Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs) in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background Type 2 diabetes constitutes about 85-95% of all diabetes in developed countries, and accounts for an even higher percentage in developing countries. Diabetic retinopathy is probable the most characteristic, easily identifiable and treatable complication of diabetes, but remains an important cause of visual loss. Objective To study P100 latencies and inter ocular latency difference in diabetic group and compared it with a control group and study the correlation between P100 and inter ocular latency difference with the duration of disease in diabetic group. Method A comparative, cross sectional study was done from September 2016 to January 2018 in Neurophysiology Lab, Basic and Clinical Physiology, BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. The sample size was 64 and random sampling technique was used. Subjects were divided into three groups according to the duration of disease. Anthropometric and visual evoked potentials were recorded. Descriptive analysis, analysis of covariance and Post Hoc multiple comparison analyses were done using SPSS 11.5. Pearson's correlation was applied between P100 latency and inter ocular latency difference with the duration of disease. Result On using analysis of covariance, P100 latencies were significantly prolonged in diabetic as compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001). Post Hoc multiple comparison showed significant differences in both left and right P100 latencies within diabetic groups and between diabetic groups and healthy controls. Left inter ocular latency difference showed positive correlation with the duration of disease. Conclusion P100 latencies are significantly prolonged in diabetes patients and is positively correlated with duration of disease. Visual evoked potential test can be useful for detecting retinal dysfunction before the appearance of symptoms of retinopathy.

Current status of periodontitis and its association with tobacco use amongst adult population of Sunsari district, in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco products are considered significant, but preventable factors related to initiation and progression of periodontal diseases. We assessed the prevalence of periodontitis and evaluated its association with tobacco use and other factors amongst the adult population of Sunsari district in eastern Nepal. METHODS: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in rural municipalities in the province one of eastern Nepal. A total of 440 adults were interviewed with a set of a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Data on social demographics, adverse oral habits followed by periodontal clinical examination were recorded. Prevalence of periodontitis was assessed by a case definition provided by CDC-AAP. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to measure the association between tobacco use and other factors with periodontitis. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of periodontitis was found to be 71.6%. Majority (85.4%) of tobacco users had periodontitis and they were significantly associated with the disease and its severity. The study identified age groups, 45-65 years (AOR = 7.58, 95% CI 3.93-14.61), plaque accumulation (AOR = 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02), smoking (AOR = 3.14, 95% CI 1.36-7.27), khaini users (smokeless tobacco, AOR = 2.27, 95% CI 1.12-4.61) and teeth loss (AOR = 2.02, 95% CI 1.21-3.38) as the significant factors associated with periodontitis. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of periodontitis is high in the surveyed rural adult population. Cigarette smoking along with the use of smokeless tobacco in the form of khaini were identified as significant factors associated with periodontitis.

Assessment of oral health status and treatment needs among people of Foklyan area, Dharan, Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Oral diseases are a major public health problem globally due to high prevalence and significant social impact. Foklyan is a peri urban area with people belonging to indigenous population of low socioeconomic status. This study was conducted to assess the oral health status and treatment needs among the people of Foklyan area, Dharan. METHODS: Cross-sectional house to house survey was conducted on 310 randomly selected participants. The participants were stratified into five age groups as per WHO Basic Oral Health Survey Methods 1997 and further categorized by gender. WHO Oral Health Assessment form 1997, WHO oral health assessment questionnaire for adult/children 2013 and questionnaire for oral hygiene practice and cost as a treatment barrier were used. The examinations were done as per WHO standard guidelines. RESULTS: Most of the participants were from low socioeconomic background (71.3%). About 40% of the participants deferred dental visit due to financial burden. Although 99% of the participants brushed their teeth, there was high caries experience (DMFT: 3.18 ± 5.85; dft: 2.40 ± 2.65). Mean sextant score for bleeding was 5.58 in 35-44 years age group and 5.61 in 65-74 years age group. Tobacco consumption was seen in 70.9% of the adults. Prevalence of alcohol consumption was 58.8% among adult age groups. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of dental caries, periodontal diseases, and prosthetic needs were more compared to national data. There is a need for oral health promotion in this area.

Understanding socio economic contexts of female sex workers in eastern Nepal.

