Medical College In South India Research Articles

IJCM_111A: Awareness of third- and fourth-hand smoking and its implications among medical students - A cross sectional study

Background: The term third hand smoke (THS) may have initially appeared in print in 2006, more widely known in 2009. In that work, the researchers stated that 65.2% of non-smokers and 43.3% of smokers believed THS could harm children and such opinions were associated with the imposition of home smoking bans. Fourth-hand smoke, up to two thirds of cigarette butts terminate in the environment. Objective: To estimate awareness and implication of third- and fourth-hand smoking among Medical students. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among Medical students of a Medical College in South India in the month of April 2023. All Medical students whoever gave consent were included in the study. A pre-designed semi-structured questionnaire was administered in google forms to the study participants and informed consent was obtained from the participants. The Beliefs About Third Hand (BATHS) Scale was used to determine beliefs about THS. The data was initially entered to Microsoft Excel 2010 and analysed using statistical package of social science (SPSS trial version 20.0). Results: Among the 360 participants only 35.6% (128) of participants were aware of third hand smoking and 23.3% (84) of participants were aware about fourth hand smoking. Nearly 222(61.6%) participants had opinion of developing asthma, followed by acute respiratory tract infection and wheeze in children when exposed to third hand smoke. Majority 341(94.7%) and 344 (95.6%) participants out of 360 had opinion that smoking should be banned in home environment and public places respectively. Conclusion: The medical students had less awareness about third hand smoke and its effect on human health, hence measures have to be taken to make medical students aware about it. It can be recommended to incorporate third- and fourth-hand smoking as educational messages in the medical curriculum.

Study of mindset among learners and educators in an Indian medical school-A questionnaire-based survey.

Mindset varies along a spectrum of two extremes- fixed and growth. Individuals with growth mindset embrace new challenges readily and believe that intelligence is malleable. Mindset theory has gained focus as a principal underpinning value of health professions education, as it is aligned with the goals of competency-based education. The study aims to assess the mindset of health professional educators and learners. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted in a private medical college in South India. A pre-validated modified version of Dweck's (2000) Implicit Theories of Intelligence Questionnaire was administered to the study participants. Participants responded to 10 items using a four-point Likert scale, rating the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with each statement. The quantitative data were expressed in means and percentages. A total of192 students and 25 faculty participated in the study. Among students, 45.8% (n = 88) had strong growth mindset, 42.1% (n = 81) had growth mindset with some fixed ideas, 10.9% (n = 21) had fixed mindset with some growth ideas, and 1% (n = 2) had strong fixed mindset. Among faculty 4% (n = 1) had fixed mindset with growth ideas, 44% (n = 11) had growth mindset with fixed ideas, and 52% (n = 13) had strong growth mindset. In this study, educators and learners of a medical school were found to have predominantly growth mindset. Fostering growth mindset among stakeholders of health professions education is essential for effective teaching and learning in competency-based education.

Patterns and Reasons for Junk Food Consumption among Young Adults: A Mixed Methods Study from a Medical College in South India

Background and Aim: Food item that has little nutritive value, high fat, and sugar content with little to no fiber content is labeled as junk food. The objective of the study is to assess the patterns of consumption of junk food among young adults and to explore the reasons for junk food consumption among young adults. Materials and Methods: Mixed method study consisting of quantitative phase involving interviews with 116 students from a Medical College using a semi-structured, validated questionnaire circulated through Google Forms followed by an depth interview of 10 participants for qualitative phase. Results: In the study, it was observed that (62.2%) eat junk food during snack time. Students staying with friends (35.3%) consumed more junk food compared to the ones staying with family (13.8%). The most common reasons for junk food consumption were its good taste (77.6%) and (68.1%) convenience. It is observed that maximum consumption of junk food is seen when meeting their friends (70.7%) and on special occasions (61.2%). French fries (69.8%) were the most common junk food consumed although (76.7%) felt that junk food is unhealthy. The qualitative interview also supported the findings that the most common reasons for junk food consumption were craving, inexpensive, taste, and poor taste of hostel food. Conclusion: The above study concluded that majority of the students consumed junk food when staying with friends and due to its good taste and convenience and to spend quality time with their family and on special occasions. Participants were aware that junk food is unhealthy but consume it because it is delicious while being pocket friendly.

