Tertiary Care Hospital In Nepal Research Articles

Associated risk factors for acute urinary retention among patients presenting with benign prostatic hyperplasia at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal

Introduction: Acute urinary retention (AUR) is an important public health issue in older male population with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Various risk factors are associated with increased incidence of AUR among patients with BPH being managed conservatively. Method: A retrospective analysis was performed AUR with BPH among patients in Shree Birendra Hospital (SBH), Chhauni, Kathmandu, Nepal for a period of one year. Study variables included patient age, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume, history of AUR, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and other comorbid diseases. The SPSS was used for data analysis, X2 test to find out the association and a p<0.05 considered statistically significant. The study was approved from the ethical committee. Result: Total 110 patients (out of 182 BPH) had AUR, an incidence of 60.9% (110 out of 182), with a mean (SD) age of 67.41±7.1 (p<0.05). Patients with AUR had larger mean prostate volume. There were 38(34.54 %) patients with AUR having PSA >4.5 ng/mL (p<0.001). More number of patients with AUR had diabetes mellitus and smoker (p<0.001). Consumption of alcohol, hypertension and cardiac disease were not significantly associated with AUR (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our study showed that increasing age, high prostate volume, high serum PSA, diabetes and smoking had increased incidence of AUR among patients with BPH.

Clinical Profile and Predictors of Mortality in Patients admitted with COVID-19 in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Hospitalization and survival rate in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is affected by pre-existing chronic medical conditions and the disease severity. The objectives of the study were to describe the baseline clinical profile, co-morbidities, disease severity and to assess the predictors of mortality in hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 in a tertiary care hospital in Nepal. A cross-sectional study was conducted for two months on 168 adult COVID-19 patients admitted to Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital Biratnagar. Demographics, comorbidities, disease severity, oxygen requirement, and treatment outcomes were studied. The mean age of the patients was 57.1 years and 56.5% were male. Out of 168, 16.7% and 10.1% of the participants had currently or in the past used alcohol or tobacco products respectively. Hypertension (28.6%) and chronic lung disease (16.1%) were the most common co-morbidities. The overall case-fatality rate was 17.9%, with 32.1% and 56.3% in the severe and critical COVID-19 subgroup respectively. The mortality rate for patients without co-morbidities was 2.4% which increased to 63.6% for those with three or more co-morbidities. Age, disease severity, and the number of co-morbidities were found to be associated with increased mortality (P<0.05), whereas gender was not. The pre-existing chronic diseases and increased severity of the disease were associated with increased mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 adult patients.

Histopathological Findings of Pancreaticoduodenectomy Specimens in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal

Introduction: Among the gastrointestinal malignancies, 5% of the tumors comprise peri-ampullary carcinomas. Adenocarcinoma is the commonest malignancy in the peri-ampullary region. The important histopathological prognostic factors are tumor size, location, extension, resected marginal status, lymphovascular (LVI) and perineural invasion (PNI) and lymph nodal status. This study was conducted to analyze the lesions and to describe the associated histopathological parameters. Methods: This study was carried out in the Department of Pathology, TUTH, Kathmandu, includes pancreatico-duodenectomy specimens submitted from April 2016 to September 2020. The related details were obtained from the archives of reports in the Department. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS v26. Results: Among 111 specimens, 100 (90%) malignant lesions, 10 (9.1%) benign lesions and 1(0.9%) pre-malignant lesions were seen. M:F ratio was 1.2:1 with mean age 55.5 years. Ampulla was the most common site of malignancy (61%) and adenocarcinoma was the commonest histological type. Chronic pancreatitis (4.5%) accounted for most of the benign lesions. Ampullary and pancreatic malignancies were detected in T2 stage, 55.7% and 77.8% respectively. LVI was seen in 61% and PNI in 72% of pancreatic malignancies. Positive resected margin was seen in 6% of malignancies. SMA was the most common positive margin. Conclusion: Pancreatico-duodenectomy was performed mostly for adenocarcinomas of ampulla. Pancreatic tumors were common in the older age group and they presented with LVI and PNI and at a higher T and N status as compared to ampullary or duodenal tumors.

Estimation of Dental Age by Demirjian and Willems Method In a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal

Introduction: Dental age estimation using orthopantomogram is very useful in pediatric dentistry, orthodontics inclinical diagnosis and treatment planning and also has forensic application. The objectives of this study were to estimate the dental age of children in a specific population of Nepal by Demirjian and Willems method, compare them with the chronological age and assess their applicability. Materials and Method: Digital orthopantomograms of 5 to 14 years of children were used to estimate the dental age by Demirjian’s 7- teeth method and Willems method. Descriptive statistics was used and mean with standard deviation was calculated for gender and age of the samples. Paired t-test was used for comparison of chronological age with dental age. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Pearson correlation was used to assess the correlation between chronological and dental age in both the genders. Result: By Demirjian method, there was an underestimation of 0.276 years in males and 0.194 in females and by Willems method, 0.652 in males and 0.847 in females which were statistically significant. There was an underestimation of dental age in all the age groups except in the age group of 5,7 and 14 for Demirjian age which was statistically nonsignificant. Pearson correlation demonstrated strong positive correlation between chronological age and dental age. Conclusion: The underestimation of dental age was more by Willems method as compared to Demirjian method. There was a strong positive relationship between chronological age and dental age in both the genders. Demirjian’s 7- teeth method was more applicable as compared to Willems method when tested in selected Nepalese children population

Changing trends in antibiotic susceptibility pattern among clinical isolates of Pseudomonas species in a tertiary care hospital in Nepal

Background: Pseudomonas spp is notoriously known to be important agent of hospital as well as community acquired infections. These organisms are resistant to many antibiotics by intrinsic and acquired mechanisms making infections difficult to treat. Regular surveillance of infection and antibiotic resistance patterns is necessary for selection of appropriate antibiotics for treatment. Methods: Non repeating Pseudomonas spp isolated from all clinical samples during the year 2017-2019 were included in the study. Identification of Isolates were done by standard conventional tests and antibiotics sensitivity test was done by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method following the CLSI guidelines, 2017. Results: A total of 42,545 specimens comprising of sputum, blood, pus, urine, body fluids and endotracheal tubes were processed during the entire 3 year period. There was significant increase (p-value <0.05) in yearly isolation rate of Pseudomonas spp i.e. 141(7.95%), 197(12.14%) and 303(15.69%) isolates in the year 2017, 2018, and 2019 respectively. Resistance rates of the isolates to cefoparazone sulbactam, Piperacillin Tazobactam, and Tobramycin was significantly decreasing (p-value <0.05). Overall resistance to ceftazidime (66.13%) was alarming. Decrease in MDR isolates were statistically significant over 3 years e.g. 32(22.69%), 31(15.73%) and 37(12.21%) isolates in the year 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively (p-value <0.05). Conclusion: The rate of infection of Pseudomonas spp is significantly increasing. There was gradual decrease in number of resistant isolates and MDR isolates over the peri-od starting from 2017 to 2019 which is a favorable trend. The possible factors playing role have to be further studied, identified and promoted.

Prevalence of Multidrug-resistant and Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella Pneumoniae and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Isolates in Tertiary Care Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal

Carbapenemases are the enzymes that catalyze β–lactam groups of antibiotics. The carbapenemase producers are resistant to β–lactam antibiotics and are usually multidrug-resistant bacteria challenging widely used therapeutics and treatment options. Therefore, the detection of carbapenemase activity among clinical isolates is of great therapeutic importance. We aimed to study the MDR and carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from various clinical samples at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal. A total of 3,579 clinical samples were collected from the patients visiting the Department of Microbiology, B&B Hospital, Gwarko, Lalitpur. The samples were processed to isolate K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa and then subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Phenotypic detection of carbapenemase activity was performed in the imipenem-resistant isolates by the modified Hodge test (MHT). Of the total samples, 1,067 (29.8%) samples showed significant growth positivity, out of which 190 (17.3%) isolates were K. pneumoniae and 121 (11.3%) were P. aeruginosa. Multidrug resistance was seen in 70.5% of the K. pneumoniae isolates and 65.3% of the P. aeruginosa isolates. Carbapenemase production was confirmed in 11.9%, and 12.2% of the imipenem-resistant K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa isolates, respectively, by the MHT. This study determined the higher prevalence of MDR among K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa; however, carbapenemase production was relatively low.

