ABSTRACT
Introduction: Ahealth‑care beneficiary should comprehend different aspects of medical and surgical interventions before giving consent to perform those. There is no defined way to find out adequate patient comprehension as part of the decision‑making procedure to give consent. This study was conducted to find out the disparity of comprehensiveness between emergency and elective surgical operative procedures both in terms of knowledge dissemination and knowledge comprehension. MaterialsandMethods: Across‑sectional comparative study was conducted at the General Surgery Department of Medical College, Kolkata, during September and October 2021. An interviewer‑administered questionnaire was used on patients undergoing emergency and elective surgical procedures. The comprehension level of informed consent (IC) form was scored as 1, 2, and 3 and compared between two groups using an unpaired t‑test and Mann–Whitney U‑test. Result: Data collection was done from 39 patients for emergency operative procedures and 52 for elective surgical procedures. A composite comprehension score was calculated after adjusting for questions not asked while taking IC. The mean comprehension score for emergency procedures was 18.86 and for planned surgery, it was 20.14. Unpaired t‑test showed significantly high mean comprehension for planned procedures than the emergency procedures (P = 0.007). Comprehension is significantly poorer in emergency conditions even after controlling for age and literacy denoting difficulty in decision‑making in emergency scenarios. Conclusion: It is suggested that the procedure of consent taking should be more structured and interactive so that even in stressful conditions participant understand better about the procedures and take their own decision instead of relying blindly on doctors.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: One of the essential components for maintaining health is having proper and adequate nutrition. The absence of this might affect majorly the physical domain of health, especially in under‑five children as it is the age of development. The present study was conducted among the tribal under‑five children in a tribal predominant block, Mohammad Bazar in Birbhum District of West Bengal to find out their nutritional status, along with the estimation of prevalence of anemia among them; and the association, if any, between the nutritional status of the study population with their demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental characteristics. Materials and Methods: This community‑based cross‑sectional study was conducted among 378 tribal under‑five children residing in 21 villages of Mohammad Bazar Block during September 2018–August 2020 using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) technique. A predesigned, pretested schedule was used to collect necessary information regarding background characteristics. Anthropometric measurements (height and weight) and biochemical estimation (hemoglobin level in blood) were done to evaluate nutritional status. Ethical permission was obtained from Institutional Ethics Committee, Burdwan Medical College. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 20. Results: The present study showed that 31.0% of under‑five children were underweight, 16.6% severely underweight, 31.5% stunted, 17.2% severely stunted, 21.7% wasted, and 7.7% severely wasted. Nearly one‑third of the study participants were suffering from anemia and most of them (91.5%) had mild anemia. As per LQAS, none of the villages had acceptable nutritional status as far as the weight for age and height for age was concerned. Conclusions:This research unveiled that the undernutrition in various forms still persists among the tribal under‑five children. Rigorous implementation of various schemes, missions, and programs by both state and Central Government are the need of the hour to overcome this downhearted situation
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Substance abuse is now steadily increasing in the adolescent age group across the globe. Pressure to blend in with substance‑using peers is an important predictor of substance abuse among adolescents. Smoking and alcohol intake are the two most common forms of substance abuse. Hence, this study tried to explore the effect of peer pressure on both substance users and nonusers and tried to find the adjusted effect of that pressure on substance abuse focused on smoking and alcohol intake. Materials and Methods: Acase–control study was conducted on college‑going students from various colleges and institutions in Kolkata during September and October 2021. The sample size for this case–control study was calculated taking confidence level at 99% and power 90%. Case and control ratio was taken as 1:1. Age‑based matching was ensured. Further matching among the cases and controls was done based on gender. Data were collected by investigators using a pretested self‑administered questionnaire that particularly focused on peer pressure along with some demographic factors. The questionnaire was distributed via electronic media and was circulated on various social platforms. A modified Peer Pressure Inventory containing 8 factors was created to evaluate the effect of peer pressure, and the Likert scale was used to score the responses of the participants. The odds ratio for the effect of peer pressure on smoking and drinking was calculated with a 99% confidence interval separately. Risk calculation was performed by multiple logistic regression to describe predictability and adjusted odds ratio of peer pressure on initiation of substance abuse. Results: The odds of the effect of peer pressure on initiation of drinking are 24.008 times higher. We also found that 53.62% of the cases have been drinking alcohol for at least 12 months. The odds of peer influence on initiating smoking tobacco were calculated to be 31.320. We found that 84.38% of the smokers had been subjected to significant peer pressure while 85.29% of the control subjects had not been subjected to significant peer pressure. Conclusion: Odds of peer pressure on smoking and alcohol initiation is quite high. Staying alone for more time has a protective effect on initiation of substance abuse.
ABSTRACT
Background : Dry Eye a grave problem in recent days has become a matter of concern for its diversity of symptoms including blurred vision and foreign body sensation and difficulty in diagnosis. There has been a sharp rise of Dry Eye symptoms during lockdown period in individuals who are using Visual Display Terminals (VDT). This study was conducted to find out the magnitude of Dry Eye among adolescents using VDTs during COVID Lockdown. Material and method : A cross-sectional study was conducted in a medical college for a duration of one year. Individuals in the adolescent age group with digital eye strain and history of VDT use were included; those with any ocular abnormality and ocular surgery were excluded. After taking a detailed history and proper examination they were evaluated for Dry Eye using OSDI score, TBUT test and Schirmer’s test. Subjects with an OSDI score of greater than 13, Tear Film Break Up Time (TBUT) less than 10 seconds and Schirmer’s test <5mm were considered Dry Eye patient in our study. Result : In 303 patients between age group 10-19 years with complaints of Digital Eye Strain such as eye discomfort, burning & foreign body sensation etc were selected for this study. The mean age of study population was 15.22±1.91 years with a range between 10 years to 19 years median being 15 years. Among them 162 patients (53.46%) were female and 141 (46.54%) were male (male: female ratio - 1.15:1). The overall proportion of Dry Eye in our study population was found to be 67.98%. In 85.44% of Dry Eye patients belonged to severe Dry Eye group while 11.16% belonged to moderate group and only 3.4% had a mild variety. Burning (32.95%) and foreign body sensation (47.72%) were most common significant symptoms found in severe Dry Eye. Mean total screen time in Non-Dry Eye patients (159.17±56.71) mins was significantly lower that of dry eye patients (417.57±76.83) mins. [J Indian Med Assoc 202