeasurements were done to evaluate the depth of the fossa, its distance from the alveolar crest and from the mental foramen.Results: The lingual concavity depth over a range up to a maximum value of 3.70 mm and the minimum depth up to 0.5 mm.Analysis of variance compared the mean values and standard deviation for mandibular measurements between male and female.The sexes did not differ significantly. Independent sample t-test did not demonstrate any difference among the age group,#P > 0.05.Conclusion: CBCT is an important tool for assessing the mandibular region and planning for safe implant placement in theposterior mandible.

Sociodemographic characteristics and aggression quotient among children in conflict with the law in India: A case–control study.

Background. The incidence of juvenile delinquency has increased in the past decade in India and juvenile crimes are increasingly being reported. This has been attributed to many biopsychosocial factors. It is essential to understand these issues in the context of India to determine the response of acts of children in conflict with the law. We aimed to assess the sociodemographic characteristics and the aggression quotient of children in conflict with the law (juvenile delinquents) in observation homes across India and compare them with those who were not. Methods. We did a case–control study in five juvenile homes in the cities of Hyderabad, Lucknow and Pune. Ninety inmates (74 boys, 16 girls) were included in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics and aggression quotient of children in conflict with the law were evaluated using two separate questionnaires, i.e. a sociodemographic questionnaire and the modified Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire. These were compared with a control group of similar age, sex and income status. Results. All the children in conflict with the law surveyed belonged to the lower socioeconomic strata, had a significantly higher chance (p<0.05) of coming from broken homes, have addictions, jailed family members and suffered physical and sexual abuse than controls. They also scored higher on all domains of the aggression questionnaire than controls. Conclusion. A collection of sociodemographic attributes such as broken homes, addictions and abuse seem to have an

Adverse drug reactions & their risk factors among Indian ambulatory elderly patients.

Background & objectives: Several studies have reported adverse drug events ranging from 5 to 35 per cent in all age group from outpatient setting. However, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) particularly among a large sample of ambulatory elderly patients in India has not been reported. This study has attempted to identify ADRs and assessed their causality, preventability and severity, and also their risk factors in Indian ambulatory elderly patients. Methods: A 2 year long term prospective study included 4005 ambulatory elderly patients (60 yr or above; either sex) at a public teaching hospital. Suspected ADRs were assessed for causality, preventability and severity using Naranjo's probability scale, modified Schumock and Thornton's criteria, and modified Hartwig's criteria, respectively. Results: Of the total 4005 prescriptions, 406 were identified with ADRs, giving the occurrence of 10 per cent ADRs in elderly. The total number of ADRs was 422 in 406 prescriptions. Type A ADRs accounted for 46 per cent of the total ADRs. Majority of the ADRs (88.6%) were classified as ‘probable’. The definitely preventable reactions were 22 per cent. The percentage of moderate reaction was 16 per cent. Only 1.6 per cent ADRs was severe in nature. The most common type of ADR was peripheral oedema. The most commonly offending class of drug was cardiovascular drugs (57.6%). Using logistic regression analysis, the risk factors which contributed to ADRs were age above 80 yr (OR=1.7), prescription of multiple drugs (OR=1.8), longer duration of treatment (OR=2.28) and multiple diagnoses (OR=1.8). Interpretation & conclusions: In this study, 10 per cent ambulatory elderly patients were found to have ADRs. This indicates that the elderly patients should be closely monitored for ADRs, to avoid clinically significant harmful consequences. The awareness of risk factors of ADRs would help physicians to identify elderly patients with greater risk of ADRs and, therefore, might benefit from ADRs monitoring and reporting programme.