Background: In the last decades, the use of internet has increased many folds, and internet addiction has become a severe public health issue around the world. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of internet addiction among young adults (19-35 years) in Bangladesh and to identify factors associated with it. Methods: A total of 454 participants were selected from three administrative divisions of Bangladesh using multistage cluster sampling for this cross-sectional study. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data which included Young's 20 items internet addiction test to assess internet addiction. Results: The overall prevalence of internet addiction was 27.1%. Addiction rate was 28.6% in the subgroup 19-24 years and 23.5% among 25-35 years old. In both chi-square and logistic regression analyses, internet addiction was significantly associated with living setup, time spent daily on the internet, a detached family relationship, physical activity, and smoking habit (p < 0.05). Spending time on social media websites was the most common online activity among the participants. Conclusion: Our study revealed a relatively high prevalence of internet addiction among younger participants. A detached family relationship and living away from the family were significant determinants along other factors. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness among young generation and their parents towards predictors of internet addiction.

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Dengue fever is a self-limiting, systemic viral illness that has a wide range of clinical manifestations. Last year dengue was severe in children with much mortality. This study was aimed to see the clinical profile of dengue and to find out the risk factors for developing severity. This cross sectional study was conducted over four months (June-September, 2018) in Department of Pediatrics of United Hospital Limited. All admitted dengue cases were analyzed. The predictors of developing severity were assessed by comparing variables between classical and severe dengue fever groups. A total of 106 children with Dengue fever were admitted. Mean age was 5.8±3 years with male predominance (60%). Common presentations include fever (100%), flushed appearance (72%), rash (43%), vomiting (39%), abdominal pain (36%), shock (28%) and respiratory distress (23%). In risk factor analysis, overweight (OR: 8.275, CI: 1.378-49.706) and massive serositis (OR: 17.86, CI: 4.733-67.399) were found statistically significant predictors of severe dengue. The overall mortality was 3%. So, overweight children and those patients who develop massive serositis are at increased risk of having severe dengue. Early identification of these features can help physicians to manage these cases judiciously.

Background Quality of Life (QoL), for long, has been a multifactorial concerning issue in oncology. The aim of this study was to determine QoL of cancer patients and its association with nutrition, and performance status. Methodology This was a hospital based cross-sectional study carried out at 2 cancer centers and one tertiary level hospital in Dhaka city during the months of July to December, 2019. Data was collected through structured interviews and analyzed by SPSS-25 statistical package software. Results Among 279 participants, 14(5.02%) had high QoL, 35(12.54%) had average QoL, 150(53.76%) had low QoL, and remaining 80(28.67%) had very low QoL. The prevalence of severe malnutrition was 12.5% and 43.7% of patients had poor performance status. A statistically significant association between QoL and, nutritional and performance status was identified (p < 0.05) . The ANOVA also indicated a statistically significant variation in QoL score among nutritional categories (P < 0.01) and performance status (P = 0.013). Conclusion A relatively higher prevalence of poor QoL was identified in this study which varies among nutritional categories and performance statuses. The proper management of predictors of QoL is imperative during treatment procedures.

Introduction: Multidrug resistance (MDR) is threatening the adequate coverage of antibiotics. This study aimed to analyze the antimicrobial resistance pattern of bacterial isolates from wound infection and the scenario of multidrug resistance. Methods: Microbiological culture results scripts of Medinova Medical Services LTD, representing non-repetitive various wound samples (post-surgical, trauma, superficial skin, burn) reported between January 2017 and March 2018, were retrieved and analyzed for pathogens and their antimicrobial resistance patterns using R version 3.5.3. Results: Overall, 1266 bacterial isolates were obtained, and 850 (67.1%) were identified as MDR. The percentage of MDR among gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial isolates were 68.8% and 66.0%, respectively. Among isolates Staphylococcus aureus (n = 401), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 200), and Escherichia coli (n = 193) were predominant. Vancomycin followed linezolid showed most activity against gram-positive bacteria. Whereas, Colistin was found to be the most active against most of the gram-negative bacterium except for the Proteus spp in sensitivity test. Although, carbapenem group was determined to be the best against Proteus spp. About 82% Enterococcus spp and 76% Proteus spp were MDR. Isolates from patients aged >60 years (AOR = 1.774 95%CI: 1.089–2.892) were more prone to becoming MDR in compared to other age group and was a significant determinant (P = 0.02) of MDR. Conclusions: Our study revealed that the presence of MDR pathogens in wound infection was noteworthy. The findings of this study would assist in decision making of wound infection treatment. Highlights

