Background:The World Health Organization has estimated that globally almost 1.24 million people die annually on the world's roads. The aim of the study was to assess the attributes of pre-hospital care in road traffic accidents (RTAs) victim brought to the health care establishment and to evaluate the pre-hospital trauma care provided in the rural areas of Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional descriptive study of 3 months duration (June 2014 to August 2014) was conducted in the Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Kancheepuram. The method of sampling was universal sampling and all RTA victims satisfying the inclusion criteria were included in the study. During the entire study duration, total 200 RTA victims were included. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit the desired information after the victims of RTAs are stabilized. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee prior to the start of the study. Written informed consent was obtained from the study participants (patient/guardian of children) before obtaining any information from them. Data entry and statistical analysis were done using SPSS version 18. Frequency distributions and percentages were computed for all the variables.Results:Majority of the RTA victims 158 (79%) were from the age-group of 15-45 years. Most of the accidents were reported in night time [77 (38.5%)], on week-ends [113 (56.5%)], and involved two-wheelers [153 (76.5%)]. Almost 66 (33%) of the victims were not aware of the existence of emergency ambulance services. Also, only 15 (7.5%) victims were brought to the hospital in the emergency ambulance, of which only 3 victims were accompanied by a doctor.Conclusion:To conclude, the study indicates that a significant proportion of people were unaware about the emergency trauma ambulance services and the existing pre-hospital care services lack in multiple dimensions in a rural area of South India.

Background: COVID-19-driven pandemic has caused panic, fear, and stress among all strata of society. The study aimed to assess stress and the factors that influence it in a representative population in the state of Tamil Nadu (TN)—a state in the southern India where the levels of stress have not been measured yet. Methods: From April 13 to April 25, 2020, we conducted an online survey among the TN population using the snowball sampling technique, collecting basic demographic data. COVID-19-perceived stress was collected through COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). Binomial regression analysis was used to identify the extent of the relationship between CPDI and sociodemographic factors by estimating the odds of having significant stress. P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 2,317 valid responses were received. Of the respondents, 830 (35.82%) were males, 1,084 (46.79%) were below 25 years of age, and 2,297 (99.14%) were native residents of TN. The mean(±SD) CPDI was 20.66±12.03. While 1,830 (77.2%) respondents had low or no stress, 478 (20.2%) had mild to moderate stress, and 63 (2.7%) had severe stress. The bivariate model included marital status, age, nativity, and income. The odds of having significant stress (mild–moderate or severe) for a 25–34 year age group as compared to >55 years group was 2.38 (P < 0.001). As compared to widowed, the married had higher odds ratio (3.41, P = 0.05). Compared to those with >10 lakh annual income, those with 2.5–5 lakhs annual income had odds ratio of 1.65 (95% CI = 1.01 to 2.7, P = 0.05). Conclusions: During the lockdown due to COVID-19, every 1 in 5 TN population had some form of stress, as measured by CPDI. Our model identified certain factors driving the stress, which would help policy framers to initiate an appropriate response.

Background: Caregivers are playing a vital role in mentally ill patients in India. Families of children with intellectual disability encounter a high degree of stress such as physical, emotional, and financial. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the caregiver burden and depression between the special school-going children and nonschool-going children with intellectual disability. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on caregivers of patients with intellectual disability at Radianz Health Care and Research Private Limited, Ahana Hospitals, Akash Special School, and M. S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, Madurai. The Zarit Burden Interview scale was utilized to assess the level of burden experienced by the caregivers. The Major Depression Inventory scale was utilized to assess the severity of depression experienced by the caregivers. The Binet Kamat Test of Intelligence was administered by a psychologist to assess the IQ level of the children. Results: Totally 80 caregivers were participated in the study. The mothers of children with intellectual disability suffered from burden and depression when compared to the fathers ( P < 0.0001). The parents of nonschool-going children had a higher level of burden and depression as compared to the parents of special school-going children ( P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Special school is playing a vital role for children with intellectual disability. It can be reasonably concluded from the study that both the groups face burden and depression. However, the severity of burden and depression is comparatively higher among parents of nonschool-going children.

Influenza patients with previous history of diabetes, who had treatment with corticosteroids during illness, and started with antivirals after 48 h of onset of symptoms, were at higher risk of adverse outcome. In order to reduce the risk of death during future waves of influenza in Tamil Nadu, the physicians need to be sensitised regarding (1) higher risk of adverse outcomes among A (H1N1) patients with diabetes; (2) adherence to the national protocol for categorisation of cases; (3) prompt initiation of antivirals for severe cases; and (4) avoidance of systemic corticosteroids during management.

Background: Very little is known about the types of alcoholic beverages and the relationship between beverage preference and possibility of developing alcohol dependence. The aim of this study was to determine the type of alcoholic beverages consumed by alcohol abusers who have been diagnosed for alcohol dependence and their relationship to the pattern of drinking.Methods: The study was performed on all clients visiting the psychiatric outpatient clinics of M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, and Ahana Hospitals, Madurai, Tamil Nadu which comprises of mixed socioeconomic class. Subjects were screened for alcohol dependence using Alcohol use disorder questionnaire (AUDIT)” and validated with DSM IVTR criteria for alcohol dependence and their pattern of drinking. Study was limited to male subjects visiting these centres whose ages were between 18 to 60 years.Results: Among all types of beverages, brandy (64.28%) was the most commonly used beverage, followed by whisky (19.31%) and rum (7.14%), vodka (4.23%) or beer (3.96%) and with a very low affinity for wine (1.05%). Brandy appeared to be the most preferred alcoholic beverage in subjects who are alcohol dependent.Conclusions: Despite its ease of availability and affordability of brandy, there exists an increased preference in choice associated with risk taking behavioural pattern of drinking; further biological studies may be helpful to understand physiological mechanism of creating dependence.