Investigation of a H Panachkkad PHC area of Kottayam district Kerala by case control design

Abstract Background: Viral Hepatitis (HAV) continues to be a major public health problem in HAV infection. Early investigation of an epidemic of Hepatitis A will go a long way in containing the epidemic and preventing further transmission of the disease. epidemiological features of the Hepatitis A outbreak which occurred in PHC Panackikkad in November to December 2013, to find out the source of infection and suggest measures to control spread of the epidemic. The setting was wards 5,7,18 and 19 of Panachikkad PHC, Kottayam District, Kerala State, India and the study was done using a case control design. Methods For each case at least four to five household or neighbourhood controls were taken after matching for age. A total of 121 individuals were interviewed. All the cases and controls were interviewed at their home using a structured interview schedule which included informati treatment of water before consumption, habit of consuming food from outside home and past history of Hepatitis Statistical Analysis: Data was entered in Microsoft excel an Conclusions: A total of 121 individuals were interviewed as part of the study patients identified in the study was 22. Ten of them had laboratory confirmed Acute Hepa the cases 20 (90.9%) belonged to the 15 major risk factors of the Hepatitis outbreak which were found to be statistically significant were male sex; 4.979(1.572-15.771), Jaundice in the family; OR 7.6 (4.742 consumption; OR 13.32(4.116 water at home for drinking; OR 0.162 (0.05

Prevalence of Infertility and its Associated Factors among the Eligible Couples of Central Kerala

Introduction: Infertility is a personal tragedy for millions of couples world-wide and has very definite physical, psychological and social implications. Objectives: To find the prevalence of infertility and to explore the association between selected clinical and sociodemographic factors with infertility in Arpookara Panchayat, Kottayam, Kerala. Method: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 860 eligible couples selected using simple random sampling technique, from all the 4 subcentre areas. Sociodemographic and medical/surgical details of both male and female partner were collected by semi-structured interview schedule. The couples were said to have infertility when they had either primary or secondary infertility. Pearson Chi-square test / Fisher’s Exact test was used to find the association of various factors with infertility. Results: The prevalence of infertility was 10.3%, with 5.6% primary infertility and 4.7% secondary infertility. Factors that were found significantly associated with infertility were couples belonging to lower socioeconomic status, joint family, women marry at age >35 years, diabetes mellitus in women, pelvic inflammatory diseases, uterine fibroids, polycystic ovarian syndrome, abdominal pelvic surgeries in women, varicocele, mumps in men, oligospermia, men with education level less than high school, smoking, alcohol and family history of infertility in men. Conclusion: One tenth of the population included in the study had infertility. The predictors for infertility were lower socio-economic class, number of years after marriage (5-9 years), smoking in men, oligospermia, varicocoele, mumps in men, age at marriage (≥35 years) in women, polycystic ovary syndrome, pelvic inflammatory disease and diabetes mellitus in women

Persistence of Symptoms after Acute COVID-19 Infection- An Experience from a Tertiary Care Centre in South India

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic is posing a challenge not only with sheer number of people infected but also with the large number of patients with persistent symptoms of COVID19 infection. A proper understanding of the magnitude and associated factors of persistent COVID-19 symptoms will go a long way in planning treatment and control strategies. Aim: To determine the proportion of patients who have persistent symptoms post-acute COVID-19 infection and to determine the factors associated with it, among those who have been discharged from Government Medical College, Thrissur. Materials and Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted among 335 patients who were admitted and discharged with COVID-19 infection in Government Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala, a tertiary care institution in southern India between December 2020 and February 2021. They were contacted through a telephonic interview 28 days from symptom onset through a semi-structured interview schedule. The questions included basic demographic details, symptomatology at admission, persistent symptoms at 28 days after onset and other clinical details including comorbidities. For defining postCOVID-19 symptom persistence National Institute for Health and Care (NICE) guidelines were used. Association between persistent symptoms and selected factors was done by Chisquare test. Results: Out of the 335 patients, the persistence of symptoms of COVID-19 infection after 28days of symptom onset was 221 (66%) C.I -60.7-70.8%). Persistence of two or more COVID-19 symptoms after 28 days of onset was seen in 120 (35.8%). The most common persistent symptoms among the patients were fatigue in 109 (32.5%) of people followed by dyspnoea in 77 (23%), cough in 45 (13.4%) and myalgia in 37 (11%) patients Highest persistence was seen in Category C patients where symptoms were persisting in 75%. Persistence was also higher in those with diabetes mellitus, those who received oxygen support and those who were in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or ventilator and the association was statistically significant(p-value<0.05). Conclusion: The study shows that 2/3rd of patients still continues to have persistent symptoms even after 28 days of symptom onset. Health systems should be prepared to face the consequences of morbidities caused by post COVID-19 syndrome