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   2015| September-December  | Volume 2 | Issue 3  
    Online since October 27, 2015

 
 
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ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Immediate effect of listening to Indian raga on attention and concentration in healthy college students: A comparative study
Karuna Nagarajan, Thaiyar M Srinivasan, Nagendra Hongasandra Ramarao
September-December 2015, 2(3):103-107
DOI:10.4103/2394-2010.168367  
Background: Many studies with western music have shown enhancement in the cognitive performance task. The factors influencing the performance are a selection of dependent measures, choice of the piece of music, presentation order of the conditions. Research has shown that the specific choice of musical composition may help in the improvement of the particular cognitive task. Objectives: We chose to study the impact of Indian Raga on a memory task. Methods: In twenty-six volunteers both male and female (group average age ± S.D., 18.84±3.53 years) the immediate effect of two musical conditions and No music condition was studied on memory. All participants were assessed before and after (i) Indian Raga Bhupali(R) for 10 minutes on day one; (ii) an equal duration of Pop music (P); and (iii) an equal duration of Silence or no music (S) on next two different days respectively. A Section of the Wechsler memory scale (WMS) was used to assess; (i) attention and concentration (digit span forward and backward) before and immediately after the intervention. Results: There was a significant improvement in digit forward (P<0.05, increase of 3.17%) and backward span score after (p<0.05, an increase of 5.26%) immediately after the exposure to Indian Raga Bhupali. Conclusions: The combination of notes in Indian Raga Bhupali is said to instill Shringara rasa or the aesthetic mood of Love. The improvement is significant compared to the Pop music that is much preferred by the college students and Silence or No music conditions. It was concluded that Memory scores improved immediately after listening to Indian Raga Bhupali.
  36,186 1,129 1
Is job anxiety and perceived stress modifiable in Indian IT professionals? An experimental study using yoga-based intervention
Pammi Sesha Srinivas, Sony Kumari, Katte Bharathiramnachar Akhilesh, Hongsandra Ramarao Nagendra
September-December 2015, 2(3):81-85
DOI:10.4103/2394-2010.168370  
Background: Indian information technology (IT) professionals are continuously subjected to project assignment changes as well as uncertainties in existing project continuations as cancelling of projects is not uncommon. There are periods in the work life of an Indian IT professional when he/she has to cope with no project situation, before being assigned to another project. IT professionals also need to continuously upgrade their IT-relevant skills in order to deliver projects to customers with less capital. All this adds up to job anxiety and perceived stress among IT professionals. With prolonged states of job anxiety and perceived stress, these professionals may become victims of diseases driven by anxiety and stress. There is a popular perception that Yoga, an Indian ancient science, can give control over modifications of mind and hence can help reduce anxiety and stress. Objective: To study the effect of cyclic meditation ( a yoga based practice) on job Anxiety and perceived stress of Indian IT Professionals. Materials and Methods: A control study was carried out on 96 Indian age ranged from 24 to 50 IT Professionals working in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Pre-post design was chosen and questionnaire method of collecting data was adopted. Results: The results indicates that after a period of 8 week intervention, there is a reduction of 19.51% in job anxiety and a reduction of 34.77% in perceived stress among Indian IT Professionals. Conclusion: This study indicates that Yoga based practices help to greatly reduce Job Anxiety and Perceived stress among Indian IT professionals. This study also highlights the need to explore the role of Yoga based practices on Indian IT professionals work life in greater detail.
  7,702 4,502 1
Challenges faced by health workers in providing maternity management and family planning services in Assam
Janmejaya Samal, Ranjit Kumar Dehury
September-December 2015, 2(3):90-93
DOI:10.4103/2394-2010.168372  
Background: The milieu of maternal health and family planning services always presents challenges in Indian communities. The situation is relatively more challenging in the rural parts of the country. The challenges are a mix of complex issues encompassing the health system and community challenges. Objectives: The basic objective of this study was to understand the challenges encountered by different cadres of health workers in providing maternity management and family planning services. Settings and Design: Different cadres of health care providers, that is, obstetrics and gynecology (O and G) specialists, medical officers (MOs), rural health practitioners (RHPs), and nurses working at the district and block levels were selected conveniently with the permission of State health administration.Materials and Methods: A qualitative pilot study was conducted in two districts of Assam. Participants were interviewed in-depth with the help of a semistructured interview schedule, which lasted for 26 days during May–July 2014. All the quantitative as well as qualitative data were entered and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results: It is evident from our observation that the set of challenges varies with the service provider as well as the category of services in maternity management and family planning. Lack of medicine, lack of manpower, and community dynamics are perceived to be the greatest challenges in providing services among three or six cadres of health care providers. In addition, poor patient compliance, lack of infrastructure, caseload, and inadequate training are also perceived to be major challenges. Conclusion: Many of these challenges are in fact obvious and articulated by many researchers, but it is what needs to be done to overcome these problems that is the most important issue.
  9,022 983 3
CASE REPORT
Squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary antrum mimicking invasive fungal sinusitis: The diagnostic dilemma of an extensive paranasal sinus mass
Olufunso Simisola Aduayi, Olusola Comfort Famurewa, Victor Adebayo Adetiloye, Abidemi Emmanuel Omonisi
September-December 2015, 2(3):112-115
DOI:10.4103/2394-2010.168366  
Tumors of the paranasal sinuses are rare. Most patients present with an advanced stage of the disease because initial symptoms are often ignored or thought to be due to other less serious conditions that may affect the head and neck region. A case of advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary antrum mimicking invasive fungal sinusitis is discussed. The patient had radiological investigation with computed tomography (CT) scan displayed in axial, coronal, and three-dimensional (3D) sagittal reconstruction views. A wedge biopsy of the mass was sent for histopathology and fungal studies for definitive diagnosis.
