Online Journal of Health and Allied Sciences

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https://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/151077

Chief Editor: B. S. Kakkilaya
ISSN: 0972-5997

Frequency: Quarterly

Language: English

Open Access Peer-reviewed journal

Web site: https://www.ojhas.org/

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 112

Malignant Melanoma Infiltrating the Bone Marrow.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Khanna, R; Nayak, D; Vasudevan, G; Singh, VK.
Malignant melanoma with infiltration into the bone marrow is seldom reported in the literature, for they are exceedingly rare. The primary site is not always apparent and a sizeable number of cases have been attributed to an occult primary. Metastasis to bone marrow is a terminal event usually occurring in stage IV of the disease and can be a focus of residual tumor cells which can cause a relapse.The current documentation is of a case of melanoma occurring as a rectal primary with anemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukoerythroblastic reaction. The marrow aspirates and trephine biopsy showed round to spindle-shaped malignant cells with intracytoplasmic brown-black coarse pigment, suggestive of melanin. The patient was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma but was lost for follow-up. The recognition of such an entity is important for both pathologists and clinicians alike. This case is being reported for the novelty of such an occurrence.
Spectrum of Reactive Morphological Alterations in Leucocytes in HIV Patients.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Srivastav, S; Mardi, K; Prasad, V.
Background: The earliest hematological manifestation of HIV infection can occur at the time of primary infection. Several peripheral blood abnormalities are known in HIV. However, not many studies have reported morphological changes in white blood cells in antiviral naïve patients and even fewer have compared them with HIV seropositive patients. Material and methods: Peripheral blood smears from 100 patients were studied. 50 of them were newly diagnosed HIV seropositive cases and 50 were HIV seronegative. A peripheral blood smear was made to study morphology of various white blood cells A written informed consent was taken. Statistical analysis of the data obtained was done. Results: Morphological abnormalities in the lymphocytes had been the most significant finding, which included nuclear lobulation, nuclear convolution and plasmacytoid and monocytoid features. Neutrophils also showed various morphological abnormalities. Most common were hypogranulation, hypersegmented nuclei and cytoplasmic vacuolations in descending order of frequency. Monocytes also revealed few morphological abnormalities including nuclear irregularities and cytoplasmic vacuolations. Conclusion: The observations from this study will serve as a guide to clinicians as treatment of these patients should include supplements to monitor and improve these changes.
Challenges to Mental Wellbeing, Perceived Resources, and Felt Needs During COVID-19 Among College Youth in India.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Bhattacharya, A; Mehrotra, S; Bhola, P.
COVID-19 has significantly impacted the mental health and well-being of college youth across the world. An online survey using checklists and open-ended questions was shared across various institutions in India to capture information about challenges faced, internal and external resources utilized to deal with the stress, existing support systems and suggestions for additional support for maintaining well-being by college youth. Thematic analysis was conducted to understand the emergent themes. Findings suggested that the most challenging aspect of the pandemic was worry about academics, career, and health of loved ones. The most useful self-management strategies to deal with stress were pursuing hobbies, learning new things, spending time with family, sharing concerns and positive self-talks. The students suggested more robust academic as well as mental health support mechanisms at the university level. At the community level students highlighted the need for community based mental health programs and more support from families. This is one of the very first exploratory studies on the potential mental health impact of the pandemic on Indian university students.
Clinical and Etiopathological Correlation of Acute Infective Hepatitis and Fulminant Hepatic Failure in Pediatric Patients.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Choudhary, A; Avasarala, S; Agrawa,l R; Tanwar, GS; Poonia, R.
