Surapaneni Krishna Mohan

Analysis of serum immunoglobulins using Fourier transform infrared spectral measurements

Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) Spectroscopy is a non-invasive, reagent free diagnostic tool in the analysis of biological fluids. The results can be best employed in the qualitative and quantitative investigation of biological fluids. Multiple myeloma is a disorder in which malignant plasma cells accumulate in bone marrow and produce excess immunoglobulin that leads to many complications. The present work is attempted in the study of normal and three different myeloma affected blood samples IgA, IgG and IgM using FTIR Spectroscopy. Internal Standard method is adopted in characterizing the samples quantitatively

Evaluation of Dietary Choices, Preferences, Knowledge and Related Practices Among Pregnant Women Living in An Indian Setting.

INTRODUCTION Healthy and nutritious diet is very essential component of Antenatal care along with clinical advice. The objective of this study was to understand the dietary choices, preferences, knowledge and related practices among pregnant women living in an Indian setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS Hundred pregnant women were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Information about Socio-demographic profile, food item price and approach during inflation, nutrition related knowledge, attitude and practices and 24 hour dietary recall was acquired. RESULTS Majority of the participants (87%) reported regular antenatal care visits and intake of iron and folic acid tablets. Eighty two percent of the participants were acquainted with standardized marks on food items and 64% of them reported checking of these marks before purchasing. Thirty two percent of the participants did not know about balanced diet. Fifty eight percent of the participants felled in fair category of dietary recall final scores. CONCLUSION There is still vast room for improvement of the nutritional status of pregnant women as none of the participants were able to achieve excellent status on 24 hour food record scoring sheet.

Assessment of Burden of Depression During Pregnancy Among Pregnant Women Residing in Rural Setting of Chennai

INTRODUCTION Depression during perinatal period leads to adverse pregnancy outcome and of child growth. Our study aimed to examine the burden of antenatal depression and associated risk factors among pregnant women living in rural settings of Chennai, a southern state of India. MATERIALS AND METHODS A pilot cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural settings of Chennai, one of the Southern States of India during August through September 2013. Hundred pregnant women who agreed to participate were enrolled in this study. Edinburg postnatal depression scale was used to assess the depression level of the study participants. Information was also gathered about socio-demographics, obstetric and disease history, social support and marital satisfaction was gathered. Descriptive analysis was performed using univariate statistics to report means and standard deviations for the continuous variables and frequency distribution for the categorical variables. RESULTS Majority of the participants (65%) had scored 13 or higher on the Edinburg Depression Scale reflecting high likelihood of depression. Majority of the participants (66%) had been bothered due to low feeling, depressed or hopelessness during the previous month. Enriched marital satisfaction scale (p=.025) had shown significant association with Edinburg depression scale. CONCLUSION Pregnancy is very crucial period not only for mother but whole family. This study has shown very high frequency of depression among the participants. There is a need for a longitudinal study to design interventions that can address emerging burden of antenatal depression among pregnant women living in rural settings.

Association between socio-demographics and alcohol dependence among individuals living in an Indian setting

Background: Alcohol use is on the rise worldwide and urgent steps are required to curb this growing burden of alcohol consumption. Alcohol drinking leads to serious social, physical and mental consequences. Objective: The objective of this pilot study is to examine association between socio-demographics and severity of alcohol dependence among individuals obtaining treatment at alcohol de-addiction center. Methods: This pilot cross sectional study was conducted in September 2013 in South India. A convenient sample of 100 participants was enrolled. Individuals aged 30 years and above, receiving treatment from de-addiction center and providing written informed consent were eligible for the study. A modified version of previously validated questionnaires was used for gathering information on socio-demographic characteristics, severity of alcohol dependence (using Alcohol Dependent Scale [ADS] and Short Alcohol Dependence Data questionnaire [SADD]), motivational incentives for alcohol quitting and challenges faced while quitting alcohol. Results: All participants were males with mean age of 43 years (SD = 6.5 years). Significant association was seen between ADS and annual income (p = 0.001), education (p = 0.001), occupation (p < 0.0001) and work timing (p < 0.0001). Similar results were seen with SADD scores. Family support (100%) and health (60%) were reported to be the most important motivating factors for quitting alcohol. Discussion: Results showed an urgent need of interventions that are family centered and focus on unskilled, less educated individuals having high work stress. Public health interventions should not only be home based, but should also include worksite awareness initiatives. A national policy is needed to promote alcohol quitting and to bring awareness regarding the consequences of alcohol consumption on individual’s life.

