A validated audio-visual educational module on examination skills in ophthalmology for undergraduate medical students in the COVID-19 season - An observational longitudinal study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an audio visual (AV) teaching module on basic torchlight examination of the eye and direct ophthalmoscopy for undergraduate medical students. METHODS: This observational longitudinal study was done on 33 consecutive medical interns during their Ophthalmology posting from December 2019 to March 2020 at a medical college in South-India. An AV-module was created using animation graphics, narratives, demonstrations on normal individuals and on patients with positive signs. All interns had a pretest consisting of Multiple-choice questions, (MCQs) and an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) on torchlight examination and direct ophthalmoscopy (DO). They were then shown the 20-minute AV-module. A posttest was performed immediately and after one week. RESULTS: The mean pretest MCQ score was 5.84 ± 1.98. It improved to 8.81 ± 1.15 in the immediate posttest and 8.87 ± 1.66 in the one-week posttest. The mean pretest OSCE score was 12.21 ± 3.39. It improved to 23.21 ± 3.39 in the immediate posttest and 23.90 ± 3.7 in the one-week posttest. Using Generalized Estimating Equation, MCQ score improved by 2.97 units and 3.03 units and the OSCE score improved by 11 units and 11.69 units in the immediate posttest and one-week posttest respectively when compared to the pretest corresponding to the MCQ score and OSCE score (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: AV teaching modules-for torchlight examination and DO has a significant benefit in improving knowledge and skill in undergraduate medical students. These significant results have the great translatory capacity in the current COVID-19 pandemic, where physical demonstrations involving close proximity and groups of students are highly risk prone.

Quantitative estimation of isoniazid content in the commercially available and government-supplied formulations.

BACKGROUND: Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is on the rise, resulting in treatment failure. One potential reason for drug resistance is the substandard quality of manufactured antituberculous drugs. This study aims at finding out the difference in the quantity of isoniazid between government-supplied tablets and commercially available tablets. METHOD: Tablets from the single most commonly used brand of isoniazid manufactured by a pharmaceutical company and from RNTCP DOTS providing centre were obtained for the estimation of concentration using a spectrophotometer. The results were analysed using Un-paired Student's t-test. RESULTS: Of the 98 isoniazid tablets from each arm studied, none had the strength that deviated from the WHO limit of 90-110%, i.e. 270-330 mg. The mean strength ±SD of the commercial preparation of isoniazid tablets was found to be 295.16 ± 12.14. The mean strength ± SD of DOTS isoniazid tablets was found to be 298.69 ± 9.55. The difference observed in the strengths of isoniazid tablets between DOTS and commercial preparation was statistically insignificant (p = 0.1704). CONCLUSION: This method to estimate the strength of isoniazid tablets is inexpensive, relatively easy, and considerably accurate to perform, and hence can be employed in primary or secondary care centres to ensure the standard strengths of tablets dispensed from such centres.