Higher Prevalence of Extended Spectrum ß-Lactamase Producing Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Among Patients with Diabetes from a Tertiary Care Hospital of Kathmandu, Nepal.

This study aimed to determine the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes for ß-lactamases; blaTEM and blaCTX-M in uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from urinary tract infection (UTI) suspected diabetic and nondiabetic patients. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Kathmandu Model Hospital, Kathmandu, in association with the Department of Microbiology, GoldenGate International College, Kathmandu, Nepal, from June to December 2018. A total of 1,267 nonduplicate midstream urine specimens were obtained and processed immediately for isolation of uropathogens. The isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing and extended spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) confirmation. In addition, blaTEM and blaCTX-M genes were detected using specific primers. The overall prevalence of UTI was 17.2% (218/1,267), of which patients with diabetes were significantly more infected; 32.3% (31/96) as compared with nonpatients with diabetes, 15.9% (187/1,171). A total of 221 bacterial isolates were obtained from 218 culture-positive specimens in which E. coli was the most predominant; 67.9% (150/221). Forty-four percent (66/150) of the total E. coli was multidrug resistant and 37.3% (56/150) were ESBL producers. Among 56 isolates, 92.3% (12/13) were from patients with diabetes, and 83.0% (44/53) were from nondiabetics. Furthermore, 84.9% of the screened ESBL producers were confirmed to possess either single or both of blaTEM and blaCTX-M genes. The blaTEM and blaCTX-M genes were detected in 53.6% and 87.5% of the phenotypically ESBL confirmed E. coli, respectively. Higher rates of ESBL producing uropathogenic E. coli are associated among patients with diabetes causing an alarming situation for disease management. However, second-line drugs with broad antimicrobial properties are still found to be effective drugs for multidrug resistance strains.

Back Pain among COVID-19 Positive Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: The world has been threatened with the emergence of the Novel Corona Virus straining the health care system and creating a global pandemic. This is not the first pandemic, and it certainly will not be the last to affect humanity. As the medical community is exposed to these highly contagious new diseases with arrays of symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, anosmia, insomnia, and myalgia. Back pain can also be considered as one of the symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, this study aimed to find out the prevalence of back pain among the Health care workers who were tested positive for COVID-19 by the end of their isolation period. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done from April 2021 to June 2021 in KIST Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Imadol, Lalitpur, Nepal, after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Registration number: 2077/078/57). Convenience sampling was done. Data collection and entry were done in Microsoft excel, point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: Out of 156 COVID-19 positive patients, the prevalence of back pain was seen among 64 (41%) patients (95% Confidence Interval= 42.23-57.75). Among them 21 (32.8%) were males and 43 (67.2%) were females. Likewise, the minimum age was 20 years and the maximum was 68 years with a mean of 33.5±10.28. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that a high proportion of healthcare workers were suffering from back pain and the findings are similar to the data from other international studies.

Prevalence and Awareness of Hypertension among Adults and its Related Risk Factors.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Various studies conducted in the world showed high prevalence of hypertension, which is in increasing trend in Nepal also. The aim of this study was to assess hypertension status and risk behaviours among adult population in Kirtipur Municipality. METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 580 adults of age 20 - 59 from December 2015 to April 2016. Data was collected by observation method to determine hypertension prevalence and Body Mass Index. Questionnaire was used to assess exposure to the risk factors. RESULTS: Among all hypertension prevalence was 37.0% (215 out of 580). The prevalence was 41.6% (110 out of 264) among male and 32.2% (105 out of 316) among female (P <0.03 at 95% CI). Among 215 hypertensives, 37.2% were not aware about themselves having hypertension. Within last 12 months, 453 (78.1%) participants had checked their blood pressure. Proportion of hypertension was increasing with higher BMI and advancing age. Among all, 136 (23.7%) were current smokers, and 58.1% among them had hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that hypertension prevalence was high among adults in Kirtipur municipality. Prevalence of smoking was also high, and among them hypertension prevalence was very high. About one-third participants with hypertension were not aware that they had hypertension. Habit of doing regular physical exercise was very low.