School Children Of Kathmandu Research Articles

Nasal Carriage of Multi Drug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Among School Going Children of Kathmandu Valley

Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the multi drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus from nasal carriage among the school children of Kathmandu, Nepal. Methods: This study was carried out from February to May 2018. A total of 100 nasal samples were collected from school going children of 7-15 years old. Nasal swabs collected were subjected to standard bacteriological techniques to identify S. aureus isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed on Muller-Hinton Agar (MHA) by modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Results: Among 100 samples, 18% significant growth of S. aureus was found in which female had higher prevalence rate (18.03%) than male (17.95%). Prevalence was also high among age group 11-14 (19.44%), in private school (61.11%) compared to government school. Unhygienic practices like nose picking habit (77.78%), not covering nose while sneezing (55.56%), not using separate towel in family (88.89) were common. None of the isolates were MRSA and all showed resistance to amoxicillin and sensitive to chloramphenicol. Among 18 isolates 13 were MDR and they showed relatively high resistance to co-trimoxazole (44.44%) followed by ciprofloxacin (38.89%) and erythromycin (27.78%). Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of MDR S. aureus carriage in school children indicating the spread of MDR S. aureus in the community.

Factors Affecting Oral Health Service Utilization of Differently-abled School Children in Kathmandu, Nepal

Lack of oral health care utilization is a common problem among differently- abled children. As a result, oral diseases are often identified in this cohort. This study applied the Anderson health care utilization model to examine the factors associated with the oral health service utilization (OHSU) among the differently-abled school children in Kathmandu city of Nepal. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 school children aged 7-18 years old enrolled in 7 schools for differently-abled children in Kathmandu. The OHSU data and the data on the predisposing factors, the enabling factors, and the need factors were self-reported by the parents/legal guardians of the children, using a self-administered questionnaire. An oral examination was performed to assess each child’s dental status. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of OHSU with the predisposing factors, the enabling factors, and the need factors. The results showed that the enabling factors (i.e., “affordability”, and “good oral health knowledge of parents”, and the need factors (“having toothache”) were positively associated with OHSU. In contrast, there was negative association between OHSU and the dental status of the children. Overall, the study showed a very low prevalence of oral health service utilization. The findings indicated that family economic status and oral health literacy of parents and their children play a crucial role in the increased usage of oral health services among differently-abled children. This suggests that, a free oral health service and health literacy programs for the parents and their disabled children in Kathmandu may increase OHSU.

Permanent First Molars Clinical Status among School Children Aged 8-12 Years in Kathmandu

Introduction: Common oral diseases affecting school children are dental caries, gingivitis and malocclusion. Teeth mostly affected by dental caries in permanent dentition of children are the permanent first molars. Permanent first molars are key factors in occlusion and are most susceptible to dental caries. They maintain arch perimeter and provide best anchorage. Loss of these teeth leads to various problems like space management, tooth migration, problem in mastication and malocclusion.
 Objective: To assess the clinical status of first permanent molars among 8-12 year school children of Kathmandu.
 Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among 220 schoolchildren of age 8-12 years randomly selected from 2 private and 2 public schools of Kathmandu. Dental caries, gingival and oral hygiene status were measured by Decayed Missing Filled teeth (DMFT) index, Gingival index and Oral hygiene index-Simplified (OHI-S) respectively. Data was entered in Epidata 3.1 and analyzed in SPSS version 20.
 Results: The prevalence of dental caries in first permanent molars for study population was 54.5%. Mean DMFT score of first permanent molars was 0.96+1.2. Out of 867 molars examined, 197 (22.7%) were decayed. 98.5% of molars were erupted. Among the total study population, 184 (83.6%) had fair oral hygiene and 203 (83%) had gingivitis.
 Conclusions: This study shows the need to improve oral health status of first permanent molars of school children through promotion of dental health awareness and curative public health measures at school level.

