This baseline study was conducted to find out the knowledge, attitudes and practices of medical ethics among the undergraduate medical interns who did not have structured ethics curriculum in their course. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out using a self-administered structured questionnaire among the medical undergraduate interns of Maharajgunj Medical Campus, the pioneer medical college of Nepal which enrols 60 students in a year. A total of 46 interns participated in the study. The most common source of knowledge on ethics was lectures/seminars (35.7%) followed by experience at work (24.5%), training (21.4%) and own reading (17.3%). The main contents of Hippocratic Oath were known to 98.8% while 60.9% knew the main contents of Nepal Medical Council (NMC) code of ethics. Great majority (91.3%) regard ethics as very important in medical profession. “Doctors know the best irrespective of patients’ opinion” was disagreed by only 39.1% indicating the paternalistic attitude. However, 78.3% were in favour of adhering to the patient’s wish. None of the participant agreed to abandon confidentiality. Only about one-fourth (26.1%) claim to encounter ethical dilemma every day while the highest number (43.5%) had once in a month. To deal with the situation of ethical dilemma, majority approached to immediate supervisor followed by head of the department and colleagues. Eighty-seven percent of participating interns were involved in research activities involving human subjects. Only one of the participants had encountered the ethical issue on end-of-life and it was do-not-resuscitate consent in a terminally ill patient. On implementation of the curriculum on medical ethics focus should be - principles of biomedical ethics, sensitive ethical dilemmas like end-of-life care and practical experiences with participation in deliberations of the ethics committee.

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the commonest form of diabetes affecting more than 90% of the diabetic population worldwide. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes and its complications are increasing in the world, including developing nations like Nepal. This study aimed to determine the association between the lifestyle risk factors and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Nepalese population. Methods: This is hospital based cross sectional observational study done in the urban area of Nepal. Records of clients coming for the general health checkup in Grande International Hospital were evaluated in this study. Comparisons of the lifestyle factors in participants having and not having type 2 diabetes mellitus were done. Results: Significant associations with diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 were seen in age (P ≤ 0.001), associated hypertension (P ≤ 0.001), dyslipidemia, family history of DM (P ≤ 0.001), alcohol use (P ≤ 0.001), and tobacco use (P ≤ 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the odds of having diabetes were high in age group above 40 (OR – 6.9, CI 3.82 – 12.47), history of hypertension (OR- 3.84, CI 2.42 – 6.08), tobacco users (OR-2.26, CI 1.12 – 4.53), alcohol users (OR-3.99, CI 2.47 – 6.44), family history of DM (OR-2.44, CI 1.53 – 3.89), and abdominal obesity in both males (OR-3.9, CI 2 – 7.4) and females (OR-9.6, CI 3.78 – 24.35). Conclusions: The modifiable risk factors - obesity, smoking and alcohol use carry significant risks of developing type 2 diabetes. These red flag signs call for urgent attention to look for and rectify the modifiable risk factors in Nepalese population to prevent diabetes.

Background: Severe sepsis and septic shock are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide and need immediate medical attention. Early recognition, fluid resuscitation and early antimicrobials are the mainstays of sepsis therapy. This study analyzed the management strategies of severe sepsis and septic shock and evaluated its impact.Methods: A prospective study was conducted on patients admitted through emergency department of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital of Nepal, who were diagnosed with severe sepsis and septic shock.Results: A total of 85 patients were diagnosed as severe sepsis and septic shock with 45 female patients and mean age 47.69 years ranging from 18 to 83 years. Pneumonia (45.9%) was found to be the major source of infection. The most commonly prescribed antibiotics and vassopressor at emergency department were ceftriaxone (24.7%) and norepinephrine (44.7%) respectively. The mean length of stay in Emergency department was 13.01 ± 7.03 h, while it was 11.27 ± 5.26 days in hospital. A total of 31 (36.5%) septic patients died. Deceased patients were found to have greater age, higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score and presence of co-morbid conditions.Conclusions: This study looked in-depth on management and outcome of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Mortality from severe sepsis and septic shock were high, but similar to other studies. Keywords:

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Introduction: Hyponatremia is one of the common electrolyte abnormalities in intensive care unit settings. Hyponatremia may lead to an increased hospital stay, morbidity and mortality. Hyponatremia can occur due to a variety of iatrogenic as well as part of complex disease processes during hospital admission. The objective of this study was to find the prevalence of hyponatremia in patients admitted to the intensive care unit of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the intensive care unit of a tertiary care centre for a duration of six months from 12 August 2015 to 11 January 2016. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 124/6-11-E/072/073). Data was collected from hospital records. Patients with abnormal serum sodium levels after admission to the intensive care unit were included in the study. Hyponatremia was defined as a serum sodium level less than 135 mEq/L. Convenience sampling methods were used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 102 patients, the prevalence of hyponatremia was found to be 21 (20.59%) (12.74-28.44, 95% Confidence Interval). Conclusions: The prevalence of hyponatremia in patients admitted to the intensive care unit was higher than in other studies conducted in similar settings.

Introduction: Non-traumatic headaches are a common presentation in emergency services. A non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) scan of the head is done when there is suspicion of intracranial abnormalities. Such intracranial abnormalities are indicated by "red flag" signs. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intracranial abnormalities in patients with non-traumatic headaches and its association with the red flag signs. Method: A total of 106 patients presenting with a non-traumatic headache to the emergency services of TUTH from Aug 2019 to Aug 2020, who underwent head CT were included in the study. The association of head CT positivity with the presence of red flag signs was studied by bivariate analysis using the chi-square test or Fisher exact test. Result: Among 106 patients, 46(43.4%) were male and the rest were female. The mean age of the patient was 43.69+17.46. All the patients who had positive findings in head CT had at least one red flag sign. Out of 16 red flag signs included in this study, 10 signs showed a significant association (p<0.05) with head CT positivity. These are sudden onset of headache, age of onset >50 years, significant change in pattern or severity of headache, “worst headache ever”, vomiting, neck stiffness, seizures, altered sensorium, papilledema, and focal neurological deficits. Conclusion: Red flag signs of headache are helpful to determine whether head CT is needed or not to look for significant intracranial abnormalities in a patient presenting with non-traumatic headache in an emergency.

Background: Minor surgical procedures are surgeries that can be performed in the clinic under local anesthesia and doesn’t require preoperative and postoperative admission. In most of the institutions in our country, we advised patients to follow up within 7 to 10 days following minor surgical procedures. Unnecessary follow up increases stress to the patients in terms of not being able to manage daily routine work and would be costly as well. As a General Practitioner, majority of the cases done are the minor surgical procedures. Methods: The study was a prospective cross sectional study conducted in General Surgery Department at United Mission Hospital, Palpa from Dec 2013 to May 2013. 228 patients were divided in two groups of “No follow up” group and “Follow-up” group. No Follow-up Group was asked pre-formed questionnaires by telephone where as Follow-up group were asked to follow up routinely on day 7 to 10 days of surgery and asked the same questions. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS program and Microsoft excel. P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. P-value was determined by using Chi Square test. Result: The overall wound infection among 228 patients was found to be 14.5 percent with infection rate of 16.4 percent in No Follow up group and 12.7 percent in Follow-up group. The infection rate was found to be higher among the older age group of patient maximum being 36.4% in the age group of 50-59 years with p value of 0.053. Other risk factors like age, sex, residence, duration of surgery, socio economic status, history of medical illness and BMI didn’t have significant association with rate of infection following minor surgical procedure. Conclusion: The routine postoperative follow up in minor surgery is unnecessary unless there are any signs suggestive of infection.