bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of dental fear on the dental attendance behaviors: A retrospective study
Authors: Alenezi Ali A , Aldokhayel Hamad S. 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Objective:
The aim is to investigate the causes of dental fear and its impact on dental attendance behaviors.

Materials and Methods:
A short questionnaire was distributed to participants at different dental clinics and by emails to evaluate their perceptions of dental fear. The questionnaire contained questions related to gender and age group. The remaining part of the questionnaire investigated the causes of dental fear and its impact on dental visits.

Results:
A total of 2264 participants aged 18 years and above agreed to complete the questionnaire. There were 1177 (52%) male participants and 1095 (48%) female participants. There was a response rate of approximately 60%. Drilling tooth devices and their sounds was the option that caused the highest dental fear among the participants who had it (n = 248; 37.7%). Pain was the second most frequently chosen option to cause dental fear (n = 165; 25%). Around 70% (n = 1257) of the participants who had dental fear overcame their fear and decided to seek treatment when they experienced annoying pain. At the same time, 18% (n = 323) of them sought the treatment when they experienced slight pain and 10% (n = 180) sought the treatment once they noticed a large carious lesion.

Conclusion:
People from both genders responded similarly to dental fear, and age was not found to be a significant factor in individuals’ reactions to dental treatment. The sounds of teeth-drilling devices and related sounds may be responsible for the dental fear, as reported by many people. People with dental fear are more likely to avoid regular dental visits.
Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among patients with dyspepsia and other gastrointestinal diseases in King Abdulaziz Specialized Hospital in Taif
Authors: Oraijah Abrar A. , Shaqhan Mohammed H. , Alhebshi Fatimah A. , Alsuwat Rawan W. , Algethami Abdullah H. , Alsofyani Afnan H. , Ozayzan Angham , Altowairqi Sameer A. , Alqurashi Hesham H. 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Introduction:
To estimate the prevalence of H. pylori in patients with dyspepsia as well as the prevalence of cancerous and precancerous nonmalignant lesions in patients with H. pylori.

Methods:
A retrospective cohort study has been conducted at King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital (KAASH), Ministry of Health (MOH) in Taif city in the Western province of Saudi Arabia among patients who underwent endoscopy between July 2019 and July 2021. Data were collected from the endoscopy log book and consisted of four sections; demographic data (age and gender), presenting symptoms and indications of endoscopy, endoscopic findings, and histopathological findings in endoscopic biopsies.

Results:
The study included 680 patients. Their age ranged between 12 and 97 years with an arithmetic mean of 40.9 years and a standard deviation of 16.4 years. The prevalence of dyspepsia was 45.9% while that of H. pylori was 32.5%. The prevalence of H. pylori among patients with dyspepsia was 30.1% compared with 34.5% among those without dyspepsia, P > 0.05. The prevalence rates of H. pylori among male and female patients were 32.3% and 32.7%, respectively, P > 0.05. The prevalence rate of H. pylori was highest among patients aged between 41 and 60 years (38.7%) and lowest among those aged over 60 years (19.5%), P = 0.005. Active chronic gastritis was reported among almost two-thirds (65.6%) of patients with H. pylori compared with only 9.8% of those without H. pylori, P < 0.001.

Conclusion:
The H. pylori was a common health problem among patients suffering from dyspepsia, however, its prevalence was relatively lower than other rates reported from other developing countries.
Clinical features and haematological parameters associated with COVID-19 severity among hospitalized patients: A retrospective observational study from Tribal Central India
Authors: Kabirpanthi Vikrant , Gupta Vikas , Singh Ajit 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Background:
Reports describing demographics, clinical characteristics, hospital course, morbidity, and mortality in patients in the Indian setting have been published, but they are based on limited numbers of cases. The present study among the patients with known outcomes enabled us to better understand the disease process and progression of COVID-19 cases and to correlate the factors affecting the outcome.

