KAP study about diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients: a questionnaire survey

Aim: To evaluate the awareness and practice about diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients. Method: The present observational survey was Department of Ophthalmology, Darbhanga, Medical College and Hospital, Lasheriasarai, Darbhanga, Bihar, India from one year. A knowledge attitude practice questionnaire was prepared and pretested in a sample group of representative population. The response was analyzed as to whether the questions were understood or not. Social workers were trained in administering questionnaire. Diabetic patients were given questionnaires at primary health centre and filled in the presence of social workers. Results: Out of 400 patients 60% had no knowledge of diabetic retinopathy compared to 40% who had knowledge (p <0.001). Knowledge was more in age group less than 30 years (84.61%) and least in 40 to 50 age group (32.20%) which was statistically significant with p value <0.001. Knowledge was found to be high among participants with higher educational status than in those who had college level education (79.31%) which was statistically significant with p value <0.001. Patients in the upper socioeconomic group had more knowledge about diabetic retinopathy (84.38%) which was statistically significant with a p value of< 0.001.There was no significant association between duration of diabetes and knowledge of diabetic retinopathy. About 76.25 % of individuals in knowledge group had right attitude which was significantly higher than non knowledge group (45%) with a p value <0.001. Conclusions: The attitude and practice of diabetic retinopathy was statistically significant in knowledge group compared to those who had no knowledge of diabetic retinopathy. Improving knowledge about diabetic retinopathy through awareness campaigns can increase attitude and practice. Early detection can help in preventing sight threatening complications of diabetic retinopathy. Keywords: Attitude, Diabetic retinopathy, Knowledge, Practice, Primary health centre

Comparison of short-course multidrug treatment with standard therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in India: an open-label, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial

Background: Improved treatment approaches are needed for visceral leishmaniasis. We assessed the efficacy and safety of three potential short-course combination treatments compared with the standard monotherapy in India. Methods: Standard treatment (1 mg/kg amphotericin B infusion on alternate days for 30 days, total dose 15 mg/kg) was compared with three drug combinations (single injection of 5 mg/kg liposomal amphotericin B and 7-day 50 mg oral miltefosine or single 10-day 11 mg/kg intramuscular paromomycin; or 10 days each of miltefosine and paromomycin) in an open-label, parallel-group, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial in two hospital sites in Bihar, India. Patients aged 5-60 years with parasitologically confirmed visceral leishmaniasis were randomly assigned one of the four treatments by the trial statistician by use of a computer-generated list. Clinical assessments were done at the end of treatment (15 days on combination treatment; 31 days for standard treatment) and after 45 days and 6 months. The primary endpoint was definitive cure (defined as no sign or symptom of visceral leishmaniasis and parasitologically cured to the last follow-up). Analyses were done both by intention to treat and per protocol. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00696969. Findings: Between June, 2008, and July, 2009, 634 patients were assigned amphotericin B (n=157), liposomal amphotericin B with miltefosine (n=160) or paromomycin (n=158), or miltefosine and paromomycin (n=159). 618 patients were in the per-protocol population. There were two relapses in each group. The numbers with definitive cure at 6 months for the intention-to-treat population were 146 (cure rate 93.0%; CI 87·5 - 96·3) for amphotericin B, 156 (97·5%; 93·3 - 99·2) for liposomal amphotericin B and miltefosine, 154 (97·5%; 93·24-99·2) for liposomal amphotericin B and paromomycin, and 157 (98·7%; 95·1 - 99·8) for miltefosine and paromomycin. All combinations were non-inferior to the standard treatment, in both the intention-to-treat and per-protocol populations. Patients in the combination groups had fewer adverse events than did those assigned standard treatment. Interpretation: Combination treatments for visceral leishmaniasis are efficacious and safe, and decrease the duration of therapy, thereby encouraging adherence and reducing emergence of drug-resistant parasites

Asymptomatic Infection with Visceral Leishmaniasis in a Disease-Endemic Area in Bihar, India

A prospective study was carried out in a cohort of 355 persons in a leishmaniasis-endemic village of the Patna District in Bihar, India, to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic persons and rate of progression to symptomatic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases. At baseline screening, 50 persons were positive for leishmaniasis by any of the three tests (rK39 strip test, direct agglutination test, and polymerase chain reaction) used. Point prevalence of asymptomatic VL was 110 per 1,000 persons and the rate of progression to symptomatic cases was 17.85 per 1,000 person-months. The incidence rate ratio of progression to symptomatic case was 3.36 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.75–15.01, P = 0.09) among case-contacts of VL compared with neighbors. High prevalence of asymptomatic persons and clinical VL cases and high density of Phlebotomus argentipes sand flies can lead to transmission of VL in VL-endemic areas

Book of Abstracts of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences (ICAMCS-2022)

It is a great privilege for us to present the abstract book of ICAMCS-2022 to the authors and the delegates of the event. We hope that you will find it useful, valuable, aspiring, and inspiring. This book is a record of abstracts of the keynote talks, invited talks, and papers presented by the participants, which indicates the progress and state of development in research at the time of writing the research article. It is an invaluable asset to all researchers. The book provides a permanent record of this asset. Conference Title: 2nd International Conference on Applied Mathematics and Computational SciencesConference Acronym: ICAMCS-2022Conference Date: 12-14 October 2022Conference Organizers: DIT University, Dehradun, IndiaConference Mode: Online (Virtual