Knowledge about Rheumatoid Arthritis among Senior Undergraduate Medical Students of a Medical College in South India

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common form of autoimmune inflammatory arthritis with an Indian prevalence of around 0.75%. Nearly 55% of Indians resort to primary health-care centers as their first point of contact. MBBS students must be well equipped to diagnose and treat patients with RA within the community and refer the relevant cases appropriately to higher medical facilities. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted assessing the basic knowledge of RA in senior medical undergraduate students in two domains. The first domain included assessment, clinical features, and diagnosis of RA while the second domain included treatment, radiological features, and therapeutics of RA. The total score was summed up for each domain. Self-assessment of knowledge was also inquired. The questionnaire was validated after a pilot study. The analysis was done using SPSS software using Pearson’s Chi-square test for correlation and paired t-test for comparison with basic descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 142 students participated, classified by year of study. There were 69% of female respondents. The mean self-assessment value was 4.82 ± 1.944, and the mean score in the questionnaire was 7.27 ± 2.183. The mean score out of 9 for Domain A was 5.09 ± 1.63 and for Domain B out of 4 was 2.17 ± 0.977. Students performed better in Domain B. A significant association was found between final assessment score and year of study (P < 0.01) as well as self-assessment and year of study (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Participants had less confidence in themselves as compared to how they performed. Female students performed better. Awareness about Domain B was higher, and senior students performed better.

A study on the morphology and morphometry of foramen ovale in dry human skulls

An oval shape foramen is present in the greater wing of sphenoid through which passes the many vital structures. It is located at the transitional area between intracranial and extracranial structures. It is important for diagnostic and surgical procedures. A total 100 skulls were used for the study. 82 skulls were studied and 18 skulls were excluded from the study. The skulls were collected from Phase I MBBS students from different medical colleges in south India. Skulls in poor conditions or skulls with partly damaged surroundings of the foramen ovale were not considered. Maximum length and width of foramen ovale was measured using digital Vernier calliper. Also, the distance from the anterior root of zygoma and the distance from the articular tubercle on zygomatic arch to foramen ovale were measured. Variation in right and left side were calculated, the variations in shape also recorded. The mean length of foramen ovale was 6.8 ±1 and the mean breath of foramen ovale was 3.65±1. Two-sample independent t test showed significant difference between the right and left breadths of foramen ovale (p 0.0126), while the right and left lengths of foramen ovale were not significant (p 0.245). The mean distance of foramen ovale from articular tubercle on Zygomatic arch was 33±2 mm. The mean distance from anterior root of Zygomatic arch was 21.5 ± 2.1 mm. The present study concludes that there is significant difference between sizes of right and left side foramen ovale. Foramen ovale has practical significance to both neurosurgical and functional cranial neuroanatomy as it provides transcutaneous approaches to the skull base especially in cases of trigeminal neuralgia, as the Gasserion ganglion can be approached through it.

Histopathological study of soft-tissue tumors in a medical college in South India: A two-year study

Histopathological study of soft-tissue tumors in a medical college in South India: A two-year study

Evaluation of the Performance of Anganwadi Workers in Delivering Integrated Child Development Services in the Rural Field Practice Area of a Tertiary Medical College in South India.

