Introduction: COVID-19 infection is caused by a new strain of SARS CoV-2 virus, which transmits directly from person-to-person and has become a pandemic. To counteract this, actions related to mass quarantines or stay-at-home orders have been used termed as lockdown. This study aims to study lifestyle, behaviour, perception and practice of people regarding during the lockdown. Methods: An online survey was conducted with structured questionnaire in Google forms after ethical approval from Nepal Health Research Council (Ref-2631). The attributes of knowledge, attitude and practices were explored using multiple-choice questions and results were statistically analysed using Microsoft excel. Results: Five hundred fifty-five respondents completed the survey with 280 (50.5%) males and 275 (49.5%) female. The knowledge regarding viral pandemic was increased in 496 (89.3%) respondents. 424 (76.4%) people developed stress due to pandemic. Three hundred fifty three (63.6%) were adversely affected by professional works or suffered economic loss in business. More than 42% participants are using their time for study in personal development, online classes etc. Conclusions: The knowledge of viral pandemic as well as personal hygiene habits have improved in majority of people but many also developed stress. They were convinced that lockdown lowered transmission of infection which in turn affected lifestyle behaviour and practices. Practicing social distancing becomes too difficult for the poor in the absence of proper social security system and government support. E-Learning has become more acceptable due to lockdown. Further studies with in-person interviews are warranted.

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the acute infection of lung tissue in an immunocompetent who acquired it from the community. Its incidence and mortality are significant and require a marker to predict the severity and mortality in these patients. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a simple, cheap, and easy-to-use marker and this study describes its role in predicting the adverse outcome in patients with CAP.Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were used to search for related studies on February 8, 2021. A total of 186 articles were retrieved upon detailed searching in the databases and search engines. After a series of removing duplicate articles, title and abstract screening, and full-text review; nine articles were found eligible and included in the study. The data from each article were collected in MS Excel and the findings were summarized in this manuscript.Results: The total number of patients analyzed in this systematic review is 3340. The mean age of the patient in the included studies ranged from 61 to 90.4 years. All studies had adverse outcomes as the endpoint of the study, which included inhospital mortality or intensive care unit (ICU) admission or deterioration from medium and low risk to high risk or 30 days' mortality. The prevalence of endpoint ranged from 5.8% to 44.8%. NLR with a cutoff value of more than 10 was shown to predict mortality compared to C-reactive protein levels, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte level, Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) level, PSI class, procalcitonin, and CURB-65 (Confusion, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, 65 years of age and older) in most of the studies. Conclusion:NLR is a simple, easily measured yet promising marker for predicting outcomes in patients with CAP.

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Introduction: Exposure to dusts and hard physical work is common in developing industrialized countries. Acute and chronic respiratory illnesses are highly been reported from jute and textile industry. This study was undertaken to explore status of respiratory health among the workers of jute and textile industries.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study enrolled 315 workers from each of textile and jute industry of Eastern Nepal. Almost all the workers were selected from the textile industry whereas those from dust prone areas of jute industry. Workers were interviewed using pre-tested questionnaires. Measurement of height, weight and peak expiratory flow rate was done. Results: Majority were non-smokers in both the industries 230 (73%) in Jute vs. 223 (70.8%) in Textile. Most of the workers had the working experience of less than five years; jute 134 (42.5%) vs. textile 180 (57.1%). Upper respiratory disorder was found in more than 1/5 of workers (68) in jute vs. 1/20 of workers (18) in textile industry. One and two workers suffered from chronic bronchitis in the jute and the textile industry respectively. Chest tightness was reported among 4 (1.3%) in jute vs. 17 (5.4%) in textile workers, cough symptoms among 86 (27.3%) in jute vs. 26 (8.3%) in textile industry. Low practice of personal protective measure was seen in both industries. The mean score of PEFR of workers in jute mill was lower than the workers in textile industry.Conclusions: Workers with acute respiratory disorders were more in the jute industry while chest tightness was more in the textile industry. Chronic respiratory problems did not appear to be alarming in both the industries. Use of personal protective measures should be promoted among the dust exposed workers. Key Words: dust exposure; peak expiratory flow rate; respiratory disorder.