Introduction: In India, infectious Hepatitis is one of the major health care burdens, with viral hepatitis being the most common culprit, followed by dengue, typhoid, and malarial hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis manifests as a sudden abnormality in liver function enzymes in a child with no prior hepatic pathology. Aims and Objects: This study was aimed at identifying the various etiological factors and correlating clinical features of viral hepatitis, and fulminant liver failure. Materials and Methods: This observational study was conducted in the paediatrics in-patient department of S.P. Medical College & P.B.M. Associated Group of Hospitals, Bikaner (Rajasthan) over a period of one year. A total of 125 children with a clinical and lab-confirmed diagnosis of acute infective hepatitis were included. Data including clinical signs, symptoms, and laboratory parameters were obtained and analyzed. Results: Most commonly affected age group was between 5-10 years with the mean age being 7.1±4.6 years. The most common etiology was hepatitis A (n=39), followed by hepatitis E (n=24) and mixed hepatitis A virus (HAV)/hepatitis E virus (HAE) infection (n=20). Other causative organisms were dengue virus (n=16), typhoid (n=13), malaria (n=9), and hepatitis B. The most common clinical symptoms were fever, jaundice, loss of appetite, and vomiting/nausea. There were some clinical features seen more commonly in case of infection with certain organisms. High frequency of diarrhoea, arthralgia, and thrombocytopenia was seen with HAV. Neurological, renal complications and high mortality were associated with HEV or HAV/HEV co-infection. While retroorbital pain and purpuric rash were exclusive with dengue, malarial hepatitis was strongly associated with pallor and altered sensorium. Conclusion: Acute infective hepatitis is most commonly caused by HAV and HEV in Western Rajasthan. It is imperative to educate the masses regarding the prevention of common infections transmissible by infected drinking water, poor hand hygiene, improper waste disposal, and open defecation.
Gender Determination Using Morphological Analysis of Palatal Rugae Patterns – A Retrospective Study.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Premakumar, P; Azeez, M; Sivakumar, R; Deepa, MS; Siraj, SE.
Background: Palatal rugae are unique for an individual and remain unchanged during individual's lifetime. Application of palatal rugae analysis as a method in gender identification needs to be confirmed with more scientific studies. The objectives of the present study were to assess the distribution of the palatal rugae patterns in Kerala population and compare the distribution of these parameters between males and females. Materials & Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted by evaluating the casts of 100 dentate individuals, between the age of 18 and 30 years. The rugae were divided into two halves and patterns were then assessed as per Thomas and Kotze classification. Independent sample t-test was used to assess the significant difference of each type of palatal rugae between males and females. Results: Wavy rugae (mean – 5.6 ± 0.7) was predominant among males whereas curved (mean – 4.6 ± 0.6) and circular rugae (mean – 0.9 ± 0.3) were more in females, and were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). The mean number of secondary rugae in females (1.5 ± 0.5) was greater than that of males (1.3 ± 0.4), and was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). The diverging type was commonly found in females compared to males. Conclusion: Our findings showed statistically significant differences in the shapes and patterns of rugae between males and females among Kerala population. Thus, morphological analysis of palatal rugae can be considered as an additional aid in forensic odontology for gender differentiation.
Prognostic Significance of Lymphatic Vessel Density by D2-40 Immune Marker and Mast Cell Density in Invasive Breast Cancer: A Cross Sectional Study at Tertiary Care Hospital in South India.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Dhanlakshmi, B; Amita, K; Prashantha, K.
Background: Tumour induced lymphangiogenesis plays a crucial role in metastasis and tumour progression. The intratumoural and peritumoral lymphatics are supposed to have different biological effects. The aim of present study was to investigate the correlation of intratumoral lymphatic vessel density (I LVD), peritumoral lymphatic vessel density (P LVD), intratumoral mast cell density (I MCD) and peritumoral mast cell density (P MCD) with prognostic parameters in primary breast carcinoma. Methods: Lymphangiogenesis was detected using D2-40 monoclonal antibody and mast cell by using toludine blue stain in 50 cases of primary breast carcinoma. Positively stained lymphatic vessels were counted at 40 x in dense lymphatic vascular foci (hot-spot) within the tumour. Chi square, ANOVA test and Pearsons correlation was applied to determine the relationship amongst various variables, with statistical significance set at p <0.05. Results: Mean P LVD was significantly higher than I LVD (6.25±21 vs 2.75±2.27,p <0.005). Significant correlation was noted between I LVD and P LVD and age, tumour laterality, tumour size and overall staging. However, there was no correlation between I LVD and P LVD with other important clinicopathologic prognostic markers like grade, lymphnode status and lymphovascular invasion. MCD was higher in both intratumoral and peritumoral location as compared to normal tissue. There was an association noted between P MCD with pathological staging and perineural invasion. However, there was no significant association of I MCD and P MCD with other prognostic markers like grade and lymphnode status. No significant correlation was noted between I LVD, P LVD, I MCD and P MCD. Conclusion: The evidences from our study support the utility of D2-40 stain in determining the lymphatic density in IBC. The study findings also establish the existence of lymphangiogenesis in both intratumoral and peritumoral location. For now, the data presented herein do not permit us to promote the utility of LVD and MCD as predictors of prognosis in invasive breast carcinoma.
