BackgroundThe motivation to volunteer on a medical service trip (MST) may involve more than a simple desire for philanthropy. Some volunteers may be motivated by an intrinsic interest in volunteering in which the context of the volunteer activity is less important. Others may volunteer because the context of their volunteering is more important than their intrinsic interest in volunteering. Furthermore, MSTs may pose a variety of ethical problems that volunteers should consider prior to engaging in a trip. This study evaluated the motivations and barriers for graduate health care students volunteering for an MST to either the Dominican Republic or Mississippi. Volunteers’ understanding of some of the ethical issues associated with MSTs was also assessed.MethodsThirty-five graduate health professions students who volunteered on an MST were asked to complete an online survey. Students’ motivations and barriers for volunteering were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale and Fisher’s exact test. Ethical understanding of issues in volunteering was assessed using thematic analysis.ResultsStudents’ motivations for volunteering appeared to be related to the medical context of their service more than an inherent desire for volunteer work. Significant differences were seen in motivations and barriers for some student groups, especially those whose volunteer work had less opportunity for clinical service. Thematic analysis revealed two major themes and suggested that students had an empirical understanding that volunteer work could have both positive and negative effects.ConclusionsAn understanding of students’ motivations for volunteering on an MST may allow faculty to design trips with activities that effectively address student motivations. Although students had a basic understanding of some of the ethical issues involved, they had not considered the impact of a service group on the in-country partners they work with.

Background: Management of keloid is difficult as well as challenging. Intralesional triamcinolone acetonide (TAC) injections have remained a gold standard in non-surgical management of keloid. TAC is generally used in the concentration of 40mg/ml, which causes adverse effects such as local dermal atrophy and hypopigmentation. Aim was to study efficacy and adverse effects of TAC in treatment of keloid, in a lesser concentration of 20mg/ml.Methods: An open label study was conducted from November 2015 to May 2017 on 25 subjects of either gender, in the age group 11-55 years, at a medical college hospital. Intralesional injection TAC 20 was administered in the keloid at an interval of 3 weeks, for a total of 6 sessions, over a period of 18 weeks. Vancouver scar scale (VSS) was used to assess the improvement and SPSS 21 for statistical analysis.Results: Mean age of keloid subjects was 30.72 years and median duration of keloid was 8 months. The mean VSS score before treatment was 8.36 which reduced to 3.20 after treatment. Mean percentage change in VSS score was 62.79%, which was very highly significant (p <0.001). Physician’s assessment was ‘Very Good’ in 52.0% and ‘Excellent’ in 5 (20%). Adverse effect of atrophy was seen in 3 (12%), hypopigmentation in 11 (44%) and telangiectasia in 4 (16%).Conclusions: Intralesional injection triamcinolone acetonide 20mg/ml gives very good to excellent improvement in the majority of patients of keloid. Local adverse effects seen were hypopigmentation, atrophy and telengiectasia.

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Keloid is a common presentation in clinical practice. Symptoms due to keloid are mild, but disfigurement and functional impairment can be severe. It is difficult to treat. Intralesional, injection triamcinolone acetonide, has limited efficacy, causes adverse effects such as local dermal atrophy, telengiectasia and hypopigmentation. Injection verapamil is reported to have similar efficacy, but lesser side effects, and is cheaper. Aim was to study efficacy and adverse effects of intralesional verapamil in treatment of keloid.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> An open label study on 25 patients of keloid, either gender, age 11 to 55 years at a medical college hospital. Injection verapamil 2.5 mg/ml was administered intralesionally, at an interval of 3 weeks, for a total of 6 sittings, over a period of 18 weeks. Vancouver scar scale (VSS) was used to assess the improvement. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 21.0.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Median duration of keloids was 8 months. The mean VSS score before treatment was 7.68 which reduced to 4.28 after treatment. Mean percentage change in VSS score was 46.21%, very highly significant (p&lt;0.001). Physician’s assessment was ‘very good’ in 32.0% and 'excellent' in 8.0%. The complaint of post-procedure pain was present in almost all.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Intralesional injection verapamil, gives very good to excellent improvement in 40% of patients of keloid. Post injection pain persists for more than 24 hours. Drug does not cause local dermal atrophy or hypopigmentation.</p>

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">Acne is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit, mainly affecting face and frequently followed by scarring. It is the most common skin disease in an urban dermatology clinic in India. Adult acne is more common in women and may be a marker of hyperandrogenism.The present study was carried out to study the clinical profile of acne vulgaris in semiurban patients.</span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">The study was conducted for 1 year on all eligible patients of acne vulgaris attending dermatology OPD of a hospital catering to semiurban patients. Data including grade of acne, markers of androgenicity and post-acne scarring was collected. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 15 software</span>.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">Frequency of acne vulgaris patients in the dermatology OPD was 2.8% with 429 acne patients out of 15,322 new patients. Female to male ratio was 1.44:1. The mean age of onset in males was 16.24 and in females, 14.84 years. Grade 2 acne (66%) was commonest followed by grade 3 (5.1%) and grade 4 (3.7%). Associated conditions seen were seborrhea (60.8%), alopecia (18.9%), acanthosis (4.9%) and PCOD (2.3%). Markers of androgenicity were more frequently seen in grade 2 acne which was statistically significant. Atrophic scars were commonest including icepick scars (80.2%), rolling scars (67.4%) and box scars (57.8%). </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">In our study females had an earlier onset and closed comedones were the most common acne lesion. Grade 2 acne vulgaris formed majority of patients. Grade 4 acne vulgaris was more common in males.</span></p>

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