Background and objective To meet the overall developmental needs of children below six years, adolescent girls, and expectant and nursing mothers, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) waslaunched on 2nd October1975via the network of Anganwadis. It included a range of services like supplementary nutrition, preschool education, immunization, health check-up, referral services, and nutrition and health education. The majority of Karnataka's population resides in rural areas (61.3%) and among them, children (aged zero to sixyears) constitute around 12.05%. The incidence of mortality and morbidity among vulnerable groups is quite high. A total of 204 ICDS project areas have been sanctioned in Karnataka till 2012, out of which 63,377 Anganwadi centers (AWCs) from 185 projects have been functional. Findings showan alarming gap of 12 million beneficiaries for the required services.Mere 44% of children between 12 and 23 months have received complete immunization. The scheme has reached a stage where enriching its contents is more crucial than concentrating on universalization. Our study has tried to recognize the hindrances in the delivery of ICDS services by evaluating the performance ofAnganwadi workers (AWWs), which in turn willoptimize the benefit for the beneficiaries. Materials and methods This was a community-based, cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted over a period of six months. The tertiary medical college covers a population of 16,231 in its rural catchment area, whose health needs are served by 21 AWCs. All 21 centers were included in the study through the universal sampling method. Data collection commenced after obtaining clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee and permission from the Program Officer and Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) of the concerned ICDS block. Informed consent was taken from all the AWWs. Data to evaluate the performance of AWWs were collected using a pre-validated and pre-structured questionnaire. Performance was evaluated by allotting scores to each question. Results Among the 21 AWWs interviewed, 38.1% belonged to the age group of 41-50 years. Of them, 76.2% achieved the correct number of target home visits per day. Growth charts were plotted correctly by the workers in only 60% of centers. Only 57.1% of centers stored raw food materials safely, away from infestation. In 71.4% of centers, the health staff had immunized the children appropriately. Only 38.1% of AWWs had the knowledge of giving paracetamol tablets to the mothers in case of fever and were also giving vitamin syrup to the children. Only 19% of AWWs responded correctly regarding the importance of Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHND). In our study, 11 (52.4%) workers had "good" knowledge about delivering different services under the ICDS scheme,eight (38.1%) had "poor" knowledge while two (9.5%) workers had "satisfactory" knowledge. Conclusion The present study gives some insight into the existing situation in rural AWCs. Although the majority of AWWs had good knowledge about delivering different services under the ICDS scheme, further improvement is needed for optimizing the outcome.

Efficacy of oral mefenamic acid versus paracetamol as a prophylactic analgesic for needle pain in children receiving vaccination: a three-arm, parallel, triple-blind, placebo-controlled MAP VaC randomized controlled trial

Background: Needle pain due to routine vaccination is an important factor contributing to low vaccine adherence and immunization coverage. Prophylactic oral analgesics can address this important issue of needle pain related to vaccination. Paracetamol and mefenamic acid are commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for pain relief, but there is little published literature on whether the same can be used for needle pain related to vaccination. Objectives: This study was planned to compare the efficacy of oral mefenamic acid and paracetamol over placebo as a prophylactic analgesic during vaccination and prophylactic antipyretic during the post-vaccination period. Designs: Three-arm, triple-blind, randomized controlled trial. Methods: This study was conducted at the outpatient department of a tertiary-level medical college in South India from January 2021 to June 2022. In this three-arm interventional trial, each arm had either a single dose of placebo or mefenamic acid (4 mg/kg/dose) or paracetamol (10 mg/kg/dose). These medicines were administered orally 30 min before vaccination to reduce needle pain. Main outcome and measures: Outcome was measured with the change of FLACC (Face, Leg, Activity, Cry, Consolability) scoring at the time of vaccination, subsequently at 15 and 30 min of vaccination in all three groups. Appearance of fever, grade of fever, and need for antipyretics 24 h after vaccination were also noted. Results: There was a significant difference in FLACC scores at the time of administration ( p = 0.010) and at 15 min ( p = 0.014) with mefenamic acid compared to placebo. Although the paracetamol group showed a difference when compared to the placebo, it was not significant at the time of administration ( p = 0.401), at 15 min ( p = 0.451), or 30 min ( p = 0.892) post-vaccination. The appearance of fever, grade of fever, and use of antipyretic up to 24 h post-vaccination had no significant difference among any of the three groups. Conclusion: Mefenamic acid was more potent than placebo for pre-vaccination pain prophylaxis in children. There was no difference in the appearance of fever and its grade among the three groups. The promising results from this trial warrant further large-scale studies to recommend a single oral dose of mefenamic acid to tackle needle pain related to vaccination in children to improve vaccine adherence and coverage. Trial registration: CTRI (Clinical trials registry-India) (CTRI/2021/01/030239). [Date of Commencement: 13 Jan 2021, Date of last recruitment: 30 June 2022 (now closed for new participants)]

