Quality of life and wellbeing in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy: a study from Kashmir

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective neurostimulative treatment in psychiatric disorders and is widely used throughout the world except few countries. Studies regarding quality of life and well-being in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy have not been undertaken in our country. Objective of current study was to study the quality of life and well-being in patients receiving Electroconvulsive therapy. Methods: 50 patients who have been prescribed pharmacological drugs form the control group and 50 patients already on psychotropic medication who were prescribed electroconvulsive therapy form the case group were taken up for study. Detailed evaluations were carried out clinically and by measurement of Well-being index. Pre-treatment evaluation was carried out one day before Electroconvulsive therapy, and post treatment was carried out at 3 and 7 week. Data were evaluated by means of chi square and Repeat ANOVA, Post hoc Bonferroni correction for within group comparisons applicable. Results: Mean wellbeing index for study group is 14 which is slightly higher than control (11) (p>0.001.) Well-being index of study group is much higher than that of control group at 3 and 7 week post treatment (p>0.001). Conclusions: Sustained effect on quality of life remains in depression up to 7 weeks and in mania it responds rapidly wanes off within 7 weeks. Electroconvulsive therapy improves the quality of life in psychiatric patients.

Studies on structural elucidation of delphinium alkaloids by using LC-ESI-MS technique.

A rapid,sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-electron spray-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method to identify the different diester-diterpenoid and monoester type alkaloids from delphinium cashmerianum Collected from Sopi Kargil. Chromatographic separation were achieved on c-18 coloumn and peaks determined by mass spectrometry in positive and negative modes.The validated method led to tentative identification of eight alkaloids on the basis of their retention times and fragmentation patterns. Results showed that the positive mode response was much higher than the negative ion mode .chromatographic conditions were optimized to obtain high resolution and short run time

Socio demographic, clinical and side effect profile of electroconvulsive therapy use among psychiatric inpatients: a cross sectional study from South East Asia - Kashmir

Background:Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is a neuromodulative technique, which is effective but underutilized for treatment of psychiatric disorders. The aim of the study was to investigate socio demographic, clinical and side effect profile of electroconvulsive therapy use among psychiatric inpatients.  Methods:A cross sectional study was performed for a period of 1 year in postgraduate department of psychiatry (Institute of mental health and neurosciences Kashmir - center of excellence). Patients of pharmacotherapy resistant psychiatric disorders attending the hospital during this period were taken in study. The data was recorded in a specially designed proforma which documented the socio-demographic variables including age, sex, residence, occupation, socioeconomic status was recorded. Chi-square, Fisher exact, and t tests were used to note the statistically significant association.Results:The mean age of the study sample was 39.6 (±11.76) years. Maximum number of patients were in the age group 41-50 years i.e. 16 (28.6%), followed by 31-40 years i.e. 15 (26.8%). The mean number of ECT’s received was 8.22 (±2.073). About 29 (51.8%) patients reported body aches, 24 (42.9%) patients reported forgetfulness, 9 (16%) patients reported headache and only 1 (2%) patient reported agitation.Conclusion:The results indicate that electroconvulsive therapy is used in all psychiatric disorder with fewer side effects in pharmacotherapy resistant psychiatric disorders.

Bacteriological profile of wound infections and antimicrobial resistance in selected gram-negative bacteria

Background: Managing wound infections is a challenging task. Understanding their resistance pattern is an essential step at reducing its burden in hospital settings. Objective: To determine the bacteriological diversity of wound infections and the antimicrobial resistance exhibited by a selected Gram-negative bacterium in the Aljouf region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study retrospectively analysed the antibiograms of wound infections from hospitalized patients for the year 2019. The European Centre for Disease Control guidelines were adopted for the classification of resistant bacteria. Multidrug-, extensive drug-, and carbapenem-resistant isolates are presented as frequencies and percentages. Results: A total of 295 non-duplicate wound swab antibiograms were retrieved, 64.4% (190) and 35.6% (105) isolates were Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections respectively. Predominant pathogens included Staphylococcus species 21.0% (62), E. coli 16.3% (48) and K. pneumoniae 13.5% (40). 148 (77.9%), 42 (22.1%) and 43 (22.6%) of the Gram-negative isolates were multidrug-, extensively drug- and carbapenem-resistant. The antibiotic resistance exhibited by gram-negative bacteria was 43.4% (234/539), 59.1% (224/379) and 53.7% (101/188) towards carbapenems, 3rd - and 4th – generation cephalosporins. Conclusions: The majority of wound infections are caused by multidrug-, extensively drug- and carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Further studies should focus on the molecular basis of this resistance. Keywords: Wound infections; hospital; Gram-negative bacteria; antibiograms; multidrug-resistance; E. coli

