Rekha Thapar

Self-care activities among patients with diabetes attending a tertiary care hospital in Mangalore Karnataka, India

Background: Increasing prevalence of diabetes in India is resulting in an epidemiological transition. The care of the people with diabetes is traditionally seen as doctor centered, but the concept of self-care of people with diabetes is a new domain and is proven beneficial. Aim: The aim was to determine the practice of self-care activities among people with diabetes attending a tertiary care hospital in Mangalore. Subjects and Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Government Wenlock Hospital, Mangalore during September-October 2012. A total of 290 patients with >1-year duration of diabetes mellitus (DM) were asked to respond to summary diabetes self-care activities questionnaire after obtaining the consent from them. The statistical analysis was performed in terms of descriptive statistics and association between the variables was tested using Mann-Whitney U-test. Results: A healthy eating plan on a daily basis was followed by 45.9% (133/290) of the participants, daily exercises for 30 min were followed by 43.4% (126/290), and regular blood sugar monitoring was done by 76.6% (222/290). Regarding the adherence to oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin, daily adherence to medication was seen among 60.5% (155/256) and 66.9% (138/206) were found to be adherent to insulin injections on a daily basis. Conclusions: Self-care practices were found to be unsatisfactory in almost all aspects except for blood sugar monitoring and treatment adherence. As these practices are essential for prevention of complications and better quality-of -life, more efforts should be put to educate the people with diabetes.

Profile of Substance Use among Patients Attending De-Addiction Centres in a Coastal City of Southern India

Drug dependence is still to be recognized in developing countries as a significant public health problem and literature on the magnitude of this problem is limited. The present research was planned to study the socio-demographic profile and the reasons for substance use among patients admitted at De-addiction centres in Mangalore, India. In this cross-sectional study, all the patients admitted at the De-addiction centres during the study period were interviewed. The data was analyzed and the results obtained were expressed in proportions. A total of 83 patients were included in the study, all of whom were males. A positive family history of substance use was evident in 63% of the respondents. The mean age of the study participants was 41.9 (SD±11.2) years and the mean age for starting substance use was 20.9 (SD±7.7) years. The most common substance used was alcohol (95.2%). Majority of the subjects (56.6%) cited peer pressure as a reason for initiating substance use. Our findings suggest that the initiation of substance use occurs during late teenage years and mostly due to peer pressure. Our observations point towards the vulnerability of younger age towards substance use and hence, it is proposed that the preventive health policies in this regard should be targeted specifically during teenage years.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy and its determinants among patients attending a tertiary health care centre in Mangalore, India

Background The burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) is on the rise especially in developing countries like India. Due to its chronic nature DM tends to cause many debilitating complications and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of them. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of DPN among patients attending a tertiary care hospital and to identify the determinants associated with it. Design and methods A cross sectional study was conducted in Government Wenlock Hospital, Mangalore (India), during January-February 2014. A total of 208 patients with >5 year duration of DM were asked to respond to the patient history version of Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI) and examinations were conducted after obtaining consent from them. The statistical analysis was done in terms of descriptive statistics and association between variables was tested using logistic regression test. Results The prevalence of DPN using the MNSI history version and MNSI examination were found to be 18.3% and 32.2% respectively. The major determinants associated with DPN were found to be male gender (OR: 2.7, CI: 1.4-5.1, P=0.001), smoking (OR: 5.8, CI: 1.9-17.3, P=0.001) and age >40 years (OR: 2.7, CI: 1.2-5.8, P=0.011). Conclusions The burden of undetected DPN was found to be higher among diabetics, with an especially higher prevalence among males, smokers and those with long standing diabetes mellitus. Interventions in the form of early detection through routine screening, smoking cessation and regular follow up examinations would go a long way in reducing the burden of disability among diabetics and improve their quality of life significantly. Significance for public health The findings of the current research hold importance since diabetes is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the world. Due to its chronic nature and effects of hyperglycaemia, diabetes tends to be associated with many comorbidities, like peripheral neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy etc. The presence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy leads to a reduced quality of life among diabetic patients due to the trauma and consequent gangrenes andamputation. The concept of secondary prevention can be applied to the prevention of diabetic peripheral neuropathy using easy to apply screening tools and thus help in early diagnosis and treatment to reduce the burden of this debilitating illness.

