Prevalence and incidence of oral cancer and pre-cancerous lesions in indigenous populations: a systematic review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: This review will determine the prevalence and incidence of oral cancer and pre-cancerous lesions in indigenous populations. INTRODUCTION: There are approximately 476 million indigenous individuals worldwide. Oral cancer affected over 350,000 people globally in 2018, with approximately 80% of cases occurring in the indigenous population. Moreover, the incidence of pre-cancerous lesions is high in this population, accounting for 48.3%. Limited evidence exists regarding the burden of oral cancer among indigenous populations despite research on oral health disparities in this group. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Inclusion criteria involve studies on the burden of oral cancer and pre-cancerous lesions in indigenous groups, considering rates, ratios (prevalence or mortality), or survival proportions. Databases will be searched from inception to the present, with no limitations on study design, language, age, gender, or geography. We will exclude studies that only identify, diagnose, or screen oral cancer and pre-cancerous lesions without mentioning prevalence and incidence. METHODS: This review will follow to the JBI methodology for systematic reviews of prevalence and incidence. Databases to be searched will include MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, and Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source (EBSCOhost). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, OAIster, International Association for Dental Research conference abstracts, Google Scholar, government reports, and cancer registry reports will be screened for unpublished studies. Two reviewers will independently screen articles, and data will be extracted using a customized form. Narrative data synthesis will be conducted, and where appropriate, meta-analysis using JBI SUMARI. Methodological quality will be assessed using JBI's critical appraisal tool for prevalence studies. REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42023402858.

Barriers and facilitators to attending dental care appointments among adults in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to identify the barriers and facilitators to attending dental care appointments among adults in low- and middle-income countries. INTRODUCTION: Missed dental appointments are a well-recognized problem in dental care, widely contributing to adverse health care outcomes. Patients' adherence to dental appointments plays a vital role in improving and maintaining oral health. This scoping review will identify and synthesize barriers and facilitators that influence adults in keeping dental appointments. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Studies focusing on barriers and facilitators to dental appointment attendance among adults will be included. The study will include public, private, and university-based dental clinical settings and will be limited to low- and middle-income countries. There will be no restrictions on the source of evidence (primary studies or text/opinion studies) or study design (qualitative or quantitative studies). METHODS: The review will follow the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Studies will be searched in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source, and Scopus. Databases will be searched from inception until the present. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, OAIster, International Association for Dental Research conference abstracts, and Google Scholar will be searched for unpublished studies. Study screening will be performed by two reviewers, and data extraction will be done using a customized data extraction form. Barriers and facilitators will be categorized based on the Theoretical Domains Framework. The tabulated data and figures will be accompanied by a narrative summary of barriers and facilitators to attending dental care appointments, which may be used to guide further research. SCOPING REVIEW PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework osf.io/mny8h.

Bacteriological profile and antimicrobial resistance pattern among patients with sepsis: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: As the susceptibility pattern of different pathogens varies among different settings, the evaluation of appropriate clinical diagnosis and timely initiation of the empirical antibiotic treatment based on the local susceptibility data is crucial in the management of sepsis. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted among adult patients with sepsis at a charitable hospital in Mangaluru. The essential details such as patient demographics, culture specimens, organisms, resistance/susceptibility pattern, laboratory data, empirical therapy and clinical outcomes were collected from the medical records. Descriptive statistics were used in analysing the data. RESULTS: A total of 425 patients diagnosed with sepsis during the study period were screened to meet the sample size of 373 positive cultures, among which 367 (91.3%) samples yielded the bacterial isolates, of which 250 (68.1%) and 117 (31.9%) were gram-negative and gram-positive organisms, respectively. The most common gram-negative organisms isolated were K pneumoniae (19.9%), A baumannii (19.6%) and E coli (12.8%); while Coagulase-negative staphylococcus (14.4%) and S aureus (8.4%) were the predominant gram-positive organisms. The isolated pathogens showed a resistance rate of >50% to the most commonly used antibiotics. CONCLUSION: The present study provides information on the prevalence of the most common pathogens and their resistance pattern to different antibiotics, which plays a vital role in the selection and timely initiation of the appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy.