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Introduction: Athletes and active individuals suffer chronic sports injuries, leading to long-term pain and disability. Digital health interventions (DHIs) can improve medication adherence and rehabilitation outcomes through reminders and progress tracking. Objective: Affecting whether a mobile application with a wearable device can increase medication adherence, pain management, rehabilitation progress and quality of life in individuals suffering from chronic sports injuries. Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with 200 participants. The intervention group used the DHI, while the control group received standard care. Medication adherence, pain scores, associated rehabilitation progress (DASH scale), and quality of life (SF-36) were the data collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. Results: The intervention groups showed significant improvements in medication adherence rate (85.2 vs. 62.1, (p < 0.001), pain reduction (3.2 vs. 5.0 on VAS, (p < 0.001), rehabilitation progress (−22.5 vs. −12.3 on DASH, (p < 0.001) versus the interventions group after the intervention. In the intervencion group, quality of life also greatly improved (22.4 vs. 12.3, p<0,001). Conclusion: DHIs significantly improve medication adherence, pain management, rehabilitation progress, and quality of life in individuals with chronic sports injuries, suggesting their potential for broader clinical application in rehabilitation settings.

Background: The need for case-based learning in basic subjects is being recognized world over. Early clinical illustrations and actual clinical exposure enable students to associate basic science and real patient situations, probably increasing their retention of knowledge. The study was conducted to introduce an alternate method of teaching-learning in pharmacology in a large classroom setting to integrate pharmacology into clinical setting for better learning and understanding of the subject. Methods: Ninety-four students of second professional MBBS of a medical college in Punjab were divided into 2 groups and were taught a 2-hour topic in pharmacology using case-based learning (CBL) method and didactic lecture (DL) method using a crossover design. Their attendance and written test score at the end of teaching session were compared. Feedback from students and faculty was taken by prestructured questionnaires. Results: There was an increase in students’ attendance (P = .008) in CBL sessions but insignificant difference in their performance (P = .98) in the tests. Most (84%) of the students felt that CBL is a better method of teaching-learning than traditional DL. The teaching faculty felt that the students looked more interested and were themselves more motivated for the newer method of teaching. Conclusions: Case-based learning led to improvement in student motivation, satisfaction, and engagement. Most students and faculty accepted that CBL was an effective learning tool for pharmacology teaching in a large group setting and supported the incorporation of CBL into traditional DL teaching.

Background: The job demands of some of the industries have been reported to be hazardous to the health and safety of workers. Workplace environmental hazards or occupational hazards are a globally major cause of disability and mortality among the working population. The present study was done to analyze the effect of exposure to metal dust on pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms. Materials and Methods: The study population selected as cases were 200 male mill workers working for at least 1-year duration (direct exposure) in the age group of 20-50 years, and controls were 200 age- and gender-matched male participants without any history of occupational or environmental exposure. A complete history was taken. Spirometry was done. Spirometric parameters studied were forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), ratio of FEV1 and FVC, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). The spirometry data and baseline characteristics of the participants were compared using unpaired t-test. Results: The mean age of the participants of the study group and the control group was 42.3 years and 44.1 years, respectively. The majority of the study population belonged to the age group of 41-50 years. The mean FEV1 value among participants of the study group and control group was 2.69 and 2.13, respectively. The mean FVC value among participants of the study group and control group was 3.18 and 3.63, respectively. The mean FEV1/FVC value among participants of the study group and control group was 84.59% and 86.22%, respectively. The mean PEFR value among the study group and control group was 7.78 and 8.67, respectively. While analyzing statistically, mean lung functional tests were significantly lowered among the study group. About 69.5% of the participants of the study group thought it to be essential for making safety measures a necessity. Conclusion: The present study concluded that mean lung functional tests were significantly lowered among the study group. Despite the use of face mask, lung function abnormality was present in mill workers.

Background: Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are chronic disorders, inadequate management of these two disorders leads to several complications and end organ damage that can impair health related quality of life (HRQoL) in these individuals. Several studies in hypertensive patients concluded that hypertension reduced HRQoL and participants with diabetes also reported comparably decreased HRQoL. The data on HRQoL in patients suffering from both hypertension and diabetes is limited hence we designed this study to assess health related quality of life in patients suffering from hypertension and diabetes mellitus.Methodology: This single centre, cross-sectional study was conducted for 2 months between April and August 2013 in patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Patients suffering from hypertension were recruited in study and were divided into two groups, Group 1 consisted of patient suffering from hypertension and diabetes mellitus whereas Group 2 consisted of patients suffering from hypertension. Patients were assessed on Short form health Survey (SF-36) and the WHOQOL – Bref scores. Results: A total of 85 patients were screened out of which 41 patients were enrolled in the study, 21 patients in Group 1 and 20 patients in group 2. The SF-36 Scores showed significantly (p<0.05) worse pain scores in patients in Group 2. Patients in Group 1 had a better quality of life as compared to other group as evident by higher scores in most of the parameters of SF-36 and WHO-QOL Bref Score, though it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Both groups had compromised quality of life; patients with hypertension and diabetes had a better quality of life.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.15(1) 2016 p.84-89

