A Medico-Sociological Study on Postpartum Depression: Wedum Gei Sanniya

Postpartum depression is a medical condition faced by some mothers during pregnancy, influenced by cultural values and norms in the Asian Sri Lankan context. This research aimed to investigate the medical and sociological aspects of the healthcare system and treatment conditions for postpartum depression. A sample of 25 respondents, including 20 people from rural and urban areas, was selected for the study. Data analysis was conducted using 20 in-depth interviews and 5 semi-structured interviews. The study found a clear difference between traditional treatment methods in the western medical system and traditional methods in Sri Lankan rural society. About 40% of the sample resorted to treatment in the rural knowledge system, while the remaining 60% relied solely on western medicine. In rural Sri Lankan society, postpartum depression is analyzed through supernatural forces and interpersonal relationships, with chemical methods being used for remedies. However, postpartum depression in urban society tends to shift away from indigenous wisdom-based cultural healing systems and towards Western medical treatments. The research findings suggest that while Western medicine is used in environments affected by modernization and urbanization, alternative medicine is still used in rural areas. The power of the Western medicine system in Sri Lanka should be examined, as it may continue to be based on modernity and urbanization

Prevalence of smoking habit and its variations in patients reporting to a private dental institution: a retrospective study

 The prevalence of tobacco use has increased over the past decades. Traditional forms like betel quid, tobacco with lime and tobacco tooth powder are commonly used, and the use of new products is increasing, not only among men but also among children, teenagers and women. The aim of the study is to find the prevalence of smoking habits and its variations in patients reporting to a private Dental University, India. The case sheets of patients were obtained from the patient record system. The data of each patient regarding the duration, type and pattern of smoking habit was obtained and tabulated. The results of the study show prevalence of the pattern of smoking habit in conventional smoking is 69% and in reverse smoking is 31%. Prevalence of type of smoking tobacco showed prevalence of cigarettes to be 96% and to be bidi 4%. The present study shows there is a significant association based on comparison of age with pattern of smoking and age with the duration of smoking done using chi square test (p value-0.000). Thus higher prevalence was seen in the age group of 41-60 years (48%), 21-40 years (42%) and in males with cigarettes being the most preferred smoking tobacco. As cigarettes are accessible, it is also more carcinogenic and it is increasing among the youth, hence precautions must be taken in earlier age groups of 21-40 years for early interventions such as anti tobacco sessions and guidance to decrease the consumption of tobacco

Prospective study of the prescribing pattern of antibiotics and their outcome in patients admitted to intensive care unit at tertiary center

Background: Antibiotics are currently the most commonly prescribed drugs in hospitals, worldwide. overuse of antibiotics has important economic implications. Periodic evaluation of drug utilization in the intensive care unit (ICU) is necessary for optimization of health care system, proper use of resources and making prescription policy because ICU is considered as the epi-center of antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study is to evaluate antibiotic prescription and consumption patterns at admission into intensive care unit and to know the average costs of antibiotics.Methods: The prescription data on 250 consecutive patients at admission into the ICU was audited from January to March 2019. Total antibiotics, dose, route and cost of antibiotics were noted and the defined daily dose/100 bed days of most common antibiotics were calculated. Statistical analysis is done using SPSS software.Results: A total of 689 antibiotics were prescribed in the 250 patients studied that is, an average of 2.28 antibiotics/prescription. Empirical antibiotics were prescribed to all the patients admitted to ICU. Average cost of the antibiotics was rupees 163.89 per patients. The most commonly prescribed antibiotic at ICU admission was ceftriaxone (62%) of all prescription. Second most common is metronidazole (32%). In this study, 76 patients recovered while 174 patients expired.Conclusions: Our study reveals that antibiotics are widely prescribed in critically ill patients and form significant drug consumed in the ICU. At admission elderly patients are prescribed >2 antibiotics and prescribing antibiotics where the cost of antibiotic is high

Association of Tooth Loss in Chronic Periodontitis Patients with And Without Mellitus

Tooth loss is a negative public health outcome that substantially affects not only the general and oral health status of people, but also their quality of life. Diabetes mellitus is one of the most widespread epidemics experienced worldwide; hence the aim of this study is to find the association of tooth loss in chronic periodontitis patients with and without diabetes mellitus. This cross sectional study consisted of a sample size of 547 patients of which 270 were diabetic patients and 277 were non diabetic patients and were distributed into two groups. After collection of data, it was tabulated with parameters such as name of the patient, age, gender, systemic condition, type of periodontal disease and tooth loss. The cast sheets of patients were obtained from the patient management software. The data of each patient was obtained and tabulated. The most common missing teeth were found to be upper anteriors and it had a higher prevalence of tooth loss in the non-diabetic group (26.82%) than in the diabetic group (18.43%). Association between tooth loss and systemic conditions was done using Chi square test p value- 0.008 and was found to be statistically significant. Tooth loss was higher in the age group of 61-70 years for the diabetic group and in the age group of 50-60 years for the non-diabetic group. The association between diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease is a well known fact. Therefore oral health education programs should be promoted in patients, which aids in early diagnosis and prevention of severe periodontal diseases

