BackgroundIn developing countries, mothers usually manage diarrhea at home with the pattern of management depending on perceived disease severity and beliefs. The study was carried out with the objective of determining mothers’ beliefs and barriers about diarrhea and its management.MethodsQualitative methods involving two focus group discussions and eight in-depth interviews were used to collect the data. The study was conducted at the following places: Tankisinuwari, Kanchanbari and Pokhariya of Morang district, Nepal during the months of February and March 2010. Purposive sampling method was adopted to recruit twenty mothers based on the inclusion criteria. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct the interviews. Written informed consent was obtained from all of the participants before conducting the interviews. The interviews were moderated by the main researcher with the support of an expert observer from Nobel Medical College. The interviews were recorded with the permission of the participants and notes were written by a pre trained note-taker. The recordings were transcribed verbatim. All the transcribed data was categorized and analyzed using thematic content analysis.ResultsTwenty mothers participated in the interviews and most (80%) of them were not educated. About 75% of the mothers had a monthly income of up to 5000 Nepalese rupees (US$ 60.92). Although a majority of mothers believed diarrhea to be due to natural causes, there were also beliefs about supernatural origin of diarrhea. Thin watery diarrhea was considered as the most serious. There was diversity in mothers’ beliefs about foods/fluids and diarrhea management approaches. Similarly, several barriers were noted regarding diarrhea prevention and/or management such as financial weakness, lack of awareness, absence of education, distance from healthcare facilities and senior family members at home. The elderly compelled the mothers to visit traditional healers.ConclusionsThere were varied beliefs among the mothers about the types, causes and severity of diarrhea, classification of foods/fluids and beliefs and barriers about preventing or treating diarrhea.

This is an analysis of the incidence of molar pregnancies and those of complete and partial molar pregnancies across the reproductive age range for BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in the period 2010-2011.Patients with molar pregnancies registered with BPKIHS from January 2008 to January 2010 were identified. The overall number of molar pregnancies registered was compared to the number of maternities (live births and still births) and total viable conceptions for this year. A retrospective study of 64 cases of molar pregnancies recorded at BPKIHS during the two year time was done. Medical records were reviewed. Incidence, clinical presentation and methods of diagnosis were studied.During the study period, there were 37 complete moles, 23 partial moles, 1 persistent gestational trophoblastic tumor, 1 choriocarcinoma, and 2 invasive moles. The incidence of molarpregnancy was 3.94 per 1000 deliveries. Median distribution was at 22 years of age, and majority (67%) presented during early second trimester. Twenty one (32.8%) women were of blood group A positive and ten (15.6%) presented with severe form of anemia.This study provides detailed data regarding the incidence of partial and complete molar pregnancies with increasing maternal age. It confirms the relation of molar pregnancy with age, and blood group. Complete mole had the highest incidence, affecting mostly younger age group, and usually in the first half of their pregnancy. KEY WORDS gestational trophoblastic disease, hyaditiform mole, persistant gestational tumorsThis study presents the incidence of molar pregnancy, including its signs and symptoms in Terai belt of Nepal which constitute a sub-tropical climate and rural to suburban living standard. METHODSThis was a retrospective descriptive study conducted at