Methods:
This was a record-based, retrospective observational study of patients admitted to COVID-19 Hospital. We have retrieved medical records for all the hospitalized patients with a laboratory confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis with a known outcome (discharged or died) between April 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. The extracted data included basic demographics, signs and symptoms, duration of hospitalization, and laboratory parameters. Categorical variables were analysed using either the chisquare test or Fisher’s exact test. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05.

Results:
The mean age of severe and moderate patients was 38.71 years, compared to 34.95 years for mild patients. No gender difference was observed for the severe/moderate, and mild cases. The mortality rate among severe/moderate cases was 11.6%, whereas it was 3.9% in mild patients. Laboratory parameters which were significantly (p < 0.05) raised among the dead compared to discharged patients included CT score, D-dimer, CRP, ALT, AST, and alkaline phosphatase.

Conclusion:
Clinical and laboratory characteristics reflect the pathophysiology of disease and thus help clinicians recognise the severity of medical illness. They also facilitate the creation of management protocols for clinical care that results in improvement in patient related outcomes.
Are we expecting too much for too long from the vaccinators? A qualitative study on perceived challenges of COVID-19 vaccinators of district Shahdol, India
Authors: Singh Akash Ranjan , Kabirpanthi Vikrant , Sonare Anshuman , Chavan Pragati V. , Ashraf Mohd. , Shewade Hemant D. 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Background:
There is a paucity of knowledge regarding challenges faced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinators in resource constraint settings like district Shahdol, Central India. Hence, the present study was planned to explore the perceived challenges of vaccinators regarding COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods:
In October 2021, district health authorities conducted a one-day workshop with the auxiliary nurse midwives, staff nurses, and lady health visitors who work as vaccinators. It had three distinct but mutually connected phases. In the first phase, a free listing exercise was performed to list out their perceived challenges that are prominent and representative of their cultural domain. In the second phase, the pile-sorting exercise with the challenges mentioned in the above step was performed to produce similar data in the form of a matrix, based on a perceived similarity between them by multi-dimensional scaling analysis. In the final phase, the transcripts generated during the discussion on the free listing and pile sorting exercises was used for the thematic analysis to find plausible explanations for the findings.

Result:
A total of 15 vaccinators took part in the workshop. In the free listing exercise, a total of 14 items were identified as perceived challenges for COVID-19 vaccinators. The three items with the highest Smith’s S value were overtime duty, no holidays, and lack of monetary incentive. The analysis of pile-sorting suggested that participants clustered their 14 perceived challenges into five groups; 1) beneficiaries related, 2) vaccination schedule related, 3) lack of facilities at vaccination site, 4) lack of monetary incentive, and 5) issues related to digital data handling. Thematic analysis suggested that their main challenges were overtime duty, no monetary incentive, and lack of toilet, food, and transport facility at the session site.

Conclusion:
Vaccinators perceive overtime duty and lack of holidays as their top two challenges and expect monetary incentives for this. The study recommends better basic amenities like toilet facility, sustained and effective community engagement, a monetary incentive, and a better ecosystem for digital data handling for the vaccinators.
Effectiveness of Semmes Weinstein 10 gm monofilament in diabetic peripheral neuropathy taking nerve conduction and autonomic function study as reference tests
Authors: Dube Suchitra , Hulke Sandip M. , Wakode Santosh L. , Khadanga Sagar , Thakare Avinash E. , Bharshankar Rajay N. , Pakhare Abhijit 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Context:
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) if detected early can reduce the burden on the health system and prevent the development of diabetic foot ulcers and amputation.

Aim:
To study the effectiveness of Semmes Weinstein 10 gm monofilament in detecting DPN taking nerve conduction studies (NCS) and autonomic function testing (AFT) as reference tests.

Settings and Design:
Observational and comparative cross-sectional study conducted in the Physiology department AIIMS, Bhopal in collaboration with the Medicine department of the institute.

Methods and Material:
A total of 72 diagnosed type-2 diabetes mellitus patients were examined using Semmes Weinstein 10 gm monofilament, DPN was confirmed using NCS (Nihon Kohden Neuropack XI machine) and autonomic neuropathy was confirmed using AFT (Ewing’s battery and Power lab) with heart rate variability (HRV). Diagnostic value of Semmes Weinstein 10 gm monofilament taking NCS and AFT as reference test was calculated.