Developing a fully integrated tobacco curriculum in medical colleges in India

BackgroundThis paper describes a pioneering effort to introduce tobacco cessation into India’s undergraduate medical college curriculum. This is the first ever attempt to fully integrate tobacco control across all years of medical college in any low and middle income country. The development, pretesting, and piloting of an innovative modular tobacco curriculum are discussed as well as challenges that face implementation and steps taken to address them and to advocate for adoption by the Medical Council of India.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted with administrators and faculty in five medical colleges to determine interest in and willingness to fully integrate smoking cessation into the college curriculum. Current curriculum was reviewed for present exposure to information about tobacco and cessation skill training. A modular tobacco curriculum was developed, pretested, modified, piloted, and evaluated by faculty and students. Qualitative research was conducted to identify challenges to future curriculum implementation.ResultsFifteen modules were successfully developed focusing on the public health importance of tobacco control, the relationship between tobacco and specific organ systems, diseases related to smoking and chewing tobacco, and the impact of tobacco on medication effectiveness. Culturally sensitive illness specific cessation training videos were developed. Faculty and students positively evaluated the curriculum as increasing their competency to support cessation during illness as a teachable moment. Students conducted illness centered cessation interviews with patients as a mandated part of their coursework. Systemic challenges to implementing the curriculum were identified and addressed.ConclusionsA fully integrated tobacco curriculum for medical colleges was piloted in 5 colleges and is now freely available online. The curriculum has been adopted by the state of Kerala as a first step to gaining Medical Council of India review and possible recognition.

Occupational Exposure to Needle Stick Injuries among Health Care Personnel in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Health care personnel are at increased risk of contracting blood borne pathogens due to their occupational exposure to blood and body fluids. According to the World Health Organization, out of 35 million health workers worldwide, about 3 million receive percutaneous exposures to blood borne pathogens each year. Objectives: 1) To know the extent of occupational exposure to needle stick injuries among health care personnel of tertiary care hospitals. 2) Assessing the relationship between occurrence of needle stick injuries with the work experience and awareness regarding universal precautions among health care personnel. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among health care personnel of three tertiary care teaching hospitals attached to a medical college in coastal south India. The data was collected from the health care personnel by using a self-administered, pre tested, semi structured questionnaire. Analysis was done by using SPSS Version 11.5. Results: Majority of the health care personnel (n=127, 67.2%) were aged between 25 and 45 years. More than half of the health care personnel (n=109, 58.1%) were doctors followed by staff nurses (n=62, 33.4) and hospital supportive staffs (n=18, 9.5%). Needle stick injuries was observed among 71.9% (n=136) of health care personnel. Majority of the needle stick injuries were observed among the health care personnel who had a work experience of five and more than five years and it was found to be statistically significant. Needle stick injuries were more among health care personnel who were unaware of universal precautions. Conclusions: The proportion of needle stick injuries was more among health care personnel and this can be reduced by training the workers regarding universal precautions and making sure that they are adhering to these norms.

A profile of patients attending an Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre at a tertiary care hospital in South India.

Background An estimated 2.5 million Indians are currently living with HIV. In 2004, the Indian government began providing free antiretroviral therapy (ART), through ART centers. This was conducted to assess the socio-demographic and clinical profile, opportunistic infection and treatment pattern of ART center attendees. Method

Stigmatization and Discrimination toward People Living with HIV/AIDS in a Coastal City of South India

Background: The HIV/AIDS scenario all over the world is complicated by the stigmatic and discriminative attitudes toward the HIV-infected individuals. Methodology: In this facility-based, cross-sectional study, 104 HIV-positive patients were assessed regarding their personal experience with HIV-related stigma and discrimination using a Revised HIV Stigma Scale. The association between stigma and factors such as socioeconomic status and gender was tested using chi-square test, and P < .05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A large proportion (41.3%) of the participants were in the age-group of 26 to 35 years. Confidentiality of the HIV positivity status was maintained only in 14.4% of the participants. Compared to females (48.2%), more than half (51.5%) of the male participants had experienced HIV/AIDS-related personalized stigma (P > .05). Conclusion: HIV-related stigma and discrimination are the major social determinants driving the epidemic, despite the advances in medical treatment and increases in the awareness about the disease.

