Study to assess the association of PMS with sociodemographic factors and various coping behaviors adopted for premenstrual symptoms

Background: Some women get through their monthly periods easily with few or no concerns. However, other women experience a host of physical and/or emotional symptoms just before and during menstruation (heavy bleeding and missed periods to unmanageable mood swings). These premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms usually start to be problematic in the adolescent years and decline in the climacteric. Symptoms have a devastating effect which starts early in life. Aims and Objectives: The study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of PMS and its association with sociodemographic factors among female students of colleges situated in Ujjain city and coping behavior adopted to alleviate these symptoms. Materials and Methods: An observational follow-up study was conducted at 4 colleges selected by convenience sampling located in Ujjain city. PMS and menstrual profile-related data from 250 girls (18–25 years) who consented to participate were collected using a modified version of the Daily Record of Severity of Problems for at least 2 consecutive menstrual cycles. The diagnosis of PMS was made using the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology criteria. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0. Results: The prevalence of PMS was 39.6% and was not associated with any of the sociodemographic factors. It was found that majority of participants turned to healthy way of dealing with symptoms, i.e., taking hot or cold beverages and talking to family members. Conclusion: The frequency of PMS is relatively common in young girls, and most of the girls adopt home remedies to alleviate symptom

Clinical and epidemiological study of acute respiratory infection cases in children below twelve years of age in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Pune, India

Context: Pneumonia is the leading killer of children worldwide. AIMS: To study clinical and epidemiological factors associated with Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) cases and find the case fatality rate. Setting and Design: Hospital-based cross-sectional study. Materials And Methods: Detailed clinical examination of all ARI cases were done in children below 12 years of age. The relevant socio-demographic and epidemiological information of the cases were collected by interviewing the parents/guardians of the children through a pre-tested proforma. Duration of the study was one year. Statistical Analysis Used: χ² test, P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: There were 539 (11.3%) ARI cases from a total of 4,764 admissions. There were 317 males and 222 females. Out of 539 ARI cases, 455 (84.4%) were in the age group of 0-5 years. Malnutrition was associated with 360 (79.1%) of the 455 under-five cases. A total of 283 (62.2%) cases were incompletely immunized for age. Case fatality rate was 3.8% in males and 8.1% in females. Conclusion: Children who were incompletely immunized for age suffered from severe forms of ARI, and this was statistically significant. The case fatality rate was much higher in females, and this was statistically significant. The comorbid factors/illnesses with ARI, which were statistically significantly associated with mortality, were malnutrition, acute diarrheal illness, septicemia, meningitis, and congenital anomaly

Epidemiological study of acute bacterial meningitis in admitted children below twelve years of age in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Pune, India

Context: The community incidence of acute bacterial meningitis in India is not known. There is a need for a periodic review of bacterial meningitis worldwide, since the pathogens responsible for the infection vary with time, geography, and patient age. Aims: To study some epidemiological factors of acute meningitis. Setting and Design: Hospital based cross sectional study. Materials and Methods: Detailed clinical examination of all clinically suspected cases of meningitis was done. Blood and cerebro spinal fluid culture was done. Statistical Analysis Used: Fisher exact test, P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: There were 79 suspected cases of meningitis, majority of cases (74.7%) were under-fives. The case fatality rate (CFR) was 13.9% with a confidence interval ranging from 5.9 to 21.5%. The association between the age and the mortality was not statistically significant. (Fisher′s exact test, P = 1). The association between the gender and the mortality was not statistically significant (Fisher′s exact test, P = 0.3). Based on the culture examination there were 16 cases of confirmed bacterial meningitis. Commonest isolate was Klebsiella pneumoniae as seen in five cases (31.2%). Neisseria meningitides, H influenzae, or Streptococcus pneumoniae were not isolated in any case. Conclusion: Acute bacterial meningitis is still an important public health problem with a high case fatality rate