Association of Socio-economic Factors with Fertility and Mortality among Lepchas of North Sikkim, India.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Lepcha, M; Mondal, N.
Background: Fertility is the physiological ability to have children or to produce offspring whereas; mortality means death of any member of the population. In demographic study which is basically the study of any population, fertility rate and mortality rate are considered to be important determinants alongside migration which is the settlement pattern of people from one place of origin to another. Objectives: The objective of the present cross-sectional investigation is to analyze the association of socio- economic factors with fertility and mortality among the Lepcha tribal population of North Sikkim, India. Methods: For the present investigation, data was collected from 110 married women aged 18- 60 years from different villages of Dzongu, North Sikkim. Data on fertility and mortality information were obtained from each married woman along with their spouses. Results: The mean age at marriage and age at first child birth were observed to be higher and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Live births and surviving children with respect to education of women is statistically significant, with values for live births (F= 5.088, p<0.01) and surviving children (F=4.040, p<0.05). The number of mothers with infant mortality was observed to be higher in the low-income group (1.29±0.18). Results indicated that 81% from the low-income group have not opted for family planning, but 44.4 % have reported the use of contraceptive methods. Conclusion: The study indicates that socio-economic, socio-cultural and biological factors have an impact on fertility and mortality and has led to its decrease among the Lepcha tribal population of North Sikkim.
Malnutrition among Under Five Children in Peri-Tribal areas: A study on Prevalence and Factors associated in Vadodara District of Gujarat State in India.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Waghela, D; Nagar, S; Ravi, RP.
Background: Malnutrition among under-five children is a foremost public health problem across India. United Nation estimates that 6.3 million under age-five mortality were occurred in India, of which 45% died due to malnutrition. The objective of the study was to find out the prevalence and factor associated with malnutrition in term of underweight, stunning, and wasting in children under five years of age in peri-tribal areas. Methods: Cross sectional study was conducted at the Anganwadi centres in 6 villages under the Rural Health Training Centre. Out of nine Anganwadi centres, five were selected using systematic random sampling method. Total of 370 children aged below five years were selected. Results: Among the 370 children aged 0-5 years, (29.1%) children were normally nourished, (70.79%) children were malnourished and had one or more form of malnutrition. Only stunting was present in (19.5%) children and only wasting was present in (8.9%) children. Children (5.94%) was suffering from underweight and stunting both. Stunting and wasting both was present in (22.16%) children and wasting and underweight both was present in (10.5%) children. respectively, (1%) Children were suffering from underweight, stunting and wasting. All three indices (Underweight, Stunting & Wasting) of under nutrition were found to be higher in low-birth-weight children. Conclusion: Mother's educational qualification is strongly associated with nutritional status of their children. This might be due to better health care practices in terms of proper exclusive breast feeding, in-time complementary feeding and quality and quantity of complementary feeding among literate mothers as compared to illiterate mothers.
Quantifying Maxillofacial Traumatic Injury for Holistic Management.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Gupta, S; Patheja, S; Bansal, RN.
