Stigma related to tuberculosis among patients attending DOTS clinics of Dharan municipality.

BACKGROUND: The patients suffering from tuberculosis are receiving shame and unfair treatment from the people living around them within their own society attending DOTS clinic of Dharan municipality. OBJECTIVE: To assess the stigma experienced by tuberculosis patients and to find out the association between stigma experienced by Tuberculosis patient and the selected variables (socio-demographic characteristics, clinical profile and illness experience). METHODS: Descriptive Cross Sectional study was done among sixty tuberculosis patients. Stratified random sampling was used to select the main center and sub center of Tuberculosis treatment and population proportionate simple random sampling using lottery method was done. Data was collected using predesigned, pretested performa from Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue developed by World Health Organization. RESULTS: The study revealed that 63.3% of the subjects were stigmatized. There was association between stigma and variables such as occupation, monthly family income and past history of Tuberculosis. There was also association of stigma with treatment phase, category of the patient and past outcome of illness. CONCLUSION: Due to lack of knowledge and awareness about Tuberculosis, many patients were stigmatized. Efforts should be made to educate the public about Tuberculosis to reduce stigma experienced by Tuberculosis patients and improve the compliance of the patient.

Understanding of tobacco and lung cancer among medical students in Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (KUSMS).

BACKGROUND: Often, lung cancer is diagnosed at terminal stages. Poor awareness about the symptoms or risk factors of lung cancer among medics may be one of the factors for delayed diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: We explored the knowledge of medical students and their behavior with the patients of lung cancer. METHOD: Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used for data collection from 153 medical student of Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences from December 2011 to May 2012. RESULTS: Among the results, eighty-nine students had over 80% knowledge of the 14 cancer warning signs, among them 83% knew the nine risk factors for lung cancer. Twenty-three students told lung cancer can be hereditary. Sixty five percent of all participants believed that lung cancer can be detected at early stage; of them 81% told that it can be treated. About 24% of the total students were current or exsmokers and about half of them believed that lung cancer does not occur in light smokers. Only 10% have heard of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Nepal. CONCLUSION: Study finds that all medical students who know about any cancers may not necessarily have knowledge about lung cancers. Their perception about the cause of lung cancer may be influenced by their smoking behavior and there was little knowledge of public health measures for smoking control. Awareness about national policies needs to be increased.

A fatal presentation of dermatomyositis.

Dermatomyositis (DM) is an autoimmune disease that mainly affects the skin, muscle, and lung. The pathogenesis of skin inflammation in DM is not well understood. We present a 40-year-old male who presented with four months history of generalized skin lesion, pain and weakness. He had elevated transaminases with detectable muscle weakness. This case highlights the need to consider dermatomyositis with skin lesion and weakness; and the use of aggressive immunosuppressive therapies due to its associated vasculopathies.