Objectives:Wound healing is a significant healthcare problem in today’s medical practice. Despite extensive treatment modalities that are supposed to hasten the wound healing process, the outcomes of existing methods are far from optimal. One such agent that has been tried previously and found controversial in wound healing is phenytoin. In this study, the wound-healing efficacy of phenytoin was investigated in albino rats.Materials and Methods:20 male Wistar albino rats were subjected to excisional wounds measuring 500 mm2 on the back and then randomized to two groups (n = 10): Control group (A) and treatment group (B). The control group received no drug treatment till the end of the study. 1% Phenytoin cream was applied to the wounds of rats in the group B and continued till the 16th day of the study. The areas of wounds were measured on the Days 4, 8, 12, and 16 of the experiment. The percentages of the healing wounds were calculated by Walker formula after measurement of the wound area. The total number of days required for complete epithelization of wounds was noted in each group.Results:Statistically significant reduction (P < 0.05) in average wound area was seen in Group B (P value=0.0017, 0.0001, 0.0001, 0.0001), respectively, on Days 4, 8, 12, and 16 of the experiment in comparison to Group A. The average number of days required for complete epithelization of wound area was less in Group B as compared to Group A (P=0.0120). The difference was statically significantConclusion:In the present study, topical phenytoin accelerated healing of excisional wound in albino rats.

A BSTRACT Majority of junior doctors struggle to apply the knowledge of pharmacology to prescribing drugs. A paradigm shift in teaching of clinical pharmacology is the need of the hour in medical curriculum. One of the ways to enhance the teaching of clinical pharmacology is to develop and conduct case-based learning for MBBS students instead of didactic lecturing. Case-based learning session can bridge the gap between theory and practice. Case-based learning provides hands-on training in a classroom setting. We tried to develop and conduct case-based learning for year two medical students and evaluated their response via the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure questionnaire. Majority of our students enjoyed learning clinical pharmacology through case-based learning. Case-based learning also provided students the opportunity to embrace the principles of problem solving, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. It helped students to amalgamate the concept of development of P drug list with rationale prescribing habits. Majority of our students also agreed that they understood the content of the subject taught in the session.

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Background: Recent studies have shown that higher income is associated with a higher risk for subsequent obesity in low- and middle-income countries, while in high-income countries there is a reversal of the association – higher-income individuals have a lower risk of obesity. The concept of being able to afford to overeat is no longer a predictor of obesity in developed countries. In Malaysia, a trend has been observed that the prevalence of obesity increases with an increase in income among the low-income (B40) group. This trend, however, was not further investigated. Therefore, this study was performed to investigate the association of income and other sociodemographic factors with obesity among residents within the B40 income group in an urban community.  Methods: This cross-sectional study used a systematic sampling technique to recruit participants residing in a Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The sociodemographic characteristics were investigated through face-to-face interviews. Weight and height were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated and coded as underweight, normal, overweight and obese according to the cut-off points for the Asian population. A chi-squared test was used to compare the prevalence of obesity in this study with the national prevalence. A generalized linear model was introduced to identify BMI predictors. Results: Among the 341 participants, 25 (7.3%) were underweight, 94 (27.6%) had normal weight, 87 (25.5%) were overweight, and 135 (39.6%) were obese. The proportion of obese adults (45.8%) was significantly higher than the national prevalence of 30.6% (p<0.001). Among all the tested variables, only income was significantly associated with BMI (p=0.046). Conclusion: The proportion of obesity in this urban poor community was higher compared with the national average. BMI increased as the average monthly household income decreased.