Effects of Face Masks on Pulse Rate and Blood Pressure Components During Stairs Climbing.

BACKGROUND: The use of face masks has been associated with physiological changes in body. This study aims to know the changes in pulse rate and blood pressure components after wearing face masks during stairs climbing. METHODS: An experimental study was conducted among 60 apparently healthy young adults between 18-35 years of age. The pulse rate and blood pressure of the participants were recorded during rest at ground floor and after climbing the stairs till 5th floor at brisk and regular pace without wearing the face masks. The uniform KN95 masks were distributed and proper coverage of nose, mouth and chin were ensured. After 5 minutes interval, the pulse rate and blood pressure were recorded again at rest in ground floor and after climbing stairs with use of KN95 masks. RESULTS: At rest, the difference in mean pulse rate was statistically significant after wearing masks in participants between 21-25 years of age (86.46±14.59 bpm, p=0.014). After climbing the stairs, the mean pulse rate (131.16±18.48 bpm), mean systolic blood pressure (137.67±16.13 mmHg) and mean rate pressure product (182.87±41.70) were higher in participants (age group: 26-30 years) wearing masks and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.001; 0.013; 0.001respectively). During stairs climbing, the change in mean systolic blood pressure (32.66±16.73 mmHg), mean pulse pressure (43.77±24.64 mmHg) and mean rate pressure product (96.58±37.23) were higher in participants (age group: 26-30 years) and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.036; 0.047 and 0.009 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The changes in systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure and rate pressure product are found to increase after wearing face masks during stairs climbing. It can be suggestive of increase workload to the heart by wearing face masks in addition to climbing the stairs.

Perceived Stress among Undergraduate Students in a Dental College: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: An individual may feel stressed when he/she is unable to cope with past, present, and future situations. A high level of stress in dental students is due to the fact that dental students need to acquire diverse proficiencies such as theoretical knowledge, clinical competencies, and interpersonal skills. So, this study was conducted to find out the prevalence of perceived stress among undergraduate students in a dental college. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among first-year to final year students of a tertiary care centre from May-August 2020. The sample size was calculated to be 177. Convenience sampling technique was used. Data collection was done after taking ethical approval from the institutional review committee (Ref no.21/020). Data collection was done by using a selfadministered, modified Dental Environmental Stress Questionnaire. Data analysis was done by using Statistical Package of Social Sciences version 20 software. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: The prevalence of perceived stress was found to be 80.55 (45%) at 95% Confidence Interval (37.71-52.28). Students perceived more stress from the domain related to personal factors i.e. fear of failing 78 (43.6%), academic factors i.e. examination and grades 71 (39.7%), unable to catch up with the back lock work 68 (38%), and for the clinical phase students, patients not coming or coming too late was most stressful 69 (60%) followed by getting an ideal case for clinical examination 60 (52.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall stress levels were slight to severe and were comparatively higher in clinical phase students due to factors related to patients.

Prevalence of Self-medication Practices for Oral Health Problems among Dental Patients in a dental college: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Self-medication means the use of medications for the treatment of any disease on their own, without consulting any healthcare professional. At times self-medication can be useful if practiced correctly by saving time and money, whereas disadvantages often occur due to lack of evaluation by trained medical professionals and delay ineffective treatment and can result in unnecessary expenses and drug dependence. This study was conducted to find out the self-medication behavior and its associated factors among patients visiting a dental hospital in Kathmandu. METHODS: A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 patients in Kantipur Dental College from December 2019 to January 2020 among the patients attending the dental Out Patient Department. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of Kantipur Dental College. A convenience sampling technique was used. Proformas were prepared in English, translated to Nepali and re-translated to English by the back-translation method. Data entry was done in Microsoft Excel and analysis in SPSS 20. Descriptive statistics was done. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-medication practice was found to be 166 (62.6%). Out of total participants, 99 (59.6%) consumed medicines for few days only and the most common triggering factor was found to be toothache in 101 (60.8%) participants. The most common reason for selfmedication was found to be a previous experience of treating similar illnesses. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of self-medication was found to be low as compared to the study done in similar settings. Self-medication practice is a sensitive issue that hasn't been given the required consideration.

Substance Abuse among Students in a Dental School.

INTRODUCTION: Substance abuse has become a burning issue among the medical and dental students. Dental students, who later transform into dentists, have a significant role in substance abuse cessation. Thus the study was undertaken to quantify substance abuse among dental students of Kantipur Dental College. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using pretested self-administered questionnaire among undergraduate and post graduate students of Kantipur Dental College. Convenience sampling was done and sample size was calculated. RESULTS: Study revealed 166 (74.10%) as never smokers, 3 (1.30%) as former smokers and 55 (24.60%) as current smokers. Similarly 97 (43.3%) students never used alcoholic drink, 95 (42.41%) consumed alcohol monthly, 29 (12.95%) consumed alcohol 2-4 times a month and 3 (1.34%) consumed alcohol 2-3 times a week. A total of 78 (35%) students used cannabis. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial numbers of students were indulged in deleterious habits of smoking, tobacco and cannabis intake. Students need to be properly counselled to discourage substance abuse and create a healthy society.

Dentists in Nepal: A Situation Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Human resource data is essential for planning and implementation of health care delivery system. However, very few information is available on dental health human resource in the country. The aim of study was to assess the number of dentists in the country and to explore their distribution according to demographic and professional characteristics. METHODS: A census was performed during July 2015 to July 2016 about the Nepali dentists. The study assessed demographic and professional characteristics of dentists including age, gender, ethnicity, education attainment, university, country/year of graduation, and work place using data collection sheet by trained data collectors. For those not accessible for direct contact, the information was obtained through secondary data. Data entry was done in CSPro software application and was analyzed in SPSS 20. RESULTS: The total number of registered Nepali dentists was 1803 with 419 specialists until June 2015. The male to female ratio was 1:1.46. Among all; 1318 (73%) were present in the country, 1047 (58%) were professionally active, and 1366 (76%) were below the age of 35 years. Among the professionals; 831 (79%) were employed in private sector and 601 (57%) worked in Kathmandu valley. CONCLUSIONS: The dentist-population ratio is decreasing exponentially in capital and major cities of Nepal however it remains very high in rural areas. Compared to other provinces,Province 6 and Province 7 lack service of dentists.