Introduction: The maxillofacial region serves many essential functions of human body. Maxillofacial traumatic injury (MFTI) or sometimes called as facial trauma is the injury to the face, jaws and related structures such as head. Hard tissue / soft tissue injury may range from simple nasal bone fracture to gross facial comminution. The complex maxillofacial trauma has the potential to cause facial disfigurement and difficulty in jaw movement. This study focused on relationship between existing scoring systems as the clinical assessment for MFTI, as a tool for predicting prognosis, morbidity, social and psychological impact. Materials and Method: Data collection included demographics, etiology, MFTI clinical parameters, treatment and psychosocial loss. Data was obtained from the medical records, patient interview at each hospital visit and telephonic interviews as required. A predefined question was prepared containing closed and open ended questions and published scales. Results and conclusion: Mandibular fractures were observed in 69% MFTI cases of which 50% were mandibular only fractures. Need for holistic treatment and management approach was observed. Existing widely used FISS score was found to be predictor for few of the parameters only. Other factors required for holistic treatment approach and planning not predictable by FISS score have also been identified.
Effect of Household Cooking Fuel and Breastfeeding on Infant Growth: Findings from the National Family Health Survey-4, India.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-03) Dharmaraj, A; Chinnaiyan, S; Ghimire, A; Barik, RK; Tiwari, AK.
Objective: Malnutrition is a critical public health concern in India. We aimed to understand the prevalence of stunting and its association between cooking fuel type and breastfeeding among Indian infants (? 6 months of age). Methods: This study used information from a National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS) conducted between 2015 and 2016. From all eligible infants, information on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics was obtained. Univariate and multivariable binary logistic regression was performed to examine the factors associated with stunted children. Results: Of the 15,120 infants, the median (Inter Quartile Range) age was 4 (2-5) months with a female/male ratio of 1:1.06. The prevalence of polluting fuel use and stunting was 68.10% and 20.13% respectively. Stunting among polluting fuel and clean fuel was 22.17% and 15.78%. Stunting among exclusive breastfed and not exclusive breastfed was 20.62% and 19.53%. In adjusted analysis, households using clean fuel (Adjusted Odds Ratio 0.75; 95% Confidence Interval, 0.66-0.86) had lower odds of infants being stunted compared to polluting fuel. A infant currently being breastfed (aOR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.62-0.93) had lower odds of being stunted than infants currently not being breastfed. Conclusion: The present study indicates that polluting cooking fuel and not being breastfed was associated with an increased risk of infant being stunted. A community-based randomized control trial was required to study child and maternal health risks on polluting cooking fuel. Furthermore, the study highlights the urgent need to raise awareness on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding practices.
Retrospective Study on the Radiographic Wrist Indices in a Nigerian Population.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Ominde, BS; Enakpoya, P; Ogheneyoma, E; Igbigbi, PS.
Background: Evaluation of the degree of carpal collapse using radiographic wrist indices is important in the management of wrist diseases. These indices vary in different population groups, hence, the need for population-specific normal references. This study aimed at assessing the carpal height ratio using wrist radiographs of adult Nigerian patients.Materials and Methods: This retrospective study assessed wrist radiographs stored in the Radiology department of Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, Nigeria, following institutional approval. Apparently normal unpaired wrist radiographs of 135 adults (54 males and 81 females) were used to assess the 3rd metacarpal length, carpal height and capitate length which were used to calculate the carpal height ratio (CHR) and revised carpal height ratio (CHRr). Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used to analyze these quantitative variables. Independent t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to probe for differences in gender groups and 10 years' age-groups respectively. Significance was considered at p<0.05. Results: The mean carpal height, capitate length and length of the 3rd metacarpal was 31.77 mm, 23.34 mm and 67.34 mm respectively. The mean CHR and CHRr was 0.47±0.04 and 1.36±0.07 correspondingly. All variables except CHRr were significantly larger in males than in females (p<0.05). All the parameters had no significant association with the age-groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: The CHR and CHRr in this study were lower than reports from other population groups. This study provides a reference database for our studied population to aid in accurate diagnosis and effective management of carpal collapse.
