Comparative efficacy of topical tetraVisc versus lidocaine gel in cataract surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To compare the clinical efficacy of lidocaine 2% with tetracaine 0.5% for cataract surgery.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a randomized, multi-surgeon, controlled clinical trial,122 consecutive cataract cases eligible for topical anesthesia, were randomly assigned to receive lidocaine 2% gel (1 ml) or tetracaine solution 0.5% (TetraVisc, 0.5 ml) before clear corneal phacoemulsification. Main outcome measure was visual analog scale (0 to 10), which was used to measure intra-operative pain. Secondary outcome measures included patients' discomfort due to tissue manipulation and surgeon graded patients' cooperation. Duration of surgery and intra-operative complications were also recorded.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age in TetraVisc (TV) group was 70.4 years and in the lidocaine gel group (LG) it was 70.6 years (p = 0.89). Patient reported mean intra-operative pain scores by visual analog scale were 0.70 ± 0.31 in TV group and 1.8 ± 0.4 in LG group (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Mean patient cooperation was also marginally better in the TV group (8.3 ± 0.3) compared to LG group (8.4 ± 0.6) (P = 0.25). 96% of patients in TV group showed intra-operative corneal clarity compared to 91% in LG group. TV group had less (1 out of 61 patients, 1.6%) intra-operative complications than LG group (3 out of 61 patients, 4.8%). No anesthesia related complications were noted in either group</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Topical TetraVisc solution was superior to lidocaine 2% gel for pain control in patients undergoing clear corneal phacoemulsification. Lidocaine 2% gel is similar to TetraVisc in patient comfort and surgeon satisfaction.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p><b>Clinical trials number</b>: ISRCTN78374774</p

A pilot study to assess perceptions of using SMS as a medium for health information in a rural setting

BACKGROUND: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in health is not merely about technology but a means to reach various optimal outcomes across the entire health system. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this pilot study is to assess the perceptions of receiving health messages through SMS among individuals living in rural Indian settings. METHODS: A convenient sample of 100 individuals aged 18 years and above and living in rural settings of Kuthampakkam village in Chennai, a Southern part of India were enrolled during September 2013. Individuals having the mobile phone and agreeing to participate were enrolled in the study. Individuals with physical and mental challenges or involved in other clinical trials were excluded from the study. Information was gathered on the variables including socio-demographics, individual familiarity with use of technology, mobile phone usage and the perceptions of using SMS for obtaining health information. Information was gathered using a series of quantitative assessments. Descriptive analysis was performed to report means and standard deviations for the continuous variables and frequency analysis was reported for the categorical variables. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the means of the various continuous variables as compared to the chi-square analysis that was performed to compare the frequency distribution for the categorical variables. All analysis was performed using SAS v9.1. RESULTS: A convenient sample of 100 rural individuals was enrolled. The average age of the study participants was 34 years (SD=17), with more than half of them being males (54%; n=54), and 47% (n=47) of them had education less than high school. Results showed that more than half of the individuals had no computers either at home (61%; n=61) or work (68%; n=68). 100% of them had mobile phones in their household. Text messaging was common in more than half of the study participants. Results showed that the majority of the study participants agreed that receiving calls on the mobile phones for receiving health messages would be the most preferred method. Results showed that the individuals in the age group of 21-40 years, males, with some college education, and in the income category of 50,000-1,00,000 were most likely to obtain SMS based health messages. CONCLUSIONS: ICT based health programs need to be established so that the audience receives the optimal technological platform program necessary to obtain health messages. This also suggests that future research is needed to determine the population that would actually adopt the use of SMS based health interventions rather than using SMS as a tool for delivery of health information to all. © 2014 - IOS Press and the authors

Selecting an area for technological intervention in the rural sector in India.

Rural India is blessed with natural resources and fertile land. In addition, there is an abundance of manpower required for implementing ideas in this sector; also, there exists certain skill and infrastructure also. Keeping the above in mind and with an intention of applying technology to improve the financial condition of the villagers, areas, which may prove beneficial, need to be chosen. The area of intervention should in the first place be need based and the required raw material needed should be available locally. The technology intended can be either resource based, skill based or pertaining to the service sector. The present paper deals with the methodology, which may be adopted, in selecting the required technological intervention from amongst the demands of the local people based on the raw material, skill, infrastructure, etc