Determinants of substance use among young people attending primary health centers in India.

Background: Substance use is a complex condition with multidimensional determinants. The present study aims to find the prevalence and determinants of substance use among young people attending primary healthcare centers in India. Methods: A multicentric cross-sectional study was conducted across 15 states in India on 1,630 young people (10-24 years) attending primary health centers. The Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was used to capture data on substance use. The degree of substance involvement was assessed and multivariate regression analysis was conducted to determine the risk factors of substance use. Results: The prevalence of substance use was 32.8%, with a median substance initiation age of 18 years. Among the substance users, 75.5% began before completing adolescence. Tobacco (26.4%), alcohol (26.1%) and cannabis (9.5%) were commonly consumed. Sociodemographic determinants included higher age, male gender, urban residence, positive family history, northeastern state residence and lower socioeconomic class. Over 80% of users had moderate or high involvement. Conclusions: High substance use prevalence among young people in Indian healthcare centers underscores the urgency of targeted intervention. Insights on determinants guide effective prevention strategies for this complex public health issue.

Immature Teratoma of Ethmoid Sinus Masquerading as Antrochoanal Polyp: A Rare Case Report with Literature Review.

Teratomas are rare neoplasms that arise from totipotent stem cells. Teratomas of the head and neck are extremely rare, constituting about 10% of all cases and usually present in the neonatal period. Extensive literature search has shown that there are only two cases reportedof teratoma of the ethmoid sinus; one as a mature teratoma in a neonate and another was histologically immature teratoma in an adult male (Mwang'ombe et al. in East Afr Med J 79(2):106-107, 2002; Aggarwal et al. in J Postgrad Med 59(2):138-141, 2013). We hereby report the second case of immature teratoma of ethmoid sinus origin in an adult male.

Trigeminal Lipomatosis: A Rare Cause of Intractable Neuralgia.

Lipomatosis of nerve, earlier known as fibrolipomatous hamartoma is a rare condition which predominantly affects peripheral nerves, cranial nerve involvement being extremely uncommon. Preoperative consideration of this entity is of paramount importance as its inadvertent complete surgical resection may inevitably result in significant neurological deficit. We report a case of trigeminal lipomatosis in a young patient with trigeminal neuralgia.

Necrotising Fasciitis of Head and Neck in Infants.

Necrotising fasciitis (NF) is a rapidly progressing soft tissue infection having high risk of morbidity and mortality. Though it is a common condition encounter in surgical practice for adults, it's incidence in children are very low. In children also abdomen is the most common site for NF. It's involvement in head and neck is extremely rare. Here we discuss the clinical features and management of three cases of NFs in head and neck region of infants and also look for the etiology, clinical presentation and management for same.

Post-COVID Mucormycosis of Mandible: A Conundrum of Management.

Mucormycosis is an acute invasive infection of paranasal sinuses, with the propensity to spread from paranasal sinuses to intra-orbital and cranium. It is usually associated with immunocompromised states like diabetes mellitus, hematological malignancies, long-term steroids, neutropenia, and other multiple systemic disorders. Mucormycosis cases had been upsurging following COVID-19 infection. Due to the rampant use of steroids, pulmonary involvement secondary to cytokine upsurge, and deranged blood sugar levels in diabetic patients, mucormycosis of paranasal sinuses and neighboring anatomical structures has occurred at an unprecedented rate. The isolated involvement of the mandible is infrequent, and very few cases have been reported in the literature. We report one such case of post-COVID-19 isolated mandibular mucormycosis and its management. Generally, surgical excision and reconstruction of defect followed by a course of broad-spectrum antifungals are described as the appropriate line of management for this condition. However, on the contrary, we followed conservative management as the sole treatment because of the various challenges concerning undesirable postoperative consequences and reducing morbidity for the patient.