Assessment of Vaccination Status Among Pediatrics in a Tertiary Care Setting.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Narayan, N; Satish, KS; Subeesh, V; Swaroop, AM; Praveen, GVS
Purpose: Vaccination is one of the best cost-effective methods for preventing childhood morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to identify children with missed and delayed vaccinations along with factors associated with incomplete vaccinations. Methodology: A prospective observational study was conducted for 7 months. Relevant data was collected through a face-to-face interview and immunization status was evaluated based on their vaccination card which was compared against UIP. Result: Out of 347 subjects, 93.94% of them were completely immunized and majority of the missed vaccines were measles 1st dose (58.82%), Japanese Encephalitis vaccine 1st dose (29.41%). Lack of access to health care, less contact of adolescents to physicians, missed opportunities for vaccination, resistance towards immunization and poor birth weight were the reasons identified for incomplete vaccination. Conclusion: Immunization is one of the biggest health accomplishments saving millions of lives. Our study concluded that most of the participants were completely immunized indicating a positive attitude towards immunization. However, further exploration is required to assess and improve the vaccination coverage among rural population.
Evaluation of Causes and Rate of Wastage of Blood and its Components – An Important Quality Indicator in Blood Banks.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Jairajpuri, ZS; Sehgal, S; Khetrapal, S; Jetley, S; Rana, S.
Background: The evaluation of wastage of blood products represents an important element in the appropriate use of blood components, a critical control point in the system of blood administration. Discarding or wastage of blood can be attributed to several reasons namely time expiry, wasted import, non-usage of ordered blood, broken bags and seal with leakage, hemolytic reasons, clotted blood, returned after 30 min, and miscellaneous others.Wasting of blood and blood components are an inefficient use of resources and may be avoided. The present study was undertaken with aim of primarily to determine the frequency of blood products wasting and secondarily to determine the factors that affect blood products wastage at our institute. Methods: The present study is a retrospective cross sectional descriptive study conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital located in South Delhi catering to low socioeconomic population. Blood component wastage was defined as components that did not meet the required standards of hospitals or fractionation centres during collection, processing and storage. The main reasons included expiry date, inappropriate volume, haemolysis of red blood cells (RBCs), contamination of plasma or platelets with RBCs, blood bag leakage, reactive infectious disease tests and inappropriate temperature during storage or transportation. The required data from clinical units and blood bank were collected and analyzed for a period of 7 years. Results: A total of 13728 blood units were received during the specified period. Overall wasted factor was of 18.5% with maximum wastage of platelet concentrate units (53.7%). Analyzing the causes of blood and blood product wastage in the hospital for this study showed that blood and blood product wastage were associated with many causes of which the common causes, included the expiration of the usability period (69.2%), sero-reactivity for infectious diseases (13.7%) and Quality Control units (9.2%). Conclusion: Blood is an irreplaceable precious resource which needs to be properly utilized with minimal wastage. Although present study was limited due to its retrospective nature but it still outlines the importance to emphasize that measures should be taken into account for formulating guidelines, effective policies, and training efforts for personnel.
Addressing the Social Determinants of Childhood Malnutrition: A Review.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Mhamane, S; Ramanathan, V.
Social determinants of malnutrition play a significant role in dictating the course of malnutrition outcomes in any population. Sustained efforts to optimize these determinants are indispensable to sustainable changes in the status of nutrition of the affected population. Despite the efforts undertaken, such a high prevalence of child malnutrition in India defies logic. Multiple causes of child mortality exist. Malnutrition accounts for 69% of these under-five deaths in India losing up to US$3.5 trillion loss per year, globally. Understanding the social determinants of malnutrition and its impact on child health is crucial to formulate sound and equity-based policies and interventions yielding fruitful outcomes. The situation has further worsened due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The paper emphasizes gaining cognizance of the grim and longstanding issues of malnutrition, its social determinants, and existing interventions to curb the issue.
A Rare Variation in the Course of C5 Root of Brachial Plexus.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Nayak, SB; Soumya, KV.