Profile of cervical cancer patients attending Tertiary Care Hospitals of Mangalore, Karnataka: A 4 year retrospective study

Objectives: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics and clinical profile of women presenting with cervical carcinoma and to identify factors associated with the timing of presentation and prognosis. Materials and Methods: A record-based descriptive study was carried out from 1st February to 31st March 2014 at Tertiary Care Hospitals of Mangalore. The study population included women who were diagnosed with cervical carcinoma from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. A pretested data extraction sheet aimed at collecting information from the inpatient records was used as the study instrument. The collected data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Results: A total of 227 patients were included in the study. Mean (Standard Deviation) age of diagnosis of cervical cancer was found to be 55 ± 11 years. Majority of the women were Hindus (88.5%) and 51.0% of the women had occupational activities out of which manual labor was the most common. Forty-eight percent of the patients presented in the late stages. Squamous cell carcinoma was found to be the most common histological type. It was also observed that a slightly higher proportion of women with an age >49 years presented in late stages of the disease (n = 70, 48.6%) compared to women <49 years of age (n = 28, 46.7%); however, the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.800). Conclusions: Our study found out a higher proportion of late presentation by the patients. It emphasizes the need for the development and implementation of an efficient screening cum prevention program for cervical cancer and to continue active research in the domains of identifying all possible risk factors and steps to mitigate them.

Prevalence and Correlates of Prehypertension Among Adults in Urban South India

Prehypertension is one of the most common conditions affecting human beings worldwide. It is associated with several complications including hypertension. The blood pressure between normal and hypertension is prehypertension as per the Seventh Report Joint National Committee (JNC-7) classification. The current study was done to measure the magnitude of prehypertension and to study their sociodemographic correlates in the urban field practice area of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India, among 624 people aged ≥20 years. The measurements of blood pressure were done (JNC 7 criteria) with the anthropometric measurements and lifestyle factors. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated. Overall, 55% subjects had prehypertension and 30% had hypertension. Prehypertension was higher among males. Those from the higher age groups, those from upper socioeconomic status, obese individuals, and those with lesser physical activity had significantly higher association with prehypertension, and it was least among those who never used tobacco and alcohol.

Clinico‑epidemiological Profile of Snakebite Cases Admitted in a Tertiary Care Centre in South India: A 5 Years Study

Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the clinic-epidemiological profile of snakebite cases admitted at a Tertiary Care Centre in South India. Materials and Methods: A record based retrospective study was carried out at Kasturbha Medical College affiliated hospitals in Mangalore. All the snakebite cases admitted to the hospitals from January 2007 to December 2011 were included in the study. Data were collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 11.5). The results are expressed as percentages. Results: The study included 198 cases of snakebite victims. The majority of the cases were males (68.2%). The mean age of the study population was 34.8 years. Maximum numbers of snakebite cases were reported during the month of September to December (47.9%). The peak time of snakebite was between 18.01 and 24.00 h which was reported in 40.5% of the cases. Lower extremities were the most common site of bite in more than three-fourth of the cases (80.9%). The most common symptoms were a pain (45.9%) and swelling (44.9%). The case fatality rate was observed to be 3.0%. Conclusion: Snakebite still remains a major public health problem in this part of the world. Knowledge must be imparted regarding the prevention of snakebites through community health programs. Messages regarding prompt reporting of such cases and importance of effective treatment must be disseminated among people through mass media and role plays.