  9,023 432 -
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Prescribing pattern of antibiotics in community-acquired pneumonia in a teaching hospital of Southeast Asia
Sanjay Kumar, Divya Agrawal, Soumya Santra, Suhasini Dehury, Priti Das, Trupti Rekha Swain
September-December 2015, 2(3):86-89
DOI:10.4103/2394-2010.168371  
Objective: To study and describe the antibiotic prescribing habits of physicians for 117 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Materials and Methods: A medicine consultant or a pulmonologist supervised and treated 45 (38%) patients. Out of 45 patients, 7 (16%) were given macrolide, 12 (26%) received beta-lactam antibiotics, 14 (31%) were given a combination of beta-lactam and macrolide, and 12 (26%) were given a combination of more than one antibiotics. Seventy-two (62%) patients were seen by other specialists, of whom 5 (6%) were given macrolide, 35 (48%) were given beta-lactam, 4 (6%) were administered a combination of beta-lactam and macrolide, 2 (3%) received quinolones, and 26 (36%) patients received various combinations. In 47 out of 117 patients, therapy was modified, which included 12 patients who underwent step-down switch. The duration of hospitalization was 26 days for those patients whose therapy was modified. Patients who underwent step-down switch had a hospital stay of 7 days, whereas those who did not have any modification in the treatment stayed for 10 days in the hospital. Results: Beta-lactam antibiotic was more commonly used, at least 3.8 times more than a macrolide. Other combinations of antibiotics were given in 28%, 68%, and 44% of patients treated by a medicine specialist, pulmonologist, and other specialties, respectively. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that in spite of the advances of knowledge in the management of CAP, there exists variability in the prescribing habits of the attending physician.
  6,595 1,883 -
Prevalence of mastalgia in young Indian females
Sukanya Raghunath, Nagarathna Raghuram, Sandhya Ravi, Nidhi C Ram, Amritanshu Ram
September-December 2015, 2(3):108-111
DOI:10.4103/2394-2010.168368  
Introduction: Mastalgia is a common breast disorder with highly variable prevalence estimates ranging 41–79%. The prevalence in Indian young females is not much studied. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on young female students aged 18–29 years from four different nursing colleges at Ramanagaram District, South India. After signing the informed consent, students filled up the basic details demographic data and specific breast history checklist. Results: The prevalence of mastalgia was 47.33% (354 out of 748), of which 88.70% (314) had cyclical mastalgia (CM) and 9.89% (35) had acyclic mastalgia (ACM). Students who had low body mass index (BMI) had higher risk for mastalgia as compared to those with normal BMI [relative risk (RR) = 1.063] or high BMI (RR = 1.685). Moderately stressed students were at higher (RR = 0.771) risk of mastalgia compared to those with low stress. Students with high stress levels were also at a higher (RR = 0.787) risk compared to those with low stress. Conclusions: The prevalence of mastalgia was 47.33% among 748 young females from four nursing colleges in Karnataka, India.
  6,304 458 3
Comparison of visual outcome between conventional extracapsular cataract extraction and phacoemulsification cataract surgery
Shuaib Abdulsalam
September-December 2015, 2(3):99-102
DOI:10.4103/2394-2010.168365  
Objectives: To compare visual outcomes in patients who had conventional extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) and phacoemulsification for age-related cataract.Materials and Methods: Prospective study comparing the visual outcomes in 360 eyes of 352 patients, 180 of whom were randomized to conventional ECCE and the remaining 180 to phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Visual acuity was assessed on day 1, 1 week, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks postoperatively.Results: In the EECE group, good presenting visual acuity of 6/18 or even better was found in 6%, 31%, 46%, and 69% patients at 1-day, 1-week, 4-week, and 12-week postoperative intervals, respectively. In the phacoemulsification group, visual acuity of 6/18 or even better was achieved in 48%, 78%, 82%, and 89% patients, respectively, at the same postoperative interval as the ECCE group. This difference was statistically significant at all the postoperative intervals.Conclusion: Phacoemulsification achieves better postoperative visual acuity at the early and intermediate postoperative periods. Availability of this technique of cataract extraction will enhance eye care in our various institutions.
  5,542 423 1
Cardiovascular disease, pulse pressure and cognitive decline in ambulatory and hospitalized old patients
Elpidio Santillo, Luciano Marini, Luca Fallavollita, Fabrizio Balestrini, Alberto Castagna
September-December 2015, 2(3):94-98
DOI:10.4103/2394-2010.168369  
Context: Correlations between hypertension, dementia, and cardiovascular diseases in elderly subjects are far from having been elucidated and to date, studies involving old patients from different care settings are lacking. Aims: We aimed to investigate the differences regarding clinical blood pressure values in old subjects from diverse settings of care (ambulatory and hospitalized) examining patients with and without cognitive decline. We wanted also to search the associations between cardiovascular disease, pulse pressure (PP), and cognitive decline in hypertensive subjects. Materials and Methods: The study retrospectively analyzed data from 320 patients (155 ambulatory and 165 hospitalized). Patients' data records were evaluated for diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases and cognitive decline. All subjects underwent blood pressure measurement with the calculation of PP. Results: Patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) showed a greater PP than patients without dementia or MCI (69 mmHg vs 58 mmHg, P: 0.000). In hypertensive patients (n: 219), regression analysis showed an increased risk of cognitive impairment in subjects with cardiovascular disease: odds ratio (OR) 3.65 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.63 to 8.18], in subjects with higher PP: OR 2.34 (95% CI, 1.15 to 4.77) and in older ones OR: 1.06 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.12). Conclusions: In our study, old subjects with cognitive impairment showed higher PP. Elderly hypertensive patients with cardiovascular disease from various care settings should always be examined to identify the trend in the development or progression of cognitive decline.
  4,505 395 -