RESEARCH ON SELF MEDICATION: A HYPE OR A HOPE? A LITERATURE REVIEW.

Medications are one of the most important tools in public health practice. Since the 1980s, self‑medication (SM) is of prime public health importanceas the World Health Organization, to reduce the burden on health-care professionals changed some prescription drugs to be sold over the counter.Each drug has its own advantages and disadvantages. Hence, always they have to be taken with caution. Considering this, a recent trend has increasedin surveying the prevalence of SM. Hence, this review critically evaluated the studies to put light on the basic concept of SM.Key words: Self-medication, Drug abuse, Self-care, Substance abuse, Antibiotic usage

Nosocomial Infections in Patients Admitted in Intensive Care Unit of a Tertiary Health Center, India

Background: Patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are a significant subgroup of all hospitalized patients, accounting for about a quarter of all hospital infections.Aim: The aim was to study, the current status of nosocomial infection, rate of infection and distribution of infection among patients admitted in Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) of a District Hospital. Subjects and Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from 130 patientfs records presented with symptoms of nosocomial infection in MICU of a Tertiary Health Center, Tumkur from August 2012 to May 2013. Descriptive statistics using percentage was calculated.Results: Incidence of nosocomial infections in MICU patients was 17.7% (23/130). Of which 34.8% (8/130) was urinary tract infection (UTI) being the most frequent; followed by pneumonia 21.7% (5/130), 17.4% (4/130) surgical site infection, 13.0% (3/130) gastroenteritis, 13.0% (3/130) blood stream infection and meningitis. The nosocomial infection was seen morein the 40-60 year of age. The male were more prone to nosocomial infections than the female.Conclusion: The most frequent nosocomial infections (urinary, respiratory, and surgical site) were common in geriatric patients in the MICU setting and are associated with the use of invasive device. Large-scale studies are needed to be carried out in Indian population to plan long-term strategies for prevention and management of nosocomial infections.Keywords: Medical Intensive Care Unit, Nosocomial infections, Tertiary health centr

A comparative study of fluoride release from two different sealants

Objectives: The introduction of fluoride releasing sealants and glass ionomer cements as fissure sealants adds another dimension to prevention of pit and fissure caries. The ability of resin sealants and glass ionomer cements to release fluoride on a long term basis to the sealed enamel and the adjacent unsealed pit and fissure and cuspal in - cline enamel may allow for further reduction in pit and fissure caries experience for children. Hence, the study was conducted to compare the amount of fluoride release in the plaque after placing fluoride releasing pit and fissure sealants and glass ionomer fissure sealants used in Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) approach. To compare the fluoride release of both the materials at the different time intervals. Material and Methods: A total of 60 school going children were included in this study. Before application of the sealants, baseline plaque fluoride levels were estimated from all the study subjects. After application of sealants again the same was estimated at an interval of 24 hour, 9 days, 2 weeks and 4 weeks. Results: The peak plaque fluoride levels were achieved at 24 hours after application of fissure sealants in all the groups. Conclusions: Within the limitation of the study, the present study indicated that fluoride releasing fissure sealants may act as a source of fluoride in plaque which will help in preventing pit and fissure and smooth surface caries in the tooth sealed with fissure sealants

SELF MEDICATION PROFILE AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS, TUMKUR, INDIA

Back ground: The concept of self medication which encourages individuals to look after minor ailments with simple and effective remedies has been adopted worldwide3-6. Evidently, there has been an increasing interest to gauge the self medication trends in a developing country like India. Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional survey includes dental students (UGs & PGs) of Sri Siddhartha Dental College and Hospital, Tumkur, India using a self administered structured questionnaire written in English and validated through a pilot survey was conducted. Results: The study comprises of 180 students aged between 18-30years. 100% of the subjects accepted that they have used medicines of their own without consulting a doctor in the preceding one year to treat illness. And 94% of them said no adverse consequences by self medication. Conclusion: High level of education and professional status were predictive factors for selfâ€medication. This observation among Dental students is possibly due to their education on drug use and related pharmacology; however, as this knowledge is incomplete in certain aspects it may spell out dangerous outcomes. Keywords: Self medication, Dental students, Drug use, Antibiotics and Analgesics

