Psychiatric comorbidities and breast cancer: A study from Jammu region of UT of J&K, India.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among females of all age groups. The diagnosis of cancer itself has a menacing impact on the psychosocial health of an individual leading to various psychiatric comorbidities. This can impact the overall prognosis of cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities among female breast cancer patients and to assess its association with sociodemographic and clinical factors among these. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted for a period of 1 year in the Regional Cancer Centre. All females in the age group of 18 years and above, who were confirmed to have breast cancer were included in the study. A self-designed proforma was administered to elicit information about sociodemographic and clinical details of the study subjects. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used to assess the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities like depression, anxiety, and stress among these subjects. Data thus obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Software. RESULTS: A total of 205 subjects were included in the study. The mean age was reported as 49.25 ± 11.44 years, most of these were married homemakers residing in nuclear families in rural areas. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was found to be 60%, 73.17%, and 83.41%, and these were significantly associated (P < 0.05) with residence, number of living children, visits per month to hospitals, time since diagnosis, and type of treatment received. CONCLUSION: There is a high risk of psychiatric comorbidities among breast cancer female patients and an urgent need for effective strategies to prevent these.

A Prospective Study of Audiological Manifestations in Patients of Allergic Rhinitis.

Allergic rhinitis is a type-I hypersensitivity reaction of the nasal mucosa, primarily mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE) with complex etiological factors.Allergic rhinitis may involve the inner ear. The scientific basis for this is poorly understood. However, the inner ear has been found to demonstrate both cellular and humoral immunity, and the seat of immuno-activity appears to reside in the endolymphatic sac and duct. To assess the audiological profile of patients with allergic rhinitis. 100 Study group patients and 50 control group subjects underwent detailed audiological assessment. Present study revealed high frequency sensorineural hearing loss with prolongation of Wave I and shortened wave I-III and Wave I-V interpeak latencies on ABR and abnormal DPOAE findings, compared with controls which indicate inner ear involvement (cochlear pathology). Individuals with allergic rhinitis are more prone to hearing abnormalities which can be detected even before any symptoms of hearing impairment are present. However, the exact pathophysiology of inner ear damage in patients of airway allergy is poorly understood and therefore, additional studies in this area are required with a larger sample population to assess the benefits of hearing assessment in patients of allergic rhinitis for early detection of hearing loss.

Endoscopic Adenoidectomy Replacing the Outdated Curette Adenoidectomy: Comparison of the Two Methods at a Tertiary Care Centre.

To compare intraoperative and postoperative parameters of the two techniques of adenoidectomy, endoscope and microdebrider powered adenoidectomy and conventional adenoidectomy. Study Design Prospective study. Setting: Academic tertiary referral centre. In our study, cases of adenoid hypertrophy were randomly selected from the outpatient department of department of ORL & HNS. Out of these patients, 30 underwent Endoscopic adenoidectomy (EA) (Group A) and 30 underwent Conventional adenoidectomy (CA) (Group B). All of the patients were assessed pre-operatively, intra-operatively and post-operatively to compare the various parameters. The most common complaint in both the groups was mouth breathing with snoring. Intra-operative bleeding was 29.15 ml in group EA and 15.2 ml in group CA. Operative time for CA was shorter at 21.8 min as compared to 32.1 min for group EA. Residual adenoids and injury to adjacent structures were more common in group CA. Hospital stay was 3.2 days for EA patients and 3.43 days for CA patients. Resolution of symptoms was near comparable in both groups. Operative time and intra-operative bleeding are both significantly reduced with the CA as opposed to EA. However, injury to adjacent structures and residual adenoids occur significantly less in group EA. After weighing the risks and benefits, we can conclude that EA is comparatively better than CA.

An Unusual and Neglected Foreign Body in the Ethmoid Sinus.

We report a case of 7 years old male who was referred from Eye OPD with chronic discharge from right periorbita near inner canthus with suspected foreign body after 3 months of injury.

Decreased bone mineral density and associated risk factors in hospital visiting people of Islamabad.

OBJECTIVE: TBesides aging there are multiple factors involved in decreasing Bone Mineral Density. Knowing the burden of the diseaseand its related factors in our population can help better treat this. Therefore, our objective was to identify subjects with low Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and its risk factors in hospital visiting people in Islamabad. METHODS: Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted atRawal Institute of Health Sciences, Islamabad in 3rd week of June, 2014. Total 300 persons including patients, attendants and hospital staff were selected.Calcaneus BMD was measured usingultrasound bone densitometer. T-score was calculated.Specific questionnaire form was filled to identify risk factors. Prevalence and prevalence ratio was calculated. RESULTS: Out of 300 study sample, 178 (59.3%) are females. Mean age of the study population is 37.34 (SD=12.93). Overall, prevalence of osteopaenia and osteoporosis in the study population is 107 (35.7%) and 5 (1.7%) respectively. Prevalence of osteopaenia is seen more in elderly subjects, females, people with low Body Mass Index (BMI), people who are usually not exposed to sunlight and who are mostly bound to houses. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased BMD is associated with increasing age, female gender, low BMI, little exposure to sun light and being restrained to homes. It is not affected by daily milk intake, parity of females, cola drinking and smoking in our part of the world.