Dengue fever is of great concern to public health in India as it contributes significantly to the burden of healthcare. The aim of our study was to measure mortality in dengue and its association with hepatitis and thrombocytopenia. Our study was performed in a tertiary care setting in the state of Kerala in southern India. Adult patients admitted in the year 2013 were included. Among 1308 confirmed dengue patients, the mortality rate was 1.76%. Hepatitis and thrombocytopenia were present in over 80% of all patients, but severe hepatitis was seen in 11.4% and severe thrombocytopenia in 9.3%. These were markers of fatal outcome. Other factors significantly associated with mortality were age >60 years, male sex, diabetes and the presence of any co-morbidity.

BACKGROUND A study to assess the educational environment of a Medical College in Kerala to identify problem areas with a view to improve academic achievement of the students. The aim of the study is to assess the students' perception about Educational environment of a Medical college in Kerala. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two batches of Medical students were randomly selected for doing the study using DREEM (Dundee Ready Educational Environmental Measure)-a tool to measure educational climate. 1 Out of 200 students in these batches 150 students participated in the study. Those who were absent on the day of data collection and those who were not willing to participate were excluded from the study. The perception score is considered as positive if it is above 50% of the maximum possible score. When the score is between 25% and 50% it indicates that the educational environment needs improvement. Scoring below 25% indicates a very poor educational environment. Settings and Design-A Cross Sectional study was conducted in one of the Medical Colleges in Kerala. Statistical Analysis-Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. RESULTS Most of the students participated in the study (77.33%) perceived their educational environment as positive. No significant difference was observed between male students and female students. Junior students' perception was significantly better when compared to senior students. CONCLUSION The educational environment of the medical college is perceived as positive by most of students.