Proteus Syndrome.

Proteus syndrome is an extremely rare disorder with a documentation of only 100 cases world over till date. This sporadic disorder involves the skeletal system, central nervous system, eyes, skin, soft tissues and vascular system. We report a case of Proteus syndrome in a 22 year male presenting with abnormally enlarged and hypertrophied feet resulting in marked physical constraints.

Drug abuse: Uncovering the burden in rural Punjab.

INTRODUCTION: Drug abuse is a global phenomenon, affecting almost every country, but its extent and characteristics differ from region to region. India too is caught in this vicious circle of drug abuse, and the numbers of drug addicts are increasing day by day. The bane of drug abuse in Punjab has acquired the proportions of a pestilence that has shaken the entire society in the state. It is observed that in Punjab "drug abuse" is a raging epidemic, especially among the young. METHODOLOGY: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 adolescents and young adults (11-35 years) from 15 villages of Jalandhar District. Systematic sampling (probability proportionate to size) was used for the selection of study subjects. A preformed, semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on type and frequency of drugs abused and other sociodemographic variables. The statistical evaluation of the data was performed using SPSS software, version 21.0. RESULTS: The prevalence of substance abuse among study group was 65.5% and most common substance abused was alcohol (41.8%), followed by tobacco (21.3%). A high prevalence of heroin abusers was noted among study subjects (20.8%). The prevalence of nonalcohol and nontobacco substance abuse was 34.8%. A significant association of drug abuse was observed with male gender, illiteracy, and age above 30 years. CONCLUSIONS: The problem of drug abuse in youth of Punjab is a matter of serious concern as every third person is hooked to drugs other than alcohol and tobacco. The other striking observations were the high prevalence of heroin and intravenous drug abuse.

Utilization of maternal and child health care services by primigravida females in urban and rural areas of India.

Maternal complications and poor perinatal outcome are highly associated with nonutilisation of antenatal and delivery care services and poor socioeconomic conditions of the patient. It is essential that all pregnant women have access to high quality obstetric care throughout their pregnancies. Present longitudinal study was carried out to compare utilization of maternal and child health care services by urban and rural primigravida females. A total of 240 study participants were enrolled in this study. More illiteracy and less mean age at the time of marriage were observed in rural population. Poor knowledge about prelacteal feed, colostrums, tetanus injection and iron-follic acid tablet consumption was noted in both urban and rural areas. Very few study participants from both areas were counselled for HIV testing before pregnancy. More numbers of abortions (19.2%) were noted in urban study participants compared to rural area. Thus utilization of maternal and child health care (MCH) services was poor in both urban and rural areas. A sustained and focussed IEC campaign to improve the awareness amongst community on MCH will help in improving community participation. This may improve the quality, accessibility, and utilization of maternal health care services provided by the government agencies in both rural and urban areas.

Immunization coverage: role of sociodemographic variables.

Children are considered fully immunized if they receive one dose of BCG, three doses of DPT and polio vaccine each, and one measles vaccine. In India, only 44% of children aged 12-23 months are fully vaccinated and about 5% have not received any vaccination at all. Even if national immunization coverage levels are sufficiently high to block disease transmission, pockets of susceptibility may act as potential reservoirs of infection. This study was done to assess the immunization coverage in an urban slum area and determine various sociodemographic variables affecting the same. A total of 210 children were selected from study population using WHO's 30 cluster sampling method. Coverage of BCG was found to be the highest (97.1%) while that of measles was the lowest. The main reason for noncompliance was given as child's illness at the time of scheduled vaccination followed by lack of knowledge regarding importance of immunization. Low education status of mother, high birth order, and place of delivery were found to be positively associated with low vaccination coverage. Regular IEC activities (group talks, role plays, posters, pamphlets, and competitions) should be conducted in the community to ensure that immunization will become a "felt need" of the mothers in the community.