Background: Indian subcontinent has highest rates of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) worldwide. Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a condition which can lead to many complications including CVDs. Most of the studies in India have been done about prevalence of MS; this study intends to study their awareness and perceptions about CVD risk factors, which can help to plan and implement the educational health programs in a better and effective manner to prevent complications in these patients. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted from April 2017 to March 2018 in a teaching hospital of Udaipur, Rajasthan. It involved 402 patients of MS diagnosed using National Cholesterol Education Program – Adult Treatment Panel III criteria with an anthropometric modification of waist circumference (WC) value that is specifically applicable to South Asians. A 43-item questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, attitude, and health-seeking behavior (KAP) toward CVD disease risk factors. KAP scores were characterized into poor, average, and good. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi square, and ANOVA. Results: Majority (58%) of the MS patients were males and belonged to middle socioeconomic status (63%). The study subjects were found to have average knowledge and good attitude but poor practices. Males, patients with lower WC, and lower fasting blood sugar showed significantly better knowledge scores. Good attitude scores were associated with education and WC. Younger subjects, patients having better sugar control, and lower WC had significantly better practices. Conclusion: Despite having good attitude, MS patients were not following good lifestyle practices to prevent CVD. Results in this study call for intensive educational interventions required to prevent complications in these patients.
An interactive teaching method is a form of learning and communicative activity, which focuses on students’ needs and allows them to actively participate in the learning process. With the introduction of competency based medical education (CBME), new teaching methods have been introduced to ensure the attainment of competencies by medical graduates. Research shows that interactive activity in class is an effective teaching learning method. There are many studies which have reported that students prefer interactive lectures based on active learning principles. Despite this, it has been found that many students do not engage with active learning exercise, which is probably due to the reason that among students, there is an already established culture of teaching and learning. The interactive lectures need to be designed after exploring student expectations, feedback, and experiences. Faculty members too have their own skepticism about the use of innovative methods in their teaching. These challenges need to be addressed for successful implementation of CBME based curriculum in medical education. With this review, we present the experiences about the use of interactive teaching methods in the field of medical education and also point out various barriers and challenges on the path of its execution.
Background: It has been over a year since the declaration of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as pandemic by World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Although mortality in India is low, as compared to western countries, the steady increase in the number of cases is still a worrying sign. The objectives of this study were to identify and quantify the association between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with mortality among patients, suffering from COVID-19 at a tertiary care hospital in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Material and Methods: This retrospective observational study involved 824 patients hospitalized for COVID 19 at a tertiary hospital in Udaipur, who were discharged or had died. Electronic health records of the patients were accessed to retrieve the sociodemographic information (age, gender, residence, religion, socioeconomic status), history of exposure, clinical characteristics on admission, comorbidities, and outcomes (recovery or death). The Cox regression model was used to calculate associations between mortality and baseline characteristics in the form of hazard ratios (HRs). Results: Mortality in this study was found to be 5.82%. The mean age of the patients was 48.14 ± 16.2 years. The median time from time of admission to discharge was 8 days (interquartile range (IQR) 5–11), whereas the median time to death was 5 days (IQR 4–10). The variables found to be associated with higher mortality were age (HR 1.17; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15–1.24), residing in urban area (HR 1.29; 95% CI 1.17–2.15), diabetes mellitus (HR 1.3; CI 1.02–5.57), and patients having both diabetes and hypertension (HR 2.4; CI 1.69–3.14). Conclusion: Sociodemographic variables and comorbidities impact the mortality among COVID 19 patients. The variables most clearly associated with a greater hazard of death were older age, urban area, diabetes, and having both diabetes and hypertension.
Background: Dengue fever is a mosquito borne disease commonly manifest leucopoenia and thrombocytopenia. Dengue fever and its complications like bleeding manifestation can be life threatening. This study was conducted to study the effect of doxycycline and doxycycline with carica papaya on thrombocytopenia and leucopoenia in acute dengue fever patients. Methods: This case control study was conducted amongst the patients suffering from dengue fever with thrombocytopenia. Cases were dengue patients with thrombocytopenia and leucopenia both. Controls were dengue patients with thrombocytopenia with normal leukocyte count. An effect of doxycycline and doxycycline with carica papaya was observed on platelet and leukocyte counts at baseline and first, second, fourth, and seventh day in cases and comparison was done. Results: The maximum improvement in mean platelet count and leukocyte count was observed in doxycycline with carica papaya group followed by doxycycline alone group followed by controls (conservative treatment) in decreasing order on day 4th and 7th day of admission. Reduced hospital stay was also in the same order. Conclusion: The study results indicate that doxycycline and carica papaya are useful modality to improve leucopenia and thrombocytopenia in dengue patients and to minimize hospital stay.
Objective: The present study was designed to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and evaluate other associated risk factors among hypertensive adults of the southern part of Rajasthan, India. Design and method: A total of 2100 hypertensive patients were interviewed using a pretested and validated questionnaire about lifestyle practices and medical history. The diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) was done using National Cholesterol Education Program – Adult Treatment Panel III criteria with an anthropometric modification of waist circumference (WC) value that is specifically applicable to South Asians. Hypertension (HTN) was diagnosed with BP over 130 and/or > 85 mm Hg, abdominal obesity (AO) according to waist circumstance (WC) > 90/80 cm men/women, hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) > 150 mg/dl, hyperglycemia > 110 mg/dl, decreased HDL < 40/50 mg/dl for men/women. Biochemical parameters (lipids and glucose) were measured using sphectrometry on COBAS (ROCHE) equipment. All calculations and statistical analyzes are processed by the SPSS 21.0. Results: The study subjects were 58% males and 42% females, with a mean age of 46.21 ± 9.40 years. Abdominal obesity was found in 57.3%, HTG 31.8%, hyperglycemia 32.6%, decreased HDL 29.2%, MS 31.4%. Diabetes prevalence was found to be 21.2% including 17% of known cases and 4.2% of new cases. Regarding the risk factors, 28.7 % were tobacco smokers; Physical inactivity 49%, more frequent in men than women (p = 0.04); Abdominal obesity was significantly higher in women; diabetes was associated with abdominal obesity and dyslipidemia in 59% of cases; 67.8% of subjects had at least three associated risk factors. Conclusions: Indian subcontinent has highest rates of CVDs worldwide. This study reveals high prevalence of metabolic syndrome as well as other risk factors. It is necessary to do nation wide surveys to formulate effective preventive strategies.
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