Aim of study: Drug-drug interaction (DDI) occurs when two or more drugs are simultaneously administered, where the effect of one drug is altered by the concomitant use of another drug. The prospective observational study aimed to assess the potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) in general medicine department of a multispecialty teaching hospital. Material & Methods: Data of all the patients admitted in the general medicine department was collected and analyzed for drug-drug interactions by using drug information resources such as "Thomson Reuters MICROMEDEX® 2.0 DRUGDEX and drugs.com. Results: A total of 150 case records were reviewed, 116 (77.33%) cases were identified with 273 potential drug-drug interactions during the study period. It was observed that out of the 273 DDIs identified, majority 68.13% of the interactions were moderate in severity followed by 19.78% were minor and 12.08% were major. The categorization of onset of drug-drug interactions revealed that 53.47% were categorized as 'not specified' and the documentation status of drugdrug interactions showed that 56.77% were 'fair' in nature. Conclusion: The study highlights the need of regular monitoring of drug therapy in identifying and preventing the medications that have the potential to cause drug-drug interactions thereby minimizing the undesirable outcomes in drug therapy and improving the quality of care.

The present study examined the performance of MCH programmes relative to the development of primary health care systems in Karnataka state. The study focused its analysis on the institutional development of primary health care systems, namely, Sub-Centres (SCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) in terms of expansion and populations served by these facilities during the past three decades consequent to adoption of ‘Health for All by 2000’ strategy, and performance of MCH services in the past 20 years with respect to key components. The study finds that the primary health care systems in Karnataka are not only intensively developed in comparison to the country as a whole but also on similar levels with other South Indian states. The health facilities in Malnad and coastal districts are more evenly and intensively developed than in other regions. The facilities in many taluks of Hyderabad Karnataka are burdened with much higher population coverage than the specified population norms, particularly with respect to SCs and PHCs. Karnataka is far behind the goals set by the NPP of 2000 in the performance of MCH indicators as compared to Kerala and Tamil Nadu states. The population parameters specified by the NPP-2000 for the creation of SCs and PHCs were almost achieved in the state within a decade of expansion drive, that is, during 1990–91. The overall progress of MCH performance in Karnataka is, however not in tandem with the extent of expansion in health facilities. The process of progress in MCH programmes in the state appears to be staggered by low and sluggish performances in Mumbai and Hyderabad Karnataka districts. More health facilities, specifically, SCs and PHCs may be created in Hyderabad and Mumbai Karnataka districts.

Introduction:In country like India, where there is big and complex health care system, mixed economy, private and Government hospitals working together; while providing services generate waste. It is estimated that the quantity of waste generated from hospitals in our country ranges between 0.5 and 2.0 kg/bed/day and annually about 0.33 million tons of waste are generated in India Aim and objectives:To study the awareness of nursing staff about the biomedical waste segregation in a tertiary care center Material and methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among the nurses of Justice K.S.Hegde Hospital, Derlakatte. Total of 123 nurses who were present at the time were the study subjects. The pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire which was validated by face validation method was distributed. Results:The total of 96.66% of nurses knew the segregation of biomedical waste was the need of the hour. 90% of them felt they have adequate knowledge about segregation. 96% knew the color coding of sharps and human anatomical waste. But 99% knew the colour coding of blood, blood products and microbiological waste. 67% knew the colour coding of pharmacological waste and double glove disposal. Only 89.3% were confident that they followed the correct methods of segregation.

Background: The free radical theory of aging postulates that aging results from the accumulation of deleterious effects caused by free radicals, and the ability of an organism to cope with cellular damage induced by ROS plays an important role in determining organismal lifespan. GSH and SOD functions by donating the proton and in scavenging the superoxide radicals, thereby protecting the body against oxidative stress by scavenging the free radicals produced in the body. Glutathione peroxidase also have similar function, it reduce lipid hydroperoxides to their corresponding alcohols and free hydrogen peroxide to water.Methods: Hundred healthy adults from staff and student community under the age group of 20 to 60 years were recruited. Approximately 5ml blood sample was collected and used for the analysis of lipid profile, MDA and antioxidant status using standard protocol.Results: The lipid profile, MDA and antioxidant status were measured and compared with that of serum nitric oxide levels of 100 healthy individuals of the age 20-60 yrs. Men aged 20-29 years showed significantly higher NO levels compared to corresponding women. There is a significant reduction in total antioxidant capacity in elderly people. With the decrease in NO there is increase in MDA is observed.Conclusions: There is a significant reduction in total antioxidant capacity in elderly people. This reduction in antioxidant capacity implies a defect in antioxidant system, may be due to a reduction in individual antioxidant or may be caused by a non-equilibrium or poor cooperation between them.