SYMPTOMATOLOGY OF FEMALE PATIENTS ATTENDING MOBILE MEDICAL CLINICS IN A RURAL BLOCK IN TAMILNADU

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to find out the prevalence of symptoms not elsewhere classified†under the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification among the female patients attending mobile medical clinics.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 7,124 female patients who attended weekly mobile medical clinics in a rural block in Tamil Nadu. Sociodemographic variables, symptomatology, patient history, and clinical examination details were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire.Results: The five common symptoms affecting the study population were myalgia (18.3%), nasal congestion (13.6%), headache (13.1%), lumbar pain (12.5%), and knee pain (9.3%). The systems commonly affected among the female patients were in the order of general symptoms and signs (R50-R69), circulatory and respiratory systems (R00-R09), and Nervous and Musculoskeletal Systems (R25-R29). In the age group of 10–19 years and 20–39 years, the most common symptom was headache (25.2% and 18.8%, respectively). In the age group of 40–59 years and 60 years and above, it was myalgia (24.2% and 32.3%, respectively).Conclusion: As pain being most common symptoms, an appropriate strategy and guidelines have to be developed to manage the problem of pain at primary care level

ASSESSMENT OF MEDICATION ADHERENCE AMONG PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION AND DIABETES MELLITUS IN URBAN FIELD PRACTICE

 Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the medication adherence among patients with hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus in the urban area of Tamil Nadu and to assess the reasons for non-adherence.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban area of Tamil Nadu. A total of 100 subjects were enrolled in the study. The patients are diagnosed with HTN and diabetes was included in the study. Morisky medication adherence scale was used to measure adherence among the selected subjects and each patient's details were regarding non-adherence was noted. The results were tabulated.Results: In our study, the medication adherence of the patients was 84% and the non-adherence patients were 16%. Medication adherence was found to be more in male (58%) when compared with females (42%). In our study, the reasons for non-adherence include high drug cost was more when comparing other factors. In our study, the patients receiving drugs from the medical shop were more comparing with government and private hospitals.Conclusion: A four-fifth of the subjects is adherence to the prescribed medications. The patients having poor medication adherence due to the high cost of the drug and forgot to take use their medication

Computer vision and sensor fusion towards better facilities management system for smart buildings

Facility management (FM) is a line of work which includes various controls to guarantee the usefulness, comfort, security, and productivity of the built sector by coordinating individuals, places, procedures, and innovation. In spite of the fact that Facilities Management (FM) is becoming undeniably important in the building environment although this industry is still in its earliest stages locally. It faces issues such as manpower needs, process efficiency and information management. Furthermore, the ever-increasing energy consumption coupled with the cost factor and the immense carbon footprint that Singapore has been facing in this modern era of demographic slowdown and economic restructuring also brings another glaring challenge to this industry. The main focus of this project is building on a previously done project under the supervision of Assistant Professor Li King Ho, Holden which was done by using sensors and combining data collected to analytics methods of Machine Learning (ML) to predict the temperature and subsequently control the air conditioner or fan. This project adds a new element of image processing by computer vision in order to recognise actual human occupancy versus data from other sensors namely a PIR sensor. It also encompasses an Internet of Things(IoT) platform which is able to remotely gather and upload data into a cloud platform instantaneously. It aims to plot a trend of how the accuracy of the Machine Learning Model can improve with the addition of this new element. It also aims to address key issues in FM such as capturing and storing information and also handling failures or maturing equipment/facilitates.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering

A study on prevalence of depression and associated risk factors among elderly in a rural block of Tamil Nadu

Background: Depression among elderly is an important public health problem responsible for considerable morbidity and disability. Causes of depression are multifactorial and often preventable. As there was dearth of community studies in Tamil Nadu, the present study was undertaken. Objectives: The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of depression and to assess the factors which are associated with depression among elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done from July 2014 to July 2015 among elderly in Kattankulathur block with a sample size of 690 by cluster sampling method. House-to-house interview was conducted using a predesigned, pre-tested questionnaire, and depression was assessed using geriatric depression scale-30. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 (Trial). The statistical tests used were proportions, Chi-square test. P<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence of depression was 35.5% (95% confidence interval: 31.9%–39.0%). Sociodemographic factors such as female sex, nuclear family, being widowed, unemployed status, low socioeconomic status, financially dependent, medical factors such as cardiac disease, visual impairment, arthritis, anemia, life events such as conflicts in family, death of the family member or close relative, and illness of self/family member were significantly associated with depression (P < 0.05). Conclusions: More strength of association for depression was seen with low socioeconomic status, nuclear family, low-intensity work, conflicts in the family, death of family members using multiple logistic regression. These findings show the need for proper care by the family members and counseling for the elderly which are of much importance in preventing depression

Depression and its associated factors among the older adults in rural, Tamilnadu, India

