ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Awareness of malocclusion and the need to make corrections has increasingly becomes prevalent among our population. However, very few patients have presented in the orthodontic clinics with referrals from medical practitioners, an indication that the primary caregivers may be deficient in the knowledge of orthodontic practice. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge of orthodontics and the awareness of the effects of malocclusion on the general well-being, among medical students at the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 85 medical students in the institution participated in the study. Data entry and analysis was done using Epi info version 3.5. Frequency counts were generated for all variables and measures of central tendency for numerical variables. RESULTS: All participants were medical students. Majority (75.3%) were in their clinical years while 24.7% were in their preclinical years. Only 45.9% of the respondents had heard of the term "orthodontics" and only 20% correctly answered that orthodontics involves malocclusion and its management. Concerning the treatment procedures used in orthodontic clinics, 54.1% of them selected rearrangement of teeth. When asked to identify the appliances used in orthodontics, 49.4% selected dentures, 40% selected removable appliances, and 57.7% selected braces. Most of the respondents (81.2%) agreed that as medical doctors they would refer patients for orthodontic care, while 3.5% were undecided and 15.3% disagreed. CONCLUSION: The medical students surveyed had limited knowledge of orthodontics as a specialty and also knew very little about the impact of malocclusion on the well-being of the individual. They would, therefore, benefit from basic education in orthodontics to stimulate their interest in the specialty and improve their ability to refer patients appropriately.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There has been considerable escalation in the incidence of HIV infection in Papua New Guinea since the first cases have been reported in 1987. OBJECTIVES: The study was to identify the genetic subtype in HIV infected patients in Papua New Guinea. It is believed that the result will not only assist in tracing and tracking the sources of the infection, but will also help to evaluate the impact of the genotypes on the natural history of HIV in Papua New Guinea. METHODS: Plasma samples from eighty patients were definitively tested for HIV antibodies at PNG Central Public Health Laboratory using Welcome ELISA, Serodia, Immuno Comb and Hexagon. The samples were also tested for Hepatitis B (HBsAG and HBcAG) and Hepatitis C virus antibodies. The HIV positive samples were reconfirmed by the Western Blot analysis; RNA isolation and reverse transcription. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis and determination of HIV subtypes were determined by using representative sequences A-H, J, N and 0 in the Los Alamos Database. RESULTS: The total number of HIV-1 positive patients' samples was 20 (5 females and 15 males) Out of this, 11 (all males) were successfully subtyped as c (91%) and b (9%) showing the predominant type to be subtype C. Nine isolates were designated not typable. This is attributable to either low viral load or new emerging strains that could not be detected by the database used in phylogenetic analysis. CONCLUSION: Data predicts that there is possible emergence of BC circulating recombinant form (CRF) because we also identified subtype B. We suggest that as subtype C remains a guide for tracking the sources of infection in PNG that both subtypes C and B (and any other subtypes that may be identified in future) be included in the future vaccine for use in Papua New Guinea since some potential vaccines work only against particular subtypes assuming that nearly all subtypes identified so far are responsive to ant-retroviral drugs.