BackgroundBirth weight is an important indicator of a population’s health and is associated with numerous interrelated factors in the infant, mother, and physical environment. The objective of this study was to assess the proportion of low birth weight and identify the associated factors for low birth weight in a liveborn infant among the women in Morang, Nepal.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out from December 2010 to March 2011 among 255 mothers who gave birth during the study period at the Koshi Zonal Hospital, Nepal. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed through logistic regression and presented with crude and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsThe study showed that the prevalence of low-birth-weight babies was 23.1% (95% CI: 17.9–28.1). The mean (standard deviation) age of mothers was 23.23 (4.18) years. The proportion of low birth weight of previous baby was 3.9% (95% CI: 0.1–7.9), and 15.7% (95% CI: 11.5–20.5) of the respondents had preterm delivery. Nearly one-third (36.1%; 95% CI: 26.4–45.6) of the respondents had >2 years’ gap after the previous delivery. Nonformal employment (AOR: 2.14; 95% CI: 0.523–8.74), vegetarian diet (AOR: 1.47; 95% CI: 0.23–9.36), and no rest during pregnancy (AOR: 1.38; 95% CI: 0.41–4.39) were factors more likely to determine low birth weight. However, none of the variables showed a significant association between low birth weight and other dependent variables.ConclusionLow birth weight is an important factor for perinatal morbidity and mortality and is a common problem in the developing world. The proportion of low-birth-weight babies was high in hospital delivery, and ethnicities, Hindu religion, education, nonformal employment, food habit, rest during pregnancy, and type of delivery were found to influence the birth weight. Hence, it is important to strengthen health education services at the basic level of a community to solve this problem.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, few studies have reported anaesthetic outcomes in parturients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. We reviewed the labour analgesic and anaesthetic interventions utilised in symptomatic and asymptomatic parturients who had a confirmed positive test for SARS-CoV-2 across 10 hospitals in the north-west of England between 1 April 2020 and 31 May 2021. Primary outcomes analysed included the analgesic/anaesthetic technique utilised for labour and caesarean birth. Secondary outcomes included a comparison of maternal characteristics, caesarean birth rate, maternal critical care admission rate along with adverse composite neonatal outcomes. A positive SARS-CoV-2 test was recorded in 836 parturients with 263 (31.4%) reported to have symptoms of COVID-19. Neuraxial labour analgesia was utilised in 104 (20.4%) of the 509 parturients who went on to have a vaginal birth. No differences in epidural analgesia rates were observed between symptomatic and asymptomatic parturients (OR 1.03, 95%CI 0.64-1.67; p = 0.90). The neuraxial anaesthesia rate in 310 parturients who underwent caesarean delivery was 94.2% (95%CI 90.6-96.0%). The rates of general anaesthesia were similar in symptomatic and asymptomatic parturients (6% vs. 5.7%; p = 0.52). Symptomatic parturients were more likely to be multiparous (OR 1.64,; p = 0.002); of Asian ethnicity (OR 1.54, 1.04-2.28; p = 0.03); to deliver prematurely (OR 2.16,; p = 0.001); have a higher caesarean birth rate (44.5% vs. 33.7%; OR 1.57, 95%CI 1.16-2.12; p = 0.008); and a higher critical care utilisation rate both pre-(8% vs. 0%, p = 0.001) and post-delivery (11% vs. 3.5%; OR 3.43, 95%CI 1.83-6.52; p = 0.001). Eight neonates tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 while no differences in adverse composite neonatal outcomes were observed between those born to symptomatic and asymptomatic mothers (25.8% vs. 23.8%; OR 1.11, 95%CI 0.78-1.57; p = 0.55). In women with COVID-19, non-neuraxial analgesic regimens were commonly utilised for labour while neuraxial anaesthesia was employed for the majority of caesarean births. Symptomatic women with COVID-19 are at increased risk of significant maternal morbidity including preterm birth, caesarean birth and peripartum critical care admission.

IntroductionThe advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically slowed down the progression of HIV. This study assesses the disparities in survival, life expectancy and determinants of survival among HIV-infected people receiving ART.MethodsUsing data from one of Nepal’s largest population-based retrospective cohort studies (in Kathmandu, Nepal), we followed a total of 3191 HIV-infected people aged 15 years and older who received ART over the period of 2004–2015. We created abridged life tables with age-specific survival rates and life expectancy, stratified by sex, ethnicity, CD4 cell counts and the WHO-classified clinical stage at initiation of ART.ResultsHIV-infected people who initiated ART with a CD4 cell count of >200 cells/cm3 at 15 years had 27.4 (22.3 to 32.6) years of additional life. People at WHO-classified clinical stage I and 15 years of age who initiated ART had 23.1 (16.6 to 29.7) years of additional life. Life expectancy increased alongside the CD4 cell count and decreased as clinical stages progressed upward. The study cohort contributed 8484.8 person years, with an overall survival rate of 3.3 per 100 person years (95% CI 3.0 to 3.7).ConclusionsThere are disparities in survival among HIV-infected people in Nepal. The survival payback of ART is proven; however, late diagnosis or the health system as a whole will affect the control and treatment of the illness. This study offers evidence of the benefits of enrolling early in care in general and ART in particular.