Statistical Analysis Used:
Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated using the standard formula.

Results:
Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV using monofilament are 69.23%, 20%, 69.23% and 20% respectively taking NCS as reference test and 70.59%, 0, 92.30%, and 0 respectively taking AFT as reference test.

Conclusions:
Semmes Weinstein 10 gm monofilament is not the ideal screening test for the diagnosis of DPN. Sole clinical use of monofilament should be discouraged.
Awareness and preparedness of first responders regarding chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) disaster management of a tertiary medical institute in South India: A mixed methods study
Authors: Suryawanshi Deodatt M. , Surekha A , Divya R , Gunasekaran Kalaipriya , Malini Indhu 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Background:
In case of a CBRNE catastrophe, junior doctors (first responders) will be the first to respond to the CBRNE disaster, so they should be fully equipped with the knowledge and skills of managing CBRNE casualties and preventing the endangerment of lives.

Objectives:
To assess the awareness and preparedness of first responders in medical institutions regarding CBRNE casualties’ management and to explore the perceptions of first responders towards CBRNE disaster management.

Materials and Methods:
The present study was a mixed methods study which was conducted during the months of January to March 2020 among 153 study participants. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted along with free listing and pile sorting till data saturation. Data entry was done in an Excel sheet and data analysis was be done using SPSS software v. 21.

Results:
Out of the 153 participants only 37 participants (24.1%) had ever heard about the term “CBRNE” (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear disasters) or “hazmat” (hazardous material). At the end of FGDs, participants could answer affirmatively that they had heard the term “decontamination” of CBRNE casualties. Very few participants could ambiguously explain the meaning of the term “decontamination” in the context of CBRNE casualty.

Conclusion:
There is an imperative need for enhancing not only knowledge and awareness, but also proper training for first responders to utilizing simulation sessions. This is particularly important as health care professionals are the first line of defence when it comes to identifying and treating patients that have come into contact with CBRNE hazards.
Screening for mental illness using GMHAT App of patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus at a teaching institute hospital in India – A cross sectional study
Authors: Majgi Sumanth M. , Mal Nihar Mal , Krishna Murali , Suresh Harshini , Ebuenyi Ikenna D. , Jones Steven 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

People with diabetes will have some coexisting mental illness most of the time and its evaluation and management are essential for the well-being of the person. With this background, the Global Mental Health Assessment Tool (GMHAT) app was used to screen for mental illness among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending a tertiary care hospital in Mysore, India.

Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 patients who were on treatment for type 2 diabetes for at least 6 months from the Out-Patient Department of KR Hospital, Mysore. Interviews were conducted using a structured GMHAT. Data were entered in MS Excel and analysed using SPSS version 21.0. Chi-square, Independent T-test/Mann–Whitney tests were used to investigate associations between the variables.

Results:
The mean age of the study participants was 48.8 ± 11.6 years. Among the 100 diabetic patients, 39% (n = 39) had mental illness and among the 39 subjects, 21% had depression, 14% had anxiety disorder and 4% suffered from organic disorder. Apart from diabetes, 29, 17, 13, 27, 23 and 20% had hypertension, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy, respectively, as comorbid conditions.

Conclusion:
There is a higher prevalence of mental illness in patients with diabetes mellitus. The prevalence rate increases with an increase in the chronicity of diabetes. The use of the GMHAT app could help in rapid assessment and accurate diagnoses.
Description and outcomes of patients with eclampsia and severe pre-eclampsia in a rural hospital in North-Eastern Bihar: A retrospective study
Authors: Dasari Amos , Jacob Priya M. , Jeyapaul Shalini , Mathew Arpit J. , Abraham Vinod J. , Cherian Anne G. 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Background:
Hypertension is one of the most common medical disorders complicating pregnancy. In India, high blood pressure contributes to 7.1% of maternal deaths. This study was carried out to describe the characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of patients presenting with eclampsia or pre-eclampsia to a secondary care hospital in rural India.

