Efficacy of nutritional supplement (Haras) on carbon monoxide levels in smokers and non-smokers: An observational study.

Context: Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in exhaled air may impart a quick, non-invasive method to determine smoking status. Haras is a nutraceutical medication, which is slowly gaining recognition for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Aims: The effectiveness of the Haras therapy in smokers and non-smokers will be assessed by evaluating breath CO levels. Methods and Materials: The study included 101 test subjects with 76 subjects of smokers and 25 subjects of non-smokers. Both the test groups were given 10 mL of Haras juice in divided doses per day for 30 days. The CO levels were evaluated using a breath analyser before drug trial and then on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and after the conclusion of the drug trial. Statistical Analysis Used: The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the CO and carboxyhemoglobin levels among smokers and non-smokers. Results: Smokers had higher mean percent carboxyhemoglobin and mean parts per million CO values than non-smokers, and the difference between the two was shown to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). It was also found to be statistically significant from the first day to the eighth day, the first day to the 15th day, the first day to the 20th second day, first day to the 30th day (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Haras can be used effectively as an alternative supportive treatment for the diminution of CO levels in smokers and non-smokers.

Awareness among intensive care nurses regarding oral care in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Oral health and general health are interdependent which influence each other through biological, psychological, emotional, and developmental factors. As patients in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are completely dependent on the caregivers, the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the nurses influence the recovery of patients to a greater extent. OBJECTIVES: Unfortunately, oral health problems are usually overshadowed by other serious needs in critically ill patients. In addition, nursing staff appear to perceive oral health as the most difficult part of their work, hence been a low-priority intervention. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of ICU nurses on oral care in critically ill patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 200 nurses working in 21 different hospitals in Mysore, Karnataka, participated in the cross-sectional survey. The survey instrument included the demographic details, knowledge, attitude, and practice of oral care, complications in ICU due to lack of oral care, and educative programs attended. RESULTS: Among the 200 ICU nurses, 67% had ICU experience of more than 5 years. About 94% were diploma candidates, 5% were graduates, and only 2% were postgraduates with a mean age of 27.5 years. All the participants were aware of the concept of focal infection theory and 93% knew about the potential complications associated with poor oral hygiene in ICU. About 95.5% of the nurses performed oral care after every shift change and used gauze soaked in chlorhexidine routinely. Nearly 76.5% of the participants stated mechanical obstruction as a main barrier toward oral care. CONCLUSION: A variety of oral care practices exist for ventilated patients but, the majority of nurses used chlorhexidine with gauze. They failed to adhere to the latest evidence-based practice despite ranking oral care as a high priority. They need to be educated to improve clinical outcomes thereby reducing the hospital mortality and stay in ICU.

Image Montaging for Creating a Virtual Pathology Slide: An Innovative and Economical Tool to Obtain a Whole Slide Image.

Background. Microscopes are omnipresent throughout the field of biological research. With microscopes one can see in detail what is going on at the cellular level in tissues. Though it is a ubiquitous tool, the limitation is that with high magnification there is a small field of view. It is often advantageous to see an entire sample at high magnification. Over the years technological advancements in optics have helped to provide solutions to this limitation of microscopes by creating the so-called dedicated "slide scanners" which can provide a "whole slide digital image." These scanners can provide seamless, large-field-of-view, high resolution image of entire tissue section. The only disadvantage of such complete slide imaging system is its outrageous cost, thereby hindering their practical use by most laboratories, especially in developing and low resource countries. Methods. In a quest for their substitute, we tried commonly used image editing software Adobe Photoshop along with a basic image capturing device attached to a trinocular microscope to create a digital pathology slide. Results. The seamless image created using Adobe Photoshop maintained its diagnostic quality. Conclusion. With time and effort photomicrographs obtained from a basic camera-microscope set up can be combined and merged in Adobe Photoshop to create a whole slide digital image of practically usable quality at a negligible cost.

Predominantly cystic central mucoepidermoid carcinoma developing from a previously diagnosed dentigerous cyst: case report and review of the literature.

Primary intraosseous mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the jawbones is an extremely rare malignant salivary gland tumour constituting 2-4.3% of all the reported mucoepidermoid carcinomas. We report a case of intraosseous mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the mandible in an 80-year old female patient developing from a previously diagnosed dentigerous cyst. An excisional biopsy was performed and the histopathological features confirmed low grade-cystic intraosseous mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The origin of central mucoepidermoid carcinoma could be suggested to be from the epithelial lining of previously diagnosed dentigerous cyst. Thus, emphasizing the need for careful examination of the entire excision specimen to rule out such neoplastic transformation of epithelial lining of odontogenic cyst and provide appropriate and effective treatment.