Parental Knowledge of Preventive Dentistry Procedures and Its Utilization

ABSTRACT Preventive dentistry is the area of dentistry that focuses on those procedures and life practices that help people to prevent the beginning or progression of oral disease. It includes at-home dental care performed by patients, as well as dental care and education by professional dental staff in the office or clinic. To assess the knowledge & utilization of preventive dentistry procedures among parents. A household survey was conducted on mothers of school children belonging to 6 to 10 year's age. A multistage sampling is used to include 800 in the study. Results: 91.13% of subjects are aware of importance of primary dentition and permanent dentition but not aware about preventive dentistry procedures to maintain the oral health. The information about the self utilizable preventive measures was obtained mainly by the media. Knowledge of preventive dentistry procedures and utilization rate among parents is very less. Less than 30% of the parents know about Preventive dentistry procedures

PERCEIVED SOURCES OF STRESS AMONG BIOALLIED SCIENCE STUDENTS OF SOUTH INDIA

Health care profession is considered a stressful occupation. Stress in these professions is not just confined to their practice, but is experienced by students within the same academic environment. Stress among students of bioallied sciences (Dental, Nursing, Pharmacy & Ayurvedic) is associated with cognitive impairment and is detrimental to health. Objective: To know the sources of stress among bioallied science students. Methods: A cross sectional study design using a modified version of Dental Environment Stress questionnaire (DESQ) was used to assess the stress among Dental, Pharmacy, Ayurvedic and Nursing students. Results: Dental students showed higher stress domains, followed by Nursing, Pharmacy students being the least. Conclusion: The findings of this study do not support that student of dental, & allied sciences experience high stress levels overall but, they have important issues and stress level vary according to that for each profession

Poloxamer-based thermoresponsive ketorolac tromethamine in situ gel preparations : design, characterisation, toxicity and transcorneal permeation studies

This study was aimed at preparing, characterising and evaluating in situ gel formulations based on a blend of two hydrophilic polymers i.e. poloxamer 407 (P407) and poloxamer 188 (P188) for a sustained ocular delivery of ketorolac tromethamine (KT). Drug-polymer interaction studies were performed using {DSC} and FT-IR. The gelation temperature (Tsol-gel), gelation time, rheological behaviour, mucoadhesive characteristics of these gels, transcorneal permeation and ocular irritation as well as toxicity was investigated. {DSC} and FT-IR studies revealed that there may be electrostatic interactions between the drug and the polymers used. {P188} modified the Tsol/gel of {P407} bringing it close to eye temperature (35°C) compared with the formulation containing {P407} alone. Moreover, gels that comprised {P407} and {P188} exhibited a pseudoplastic behaviour at different concentrations. Furthermore, mucoadhesion study using mucin discs showed that in situ gel formulations have good mucoadhesive characteristics upon increasing the concentration of P407. When comparing formulations {PP11} and PP12, the work of adhesion decreased significantly (P < 0.001) from 377.9 ± 7.79 mN.mm to 272.3 ± 6.11 mN.mm. In vitro release and ex vivo permeation experiments indicated that the in situ gels were able to prolong and control {KT} release as only 48 of the {KT} released within 12 h. In addition, the HET-CAM and {BCOP} tests confirmed the non-irritancy of {KT} loaded in situ gels, and HET-CAM test demonstrated the ability of ocular protection against strongly irritant substances. {MTT} assay on primary corneal epithelial cells revealed that in situ gel formulations loaded with {KT} showed reasonable and acceptable percent cell viability compared with control samples

Exploratory study of ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation and age of onset of bipolar disorder