COVID-19 vaccination among adolescents: A cross-sectional study in rural India

Background: In December 2019 when the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak appeared it was thought to affect mainly adult population while majority of children were not affected and showed only mild symptoms unlike adults. During this period in the emergency common strategy that was followed was shutting down schools in most countries to control rapid raise of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Extended vaccination for children in the age group of 15–18 years was started in India since January 3, 22 with COVAXIN vaccine. This study was intended to gain knowledge about vaccination pattern and status of adverse event following immunisation among children. Aims and Objectives: To assess pattern of coronavirus disease (COVID) vaccination among school going adolescents. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in rural field practice area of a medical college in South India. It was conducted over a period of 2 months at schools in rural field practice area of medical college. Data was collected from the study participants (15–18 years) pertaining to demographic details, information related to COVID appropriate behavior, vaccination and AEFIs. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.00. Results: Total number of participants enrolled in the study were 126. A total of 124 out of 126 were vaccinated with at least a dose of COVAXIN. Overall 94 (75.8%) and 18 (36.7%) of the participants suffered from AEFI following 1st and 2nd dose respectively. AEFIs in were found to be mild and non-serious. Out of 126 participants, three diagnosed with COVID-19 infection post vaccination. None among three required hospitalization. Majority of them followed wearing mask, handwashing and use of hand sanitizer as COVID appropriate behavior. Conclusion: Based on our sample included in our study, it reflects that vaccination coverage and acceptance was better among adolescents. Among adolescents who received COVID-19 vaccination most of them experienced mild AEFI just like adults.

Psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic among medical students

Background: Coronavirus disease was a challenge to the human beings, leading to a big stress. Many studies were done on people’s psychological well-being and solutions were made. However, the attention given to the students was inadequate. Hence, this study was done to find out the psychological effect on medical students before and after pandemic. Aims and Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess the psychological impact of corona virus disease on M.B.B.S students by self-structured questionnaire. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional study including 306 medical students from all the professional years, age 18–25 years, both males and females in a rural medical college of South India. Informed consent was obtained, those not willing for the study were excluded from the study. A self-structured questionnaire was given to the study participants and the answers were analyzed. Results: Analysis was done by mean and standard deviation, frequency, and proportions. Out of 306 students, 65% were female and 35% were male. The sleeping cycle was affected for 40.2% of subjects. Appetite was abnormal for 20.59%, depression for 31.05%, and anxiety 33.66%. Anger increased in 24.51%. Many students had insufficient relaxation. About 57.84% participants expressed stress for online classes. For 77.78% students, academics were affected and 57.52% were frustrated. Conclusion: In COVID-19 pandemic period, medical students expressed stress and anxiety in new study methods, sleep and appetite abnormality, increased anger, irritation, and frustration. Adequate measures to be taken for prevention of stress by relaxation techniques, yoga, etc.

