Early child health in Lahore, Pakistan: VII. Diarrhoea

This study was carried out to obtain reliable prospective data on the incidence, home management and duration of infantile diarrhoeal disease in a developing and rapidly urbanizing community. Fourteen hundred and seventy six infants from 4 different communities of Lahore, representing different stages of urbanization, were followed prospectively from birth to 2 years of age. Each child had an average of 3.6 episodes of diarrhoea during one year; 4.3 episodes per child per year in the village, 4.4 in the periurban slum, 3.4 in the urban slum and 1.4 in the upper middle (Um) class control group. The maximum incidence of diarrhoeal episodes occurred in children between 9-10 months of age. No sex difference was found. The seasonal variation showed a peak incidence during April-June. Bloody diarrhoea, in 3-5% of the episodes, was predominantly seen in winter months and in older infants. The maximum use of ORS was seen in the Um class (53%). Antibiotics were used in 75% of all diarrhoeal episodes maximally in the Um class, and morphine derivatives in 1% of all cases. The overall incidence of persistent diarrhoea was 14% of all acute cases, being highest in the village (18%), followed by the periurban slum (14%), Um class (10%) and urban slum (8%) with peak incidence occurring in June and July. Our results confirm the magnitude of the problem of diarrhoea. The proper selection of cohorts, the closely controlled prospective and simultaneous follow-up study of these large samples representing different urbanization stages and socio-economic conditions and the new detailed data on the duration of diarrhoeal episodes makes these results of wider international interest in addition to its importance for health planning in Pakistan.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Disinfecting the acrylic resin plate using electrolyzed acid water and 2% glutaraldehyde: a comparative microbiological study

Marked bactericidal activity of the electrolyzed acid water (EAW) and its less undesirable effects on biological tissues and the environment has been successfully utilized in dental practice. A review of literature reveals that not many studies have been performed to determine the disinfection effect of EAW on heat cured acrylic denture bases. The objective of the study is to determine the efficacy of EAW in disinfecting heat cured acrylic resin specimens as compared to the efficacy of disinfecting the specimens using 2% glutaraldehyde. Heat cured acrylic resin plates were immersed in Bacteria suspensions of Staphylococcus aureus and later disinfected using EAW which was produced using a custom made electrolyzing apparatus and 2% glutaraldehyde for different time intervals. The numbers of surviving bacteria were counted. As the control, the bacteria attached on the specimens were counted with out any disinfection treatment. The results obtained were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and post-hoc test. The disinfection potential of 2% glutaraldehyde was better than EAW when the specimens were disinfected for 1 and 3 min. Where as when the disinfection time was increased to 5 min there was no difference between EAW and 2% glutaraldehyde. However considering that the disinfecting time can be easily extended to 5 min, EAW can be effectively used for disinfecting the acrylic denture