Background: Sunlight contains ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation that triggers the production of vitamin D by skin. Vitamin D has widespread effects on brain function in both developing and adult brains. However, many people live at latitudes (about > 40 N or S) that do not receive enough UVB in winter to produce vitamin D. This exploratory study investigated the association between the age of onset of bipolar I disorder and the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production in a large global sample. Methods: Data for 6972 patients with bipolar I disorder were obtained at 75 collection sites in 41 countries in both hemispheres. The best model to assess the relation between the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production and age of onset included 1 or more months below the threshold, family history of mood disorders, and birth cohort. All coefficients estimated at P ≤ 0.001. Results: The 6972 patients had an onset in 582 locations in 70 countries, with a mean age of onset of 25.6 years. Of the onset locations, 34.0% had at least 1 month below the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production. The age of onset at locations with 1 or more months of less than or equal to the threshold for UVB was 1.66 years younger. Conclusion: UVB and vitamin D may have an important influence on the development of bipolar disorder. Study limitations included a lack of data on patient vitamin D levels, lifestyles, or supplement use. More study of the impacts of UVB and vitamin D in bipolar disorder is needed to evaluate this supposition

Variations in seasonal solar insolation are associated with a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder

Background: Bipolar disorder is associated with circadian disruption and a high risk of suicidal behavior. In a previous exploratory study of patients with bipolar I disorder, we found that a history of suicide attempts was associated with differences between winter and summer levels of solar insolation. The purpose of this study was to confirm this finding using international data from 42% more collection sites and 25% more countries. Methods: Data analyzed were from 71 prior and new collection sites in 40 countries at a wide range of latitudes. The analysis included 4876 patients with bipolar I disorder, 45% more data than previously analyzed. Of the patients, 1496 (30.7%) had a history of suicide attempt. Solar insolation data, the amount of the sun’s electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, was obtained for each onset location (479 locations in 64 countries). Results: This analysis confirmed the results of the exploratory study with the same best model and slightly better statistical significance. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempts and the ratio of mean winter insolation to mean summer insolation (mean winter insolation/mean summer insolation). This ratio is largest near the equator which has little change in solar insolation over the year, and smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. Other variables in the model associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts were a history of alcohol or substance abuse, female gender, and younger birth cohort. The winter/summer insolation ratio was also replaced with the ratio of minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation to accommodate insolation patterns in the tropics, and nearly identical results were found. All estimated coefficients were significant at p < 0.01. Conclusion: A large change in solar insolation, both between winter and summer and between the minimum and maximum monthly values, may increase the risk of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. With frequent circadian rhythm dysfunction and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder, greater understanding of the optimal roles of daylight and electric lighting in circadian entrainment is needed

Association between solar insolation and a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder

In many international studies, rates of completed suicide and suicide attempts have a seasonal pattern that peaks in spring or summer. This exploratory study investigated the association between solar insolation and a history of suicide attempt in patients with bipolar I disorder. Solar insolation is the amount of electromagnetic energy from the Sun striking a surface area on Earth. Data were collected previously from 5536 patients with bipolar I disorder at 50 collection sites in 32 countries at a wide range of latitudes in both hemispheres. Suicide related data were available for 3365 patients from 310 onset locations in 51 countries. 1047 (31.1%) had a history of suicide attempt. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempt and the ratio of mean winter solar insolation/mean summer solar insolation. This ratio is smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. This ratio is largest near the equator where there is relatively little variation in the insolation over the year. Other variables in the model that were positively associated with suicide attempt were being female, a history of alcohol or substance abuse, and being in a younger birth cohort. Living in a country with a state-sponsored religion decreased the association. (All estimated coefficients p <0.01). In summary, living in locations with large changes in solar insolation between winter and summer may be associated with increased suicide attempts in patients with bipolar disorder. Further investigation of the impacts of solar insolation on the course of bipolar disorder is needed.Peer reviewe