Study of Self Esteem and Factors Associated among Medical Students of a Private Medical College of Karnataka: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Self-esteem refers to a person’s overall sense of his worth or value. It is how much a person “values, approves of, appreciates, prizes, or likes him or herself. ”Medical Education is quite demanding in terms long duration, lack of time, vastness. Medical students experience various forms of stress due to financial, and social pressures which could affect their levels of self-esteem. Objectives: 1. To assess the level self-esteem among medical students of a private medical college in South India using Rosenberg Self-esteem scale. 2. To find out the factors associated with the levels of self-esteem among medical students of a private medical college in South India.Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study. UG and PG students of the college were participants. The pre structured questionnaire was used to collect the socio demographic details and Rosenberg Self-esteem scale (RSES) was used to assess the self-esteem among the medical graduate and post graduate students. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis has been carried out in the present study. Results were presented as percentages for categorical data. Significance is assessed at 5% level of significance. Chi-square test has been used to find the significance of study. Results: In the study 72 (20.86%) had low self-esteem, 258(74.78%) scored between (16-25) that shows normal self-esteem and only 16 (4.63%) scored >25 indicating high self-esteem. Conclusion: This study found that the majority of medical students had normal self-esteem The factors such as sex of the student, age, marital status, type of course, socio economic status class were found to be significantly associated with the levels of self-esteem. Other factors like place of residence, religion was found to be insignificant

Effectiveness of project-based learning in pharmacology as a teaching learning tool for second MBBS students in a medical college in South India

Background: Being a vast, volatile and dynamic subject, innovative teaching learning methods are required to generate student’s interest in learning Pharmacology. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to study the effectiveness of project-based learning (PBL) program (preparation of a poster or building a model) in improving learning in Pharmacology and to obtain student feedback on the program. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one topics with equal difficulty level were selected from the “must know” portions in Pharmacology. 97 students of second professional MBBS were divided into 12 groups for building a model and nine groups for preparing a poster. Groups for preparing a model had minimum five members and groups for preparing a poster had minimum four members in each group. They were asked to prepare the project based on the topic in 1 month as group task. On the day of the submission, one of the group members presented the model/poster and all other students attended the presentation. A test of ten questions (section A) was done on the students before the presentation which was entirely based on their own project. On the same day, pre-test (section B) having 20 questions, one from each topic was done before the presentation. Post-test was done for all the students immediately after the presentations and also after 1 week. Feedback forms were given to the students after the presentation. Data collected from both the projects were analyzed separately. Results: The improvement in immediate post-test was significant in students involved in both the projects compared to the pretest results. In the individual project assessment, ≥50% marks were scored by 89.8% of the students involved in model building and 87.9% of the students involved in poster preparation. 46 students (78%) involved in model building and 24 students(72.7%)involved in the poster preparation opined that the overall process of preparing and presenting the poster/model was extremely enjoyable. 49 students (83.05%) involved in model building and 28 students (84.8%) involved in poster preparation opined that the project work was extremely helpful in understanding the topic. Conclusion: PBL can be incorporated as a novel teaching learning tool in Pharmacology.

Clinically Relevant Morphometry of Sacral Hiatus and Morphology of Sacrum.

To outline the variations in morphology and a few clinically relevant morphometric parameters of the sacral hiatus. The study included 50 dry human sacra, of unspecified sex, in the Department of Anatomy at a medical college in South India. The sex was determined using the sacral, auricular and curvature index. The variations and morphometry of the sacra were documented and tabulated. It was observed that the inverted U shape of sacral hiatus was common in both males (n=24) and females (n=26). There was one female sacrum with complete dorsal wall agenesis. In males, the length of the apex of sacral hiatus from 1st sacral spine was 5.82 cm ± 1.27 and in females, it was 6.02 cm ± 1.08. Sacral hiatus depth in males was 0.56 cm ± 0.16 and in females 0.54 cm ± 0.14. The width of sacral hiatus at the cornua in males was 1.42 cm ± 0.29 and in females, it was 1.46 cm ± 0.38 CONCLUSION: Knowledge of incidences of variations in the morphology and morphometry of the sacral hiatus across various population groups is paramount for the success and reliability of epidural anesthesia. The success rate of such procedures depends on the clinicians' understanding of the discrepancy in the sacral hiatus.