Pseudo-Meigs syndrome: a rare presentation of pedunculated fibroid

Serosal fibroid of uterus are usually asymptomatic but rarely; it may present with atypical symptoms to simulate malignancy and needs extensive evaluation. Authors are reporting a case of 26 years old P1L1 female with history of asymptomatic multiple intramural fibroids since 6 years came with complained of progressively increasing abdominal distension and mild pain abdomen from 2-3 months. On evaluation, she had ascites, pleural effusion and raised Ca-125. MR imaging of pelvis revealed moderate ascites and pedunculated serosal fibroid in addition to intramural fibroids with normal bilateral ovaries. She was evaluated to rule out uterine sarcoma and tuberculosis but diagnosis of them could not be established. Finally, conclusion of Pseudo-Meigs syndrome was made. Myomectomy of single pedunculated fibroid relieved her symptoms. Though, subserosal fibroids are benign in pathology, timely surgery is must to avoid morbidity and mortality owing to massive ascites and pleural effusion

A NEW METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION FOR ESTIMATION OF PARACETAMOL IN PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORM BY REVERSE PHASE-HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

Objective: An accurate, simple, reproducible and sensitive method for the determination of paracetamol in pharmaceutical dosage form was developed and validated using a reversed-phase C18 column (250 mm X 4.6 mm i. d, 5 µm particle size) with isocratic elution.Methods: A mixture of Acetonitrile: 10 mM potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate buffer (15:85 v/v), pH 2.5 was used as a mobile phase at the flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and detector wavelength at 210 nm. The retention time of paracetamol was found to be 5.7 minutes (min). The method was statistically validated for the linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness.Results: The linearity of paracetamol was in the range of 25.00 to 60.00µg/ml. This method showed an excellent linear response with the correlation coefficient (R2) value of 0.999 for the paracetamol. The recovery of the drug was ranged from 99.51 to 100.68%. An intra-day and inter-day precision study of the new method was less than the maximum allowable limit (% RSD<2.0).Conclusion: The proposed method was cost effective, which can be used for the estimation of paracetamol in bulk and in solid dosage forms.Â

A study on the symptoms, sleep quality and cognitive function of the women during menopause

Background: Menopause is the time that marks the end of your menstrual cycle. It is a natural biological process. But the physical symptoms, such as hot flashes, and emotional symptoms of menopause may disrupt your sleep, lower your energy or affect emotional health. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the pattern of symptoms among women during menopause. The secondary objective was to assess the sleep quality and cognitive function of the women during menopause and to create awareness and educate rural women regarding menopause. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was carried out in and around B. G. Nagar, Nagamangala, Mandya for 6 months. Results: A total of 504 women were enrolled in the study. Out of 504, 224 (44.4%) participants come under perimenopause, 117 (23.31%) participants come under perimenopause and 163 (33.34%) participants comes under post menopause. After filling out the questionnaire it was observed that there was a decline in cognitive function of postmenopausal women along with poor sleep quality. When the age group of the participants was compared with the different symptoms of menopause a significant relation was found between the age category of the participants and the somatic symptoms. A significant relation was found between the sexual activity and with the somatic symptoms (p=0.00**), psychological symptoms (p=0.00**) and urogenital symptoms (p=0.00**) of the participants. Conclusions: As women passes from premenopausal to perimenopause to post menopause menopausal symptoms were increased. The menopausal transition and postmenopausal years are associated with significant symptoms

Genotypic Variability in Tomato for Total Carotenoids and Lycopene Content during Summer and Response to Post Harvest Temperature

Lycopene is the major carotenoid responsible for fruit colour in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). However, colour of the fruit is greatly affected by high temperature prevailing during fruit growth in the summer crop. To select a genotype suitable for summer conditions that can maintain colour better, a set of 52 tomato genotypes were evaluated for lycopene, total carotenoids and for TSS during summer in Bengaluru. Among the genotypes screened, IIHR 2892 recorded very high lycopene content (328.4mg/100g dry weight) and IIHR 2866 recorded very low lycopene content (25.2mg/100g dry weight). TSS values ranged from 2.6° Brix in cv. Vybhav to 7.0° Brix in IIHR 2866. In addition, study was carried out to determine the effect of postharvest temperature on biosynthesis of lycopene in five selected tomato cultivars (Arka Rakshak, Arka Samrat, Arka Ananya, Lakshmi and Abhinava). Tomatoes harvested at breaker stage were stored at 27° C, 35° C and 40° C for ripening. High temperature reduced lycopene content in tomato fruits. Lycopene synthesis in fruits was completely inhibited above 35°C. In this study, mean lycopene content in tomatoes stored at 27° C was 3-4 times higher than that in tomatoes stored at 40° C. This indicates that in tomatoes, temperature at which the fruits are stored after harvest, is a more important factor for colour development