Background: Depression is a significant public health concern, especially among older adults due to its distressing morbidity and mortality rate. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression and the associated risk factors among older adults (age ≥ 60 years) in Tamilnadu, India. Materials and methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out from July 2016 to May 2018 among the older adults in the rural area of three districts of Tamil Nadu, India. Geriatric Depression Scale item 15 (GDS-15) was used to assess depression with face to face interviews from 7200 participants. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analysis were employed. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval was used to calculate the significance. Results: Prevalence of depression among older adults were found to be 67.5% (95% CI-0.66–0.68). The multivariable logistic regression model revealed that older adults above 80 years (OR = 1.91; CI = 0.885–1.344), female sex (OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.803–0.982), widow (OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.77–1.00), living with children (OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.77–0.97), lack of family support (OR = 1.48; CI = 1.321–1.638), and physically dependent (OR = 1.01; CI = 0.88–1.15) were associated with depression among older adults. Additional to this, people with diabetes (OR = 1.15; CI = 1.007–1.33), and with the history of fall (OR = 1.28; CI = 1.017–1.620) also associated with the depression. Conclusion: Prevalence of depression among the elderly population is reported to be high in this study. Screening the elderly for depression at the primary care level helps in early detection of depression. This suggests the need for community-based interventions for effective management of older adults with chronic diseases

Assessing the social burden of tuberculosis and trends in TB targets: A focus on sustainable development goals

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious public health issue that is linked to social burden and unfavourable health outcomes. With regards to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets, this study evaluated the social burden endured by patients and analyzed catastrophic costs, and measured TB incidence and death rates. Methods: Cross sectional study, with 312 TB patients registered with the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) were studied. Social burden, direct and indirect costs, and catastrophic costs were evaluated. TB incidence and death rates are calculated. Results: The majority of participants (70.8%) were men and married. Patients in substantial numbers reported losing their jobs and having limited access to community events. While divorcees, older age groups, and women were more likely to experience direct catastrophic costs, men and 33–44 years age group were more likely to experience indirect catastrophic costs. The overall catastrophic expenses exceeding 20% of income were observed in male patients, those over 55 years, and patients from nuclear families. The TB incidence rate decreased by 1.8% between 2017 and 2019, with a substantial reduction among males but an alarming increase among females. The death rate experienced a slight rise of 0.27%, with higher rates observed in females compared to males. Conclusion: Persistent social stigma and the presence of catastrophic costs associated with tuberculosis remain prevalent issues. A multifaceted approach, including enhancing access to healthcare services, implementing awareness campaigns aimed at reducing stigma, expanding TB control and prevention programs is needed. Government interventions aimed at alleviating financial burdens are crucial

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among rural women in a primary health centre area in Tamil Nadu

A study was conducted to estimate prevalence of metabolic syndrome among 150 rural women in the age group of 30-50 years in a primary health centre area in Tamil Nadu. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was estimated using National Cholesterol Education program (NCEP), Third report Adult Treatment Panel ATP III criteria, and Modified NCEP ATP III criteria for Asian Indians. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was found to be 30.7% based on NCEP, ATP-III Criteria. Based on the Modified NCEP, ATP-III Criteria, the prevalence was found to be 36%.The most commonly observed components of metabolic syndrome in this study was increased waist circumference (56.0%) followed by low HDL (45.3%), high triglyceride (37.3%), high blood pressure 29.3%, and fasting blood sugar 12.7%. Identifying the risk factors and treating patients with the metabolic syndrome is a public health challenge especially in the rural population

Adrenal crisis secondary to bilateral adrenal haemorrhage after hemicolectomy

Adrenal haemorrhage is a rare cause of adrenal crisis, which requires rapid diagnosis, prompt initiation of parenteral hydrocortisone and haemodynamic monitoring to avoid hypotensive crises. We herein describe a case of bilateral adrenal haemorrhage after hemicolectomy in a 93-year-old female with high-grade colonic adenocarcinoma. This patient’s post-operative recovery was complicated by an acute hypotensive episode, hypoglycaemia and syncope, and subsequent computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen revealed bilateral adrenal haemorrhage. Given her labile blood pressure, intravenous hydrocortisone was commenced with rapid improvement of blood pressure, which had incompletely responded with fluids. A provisional diagnosis of hypocortisolism was made. Initial heparin-induced thrombocytopenic screen (HITTS) was positive, but platelet count and coagulation profile were both normal. The patient suffered a concurrent transient ischaemic attack with no neurological deficits. She was discharged on a reducing dose of oral steroids with normal serum cortisol levels at the time of discharge. She and her family were educated about lifelong steroids and the use of parenteral steroids should a hypoadrenal crisis eventuate

Risk factors of tuberculosis (TB) among homeless population in Chennai city

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major concern among high-risk populations such as the homeless. Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem. The Chennai City has a large population of homeless persons and caregivers and is estimated to be the largest TB-endemic area in the intermediate-prevalence country, India. However, there have been few studies of homeless persons and caregivers. The objective of this study to assess the prevalence and risk factors for pulmonary TB among homeless population around Chennai. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study for screening TB symptoms using questionnaire. The study participants were recruited from 15 zones, which included 47-night shelters around Chennai under the control of the Chennai City in Tamil Nadu. Data was collected from homeless people who were living in night shelters in the northern, central, and southern regions of Chennai City. Results: Complete responses were available from 484 individuals (263 homeless persons and 173 caregivers). Four active TB cases (1.5%) among homeless persons were found, while there were no cases among caregivers