PERCEPTION OF SECOND-YEAR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS ON SEMINAR AS A TEACHING-LEARNING METHOD

Objectives: The present study was carried out to assess the perception of 2nd-year medical students on seminar as a teaching-learning method. Methods: This was a questionnaire based and cross-sectional study, conducted in pharmacology department on 2nd-year undergraduate students at a medical college in South India. The study was conducted for a period of 1 month to assess student’s perception of seminars in the teaching learning process. The questionnaire was pre-designed, pre-validated, and self-administered about usefulness of seminar in teaching-learning methods. The feedback was obtained from students immediately after the seminar and the responses received were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Of total 88 students, 82 students were of the opinion that seminars help in better interaction with both teachers and friends. About 97.7% of the students said that seminar is good and informative tool for learning. Eighty-one students (92%) preferred drugs acting on gastrointestinal tract as topic for seminar, followed by drugs acting on blood and blood formation (84%). When opinion on whether the seminar is helpful for theory topics or practical or both, 79.5% of the students said that seminar will more useful for theory topics than practical topics (5.6%). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that the most of the students found that seminars are more informative than didactic lectures. Seminar should be considered as a modern teaching-learning tool, as it analyzes all the domains of teaching (cognitive, psychomotor skills, and affective). Seminar can definitely be implemented as a modern teaching learning method on regular basis for higher education like medical education.

Evaluating the effectiveness of curriculum implementation and supplementation program in a private medical college in south India

Background: The new competency based medical curriculum was introduced in India from 2019. The curriculum implementation support program (CISP) developed by medical council of India, provides the much-needed intellectual support to colleges for smooth transition from existing to the new curriculum. This study was done to assess the effectiveness of CISP program by comparing the pretest and posttest questionnaire.Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 30 medical teachers in a medical college after getting Institutional Ethical committee clearance. During the CISP training program, a structured and validated questionnaire were administered, and it was evaluated and compared before and after the workshop.Results: There was a significant improvement in the knowledge of electives, meaning of curriculum, knowledge on curriculum delivery process, knowledge concepts of Miller’s pyramid, hardens integration ladder, GMER and the concepts of SLO. Though there is a significant improvement, the knowledge gained on foundation course, Miller’s pyramid and GMER are still poor (mean score <0.7).Conclusions: The CISP program serves as an effective program to bridge the inadequacies of the teaching faculty regarding the implementation of the new CBME curriculum. But not just one session will tide over all the antiquities. A repeated longitudinal structured program in between the academic hours for a short duration will be effective in improving the teaching skills of the medical teachers.

The Covid-19 effect on medical students' perceptions of their profession: A mixed methods study from South India.

Covid-19 has devastated human lives and stretched the limits of the medical profession and health systems. Using the mixed methods of online survey and online focus group discussions, we assessed how medical students and interns of two medical colleges in South India viewed the profession they had chosen. Of the 900 participants, 571(63.4%) had a positive perception of the medical profession, 77(8.6%) a negative perception and 252(28%) were undecided. The year of study in medical school was significantly associated with their perception of the medical profession, with interns more likely to have a negative perception. An overwhelming 823(91.4%) participants remained confident of their career choice, but a higher proportion of interns were less confident or regretful about their choice of profession compared to first to fourth year students. Most participants experienced moral distress; they acknowledged a duty to care but were troubled by personal risk, inadequate protection, and limited resources. Gaps were identified in medical and ethics training particularly regarding uncertainties and coping with deficiencies of the health system as encountered in the pandemic. The essential role played by doctors with its required competence, care and ethics cannot be assumed or expected without investment in the making of the future doctor through more socially embedded medical education imparting the skills of understanding the public, responding to them and being the advocate for their equitable and optimal care. An ethics of responsiveness emerges as important for healthcare, also for medical education in preparation for future health crises.

Perception on medical ethics in teaching among medical students in India.

