Objective:The associated risk factors for the majority of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are tobacco and betel nut abuse, while there also seems to be a rising proportion of patients who report no history of tobacco or betel nut usage. Therefore, objective of the study was to find out potential risk factors and demographics of HNSCC patients addicted to tobacco and/or betel nut, as well as non-addicted patients.Methods:This epidemiological study was conducted in Karachi Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE), University of Karachi, and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) from January to December 2016. All subjects were participants in an epidemiological study of HNSCC. Demographics and clinical characteristics were obtained for 185 addicted and 26 non-addicted patients.Results:Non-addicted patients were more likely to be females (χ2=19.0, p<0.001) and were significantly younger than addicted patients (χ2=21.0, p<0.001). Addicted patients more likely belonged to a lower income group (χ2=14.4, p=0.006) and had a higher proportion of oral cancers (χ2=30.0, p<0.001). Almost all addicted females had oral cancers (97%), whereas more than half of the non-addicted females had oral cancers (53%).Conclusions:Addicted patients commonly have oral cavity cancers. This might be due to the habit of chewing tobacco and/or betel nut that addicted patients have. Non-addicted patients are commonly young females. It is likely that no single known factor is responsible for HNSCC in non-addicted patients, and several occupational exposure studies in future may be important to the etiology of non-addicted patients.
Background: Research is an integral part of the academic curriculum; its role must be appreciated in all health and medical field. The current study was planned in order to evaluate the interest of dental students towards research and their awareness. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC) and Liaquat college of Medicine & Dentistry, Darul Sehat Hospital (LCMD) from June to December 2018. A total of 200 bachelors of dental surgery (BDS) students were recruited as per the inclusion criteria. Nonconsenting students were excluded from the study. Data regarding research understanding and awareness was collected and analyzed using SPSS Version 17.0. Results: Majority of the study participants were female 89% and males 11%, females were in high proportion among all professional years. i.e. 27%, 21%, 25.5% & 15.5% from 1st year to 4th year respectively. Mostly the 2nd & 3rd year students were aware of the research needs 97.7% and 100%. The research interest was most among the students of the initial years while among 4th years students it was comparatively less i.e. 78.3%. All of the students from 1st year to 3rd responded in favour of research usefulness in career while only 67.5% of the final year students were lacking this basic knowledge. Moreover, the benefits of research were well known among students of all years with the highest understanding among the 2nd and 3rd year (97.7% and 94.4%). Conclusion: It is evident from the study results that the enrolled dental students were aware of research significance, its professional importance and showed positivity towards research interest. The inclusion and implementation of research among dental students is essential for promoting research culture in medical students.
Aim: To assess the necessity to review the Oral pathology curriculum, based on the expert opinion of faculty members of oral pathology of Karachi. Methods: In this cross-sectional study the data was collected by non-probability sampling technique from different colleges of Karachi. Distribution of the online questionnaire regarding curriculum of oral pathology was made through Google online forms. Questionnaire was only filled by oral pathology specialists/ experts/faculty of dental colleges of different cities after taking their verbal consent. Inclusion criteria was Oral pathology faculty members from all Pakistan Medical Council affiliated colleges having undergraduate BDS program. Results: Males were 22(66.7%). Among the respondents, 40.62% were Assistant Professor, followed by Demonstrator 31.25% and Associate professor 28.12%. Among participants, approximately 13(39.4%) agreed that the PMC syllabus is non-specific. Topic selection is difficult for 12(36.4%) participants. About 21(63.6%) thought that an extensive Oral Pathology syllabus is needed. Reviews for the inclusion of general pathology topics scored 14(42.4%) disagreement. About 11(33.3%) reported having missing Oral Pathology topics in the curriculum. Majority 18(54.5%) agreed to revise the curriculum. Conclusion: It has been concluded that faculty members of oral pathology recommend a high necessity to review the Oral pathology curriculum in Pakistan. By gathering modifications within the existing program of curriculum, it can be made more intriguing and systematized for students. Keywords: Oral pathology, curriculum, cross-sectional, study
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.