There are estimated over 8 million Nepali migrants spread across various countries around the globe. Though the majority of them enjoy good health in general, a large proportion of them suffer from non-communicable diseases, mental health issues and communicable diseases. Telemedicine services, which are organized by Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), have been proven to be effective in addressing some of the medical needs of the migrant Nepali workers. The purpose of this study is to assess the use of tele-health services among Nepali migrant population and examine the limitations. During the pandemic period from March 2020 through August 2021, Nepali in different countries utilized telehealth services. Mental health issues, chronic diseases, skin diseases were the most common ailments people sought telehealth services for. Digital gap, lack of cross-border regulations and unwillingness to utilize telemedicine were the challenges the service faced in the optimal use of such services. Training and education, use of easy Apps and subsidies from the government would help in the long-term use and sustainability of telehealth services amongst the Nepali migrants.

Backgroun: Intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) is a contributor of perinatal outcome and is an important indicator of the quality of antenatal care. Despite efforts, risk factors cannot be identified in cases of intrauterine fetal deaths. This study aims to identify the maternal, fetal, placental and cord related factors related to it. Methods: It is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted analyzing patients admitted with IUFDs after 28 weeks of pregnancy at Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital from April 2019 to March 2020.  It was conducted after taking ethical approval from Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of Institute of Medicine. Data were collected from review of charts of individual patients in MS Excel and was analyzed using SPSS. Results: There were 5496 births and 46 intrauterine fetal deaths during the study period giving stillbirth rate of 8 per 1000 births. It was common in the age group of 26-30 years (34.8%), 62.2% were from inside Kathmandu valley,43.5% were just literate, 13% were illiterate, 84.8% were housewives, 56.5% were primigravida and 69.57% of the babies were preterm. Only four percent had previous history of intra uterine fetal deaths. Hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy were found in 30.5% followed by heart disease in 10.9% of the mothers. There were no known co-morbidities in 26.1% of the patients. Out of total 46 cases, 62% were female. Two had Rh isoimmunization and four had congenital malformations. Placenta previa was seen in four percent and abruptio placenta in two percent. Twin pregnancy with diamniotic dichorionic placenta was present in four percent. Seventeen percent of the babies had cord around the neck and two percent had thrombosis of the umbilical cord. Conclusion: Low level of maternal education and maternal comorbidities like hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy were found to be most common factors seen in cases of intrauterine fetal deaths.

Background: Acute appendicitis is very common surgical cause of acute abdomen and needs surgical removal either by laparoscopic or open appendicectomy. The aim of this study is to compare frequency of surgical site infection (SSI) in patients undergoing laparoscopic and open appendicectomy. Materials and Methods: The study was prospective study conducted in NMCTH, Biratnagar. Total 200 patients with diagnosis of acute appendicitis admitted through the emergency department of our hospital were included in the study. The patients were randomly allocated in two groups: Laparoscopic appendicectomy group (LA) and Open appendicectomy group (OA). Both groups underwent successful emergency appendicectomy. Wound infections in terms of surgical site infection (SSI) if present were recorded. All age groups and both sexes were included.  Results: Two hundred patients underwent appendicectomy, one hundred Laparoscopic appendicectomy (LA) and another hundred open appendicectomy (OA). The mean age of patients with acute appendicitis was 30.63±16.14 years with minimum of 6 years and maximum of 77 years. The highest number of patients were in age group of 10 to 20 years (29.5%). In LA group SSI noted in 3 patients (3%) whereas in OA group it was found in 12 patients (12%). Conclusion: Laparoscopic appendicectomy is better and offers great advantages in terms of SSI as compared to Open appendicectomy.

Introduction: The incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in Western population undergoing major orthopaedic surgery without any thromboprophylaxis has been reported to range from 32% to 88%. Recent studies done in Asian population however show variable results ranging from 5% to 50%. No study has yet been done to determine incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DV T) in Nepalese population. The objective of our study was to determine the incidence of DV T following hip fracture surgery. Methods: This was a prospective descriptive study of 66 patients of 40 years and above who had undergone hip fracture surgery admitted under the Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, TUTH, Kathmandu, Nepal. Following hip fracture surgery, screening for the evidence of DV T was done on 5th postoperative day with Doppler ultrasonography of bilateral lower limbs. Results: The incidence of deep vein thrombosis in our study was 8% (5 of 66 patients) in the fractured limb. Three of them were distal DV T and 2 were proximal. None of the patients developed DV T in the unaffected limb. Conclusion: The incidence of deep vein thrombosis following hip fracture surgery is less in Nepalese patients. Thrombo-prophylaxis can thus be individualized according to other risk factors rather than use routinely in patients with hip fracture.