Evidence-based medicine - a new approach to teach medicine: a basic review for beginners

No clinician would consider entering clinical practice without knowing the rudiments of history-taking and physical examination, nor would clinicians consider independent practice without a basic understanding of how the drugs they prescribe act on their patients. Yet, traditionally, clinicians have started practice without an ability to understand evidence about how they should interpret what they find on history and physical examination, or the magnitude of the effects they might expect when they offer patients medication. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) provides a remedy for this problem. Our Aim of this article is to introduce EBM to the beginners. Evidence-based medicine is the integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. The EBM approach seeks to apply evidence from rigorous clinical research to the care of individual patients and has been defined as the “conscientious explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients”. It consists of five related steps. Step 1: Asking focused clinical questions that arise in caring for patients. Step 2: Acquiring the best available evidence through electronic searching. Step 3: Appraising the quality of the evidence acquired against explicit methodological criteria. Step 4: Applying the evidence appropriately to the clinical management of individuals. Step 5: Assessing performance in relation to the previous four steps. 1) Universal to the practice of medicine 2) Shortage of coherent, consistent scientific evidence 3) Difficulties in applying evidence to the care of individual patients 4) Barriers to the practice of high-quality medicine 5) The need to develop new skills 6) Limited time and resources

Perception about home-based monitoring of blood pressure and blood sugar among urban and rural individuals

Background: Hypertension and diabetes are the two chronic noncommunicable diseases requiring lifelong care and management. The present study was conducted to understand the perceptions of diabetic and hypertensive individuals regarding the home-based monitoring of blood pressure and blood sugar. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from August through November 2013 at Saveetha Medical College, Chennai city, located in South India. A convenient sample of 100 individuals was enrolled in this study. Individuals having hypertension or diabetes and visiting to the Internal Medicine, outpatient department (OPD) of Saveetha Medical College were approached for the inclusion in the study. Information about sociodemographic characteristics, disease information source, knowledge, attitude, and practices, and economic aspects related to home-based monitoring of blood pressure and blood sugar. Results: The average age of the participants was 59 years (standard deviation (SD) = 11). Half of the subjects were males (52%) from urban locations (89%). More than half of them have followed some form of dietary measures (58%) to control the blood sugar level in normal limits. Majority of them have heard about home-based blood sugar monitoring device (99%) and 71% of them have heard about home-based blood pressure monitoring devices (electronic or manual). Forty-seven percent of the participants were monitoring their blood pressure, and 90% of them were monitoring their blood sugar at home. Conclusion: There is a need of further research on large scale to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices related to the management of hypertension and diabetes among the individuals monitoring their blood pressure and blood sugar at home.

Severity and clustering of menopausal symptoms among obese and nonobese postmenopausal women in India

Background: The symptoms of menopause have a negative impact on quality of life, especially in women transitioning to menopause and earlier transitions. This study was conducted with the objective of assessing the effect of obesity on the severity of menopausal symptoms and the clustering of symptoms in postmenopausal women in India. Methodology: The Menopausal Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms of postmenopausal women of Chennai, visiting Saveetha Medical College, Chennai, India. This cross-sectional study was conducted from August to November 2013 in Chennai, India. Sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure level, menopausal history, personal health history, and hormonal disorder issues were investigated. Results: The results have shown that 24% of the participants had complaint of mild to severe hot flushes, half of them had reported heart ailments (49%; n = 74), and disturbed sleep (48%; n = 72). The proportion of overweight/obese participants was higher in married (64%) than widows (41%), and this difference was found statistically significant (P = 0.005). There were no significant differences in MRS scores of obese and nonobese postmenopausal participants. Conclusion: There is a need of developing interactive, user friendly, technology based education module for addressing the chronic ailments of postmenopausal women.