Variations in the formation of the upper trunk of the brachial plexus are relatively rare. Knowledge of its possible variation is useful to orthopedic surgeons dealing with the problems of cervical spine, anesthesiologists performing brachial plexus blocks and general surgeons performing lower neck surgeries. In this report, we present a variation in the formation of the upper trunk of the brachial plexus. The upper trunk was formed by the union of ventral rami of fifth and sixth cervical spinal nerves. The fifth cervical ventral ramus passed ventral to the scalanus anterior muscle, while the sixth cervical ventral ramus passed between the scalanus anterior and medius muscles. The upper trunk was formed at the lateral border of the scalenus anterior muscle.
Autism Spectrum Disorder Categories and Social Responsiveness among Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Roy, A; Jahan, F.
Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder usually have problems with social responsiveness which in turns effects their social communication and results in confined repetitive pattern of behaviour and interests. However the existing literature is limited in demonstrating the importance of social responsiveness and its impact on gender and ASD categories. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of ASD categories on social responsiveness in adults with ASD and investigate social responsiveness among male and female adults with ASD. Methodology: The study utilized data from 60 adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder with categories mainly, mild, moderate and high functioning. Adults of both genders (male and female) participated in this study with Social Responsiveness (SR) as a variable over 7 months from October 2021 to February 2022, using the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2 Adult Relative/Other online form). Results and Conclusion: One-way ANOVA test showed significant difference (p<0.001, df=2) between ASD categories. Tukey's Post Hoc Analysis revealed significant (p<0.001) difference between ASD categories from each other. Gender had no significant impact on ASD, and the severity of ASD varies between groups. Thus, this study fills a large knowledge gap on the influence of gender, categories and social responsiveness on adults with ASD.
A School-based Health Awareness Program MISSION SHAKTTI, with an Assessment of Health Literacy Among School Children of Delhi: A Qualitative Study.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Malik, D; Gupta, ED; Kant, R; Juneja, NS.
Background: Worldwide, more than 1.2 billion population is adolescents. Nutrition, physical activity, psychological health, and sanitations are few areas that affect adolescents, making them more vulnerable to diseases and contributing in disease burden. The present study was part of the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) school based health program Mission SHAKTTI which focused, and reported on adolescents’ awareness and health literacy about nutrition, physical activity, and sanitation in Delhi. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted with students (aged 11-19 years), and the Mission SHAKTTI program was devised using the pillars of Gandhi’s teachings for good health. Data were collected using a pre-tested open ended questionnaire (n=1796). For data analysis, deductive approach was adopted, and thematic content analysis was done with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The study showed that students were somewhat aware of various health-related issues pertaining to Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology of health, with 49.5% (CI: 46.72-51.39) reported that Gandhiji’s mantra for staying healthy was simply a clean environment and proper sanitation. A gap between their understanding and perceptions of a balanced diet was observed, since many felt that merely eating enough food could labelled as balanced diet (36.46%; CI: 34.24-38.74). Conclusions: Findings may be useful in developing a suitable health-based educational program to inculcate knowledge about healthy practices among school-aged children through Gandhian health ideology. This may also help in forging a stronger and more aware foundation of nation leading to prevention of numerous diseases in the near future.
Epidemiological Study of Deaths due to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Referred to Forensic Medicine in Mazandaran, Iran.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Ghasempouri, SK; Turi, H; Hosseininejad, SM; Abbasi, A; Khosravi, N; Memarian, A.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is the leading cause of death as a result of poisoning. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology and prevalence of CO poisoning in Mazandaran province from 2016 to 2018. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical and retrospective study on the information obtained from the files of the deceased individuals who died because of CO poisoning in the forensic medicine department of Mazandaran province during the years 2016 to 2018. Results: In this study, 83 deaths due to CO poisoning were recorded. 32.5% of these people were over 50 years old, 81.9% of them were men, and 61.4% of them were married. The level of education in 92.8% of them was reported to be less than a bachelor's degree and the bedroom (66.3%) was the main place of poisoning. 56.6% of these poisonings were due to city gas poisoning and 56.6% of deaths were reported as groups death. The bruises color was rosette in 53% of the deaths. The Carboxyhemoglobin levels in most of them were +2 (63.9%) and most deaths occurred in January (19.3%). The age group, source of CO, place of poisoning, carboxyhemoglobin level, education level, and the month of poisoning was significantly different among these three years. Conclusion: CO poisoning is still a substantial public health issue. City gas is defined as the main source of CO poisoning. Low educational level was related to CO deaths. Raising the awareness of the people can reduce the number of Co poisoning cases in the Mazandaran.