The present focus is mostly laid on high risk behavior of commercial sex workers without any consideration of their location, educational status and other socio-cultural norms. Thus, we designed a study to understand socio demographic characteristics, lifestyle of female sex workers and search for driving factors for prostitution in eastern Nepal. A descriptive study was conducted in three districts of Eastern Nepal in 2012 over the period of six months. The data regarding their socio demographic characteristics, income, reason for joining sex trade and future choice regarding the profession were recorded from 210 female sex workers through face-to-face interviews. Majority (53.3%) of respondents belonged to the productive age group of 20-29 years, more than one thirds (43.3%) had not received any form of formal education and were unmarried. More than half (53.80%) were presently living alone and about one thirds of the women (31.90%) were minors when they joined this profession. Major portion of the sample (94.80%) worked more than three days a week with median income of 15 thousand per month and 41 percent had sex with more than or equal to ten clients per week. Poor economic condition was the most frequent (47.6%) factor leading to joining of sex trade however, more than two thirds, (72.80%) wanted to quit the profession. Given low level of education, relatively low income, and young age among this population, empowerment and alternative employment/education opportunities should be created to develop this part of Nepalese society.

Guidelines and recommendations for studies on psychosocial aspects of patients with craniofacial anomalies.

In recent years there has been a few numbers of studies on psychosocial aspects of patients with craniofacial anomalies in the world. Current research surrounding psychological aspects of craniofacial anomalies suffers from various inconsistencies as reported by the results which may be due to differences in methodology that has made interpretation of findings very difficult. This article aims to present an evaluation of methodological errors and inconsistent findings in such studies. A thorough search based on electronic data base was done utilizing the following words: "craniofacial anomalies", "psychosocial impact". The resultant studies were evaluated based on the methodology and various lacunae, pitfalls were summed up. The results indicated that most of the studies suffer from various methodological errors. Several guidelines were fabricated so as to minimize error and maximize accuracy. The authors recommend these guidelines for future research design of studies related to psychosocial aspects of patients with craniofacial anomalies.

Emergence of primary teeth in children of Sunsari district of Eastern Nepal.

UNLABELLED: This study assessed the timing and eruption sequence of primary teeth in children of Sunsari district of Eastern Nepal and compared the eruption pattern of males & females between various, ethnic groups. METHOD: This cross-sectional study, included 501 subjects, aged 3 months to 60 months selected by simple random sampling method. The determinant variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, and eruption of teeth were recorded. RESULTS: This study provides a model data on emergence of primary teeth and number of deciduous teeth in these children. This is a first study of its kind in Nepal. The findings of this study will help as a reference data for optimal use in clinical, academic, and research activities, especially for children of Eastern Nepal.

Tuberculin survey in government high school of Dharan municipality.

This survey was done in 682 out of 1672 children tested with Batch of Tuberculin used for Testing (PPD RT 23 with Tween 80) in Jan. 1997 with financial research grant of B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan. Dharan City is situated in Eastern Development Region (EDR) of Nepal where a high percentage of migrated population is residing with very high number of sputum positive cases. The majority of population are from high hills and mountain region where the Annual Risk of Infection (ARI) is less. This survey was done to know the epidemiological situation of Tuberculosis (TB) in Dharan. Tuberculin survey was done in Eastern Development Region (EDR) (1994) by National Tuberculosis Centre (NTC)/Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Saptari and Morang. The reported result of average Annual Risk of Infection (ARI) is 2.49% and 2.38% respectively. The mean age of surveyed population was 14.8 yrs. The Bacilli Calmette Guerin (BCG) coverage (scar rate) was 38.3% and BCG 4-8 age group 83.3% was highest and it gradually decreased to 37.5% in 12 + age group. The average 23 Tween-8-Batch of Tuberculin used for Testing (PPD) positive is 33.6% with 10 mm induration as cutoff line. Annual Risk of Infection (ARI) based on above was 2.7% in 9-11 age group and 1.31% in 12 + age group. This survey is suggestive of tuberculosis being highly prevalent in Dharan. The survey also showed average ARI to be 2.44% in Dharan in 10-15 yrs age group. The finding is suggestive of high ARI although the populations has migrated from hill and mountain. Previous report of average ARI in this area was 2.5% (Morang and Saptari). The survey result suggests that high priority, effective tuberculosis program is necessary and intensive control program can only give impact to control of tuberculosis in Dharan.