Methods:
Patients diagnosed with pre-eclampsia or eclampsia between January 2018 and April 2021 were identified and included in the study. Medical records were searched and general patient characteristics, obstetrical history, information about the antenatal period, mode of delivery and outcomes were documented and analysed.

Results:
Among the 3651 women who delivered in this hospital during this time period, 2.3% (n = 83) presented with eclampsia and 1.9% (n = 71) with pre-eclampsia. More than 50% of the women delivered by lower segment caesarean section among both the eclamptics and pre-eclamptics. The stillbirth rate among those with either pre-eclampsia or eclampsia was 1 per 1000. The number of low birth weight babies born to those presenting with eclampsia (66.7%) was significantly more than those presenting with pre-eclampsia (48.6%). Eclampsia/pre-eclampsia accounted for 21% of all maternal deaths with a case fatality rate of 2.6%.

Conclusions:
This study identified that in this setting the patients presenting with eclampsia were much higher than those presenting with pre-eclampsia which is in stark contrast to the status even in developing countries. This could be an important finding indicating poorer health-seeking behaviour among the population and will need more studies on various interventions to change this status.
New onset diabetes mellitus in post-COVID-19 patients
Authors: Keerthi B Y , Sushmita G , Khan Ehsan A. , Thomas Vimala , Cheryala Vikram , Shah Chirali , Kumar G. Ravi , Haritha V 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Background:
Diabetes, is known to have a bilateral relationship with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Precise mechanism of diabetes onset in COVID-19 patients remains unclear.

Aim:
To analyse the incidence of new onset diabetes (NODM) among COVID-19 patients, as well as the effect of body mass index (BMI), family history, and steroid use on the incidence of the disease.

Methods:
Adult, not known diabetic patients, tested positive with Rapid Antigen Test or RT-PCR admitted to a tertiary care hospital and research institute were included in the present prospective observational study. The patients who developed NODM and NOPD (New Onset Pre-diabetes) during the three months follow-up and the risk factors associated were assessed. Patients with HbA1c >6.4% were diagnosed with NODM. An HbA1c of 5.7% to 6.4% was used to characterize NOPD.

Results:
Out of 273 previously not known diabetic COVID-19 infected individuals, a total of 100 were studied for three months after consent. Mean age of the patients 48.31 ± 19.07 years with male predominance (67%). Among these, 58% were non-diabetics and 42% were pre-diabetics. 6 (10.3%) of the 58 non-diabetics developed NOPD, and 8 (13.8%) developed NODM. 6 (14.2%) of the 42 pre-diabetics became non-diabetic, and 16.6% (7) developed NODM. Family history of DM (P < 0.001), severity at admission (P < 0.006), diabetic ketoacidosis (P < 0.0275), and persistent symptoms were associated significantly with NODM. Those with NODM had significantly greater BMI, O2 duration, steroid duration, FBS, and PPBS (P < 0.001 for all). Nearly 67% of the patients who developed NOPD had shortness of breath as the common symptom at time of admission (P = 0.0165).

Conclusion:
The incidence of NODM was strongly influenced by positive family history of DM, higher BMI, steroid dosage, and its duration. Hence, patients with COVID-19 need to be under surveillance for blood glucose screening.
The symptomatology of fever: A step towards qualitative definition of fever
Authors: Kapoor Mayank , Kumar Nitin , Panda Prasan K. 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Background:
The old definitions of fever are based on cross-sectional surveys of the population without analyzing the associated symptomatology as fever is a sign, not symptom. Therefore, a longitudinal follow-up study is the need of hour to analyze associated symptoms with fever.

Methods:
In a longitudinal study over one year, 196 participants recorded three temperature readings daily, one after waking up, one between 12 and 3 PM, one before sleeping, and filled the symptomatology questionnaire in a thermometry diary.

