Fusarium is an opportunistic fungal pathogen which is emerging as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the immunocompromised host [1]. This disease can be localized, focally invasive or disseminated, when two or more noncontiguous sites are involved. We present a case of disseminated fusariosis in a patient with prolonged and profound neutropenia after the third allogeneic stem cell transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Introduction: Effective hand washing has been shown to reduce the incidence of some infectious diseases especially diarrhea and respiratory diseases among infants and under five children. The aim of this study was to assess the practice of effective hand washing and associated factors among caregivers of infants in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.
Methodology: The study was carried out between October and November, 2016 among caregivers of infants attending selected health facilities in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti-State, Nigeria. It employed a descriptive cross sectional method of survey. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 422 caregivers of infants. Pre-tested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire and an observational checklist were used for collecting data from the recruited participants. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. The level of significance was set at P< 0.05.
Results: A total of 387 caregivers participated in the study. About 89.9% of the respondents had good knowledge of hand washing, while 7.5% and 2.6% of the respondents had fair and poor knowledge respectively. Similarly, about 77.3% of the respondents had positive attitude towards the practice of effective hand washing. However, less than one third (31.5%) of the respondents were observed to be practicing effective hand washing. The study also revealed that knowledge and attitude of respondents towards hand washing were significantly associated with the practice of effective hand washing among the caregivers.
Conclusion: The study revealed that the knowledge of hand washing was generally high among the caregiver while the observed practice of effective hand washing was generally low. It also revealed a gap between self-reported practice and observed practice of hand washing. Knowledge and attitude of caregivers towards hand washing were identified as significant factors associated with the practice of effective hand washing while behavioural change communication was recommended for caregivers.
Aim: Religion has an important role for coping with various medical conditions and serious diseases. Chronic airway diseases such as asthma and COPD are associated with morbidity and mortality in our country. The aim of this study is to evaluate the awareness of COPD and asthma in religious officials.
Study Design: Retrospective study.
Place and Duration of Study: As a social responsibility project, religious officials working at Kocaeli city were invited to an educational seminar about chronic airway diseases.
Methodology: Before the seminar, participants who volunteered to join were asked to fulfill a self-administered questionnaire that includes questions about asthma and COPD. The data were analyzed retrospectively.
Results: There were 710 participants (193 (27.2%) female and 517 (72.8%) male) included the analysis. The importance of smoking in the development of COPD was known in 65.8% of the population. The role of smoking cessation in treatment (73.5%) and the role of spirometry in diagnosis (69.1%) were relatively well known. The awareness about prophylactic influenza vaccination in COPD was quite low. Totally 72.8% of the participants stated that asthma is not an infectious disease. Only 38% of the population was aware that asthma medications don’t have a risk of addiction. The information about preferred route of treatment in asthma was (95.4%) high.
Conclusion: This study suggested that awareness of asthma is higher than COPD in religious officials as similar to general population. Since people consider and respect about the opinion of religious officials in our country, we suggested that their awareness about asthma and COPD would contribute to patient education on chronic airway diseases.
Aims: Unwanted and mistimed pregnancies commonly represent different life-choice considerations that affect married women of different ages. This study sought to explore the reasons for unintended pregnancies among married pregnant women in the antenatal clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State, Nigeria, as well as the actions taken by these women.
Study Design: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: It was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital in January 2014.
Methodology: A 2-staged sampling method was used to recruit 385 pregnant women. A pretested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was administered to all married pregnant women who attended the antenatal clinic on the different days of the week and consented to be part of the study. Data was entered into an excel sheet and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.
Results: Respondents were aged between 18 and 44years. Of the 385 respondents, 94 (24.4%) said the index pregnancy was unintended out of whom 89 (94.6%) was mistimed while 5 (5.4%) were unwanted. Several reasons were given for having an unintended pregnancy with child spacing being the most common. Of the 94 respondents with unintended pregnancies, 22 (23.4%) sought to terminate the pregnancy (P<0.05) while 27 (28.7%) came for antenatal care later than they did in their last pregnancy. Sixty-seven (71.3%) either came for antenatal care in the index pregnancy at the same time they did for the previous pregnancy, or were seeking antenatal care for the first time with attempted termination (9.6%) and embarrassment about being pregnant again (5.3%) topping the list of reasons for their behavior. Thirty-two (34.0%) of the 94 respondents whose index pregnancy was unintended used one or more family planning method (P<0.05).
Conclusion: This study showed that many women attending the antenatal clinic at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital have unintended pregnancies with low contraceptive usage.
Background: Student evaluation is one of the most important aspects of educational activities. There are various assessment tools such as log books, OSATS (Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills) and portfolios.
Aim: This study aimed to compare two methods of assessment: using a log book and OSATS, on the progress of medical students offering anatomy course.
Methods: This interventional study was carried out with medical students. In the first half of the semester, the students filled out their log book of limb anatomy. The log books were reviewed during a meeting by a teacher and feedback was given to them. Lower limb anatomy was taught in the second semester and after that, evaluation was done using an OSATS test, and feedback was given to the students. Finally, the traditional evaluation method, log-books and OSATS were compared using SPSS software.
Results: Average mark for the practical part of the anatomy of the upper extremity with log book was 17 while the mean mark for the practical part of the lower limb anatomy, using the OSATS method was 15.26. A total of 23 students (82.14%) were satisfied with the logbooks and it was found useful for anatomy practice. A total of 71.42% of medical students reported OSATS method to be a fair test and 35.72% of them reported that OSATS method is full of stress.
Conclusions: Students as well as the teacher were more satisfied with evaluation by log book. In contrast, OSATS method was not satisfactory.
Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of acidic and alkaline environment on the dislodgement resistance of White Pro Root Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Biodentine when used as furcation perforation repair materials.
