Comparative Effect of Massage Therapy versus Kangaroo Mother Care on Body Weight and Length of Hospital Stay in Low Birth Weight Preterm Infants

Background. Massage therapy (MT) and kangaroo mother care (KMC) are both effective in increasing the weight and reducing length of hospital stay in low birth weight preterm infants but they have not been compared. Aim. Comparison of effectiveness of MT and KMC on body weight and length of hospital stay in low birth weight preterm (LBWPT) infants. Method. 30 LBWPT infants using convenience sampling from Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, V.S. hospital, were randomly divided into 2 equal groups. Group 1 received MT and Group 2 received KMC for 15 minutes, thrice daily for 5 days. Medically stable babies with gestational age < 37 weeks and birth weight < 2500 g were included. Those on ventilators and with congenital, orthopedic, or genetic abnormality were excluded. Outcome measures, body weight and length of hospital stay, were taken before intervention day 1 and after intervention day 5. Level of significance was 5%. Result. Data was analyzed using SPSS16. Both MT and KMC were found to be effective in improving body weight (P = 0.001, P = 0.001). Both were found to be equally effective for improving body weight (P = 0.328) and reducing length of hospital stay (P = 0.868). Conclusion. MT and KMC were found to be equally effective in improving body weight and reducing length of hospital stay. Limitation. Long term follow-up was not taken

A Hospital Based Prospective Study to Estimate the Prevalence of Thyroid Disorders in Reproductive Age Group Women with Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB)

Background: Thyroid disorders are ubiquitous and insidious in their presentation. Abnormal uterine bleeding is a common problem and its management can be complex. Thyroid hormones play a key role in the menstrual and reproductive function of women. . The aim of this study to estimate the prevalence of thyroid disorders in reproductive age group women with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). Materials&amp; Methods: A hospital based prospective study done on 50 women with complaining of menstrual dysfunction in obstetrics and gynecology department in government district hospital, Sirohi, Rajasthan, India during one year period. Routine investigations like hemoglobin, platelet count, total and differential count, ESR, blood grouping and Rh typing, RBS, Serum creatinine, and thyroid profile which includes T3, T4, TSH were performed in all patients. For quantitative type of data test of significance applied was student T test and for qualitative data chi square test was applied. P value of &lt;0.05 was considered significant. Results: Among 50 women majority of patients belong to more than 30 years (50%) age group, followed by 21 to 30 yrs age group (36%) and less than 20 years were 14%.Mean age was 32.78 years. In menorrhagic patients majority were euthyroid (14) followed by subclinical hypothyroidism (5) and in oligomenorrhoea majority were again euthyroid (6) followed by subclinical hypothyroidism (5). Conclusion: Abnormal uterine bleeding is frequently seen to be associated with thyroid dysfunction and in majority of the patients, menstrual abnormality may even precede the occurrence of other clinical signs and symptoms of thyroid dysfunction. Unless proper evaluation of thyroid function is done among these patients, we often miss an important etiology of AUB

A Hospital Based Prospective Study to Determine the Efficacy of Urinary Calcium to Creatinine Ratio in a Spot Urine Sample for the Prediction of Preeclampsia in Asymptomatic Pregnant Women Between 16 to 24 Weeks of Gestation

Background: Hypertensive disorder of pregnancy are one of the major causes of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. During pregnancy, by increasing intestinal absorption, decreasing renal calcium loss, and reabsorbing some calcium from the maternal skeleton the woman's body undergoes physiological compensation. The aim of this study to determine the efficacy of urinary calcium to creatinine ratio in a spot urine sample for the prediction of preeclampsia in a asymptomatic pregnant women between 16 to 24 weeks of gestation. Materials&amp; Methods: A hospital based observational prospective study done on hundred primigravida / multigravida with singleton pregnancy within the gestational age of 16-24 weeks who came for regular ANC to OPD in government district hospital, Sirohi, Rajasthan, India during one year period. Urine Calcium-to-creatinine ratio (CCR) was calculated, and those with a ratio of less than or equal to 0.04 were considered as test positive. Descriptive statistics frequency analysis was used to describe about the data, percentage analysis were used for categorical variables and for continuous variables the mean &amp; S.D were used. Results: The incidence of Preeclampsia was 15% and that of normotensive pregnant women was 85%. Amongst the patients who had a Urine Ca/Cr ratio &lt;0.04, 15 women constituting 88.23% developed preeclampsia whereas 2 patients constituting 11.76% remained normotensive at term gestation. Conclusion: We conclude that a pregnant woman with a high risk factor such as nulliparity along with low urinary CCR is at high risk for development of preeclampsia. Therefore, a single urinary calcium to creatinine ratio may be an effective screening method for impending preeclampsia and may identify population at greater risk to be included in primary prevention programmers’

Awareness about effects of tobacco and areca-nut use in school children of Ahmedabad, India: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey

Introduction Tobacco use usually starts in the adolescent age group and continues in adulthood. This study’s aim was to identify knowledge regarding the adverse effects of tobacco and areca-nut use among high school children of Ahmedabad, India. Methods An anonymous self-administered close-ended questionnaire was designed for the study. Principals of 9 schools, 3 municipal and 6 government-aided, were approached and written informed consent was obtained. A total of 3055 students studying in grades 7–12 were included. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS 16.0. Chi-squared test was applied to investigate any differences between the responses of consumers and non-consumers, while Cramer’s V was applied to analyze the strength of association between the awareness of ill-effects and tobacco product consumption. Results Of the 3055 children, 3% felt that tobacco use was definitely not harmful to health while 84% felt that it was. In all, 65% of respondents were aware that tobacco use caused cancer, 7% answered that it caused breathing problems, 5% said it caused heart problems, 0.3% answered that it caused paralysis, 4.3% felt it caused no health problems, whereas 18% thought that it caused multiple issues. With regards to the role of media, 78% had seen many anti-smoking warnings in the media, 15% had seen a few, 5% had seen none. There was a statistically significant difference between the tobacco users and and non-users with regards to exposure to media (p<0.001), discussions in class (p<0.001) and general awareness (p<0.001), but a weak association between awareness and tobacco consumption was identified (p<0.05). Conclusions Awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco is high among school children of Ahmedabad, though use may still be prevalent