BACKGROUND: “Stress” acts as both etiological link and also as an outcome in the case of diabetes mellitus. There is a paucity of literature regarding stress levels and also factors associated with it among diabetic patients in India. OBJECTIVE: To assess the perceived stress levels and their associated factors among diabetic inpatients in a rural tertiary health care center, South India. MATERIALS And METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among inpatient diabetics seeking care at a rural tertiary care center in Kolar district of Karnataka. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to capture the sociodemographic, disease-related, treatment-related and behavior-related characteristics of the inpatients. The outcome of “perceived stress” was captured using a standard questionnaire of Cohen Perceived Stress Scale–10. Poisson regression was used for multivariable analysis, and the association was expressed as prevalence ratio with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Out of the 247 study participants analysed, “perceived stress” was seen among 97 (39.3%) of the participants (95% CI: 33.3%–45.5%). Multivariable analysis showed that factors like younger age, lesser duration of diabetes, presence of any comorbidity, being underweight, having conflicts at work place/home in the last 1 month, and not having enough money for treatment had shown higher levels of “perceived stress.” CONCLUSION: About two out of five inpatient diabetics seeking care from rural tertiary health centres had shown to have “perceived stress.” There is a need for the inclusion of stress management techniques in the diabetes education program at all levels of health-care systems.

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the common cancers in females. The common method of screening is Pap test which has low sensitivity. Hence, better methods are explored with different biomarkers, of which estimation of P16 protein can be opted in early detection of cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: Seventy cases and seventy controls were considered for the study. Cases were invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of cervix confirmed by histopathology. Controls were healthy age-matched females. The blood sample of cases and controls was collected in K2 Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid vacutainer, and the separated plasma was subjected to estimation of P16 protein by quantitative sandwich Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay method. The data were analyzed for the association between p16 protein in plasma in cases and controls. Results: The age among cases and controls ranged from 30 to 80 years. The P16 levels among cases ranged from 3.4 to 19.6 ng/ml with a mean of 7.24 ± 2.35 ng/ml. The plasma P16 level in controls ranged between 0.9 and 9.7 ng/ml with mean of 4.1 ± 2.22 ng/ml. At cutoff more than 4.8 ng/ml in cases, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy were 92.86%, 72.86%, 77.4%, 91.1%, and 82.86%, respectively. The specificity increased with increase in plasma p16 levels. The P16 levels were maximum in stage IV disease. Conclusion: This was a pilot study to detect the plasma p16INK4a levels in SCC of cervix. The levels of plasma p16 protein between 3.9 and 5 ng/ml can be considered as the range for the test to be positive. In clinically suspected cases of cervical cancer, levels more than 4.8 ng/ml can be considered for the diagnosis as point of care test.

Background: This paper reports the findings of evaluation of National Anti-malaria programme (NAMP) conducted independently for Government of India in Yadgir district of Karnataka state in February 2011, by the Department of Community Medicine, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar.Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Yadgir district. Multistage sampling was employed to select the study population. The head of the household and other members present in the household were interviewed and the data was recorded in a predesigned semi-structured questionnaire. The obtained data was entered in the MS excel sheet and analyzed for proportions.Results: Data was collected from 1026 eligible persons. Eight (0.77%) fever cases were distributed among study population. Among fever cases only two (25%) had taken chloroquine. Only one (12.5%) blood smear were taken from fever cases by health worker. Indoor residual spray was not done in any of households.Conclusions: Considering the poor blood smear collection, low intake of chloroquine among fever cases, there is a need to ensure the delivery of these services by health workers. Also steps should be taken to increase the awareness among health workers regarding second line treatment of malaria and insecticide impregnated bed nets.

Background: Mass drug administration (MDA) to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) is conducted once annually in the identified endemic districts of the country. MDA implementation is assessed by appointed independent teams within 2-3 weeks of the activity to suggest mid-term corrections and strengthen the on-going programme. This study was undertaken to assess the process of MDA implementation, drug coverage and compliance and to identify the reasons for non-compliance.Methods: A survey of four clusters comprising of three rural and one urban area was conducted in Gulbarga, during the third week following the MDA campaign in the district. Information pertaining to the MDA beneficiaries of the 124 evaluated households was collected over a period of three days using a structured proforma. The process of MDA implementation was evaluated at the district, taluk and primary health centre (PHC) levels.Results: From the information collected on 673 inmates of the households surveyed, the coverage and compliance rates of 87.5 and 60.9% respectively was found for diethylcarbamazine citrate and albendazole distribution and consumption. The important reasons for non–compliance to swallow the drugs identified were the beneficiaries being out of station during the campaign, was not aware of it, the drug distributer did not visit the beneficiaries house and fear of side effects of the drugs.Conclusions: Efforts to improve the compliance to consumption of the anti-filarial drugs at Gulbarga district is required for elimination of LF.