Methodology: Eighty, human, mandibular molars were used. Perforations were made in the furcation of each molar and enlarged to #3 Peeso drills. After perforation repair, according to the two materials respectively, specimens of each material were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 10) according to storage media and time: group A: phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (pH = 7.4) for 4 days, group B: acetic acid (pH =5.4) for 4 days, group C: PBS for 34 days, and group D: acetic acid (pH = 5.4) for 4 days followed by exposure to PBS for 30 days. Dislodgment resistance was then measured using a universal testing machine.
Results: Biodentine resisted dislodgement more efficiently than Pro Root MTA in PBS (p<0.05). The dislodgement resistance of Biodentine and Pro Root MTA was reduced after exposure to acidic pH, but there was significant reduction of Pro Root MTA in comparison with Biodentine.
Conclusion: An acidic environment affects the bond strength of calcium silicate based materials. Biodentine has better dislodgement resistance than White Pro Root Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA).
Aim: To determine the incidence rate, type and anatomical distribution of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries of Greek professional Ballet Dancers.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of the Study: Greek National Opera, Athens, Greece, 2 months.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire, containing primarily items related to the presence of injury and the body regions involved was given to all elite ballet dancers working in the Greek National Opera.
Results: 31 ballet dancers (11 males, 20 females) participated in the study, providing a response rate of 59.61%. 62% of dancers (mean age 36 years) reported at least one musculoskeletal injury during the last year. In total, 98 injuries were registered.65% of all injuries were reported to be due to overuse and 35% were traumatic. The incidence of injury among professional dancers was 1.10 and 1,55 injuries per 1000 dance hours in males and females, respectively. The most frequent injury location was the neck and low back area (61.3%) in both sexes among the professional dancers followed by the shoulders (48.4%) and ankles (45.2%). Ninety four percent (94%) of the injured dancers needed physiotherapy and only 23% needed surgery. The majority of injured dancers (55%) were absent from dance training for more than a week after the injury. Dancers believed that several factors were associated with risk of injuries, including training (90%) and muscle weakness (74%).
Conclusions: Ballet dancers have high prevalence rates of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders. The findings of this study suggest that there is a need to apply primary injury prevention schemes in Greek ballet dancers.
Forensic odontology plays an important role in establishing sex, age, and race of unidentified persons. It involves proper handling and examination of dental evidence, thorough scientific specimen evaluation, and an accurate reporting of the dental findings. Teeth can be selectively preserved and fossilized, thereby providing well-preserved records of the evolutionary process for anthropological, genetic, odontologic, and forensic investigations. Therefore, it follows that the canine tooth can be a useful tool in establishing sexual dimorphism.
Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the use of morphometric analysis of the canine teeth in determining gender determination in Madhya Pradesh (Mahakoushal region) population.
Materials and Methods: The present study included 200 subjects (100 males and 100 females) with age ranging from 16-28 years. All the subjects who participated in the study were recruited from patients attending the outpatient department at the Hitkarini Dental College and Hospital. It was made sure that who participated in the study were of Madhya Pradesh origin only. Maxillary and mandibular impressions were made using alginate and study models were prepared in dental stone. The mesiodistal width of all canines and inter-canine distances were measured using digital Vernier calipers of 0.01 resolution.
Results: Results showed that mesiodistal width of the right and left maxillary and mandibular canines was greater in males than in females (p<0.001). Inter-canine distance of maxillary and mandibular canines was also greater in males than in females (p<0.001). The standard mandibular canine index was slightly higher than standard maxillary canine index.
Conclusion: In our study we observed that sexual dimorphism was seen in all four canine teeth. It was most obvious in the mandibular right canine tooth.
Aims: The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of tonsilloliths on the CBCT radiographs in the archive of the department of oral and maxillofacial radiology in the Shahid Beheshti Dental School.
Study Design: The design of this study was descriptive cross-sectional.
Methodology: The CBCT imaging archive of Shahid Beheshti Dental School was investigated for the presence and characteristics of tonsilloliths. In the axial view, which is considered the best diagnostic view for detection of tonsillar calcifications, the medial region of the mandibular ramus adjacent to the lateral wall of oropharyngeal airway was probed. Presence of calcifications was confirmed by investigation in coronal and sagittal views.
Results: 290 CBCT images were evaluated for presence of tonsilloliths. Patients’ age ranged between 6-79 years (mean=40.96±16.6). 59% of the patients were female and 41% were male. Prevalence of tonsillolith was 18.6%. Tonsilloliths were more common in 30-50 year old patients. However, presence of tonsilloliths was not significantly associated to age (P=0.098) and gender (P=0.164). Unilateral, multiple and irregular tonsilloliths were more common.
Conclusion: Prevalence of tonsillar calcifications in CBCT images was approximately 19% in our sample. These calcifications were more common in 30-50 year old patients. Therefore, tonsillar calcifications should be included in the differential diagnosis in middle-aged patients.
Efforts to elucidate the pathophysiology of catatonia have hitherto been unsuccessful largely due to its variegated clinical presentation and seemingly disparate treatment modalities. Catatonia manifests with marked behavioral and cognitive changes, often producing a significant decrease in speech and motor output. Generally, catatonia can be treated with GABA-agonists with impressive symptomatic relief. ECT is also used as a second-line therapeutic intervention if GABA-agonists fail to produce significant symptomatic relief. However, there is uncertainty regarding additional treatment if the aforementioned therapeutic interventions fail to provide symptomatic relief. In the present paper, suggest utilizing pharmacotherapy that modulates NMDAR activity on the basis that catatonia can be fundamentally a syndrome characterized by excessive glutamatergic stimulation of NDMAR on cortical GABAergic interneurons leading to a dysregulation of horizontal and vertical processing.