Results:
Per protocol analysis was done for febrile participants (n = 144). Fatigue (50.3%), warmth (47.3%), headache/head heaviness (47.0%), feeling malaise/general weakness (46.7%), loss of appetite (46.5%), muscle cramps/muscle aches (45.6%), chills/shivering (44.6%), increased sweating (43.0%), nausea (42.5%), irritability (38.9%), increased breathing rate (37.1%), and restlessness/anxiety/palpitations (36.5%) were the symptoms maximally seen during the febrile phase. A higher number of associated symptoms are associated with higher temperature readings. Dehydration suggested the numerically highest temperature values (100.86 ± 1.70°F) but seen in few febrile patients.

Conclusions:
Incorporation of symptom analysis in febrile patients is the need of the hour. Fatigue and warmth are found to be the most prevalent symptoms during febrile phase. Associated symptoms can help in predicting the intensity of fever also.
Mortality in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) and its clinicoradiological and laboratory correlates: A retrospective study
Authors: Jain Payal , Agarwal Neema , Saxena Vikas , Srivastav Saurabh , Solanki Hariom 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Aim:
To delineate and analyze the mortality from COVID -19 in our institute during the devastating second wave of pandemic.

Settings and Design:
A retrospective cohort analysis.

Methods and Materials:
A comprehensive mortality analysis of 142 laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-infected deceased patients from our hospital’s medical records was done. These patients presented with severe disease at the time of admission and were managed in intensive care units.

Statistical Analysis Used:
Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, IBM manufacturer, Chicago, USA, version 21.0 was used.

Results:
The number of deceased males (82, 62.6%) was higher than females (53, 37.3%). Median age of deceased patient was 57 (44.25–69.75) years. Most frequent comorbidities were diabetes mellitus (42, 29.6%) and hypertension (41, 28.9%). Most common symptoms being shortness of breath (137, 96.5%), fever (94, 66.2%) and cough (73, 51.4%). Median peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) at time of admission was 86% (77.25–90). Median time interval from symptom onset to admission in hospital was 3 (2.25–5) days. Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio was more than 5 in 117 (90.7%) patients. Complications seen were acute respiratory distress syndrome in 82.3%, acute liver injury in 58.4%, acute kidney injury in 26.7%, sepsis in 13.3% and acute cardiac injury in 12% patients. The median high-resolution computed tomography score was 20 (17–22).

Conclusions:
Male and elderly patients with underlying comorbidities had poorer outcome and involvement of multiple organ systems was common. A short time interval between symptom onset and admission/mortality, particularly encountered was worrisome.
How to make services adolescent friendly? A cross-sectional study on awareness of adolescent friendly health clinics in Central India
Authors: Bali Surya , Chatterjee Anirban , Nagi Raunaq Singh , Gupta Suruchi , Singhal Kritika 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Background:
India’s flagship program on adolescent health – Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) emphasises the importance of strengthening Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) under its facility-based approach for improving the health of adolescents. AFHCs are intended to provide targeted intervention in six domains – nutrition, injuries & violence (including gender-based violence), mental health, sexual & reproductive health, substance abuse and noncommunicable diseases.

Objective:
The current study was conducted to assess the determinants of awareness and utilisation of AFHC services in districts with RKSK services in Madhya Pradesh.

Subjects:
In total, 1605 adolescents (both males and females) within the age group of 10–19 years were included in the study.

Methods:
Multistage stratified random sampling was employed to enrol participants from three districts of Madhya Pradesh, where AFHC services have been launched.

Results:
The mean age of the participants was 15.07 ± 2.32 years. Only 153 (9.5%) adolescents were aware of AFHC services. On multivariate logistic regression, awareness of AFHC was seen to be associated with being aware of RKSK, being a part of the peer educator-led peer group, having had adolescent health days organised in the village and belonging from one of the financially better off districts. Utilisation rate of AFHC services was lower still – at 2.74%.

Conclusion:
Both awareness and utilisation of AFHC services remain very low among adolescents. There is a pressing need to focus on awareness generation campaigns – via mass media, but more importantly, through community health workers and peer educators – in order to sensitise target beneficiaries about the available services.