Evaluation of Abnormal Hemoglobin Variants and Hemoglobinopathies on D-10 analyzer – An Institutional Experience from North India.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Sehgal, S; Khan, S; Jetley, S; Alvi, Y.
Background: High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is the most commonly used method for detection and quantitative estimation of hemoglobin variants. Hemoglobinopathies are amongst the most common genetically inherited disorders, however, the exact magnitude of different hemoglobinopathies is obscure in India. This study was done with the aim of analyzing the different findings in HPLC using D-10 analyzer and evaluating the spectrum of different hemoglobin disorders in a hospital-based population of South Delhi. Such a prevalence study would be useful to review the various strategies that can be implemented for effective control and prevention of these disorders. Methods: A hospital based descriptive observational study was conducted in which all OPD and IPD patients who were advised HPLC during their clinical workup were included. Analysis of EDTA blood samples was done by Bio Rad D10 Dual program HPLC instrument. The exact percentage of HbA, HbA2, HbF and any other variant hemoglobin was estimated. Presumptive identification of hemoglobin variants was made primarily by their percentage, retention time (RT) and peak characteristics. HPLC findings were correlated with the clinical history, family history and the CBC and peripheral smear findings in all cases. Results: On HPLC analysis, 79% of the patients had no abnormality detected and the report was within normal limits. The commonest hemoglobinopathy was Beta Thalassemia Trait followed by HbE trait. The other hemoglobinopathies detected were HbD Punjab Heterozygous (3 cases, 0.5%), Beta thalassemia homozygous (3 cases, 0.5%), Sickle cell Heterozygous (2 cases, 0.3%), HbJ Meerut Heterozygous (2 cases, 0.3%). One case each of Sickle cell Homozygous (0.15%), Compound Heterozygous HbS/beta thalassemia trait (0.15%), HbE Homozygous (0.15%), Compound Heterozygous HbE/beta thalassemia trait (0.15%), and Homozygous delta beta thalassemia (0.15%) were also diagnosed. Conclusion: This study gives an important insight to the present day scenario of hemoglobinopathies in patients in South Delhi in relation to the hematological profile. It highlights the chromatogram findings of different hemoglobinopathies on the D10 analyzer. The comprehensive data obtained by such series can help in the formulation and development of infrastructure and policies for hemoglobinopathy prevention, diagnosis and management.
Barriers and Enablers of Professional Help-Seeking for Common Mental Health Concerns: Perspectives of Distressed Non-Treatment Seeking Young Adults.
(Light House Polyclinic, 2022-06) Sanghvi, PB; Mehrotra, S; Sharma, MK.
Despite a high prevalence of common mental health concerns, especially among young adults, majority of them do not seek professional help. This study explored perceived barriers and enablers of professional help-seeking for common mental health concerns among distressed non-treatment seeking young adults in the urban Indian context. The study utilized an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. A brief survey was conducted with distressed non-treatment seeking young adults (N=37) to assess their current distress level, duration, perceived severity, effect on functioning, self-help methods, past treatment history, inclination to seek help and barriers to professional help-seeking. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of 10 participants to explore their perceived barriers and potential enablers of professional help-seeking. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and interviews using thematic analysis. The survey revealed significant distress for 75.7% (N=28) of the total sample. Out of these, 25% were either not inclined or had practical constraints to seek help. The mean score for inclination to seek help was highest for partner/friend (4.7). Qualitative findings have been discussed under personal and general barriers and enablers. This is the first study to highlight the complex interplay of barriers and enablers of professional help-seeking among distressed non-treatment seeking young adults in the urban Indian context. There is an urgent need to incorporate the factors that hinder and facilitate professional help-seeking while devising help-seeking interventions to reduce the treatment gap.

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