Depression, mood change and self-esteem among adolescents aged 12-25 years with acne vulgaris in India

Introduction: Acne vulgaris is a medical condition of serious concern among adolescents. This study was conducted with the aim to compare psychosocial factors such as depression, self-esteem, and social impairments between females who had acne vulgaris and those who did not have acne vulgaris. Materials and Methods: Fifty (50) female acne cases and 100 controls (hereafter nonacne participants) in the age group of 12-25 years who were seeking treatment at the Dermatology Outpatient Department (OPD) of Saveetha Medical College, were enrolled in the study. Information about sociodemographic profiles, disease management, and normative perception was gathered. Further assessment of self-esteem, cognitive and behavioral factors, and self-efficacy was done. Results: Seventy-four percent (74%) of the acne cases were overwhelmed by their skin condition, and this was found to be statistically significant (P < .0001). More than half (58%; P < .0001) of the acne cases experienced anger while thinking of their skin conditions. Half of the number of acne cases (52%) felt that people perceived them as being dirty due to their skin condition and that it hindered them from interacting with the opposite sex. Conclusion: Adolescent females who had acne reported difficulties in overcoming the emotional disturbances occurring due to acne vulgaris.

Asthma-related knowledge, attitudes, practices (KAP) of parents of children with bronchial asthma: A hospital-based study

Background: Prevention of asthma exacerbations is one of the major challenges of public health. Parents are crucial for exacerbation prevention and management at home. This study was conducted with the objective of assessing asthma knowledge in the parents of asthmatic children and to understand parents′ attitude and practices in dealing with the exacerbation of their children′s asthma. Materials and Methods: A convenient sample of 100 parents of asthmatic children was enrolled. Any parents (mother or/and father) with a child aged 8 years and above, diagnosed with bronchial asthma, and attending the Outpatient Department of Paediatrics, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital with his/her child in the study period could be included. Results: In this study, 62% children were male and 38% female, the average age was 12.53 years [standard deviation (SD) 2.95], and the average time duration for living with an asthmatic condition was 6 years (SD 3). Of the parents, 80% responded that they did not know what inhaled corticosteroids were and most (86%) of them did not know how they worked, while 41% were aware of aerosol therapy. Of the respondents, 87% had never used a Children′s Asthma Control Test questionnaire and 78% said that they did not have any written action plan in case of their child suffering an asthma attack. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for the preparation of parental guidelines for preventing asthma exacerbations among asthmatic children living in India.

Evaluation of anxiolytic activity of aqueous extract of Coriandrum sativum Linn. in mice: A preliminary experimental study

Objectives: To evaluate the anxiolytic effect of Coriandrum sativum (CS) aqueous extract in mice. To compare the antianxiety activity of CS against standard drug diazepam (3 mg/kg). Materials and Methods: After obtaining Institutional Animal Ethics Committee approval, Swiss albino mice (18-25 g) of either sex were randomly divided into five groups of six animals each. Dried powder of CS leaves was boiled with distilled water, cooled, filtered, placed on a hotplate for complete evaporation, finally weighed and stored. The control group, test group, and standard drugs group received saline, CS extract (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg), diazepam (3 mg/kg), respectively, by oral feeding. The antianxiety effect was assessed by elevated plus maze (EPM) in mice. Results: In EPM, it implied that CS 50 mg/kg (Group III), 100 mg/kg (Group IV), and 200 mg/kg (Group V) significantly (P < 0.001) increases the number of entries in open arms compared to control. The time spent in open arms also increased in all the doses of CS extract significantly. Conclusion: The current study demonstrates statistically significant dose-dependent antianxiety activity of CS leaves.