Prevalence of malocclusion among school Children of Kathmandu, Nepal

Introduction: this study was carried to understand Prevalence of malocclusion among the school children of Kathmandu, Sorakhutte residing near school during mixed dentition period. A sample of 600 children ; 365 male, 235 female in age group of 6-13yrs was selected randomly from different school of Kathmandu city. The aim of our study is to find out prevalence of malocclusion among the mixed detention children of Kathmandu.
 Materials & Method: Data was collected using direct observation of the subjects, Descriptive cross-sectional study method was used in this research. Occlusal assessment were done according to angle’s classification and dewey’s modification type of class I, class III malocclusion.
 Result: Subjects with normal occlusion was found to be 59.3% and with malocclusion was found to 40.7%. Among them class I malocclusion was majority of (57%) of study population, crowded incisors and significant difference was observed between male and female in the study.
 Conclusion: This study helps to access the prevalence malocclusion and need of orthodontic treatment for the mixed dentition period children.

Prevalence of Asthma, Eczema and Allergic Rhinitis Symptoms in School Children of Kathmandu Valley: Results of a Questionnaire Survey

Introduction: Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of asthma, eczema and allergic rhino-conjunctivitis symptoms in school children of Kathmandu.
 Methods: This questionnaire-based survey was conducted from December 2009 to August 2010 in 13 schools of Kathmandu among children aged six to seven years and 13 to 14 years based on questions adapted from International Study on Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC) and translated into Nepali. Data were analysed using SPSS and prevalence of self-reported asthma-like symptoms, eczema and allergic rhinitis were assessed. 
 Results: The questionnaire was distributed to 8269 children with a response rate of 68.54%. About 7.5% replied positively for "ever wheezed” (8.1% in older and 6.4% in young children) and 5.2% reported, "current wheeze" (4.2% in younger and 5.8% in older children). Boys had more frequent wheezing than girls in both age groups (p < 0.05). More children had nocturnal cough not associated with cold or chest infection (16.0%) and exercise-induced symptoms (9.4%). The overall prevalence of eczema was 6.2%; younger children (7.2%) reporting symptoms more commonly than older children (5.6%). The reported prevalence of allergic rhinitis was 28.2% (31.2% in older as compared to 22.9% in younger children). Allergic symptoms like “current wheeze”, “eczema” and “allergic rhinitis” were frequently reported together.
 Conclusion: Asthma, eczema and allergic rhinitis are common in school children of Kathmandu. A multi-centre study across all ecological zones in both rural and urban settings including video questionnaire will more accurately estimate asthma prevalence and its trends in school children of Nepal.

Intestinal Parasitosis among the School Children of Kathmandu, Nepal

Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the intestinal parasitosis among the school children of Kathmandu, Nepal.
 Methods: This study was carried out from February 2018 to May 2018. During the study, a total of 194 stool samples were collected from school going children of age above 5 years to below 15 years old and processed in Padma Kanya microbiology laboratory. The detection technique used for the parasites was concentration technique (Formal-ether Sedimentation method) and iodine mount was used for slide preparation. Data were entered into SPSS and analysis was done employing Chi square test.
 Result: Among 194 total cases, 12.4% (24/194) children were infected with parasites where female were highly infected (70.8%) and children of age group 9-11 were highly infected (58.3%).Parasitic infection was high in non-vegetarian children (83.3%) than vegetarian, symptomatic cases (66.7%, 16/24) than asymptomatic cases, public school (66.7%, 16/24) compared with private school, higher in children who don’t wash hands with soap before meal (87.5%) than who wash hands before meal and in children not taking anti helminthic drugs (95.8%) than children taking anti-helminthic drugs recently within six months. Further, children using direct tap water for drinking purpose were highly infected than others.
 Conclusion: The parasitic infection among school children was found closely related to their health hygiene, sanitary condition, water consumption and other activities.

Cyclospora Infection among School Children in Kathmandu, Nepal: Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors.