Background: In Bangladesh, treatment for urinary tract infection has become increasingly difficult due to antibiotic resistance. In addition, the prescription of age and gender-specific drugs is still far from being practiced in Bangladesh. We are examining trends of antibiotic resistance per age and gender in patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by the most frequent agent, Escherichia coli. Methods: We determined the resistance of 1663 E. coli isolates obtained from urine cultures. A sensitivity study using the Kirby-Bauer method was carried out to identify the antibiotic resistance trends. Results: Imipenem with 1.9% resistance of all isolates found to be the lowest percentage of resistance. Meropenem (2.8%), amikacin (2.8%), colistin (2.9%), and nitrofurantoin (15.8%) showed low resistance percentages. The sensitivity analysis suggests that age and gender (area under curve ¼ 0.67) should be taken into consideration to prescribe amikacin. The increasing odds ratios (OR) by age groups suggest that amikacin is a less effective agent for older patients with UTIs. Moreover, nitrofurantoin (OR ¼ 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) ¼ 1.07-1.95) and colistin (OR ¼ 2.09, CI ¼ 1.13-3.76) were less effective against isolates obtained from males compared to isolates obtained from females. Meropenem was effective against bacteria obtained from all age groups and genders. On the other hand, efficacy of imipenem was lower in isolates obtained from adults older than 40 years (OR: 0.44 for < ¼ 18 years, OR ¼ 0.47 for 19-40 years, OR ¼ 0.86 for 41-60 years; reference: > ¼ 61 years). Conclusion: In Bangladesh, meropenem, imipenem, amikacin, colistin, and nitrofurantoin are suitable therapeutic alternatives against urinary tract pathogens. Among the oral agents, amikacin, colistin, and nitrofurantoin should be prescribed, taking consideration of age and gender. These results will assist physicians in prescribing effective primary care antibiotics for UTI patients and encouraging the implementation of health policies for a safe prescription of antibiotics.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global public health challenge threatening the utility of antibiotics. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and sales, using outside of the health sectors, and genetic factors are mainly influencing the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antibiotics abuse in human, wildlife, and farming practices have an enormous health impact. Recently approved antibiotics are anticipated to help stem this crisis. To fight against antibiotic resistance crisis, development of collaboration among concerned stakeholders to establish policies, initiatives, and investments for new agents can be auspicious. New methods of antibacterial drug identification and strategies, neutralize virulence factors, are the substitute approaches to address the AMR threat. Some novel approaches have also been taken to develop alternatives to typical antibiotics for bacterial infection. Here, we tried to highlight some of the key reasons behind antibiotic resistance, management, and burden. Moreover, this paper also discusses recent developments in this area and a brief overview of future antibacterial agents. J MEDICINE JUL 2019; 20 (1) : 38-45

Background Childhood overweight and obesity is a major public health concern all over the world. Overweight or obese children have a higher risk of becoming obese in adulthood and are at higher risk of associated chronic diseases. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with overweight and obesity among urban school children and adolescents in Bangladesh. Materials and methods A case-control study was conducted among students aged 10–16 years in 10 schools of Dhaka city. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic information and students’ exposure to various risk factors. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 23. Results Family income (p = 0.000), mother’s weight (p = 0.036), school activity (p = 0.046), total physical activity (p = 0.008), sedentary activities (p = 0.014), eating fast food (0.008) and cakes/biscuits (p = 0.018) were found as potential determinants of overweight and obesity of children and adolescents. A multiple logistic regression revealed family income >50,000 per month [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.07, p = 0.001], no physical activity (AOR = 38.3, p = 0.004), more than 4 h of sedentary activities (AOR = 4.84, p = 0.02), regular consumption of fast food (AOR = 3.05, p = 0.042) are risk factors associated with childhood overweight/obesity. Whereas, having a normal weight mother (AOR = 0.51, p = 0.037) and eating cakes/biscuits less than 3 days a week (AOR = 0.33, p = 0.02) were found as protective factors. Conclusion Findings from this study will be very useful for public health professionals to increase awareness regarding risk factors of overweight and obesity, in order to reduce the future burden of obesity-associated chronic diseases.