Background: Diarrhoea is the second most common cause of under-five mortality especially in developing world. Many studies have been conducted so far using different probiotic strains with variable outcome. So, the aim of the present study was to compare the clinical efficacy of Bacillus clausii and multi strain probiotic formulation as adjunct treatment of acute diarrhoea.Methods: This prospective single blind randomized controlled clinical trial included 300 infants and children between 6 months to 6 years of age admitted in a tertiary care hospital Sylhet, Bangladesh with acute watery diarrhoea having varied dehydration status ranging from no to severe dehydration excluding shocked state. Cases were randomly assigned to three groups which were group I (n=100) comprised of children who were treated with standard treatment (according to WHO guideline) only as control group, group II (n=100) who received standard treatment plus Bacillus clausii and group III (n=100) who received standard treatment plus multi strain probiotic formulation (Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium infantis, Streptococcus thermophilus). Primary outcome variables were duration, frequency of diarrhoea and consistency of stool. Secondary outcome variable was duration of hospital stay.Results: Mean duration of diarrhoea was significantly shorter (p=0.001) in group III (2.62 days) compared to group I (3.26 days) and group II (3.22 days). Frequency of diarrhoea was significantly lower on day 3 of probiotic administration in group III (p <0.05) and on day 5 of treatment in group II (p <0.05). Stool consistency significantly improved on day 3 in group III (p <0.05) while it was on day 4 in group II. The duration of diarrhoea, hospital stay, stool consistency and frequency of stool on day 3 were not statistically significant (p >0.05) in group II in comparison to group I and group III.Conclusions: Multistrain probiotic formulation is effective in reducing the duration, frequency of diarrhoea and duration of hospital stay.

Background: Diarrhoea is the second most common cause of under five mortality especially in developing world. Very few studies have been conducted so far on bacillus clausii probiotic with inconsistent result. So, the aim of the present study is to determine the clinical efficacy of Bacillus Clausii probiotic formulation as adjunct treatment of acute diarrhoea. Materials and methods: This prospective single blind randomized controlled trial included 310 infants and children between 6 months to 6 years of age admitted in a tertiary care hospital Sylhet, Bangladesh with acute watery diarrhoea having varied dehydration status ranging from no to severe dehydration excluding shocked state. Cases were randomly assigned to two groups: Group A (n=150) comprised of children who were treated with standard treatment (According to WHO guideline) only as control group and Group B who received standard treatment plus Bacillus Clausii as probiotic. Clinical responses were evaluated in terms of improvement of outcome variables such as duration and frequency of diarrhoea and duration of hospital stay. Results: Mean duration of diarrhoea was 3.3(±1.1) days in Group A and 3.2(±1.3) days in Group B which was not statistically significant. Frequency of diarrhoea decreased significantly at day 4 of treatment in both study groups showing no statistical difference. Mean duration of hospital stay in both groups was 3.8 days showing no significance. Conclusion: Bacillus Clausii is ineffective in reducing the duration, frequency of diarrhoea and duration of hospital stay. Chatt Maa Shi Hosp Med Coll J; Vol.18 (1); Jan 2019; Page 14-17

Background: Bronchiolitis is the most common reason for hospitalization of children in many countries.Though Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the most common organism causing bronchiolitis, but antibiotics are used widely.So the aim of the present study is to establish whether antibiotic has any role in bronchiolitis management along with supportive treatment. Methods:This retrospective study included 100 infants and children between 2-24 months of age admitted with clear cut sign symptoms of bronchiolitis. Patients were divided into Group A (supportive + antibiotic Rx) comprised 72 patients and group B (supportive Rx only) comprised 28 patients.After 3-5 days of hospital stay, clinical responses were evaluated in terms of improvement in symptoms and clinical parameters-respiratory rate, heart rate and oxygen saturation.

Background: To know the disease pattern and causes of morbidity & mortality of patients admitted to the neonatal unit in a tertiary care hospital in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the neonatal unit from December 2014 to November 2015. Data of all the patients admitted to the neonatal unit during study period was analyzed for, age, sex, weight, gestational age, place and mode of delivery, maternal antenatal events, disease pattern and their outcome. Results: A total of 985 patients were admitted during study period. Among 985 cases 566(57.5%) were male and 419(42.5%) were female. 450(45.6%) were admitted at the age of less than 24 hours. 122 (12.4%) were preterm babies. 202(20.5%) were low birth weight. 693(70.4%) were delivered in hospital. Main causes of admission were perinatal asphyxia 398(40.4%), neonatal sepsis164 (16.6%), preterm LBW 122(12

Background: Depression is not uncommon among medical students all over the world. Few studies have been conducted so far in Bangladesh to depict its actual prevalence and severity. So, the aim of this study was to assess the severity of depression and the level of difficulty faced by medical students in different academic years.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in North East medical college of Bangladesh from January 2018 to June 2018 involving 443 students from 1st year to 5th year. Students were instructed to fill up the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) which incorporates diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV) depression diagnostic criteria categorized as no, mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression and also evaluates their level of function.Results: The prevalence of depression was quite high (79.68%). 196 (44.24%) and 157 (35.44%) students had mild and major depression respectively, while 90 (20.32%) showed no depression. Students with major depression were scored as moderate depression 24.38%, moderately severe depression 8.35%, and severe depression 2.71%. Moderate depression was significantly higher in year 1 and year 2 students in comparison to year 3, 4 and 5. Students from year 1 to year 5 with mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression experienced varying degree of difficulty in their daily activities. Almost all the students in all years with severe depression found themselves very difficult or extremely difficult to cope.Conclusions: High prevalence of depression among medical students is really alarming and underlying factors need to be addressed.