A study on management of tennis elbow by local platelet rich plasma injection

Background: Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow), a familiar term used to describe myriad symptoms around the lateral aspect of the elbow can occur during activities that require repetitive supination and pronation of the forearm with the elbow in near full extension. This condition can cause severe discomfort to the patient resulting in debilitation and impairment of routine activities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of local autologous platelet rich plasma injection in the treatment of tennis elbow.Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted on 50 patients of either sex with an average age of 45.92 years, presenting to the Orthopaedic OPD of SHKM Government Medical College Hospital, Nalhar, NUH, Haryana between November 2016 and February 2018, with a diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis. All the patients were treated with local platelet rich plasma injection and the results were analysed through the assessment of visual analog score (VAS) and disability of arm shoulder and hand (DASH) score. The patients were followed up for a period of 6 months after the local injection of platelet rich plasma.Results: Majority of the patients had significant relief with this method. The VAS and DASH score improved from the pre-treatment values of 8.7 and 74.6 to 2.6 and 29.8 respectively, which was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001).Conclusions: Thus results of our study demonstrate that the local injection of platelet rich plasma is a safe and effective method of treatment of lateral epicondylitis

Compartment syndrome of the forearm following moderately displaced fracture of the radial head in a 10-year-old child

Compartment syndrome of the forearm is a rare complication of radial head fractures. We report the unsual case of a 10-year-old child who developed acute volar compartment syndrome of the forearm following a moderately displaced fracture of the radial head. The patient underwent volar fasciotomy of the forearm and open reduction of the radial head fracture with Krishner wire. Due to timely intervention the patient had a good postoperative outcome and is expected to have a good functional recovery.

Clinico-epidemiological profile and treatment outcome of lip cancer: a retrospective study from north India

Background: Aim of present study to evaluate the Clinico-epidemiological profile and treatment outcome of Lip Cancer. Methods: This was a retrospective study performed in our hospital. All necessary clinical and epidemiological details of the 11 cases diagnosed with lip cancer from January 2016 to December 2021 were analysed. Results: The total number of new malignant cases diagnosed as lip cancer between January 2016 and December 2021 were 11, which comprised 6 male (55%) and 5 (45%) female. The male-to-female ratio was (1.2:1). The most common histological type was SCC, i.e., in 9 (81.8%) of the total number of cases and BCC was in 2 patients (18.2%). Overall survival at 5 years was 89% in our study. Conclusions: In conclusion, we have reported higher levels of lip cancer among men and those above 45 years of age. The important prognostic factors for overall survival in these patients were cancer stages. Better survival is achieved with surgery alone in the early stages and with adjuvant radiotherapy in the later stages

Determinants of Food Security in Turkmenistan

N

STRESS REDUCTION FOR PILLAR FILLED STRUCTURES

According to one embodiment, an apparatus for detecting neutrons includes an array of pillars, wherein each of the pillars comprises a rounded cross sectional shape where the cross section is taken perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the respective pillar, a cavity region between each of the pillars, and a neutron sensitive material located in each cavity region

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, a modern epidemic: An overview

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder affecting women, but can be very difficult to diagnose and treat due to vague presentation of symptoms and a lack of standardization in treatment. PCOS is characterized by hyperandrogenic manifestation like acne, hirsutism and chronic anovulation and is associated with metabolic derangement such as hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.The cause of polycystic ovary syndrome is still unclear due to its multifactorial complexity; however, it has been observed and understood that there are several environmental and genetic factors, such as genetic variations like mutations and polymorphisms, differential regulation of genes, and pathways, may contribute to the pathogenesis of PCOS.The occurrence of considerable heterogeneity in clinical symptoms and endocrine features associated with PCOS implies that some women with Polycystic Ovaries on ultrasound scan may even exhibit none of the other features of PCOS.There is a spectacular increase in the prevalence of PCOS all over the world especially in Asia. The condition seems to be on a rise in Kashmir valley although systematic studies on the subject are still underway. In this review article, we will briefly provide an overview about the polycystic ovary syndrome. Keywords: Polycystic ovary syndrome, Genetic basis, clinical presentatio