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Background: The maternal mortality is a vital index of the quality and efficiency of obstetric services prevailing in a country. The obstetric emergencies are unexpected occurrences during pregnancy or puerperium requiring immediate attention. Obstetric emergencies can either happen suddenly or they can develop as a result of complications that are not properly identified, monitored or managed. These emergencies, to a large extent, are preventable. The purpose of this study was to understand the contributing factors of obstetric emergencies, their clinical presentation, management and maternal outcomes.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among obstetric emergency admissions during October 2016 to September 2017, at a tertiary care hospital in urban area of central Karnataka.Results: A total of 100 emergency admissions were observed in the study period. A 41% of were un-booked antenatal cases. A 13% of patients reached with the longest delay of 10-12 hours duration. A 31% of emergency admissions were in compromised condition. The majority of the cases were delivered by LSCS (55%).Conclusions: In the study, nearly half of the pregnancies were unbooked. There were teenage pregnancies reported in the study. More than half of obstetric emergencies were from rural areas. In nearly 50% of admissions a delay of more than 5 hours in reaching this hospital was noted. Ignorance was a major factor which impeded the access of antenatal health care services. Health education to pregnant women about importance of accessing maternal health services, early ANC booking and regular checkups, identification of high-risk pregnancy and timely referral, availability of fully functional first referral units and transport facilities for these emergency patients. Availability of skilled medical professionals round the clock in these FRU’s are the need of the hour.

CONTEXT: Diabetes is one of the most common diseases of the modern times and the most frequent systemic disorder connected with the development of periodontal disease. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia due to insulin deficiency or secretion. Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease caused by infection of supporting tissues of teeth and may subsequently lead to tooth loss if left untreated. The pathogenic collagenic mechanisms of diabetes stimulate the more intense progression of periodontal disease. These mechanisms include metabolic impairment, vascular changes, and changes of microbiotic flora in periodontal pocket and functional disorders of leukocytes. Tooth loss is an inevitable result of periodontal disease and destructive features of periodontal disease are more common in diabetics. Also, the prevalence of periodontal disease and the need of dental treatment are significantly higher in diabetes. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To compare & correlate the number of missing tooth in a group of 100 diabetic patients with that of 100 non-diabetic individuals (30-60 years of age). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 200 individuals (100 diabetic & 100 control) were examined for dental status. Dental status was recorded for the teeth that were missing including third molars. Diabetic patients with other systemic manifestations like hypertension, cardiac diseases were excluded from the study. Data were collected on the subject's age, sex, occupation and location. All data were recorded in WHO Oral Health assessment forms. Appropriate statistical tests were employed for analysis. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software. Kruskal Wallis Chi-square test was employed for statistical analysis. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: The mean number of missing teeth in diabetic group was found to be 6.45 which significantly exceeded that of control group (1.43; p<0.001). The mean number of teeth present was found to be higher in control group, the mean number of missing teeth was found to be higher in diabetic group.

Introduction: Since literature provides various schools of thought to achieve Posterior Palatal Seal (PPS) in a maxillary denture, it becomes essential to know the techniques dominating in our curriculum presently. Aim: To determine the prevalence of concepts and also the need for standardisation in establishing PPS among dental colleges of Karnataka. Materials and Methods: A descriptive survey was conducted among teaching faculty of Department of Prosthodontics with varied teaching experience across the dental colleges of Karnataka. A pre-tested questionnaire containing ten close ended questions was distributed to 230 faculty members with MDS qualification in Prosthodontics via e-mail. The faculty responses were divided into three groups based on teaching experience: Group 1 (2-7 years), Group 2 (7-12 years) and Group 3 with more than 12 years of teaching experience. The Chi-Square Goodness of Fit test was used to compare the overall differences in the responses by the study participants; and Independent Chi-Square test to compare the differences in the responses based on teaching experience of the study participants. A value of p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The most common method taught for locating vibrating line was Phonation-Nose Blowing-Fovea Palatini (46.0%). Two-line concept of vibrating line was taught (77%) more commonly, where the termination of maxillary denture is on posterior vibrating line (58%). Currently, Boucher’s conventional method without master cast scoring (63%) was the most favoured method to record the seal. This was true mainly with Group 1 (81.9%) and Group 2 (66.7%). In contrast, Group 3 faculty largely advocated Boucher’s conventional technique along with master cast scoring (70%). Overall most of the faculty members (66.5%) did not make the students score the postpalatal area. This was mainly seen in faculty belonging to Group 1 (81.9%) and Group 2 (69.7%). Bulk of Group 3 faculty (75%) taught scoring of the master cast. A large portion of the faculty (60.0%) recommended standardisation in the methods of teaching PPS which was mainly backed by Group 2 (77.3%) and Group 1 (61.7%). Conclusion: This survey indicates that among dental colleges of Karnataka, a majority of faculty of Prosthodontics prefer Boucher’s conventional method without master cast scoring (63%) to achieve maxillary PPS. Nevertheless, teaching concepts differed based on faculty experience. It is emphasised that teaching methods should be standardised and include unambiguous techniques.

Preeclampsia(PE) is a hypertensive disorder affecting about 5-14% of pregnancies worldwide and around 20% of high-risk pregnancies, resulting in maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Imbalances in milieu of serum sodium and potassium, that are involved in functioning of vascular smooth muscles, leads to vasoconstriction and hypertension in PE. Calcium deficiency stimulates parathyroid hormone, leading to vasoconstriction. Magnesium regulates blood pressure by monitoring vascular tone and structure. There is scarcity of studies on these factors in PE in central Karnataka. To estimate levels of serum calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium in preeclampsia. Hospital based cross-sectional study conducted from September, 2020 to February, 2021 at a Tertiary Teaching Hospital in Chitradurga. 60 diagnosed cases of preeclampsia and equal number of age, parity and gestational age matched women with singleton normal pregnancies, attending antenatal clinic or admitted and treated in obstetrics wards of the hospital were included in the study. Clinical examination and laboratory investigations to estimate biochemical parameters were conducted. Data was analyzed in SPSS V:20. Statistical tests like chi-square and One-way ANOVA test were applied to find the significance of associations. Hypernatremia, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia and hypocalcemia were significant in preeclampsia compared to normal pregnancy group. In severe preeclamptia, highest levels of serum sodium and lowest levels of serum potassium, magnesium and calcium were found compared to the mild PE group. Timely estimation of serum electrolytes, calcium and magnesium through the course of pregnancy could help in early detection and prompt treatment of preeclampsia and also can prevent the adverse outcomes of pregnancies. Also, dietary restriction of sodium and dietary supplementation of calcium, magnesium and potassium rich foods to the pregnant women and calcium supplementation could reduce the risk of preeclampsia.