Background: The intestinal coccidian protozoa Cyclospora cayetanensis has emerged as an important cause of parasitic diarrhea among children living in developing countries. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Cyclospora among the school children of Kathmandu with reference to various associated risk factors.Methodology: A total of five hundred and seven stool samples from students between the age of 3–14 years, studying in 13 different schools in Kathmandu were collected during the study period (May–November, 2014) and processed at the Public Health Research Laboratory, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal. A modified acid fast staining technique (Kinyoun’s method) was used to detect oocyst of Cyclospora from the formal-ether concentrated stool samples.Results: Cyclospora was detected in 3.94% (20/507) of the stool samples examined. The prevalence was found to be highest among the students in the 3–5 year age group i.e. 10.15% (13/128), peaking during the rainy season (June–August). The detection rate was found to be significantly higher (p < 0.05) among children presenting with diarrheal symptoms, household keeping livestock and consumers of raw vegetables/fruits, showing a prevalence of 10.57% (11/104), 10.11% (9/89) and 7.25% (14/193) respectively.Conclusion: Consumption of untreated drinking water, fresh produce (raw fruits/vegetables) without proper washing and the presence of livestock at home were found to be predisposing factors for higher susceptibility of infection due to Cyclospora. This finding confirms the existence of a public-health issue with potentially serious consequences whereby children can be infected through exposure to oocysts in contaminated food and water and get ill as a result.

The Prevalence of Visual Impairment in School Children of Upper-Middle Socioeconomic Status in Kathmandu

Purpose: Assess visual impairment in school children of upper-middle socioeconomic status in Kathmandu for comparison with rural Jhapa District. Methods: Random selection of classes from secondary private schools in Kathmandu was used to identify the study sample. Children in 130 classes at 43 schools were enumerated using school records and examined between January–May 2006. Examinations included visual acuity testing, ocular motility evaluation, cycloplegic refraction, and examination of the external eye, anterior segment, media, and fundus. The principal cause was determined for eyes with uncorrected visual acuity ≤ 20/40. Results: A total of 4,501 children in grades 5–9 were enumerated; 4282 (95.1%) were examined. The prevalence of uncorrected, presenting, and best-corrected visual impairment (≤ 20/40) in the better eye was 18.6%, 9.1%, and 0.86%, respectively. Refractive error was a cause in 93.3% of children with uncorrected visual impairment, amblyopia 1.8%, retinal disorders 1.3%, other causes 0.3%, and unexplained causes 4.4%. Among children correctable in at least one eye, 46.3% presented without the necessary spectacles. Visual impairment with myopia (−0.50 diopters) ranged from 10.9% in 10 year-olds to 27.3% in 15 year-olds, compared to 0.5%–3.0% in rural Jhapa District. Myopic visual impairment was associated with grade level, female gender, parental education, parental spectacle usage, and Mongol ethnicity. Conclusions: Visual impairment with myopia among upper-middle socioeconomic school children in Kathmandu is higher than that in rural Nepal, and a public health problem because nearly half are without corrective spectacles. Effective strategies are needed to eliminate this easily treatable cause of visual impairment.

Asthma and indoor environment in Nepal

BACKGROUNDThe development of asthma seems to be influenced by the adoption of a Western lifestyle. A study was undertaken to assess the importance of indoor environmental factors in Nepal where...

Asthma and indoor environment in Nepal

BACKGROUNDThe development of asthma seems to be influenced by the adoption of a Western lifestyle. A study was undertaken to assess the importance of indoor environmental factors in Nepal where the lifestyle and home environment differ from that in the West.METHODSThe home environment of 121 schoolchildren with asthma and 126 controls aged 11–17 years was studied. The homes of all participants were investigated and the children and their mothers were interviewed using a standardised questionnaire. Cases and controls were identified from an ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood) based population study of 2330 schoolchildren in Kathmandu, Nepal.RESULTSKeeping cattle inside the house during the night was related to a lower risk for having asthma (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.2 (95% CI 0.1 to 0.5)) while there was no association between asthma and cattle kept outside. Asthma was associated with cigarette smoking by two or more family members (OR 1.9 (95% CI 1.0 to 3.9)) and with the domestic use of smoky fuels (OR 2.2 (95% CI 1.0 to 4.5)). In analyses stratified by sex, passive smoking and the use of smoky fuels were significantly associated with asthma only in boys.CONCLUSIONSThe risk of asthma in Nepalese children was lower in subjects exposed to cattle kept inside the house and higher in subjects exposed to passive smoking and indoor use of smoky fuels. Childhood exposure to microorganisms or allergens from cattle may protect against the development of atopic disease.