The importance of teaching medical ethics has emerged as a priority in recent decades. It is of interest to document data on the perceptions of the medical students on teaching professionalism and medical ethics during the foundation course using a validated questionnaire. The Cross sectional study was conducted a Medical college in South India consisted of 150 first year MBBS Students. We received 133 responses ,40% of the students agreed that medical ethics is just a common sense, Many students (80%) agreed that the topics taught during these medical ethics sessions were relevant , easy to comprehend, teaching learning methods adopted were appropriate and they were able to participate and engage in the teaching learning activity. Majority felt that the sessions created awareness about the ethical dilemmas that might arise during patient encounters and these sessions will help them to give a justified response and agreed that these sessions made them understand the foundations of philosophical, social and legal aspects of medical ethics and also motivated them to learn more about this medical ethics .Education in medical ethics is important to practise professionally and will improve their personality skills. Suggestions given to improve ethics teaching were to increase case based discussions, reflections by the senior faculty, movie demonstrations. Students identified importance of ethics education in current day and also favoured interactive methods of teaching for the delivery of ethics related competency.

A study on cost analysis of oral antihypertensive drugs available in India

The major health care problem in developing world is shifting from communicable diseases to non-communicable disease which causes morbidities more than mortality affecting the personal efficiency. Hypertension is a major health care burden in developing countries like India causing both morbidity and mortality. Few studies shows that the hypertension prevalence has raised from 2% to 15% in rural population and 2% to 25% in urban population in last six decades in India. This research work aims to enumerate the price of commonly available oral antihypertensive drugs in India. It also aims to study the cost variation of oral antihypertensive drugs. The present study was carried out in the department of Pharmacology in a tertiary care medical college in south India. The cost analysis of individual drugs by different manufacturers were done. Percentage of cost variation was analysed. The variation in cost of most of the antihypertensive drugs is more than 100%. It’s found maximum in Amlodipine (5mg) with cost variation of 625%, Atenolol 100 mg with cost variation of 413%. In India there is a wide price variation among antihypertensive drugs. The major gap in the cost variation of antihypertensive drugs to be narrowed for the benefit of the patients. So the government and the prescribing doctors should think about the huge difference in cost and work in the direction of benefitting the patient.

Stress and its association with involvement in online classes: a cross-sectional study among undergraduate students of a medical college in South India

Background: With the implementation of lockdown and all students restricted to their houses, medical education has shifted towards the online mode. The objective of this study was to assess stress during the pandemic and the association between stress and involvement in online classes among students of a medical college in Mangalore, Karnataka, South India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 324 undergraduate students at a medical college in Mangalore, Karnataka, South India. The extent of stress was assessed using a perceived stress scale (PSS), and a questionnaire was used to identify different stressors and to understand the participant’s involvement in online classes. Results: In this study, the mean perceived stress score was 21.66 ± 4. Moderate stress was observed in 262 (85%) students. The main stressors noted were inability to focus (173 (56.4%)) and fear of exams (153 (49.8%)). A significant association was noted between stress and involvement in online classes. Conclusions: This study thereby highlights the need for more attention to the various stressors among students and for making online classes student friendly.

Stress and its association with involvement in online classes: a cross-sectional study among undergraduate students of a medical college in South India.

Background: With the implementation of lockdown and all students restricted to their houses, medical education has shifted towards the online mode. The objective of this study was to assess stress during the pandemic and the association between stress and involvement in online classes among students of a medical college in Mangalore, Karnataka, South India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 324 undergraduate students at a medical college in Mangalore, Karnataka, South India. The extent of stress was assessed using a perceived stress scale (PSS), and a questionnaire was used to identify different stressors and to understand the participant's involvement in online classes. Results: In this study, the mean perceived stress score was 21.66 ± 4. Moderate stress was observed in 262 (85%) students. The main stressors noted were inability to focus (173 (56.4%)) and fear of exams (153 (49.8%)). A significant association was noted between stress and involvement in online classes. Conclusions: This study thereby highlights the need for more attention to the various stressors among students and for making online classes student friendly.