Study on awareness and management based health action using video intervention (SAMBHAV) for postpartum depression among mothers attending immunisation clinic in a tertiary medical college hospital: Study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy exerts a detrimental effect on women's mental health. Maternal mental health is considered as one of the public health concerns as it impacts the health of both mother and the child. One in five people in developing countries experience serious mental health issues during pregnancy and after giving birth. In India, postpartum depression (PPD) affects 22% of women, according to a research by WHO. The available data on mental health literacy among women, showed that only 50.7% of the postpartum mothers who were attending paediatric tertiary care centres had adequate knowledge about PPD. It is crucial to diagnose early and adequately manage postpartum depression to avoid long-term consequences. It is also essential to seek help and utilise the available resources and services to avoid worsening of the condition and to aid in the recovery. This demonstrates the need to promote awareness, improve help seeking, reduce stigma and treatment gap associated with PPD through educational video intervention specific to cultural context and beliefs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental study without a control group that attempts to improve the awareness among the mothers about postpartum depression to understand better about the condition and also its management through video intervention. The video intervention will be developed in regional language specific to the cultural context of the setting. The video script will be finalised from the findings of the available literature and also through focus group discussion among mothers and health care professionals which will be analysed qualitatively using thematic identification. The study will use a standardized Postpartum Depression Literacy Scale (PoDLIS) which will be quantitatively analysed using paired t test before and after the intervention. Repeated measures of ANOVA will also be used to analyse the changes in literacy scale scores with respect to socio demographic variables. The mothers will also be screened for PPD using Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ 9) and feedback will be collected and analysed to find the overall usefulness of video. DISCUSSION: If it becomes apparent that this video intervention is successful in raising awareness of PPD among postpartum mothers and reducing stigma, it can be used to aid early identification of mothers with PPD which can result in early management and improved health outcome for both mothers and children. The major goals of the video intervention are to raise awareness, lessen stigma, and prevent PPD through strong family support, adopting healthy lifestyles, having access to information, practising self-care, and enhancing help-seeking. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered under the Clinical Trial Registry- India (CTRI) (CTRI/2023/03/050836). The current study adheres to the SPIRIT Guidelines [See S1 Checklist: SPIRIT Guidelines].

Effectiveness of erythrosine-mediated photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy on dental plaque aerobic microorganisms: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Dental plaque is one of the predominant causes of major oral diseases. Although mechanical and chemical methods are extensively followed to control the development of plaque, plaque-related diseases still persist. Therefore, this necessitates for alternative measures of plaque control, one such alternative is photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Split mouth randomized clinical trial (CTRI/2017/03/008239) was conducted on 30 participants who reported to the hospital. Participants were asked to rinse their mouth for 1 min using 10 ml of 25 µM erythrosine solutions. Same tooth on both quadrants of the same jaw are selected as the test and control. Intervention used was halogen-based composite curing light with wavelength of 500-590 nm. Plaque sample from the control tooth and test tooth was collected before and after exposure, respectively, and sent to microbiological laboratory for colony count. RESULTS: Logarithmic mean and standard deviation of control group with 102 dilutions of aerobic microbial count were found to be 5.34 ± 0.94, and for experimental group, it was 4.47 ± 1.37. The statistical difference between mean CFU values between aerobic bacterial counts was significant (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Erythrosine-mediated PACT reduces the extent of dental plaque microbial count and has a potential preventive and therapeutic use in day-to-day life and dental clinics.

Estimation of Pyruvic acid in serum and saliva among healthy and potentially malignant disorder subjects - a stepping stone for cancer screening?

BACKGROUND: According to Warburg's effect, the rate of glycolysis increases in cancerous cells. This will increase overall levels of pyruvic acid. The present on-going study was conducted to estimate the levels of pyruvic acid in saliva and serum in normal, oral PMD subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 50 subjects in healthy, PMD of the oral cavity individuals were selected based on clinical and histological criteria. Collected saliva and serum samples were subjected to pyruvic acid level estimation using biochemical analysis. RESULTS: Of the 50 participants 25 (13: Males; 12: Females) & 25 (16: Males; 9: Females) were PMD group. Independent samples t test showed statistically significant difference in serum & salivary pyruvic acid level in between 2 groups (p < 0.001 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Estimation of pyruvic acid showed sequential increase in the level in PMD group compared to healthy. Hence the study results open new direction in cancer screening. KEY WORDS: Pyruvic acid, glycolysis, warburg's effect.