Aim: Cardiovascular disease is on the rise and is expected to be a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Identification of risk in asymptomatic individual in higher risk group could help to plan individual patient’s management. Positive family history is one of the risk factors and screening at this level may help in determining individual therapy. Studies have shown relation of positive family history but are lacking in this part of world, so we considered it worthwhile to assess FRS in asymptomatic sibling of CAD Patients Materials and methods: 75 volunteers were enrolled in the study and they underwent Bruce treadmill exercise protocol after their initial evaluation, these volunteers than also underwent biochemical test – Fasting blood sugar and lipid profile. These volunteers were divided into two groups based upon their Treadmill test results. Results: 31 out of 75 volunteers were TMT positive and they were kept in one group. These volunteers differed significantly (p<0.05) in higher age, fasting blood sugar and Low density lipoprotein level (LDL). This group also had a significantly lower metabolic equivalents and higher Framingham Risk Score. Conclusion: Our study showed that positive family history is associated with a higher Framingham risk score in asymptomatic volunteers. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjms.v12i1.11825 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. 12 No. 01 January’13 pp.68-73

Dostarlimab-gxly, a monoclonal anti–PD-1 antibody, has been recognized as being effective for rectal cancer in patients whose tumors are mismatch repair deficient. Even though promising preliminary clinical results have been obtained, further critical appraisal of the efficacy, safety, and use of this drug among the broader spectrum of patients will be required. To bridge this knowledge gap, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted involving literature from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from January 2018 to November 2024. The studies that were analyzed based on these primary metrics were complete clinical response (cCR), pathologic complete response (pCR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety profile. The process of screening and filtering of abstracts from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science generated 1,246 abstracts, of which 28 were included in the final analysis of dostarlimab-gxly treated patients, who totaled 1,567. Results demonstrated a pooled complete response rate of 32.5%, with notably higher pCR rates in deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors compared to mismatch repair-proficient tumors. Patients who received dostarlimab-gxly with radiotherapy or chemotherapy showed higher response rates but increased risks of toxicity. The most common adverse effects were fatigue, diarrhea, and immune-related colitis. The meta-analysis put emphasis on large improvements in PFS and OS compared to control treatments. Dostarlimab-gxly represents a possible alternative treatment strategy for rectal cancer, predominantly effective in the dMMR context. Given its generally balanced safety profile, it is paramount to remain ever vigilant for potential immune-related adverse events. Future work should concentrate on making combination therapies maximally effective, establishing predictive biomarkers, and performing extensive research to further reinforce these findings.

Assessment method can influence student learning. Use of objective structured practical examination (OSPE) has been reported in various institutes with great benefits. We evaluated OSPE for the assessment of practical skills in pharmacology examination for undergraduate medical students and compared it with conventional practical examination (CPE). After sensitizing the 2 year MBBS students to OSPE, the students were divided into four batches with twenty students in each batch. Students were assessed by attending five OSPE stations, each for duration of 5 min. The effectiveness was assessed through a student's feedback questionnaire and was checked for its reliability by Cronbach's alpha. The result of OSPE was compared with that of CPE of the same batch. Cronbach's alpha of the feedback questionnaire was 0.71, with high internal consistency. The feedback given was categorized into three domains: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective, and an assessment was also done for its further use. In cognitive domain, 74% of the students felt that the questions asked and the syllabus taught were well correlated. In psychomotor domain, 81% agreed that it is excellent for assessing the applied part of the subject. Seventy percent of students opined that it was associated with lesser stress than CPE. On overall assessment, 76% rated this methodology as good/satisfactory and 23% as excellent in terms of better scoring. There was a significant difference in the mean score between the results of OSPE and CPE ( < 0.001, df = 158, confidence interval = 95%). OSPE is a feasible and skill enhancing tool for the assessment in pharmacology examinations for undergraduate students.

BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory disease with worldwide prevalence of 10-40%. Clinically, the condition manifests as nasal itching (pruritus), sneezing, rhinorrhea, congestion and itchy eyes. The second generation antihistamines are commonly used either as nasal sprays (azelastine) or orally (levocetirizine). Studies have demonstrated equal efficacy of azelastine and levocetirizine, but the data on Indian population is lacking. Hence, we designed this study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of azelastine in comparison to levocetirizine in patients with allergic rhinitis. METHODS: This prospective, randomized, parallel group study was conducted in the otorhinolaryngology outpatient department. Both male and female patients between the ages of 18 to 55 years were enrolled in the study after informed consent. Patients were randomized into two groups. Subjects in group 1 received azelastine whereas group 2 received levocetirizine. Clinic visits were scheduled at baseline and after every 2 weeks of treatment for 4 weeks. The primary outcome measure was mean change in the total daytime nasal symptom scores (PDTS) and secondary outcomes were mean change in the nighttime nasal symptom scores (PNTS) and composite symptom scores (PCS). RESULTS: We enrolled 40 patients, 20 in each group. Both groups were comparable at baseline and tolerated treatment well. There was significant (p<0.05) improvement in mean PDTS, PNTS and PCS scores in both groups from second week onwards. There was significant (p<0.05) improvement in patients in group 1 at 4 weeks in the mean PDTS and PCS score. There was no significant difference in mean PNTS scores in both groups. There were no reported adverse events. CONCLUSION: In our study, both azelastine and levocetirizine improved the symptoms of patients with allergic rhinitis but azelastine showed better improvement in symptoms at the end of 4 weeks.