Pharmacovigilance: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Medical Professionals at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal

Pharmacovigilance: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Medical Professionals at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal

Clinicopathologic Presentation and Management of Malignant Orbito-ocular Tumors at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal.

This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical presentations and management of various Orbito-ocular malignancies in Nepal. This is a prospective study of ocular malignant cases conducted at a tertiary care eye hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. One hundred and seventeen newly diagnosed eyes with ocular malignancy of 106 patients presenting to the clinic in a year from September 2018 to August 2019 were included for analysis. Patients' demography, clinical features, various types of malignancies seen in eyes and their management were evaluated. The mean age of patients was 30.35 years with a range from 1 month to 84 years and standard deviation of 26.63. 56% of the total were male. Red eyes and visible mass were the most common symptoms in 23% with intraocular contents in 48% being the most common site involved. Different types of ocular malignancies were detected, among which retinoblastoma was the most common in 38% of patients. Diagnosis in most patients was clinical and/or radiological; incision biopsy was required in 1.7% patients only. Surgical excision of the tumor was the most common treatment done in 29% followed by enucleation in 27% of eyes. Bilateral involvement of the eyes was seen in 10% of the patients. Malignant orbito-ocular tumors can be seen in any age group. Retinoblastoma is the commonest malignancy seen. With the help of imaging, diagnosis is near accurate; hence biopsy is not required in most cases before commencing treatment.

Lumbosacral Transitional Vertebrae in patients attending a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal

Introduction: Lumbosacral Transitional vertebrae are congenital anomalies of lumbosacral vertebral junction. It may present either as sacralization of fifth lumbar vertebrae or lumbarization of first sacral vertebrae. Various secondary pathological spinal conditions such as intervertebral disc herniation and/or degeneration, facet joint arthrosis and spinal canal or foraminal stenosis are associated with the presence of LSTV. The failure in the identification may lead to clinical consequences such as errors in diagnosis of disease and lumbosacral procedures.
 Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and patterns of LSTV in patients presenting to Department of Radiology of Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, Nepal..
 Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Department of Radiology of Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, Nepal.Plain radiographs including Antero-posterior (AP) and Lateral views of lumbosacral spine of 343 patients referred for the scan were analyzed for the presence of lumbosacral vertebrae.
 Result: Out of 343 patients, LSTV was found in 61 (17.8%) subjects. Thirty-eight subjects (11.1%) exhibited sacralization and 23 (6.7%) showed lumbarization.Out of total LSTV subjects, type I A was present in 8 (13.1%), type I B in 21 (34.4%), type II A in 10 (16.4%), type II B in 5 (8.2%) , type III A in 6 (9.8%) , type III B in 9 (14.8%) and type IV in 2 (3.3%).
 Conclusion: The LSTV is prevalent in almostone-fifth of subjects presenting to department of radiology of Nobel Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Biratnagar for lumbosacral scan.. Sacralization occurs more frequently than lumbarization, both of which alter the morphology of anatomical structures in spine. The presence of anomaly in this region may be related to occurrence of various pathological and clinical conditions.

Antibiogram Profile of Bacteria Colonizing the Endotracheal Tubes (ETTs) of Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal

Hospital acquired infection (HAI) in intensive care units (ICU) are responsible for high morbidities and mortalities worldwide due to emergence of resistant bacteria. In developing countries, due to lack of knowledge of proper surveillance, proper resources and proper guidance this burden was somewhat underestimated. Thus, the aim of this study was to look for the spectrum of bacteria colonizing the ETTs and to determine proper empirical antibiotic therapy. We collected endotracheal tube aspirates from 188 patients of admitted in ICU of Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara. All bacteria were identified by conventional techniques. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing was performed on Mueller-Hinton agar plates with commercially available antibiotic discs using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion techniques and interpreted as per the guidelines of CLSI. The antibiotic discs (conc.) used were: piperacillin/tazobactam (100/10mcg), ciprofloxacin (5mcg), amikacin (30mcg), imipenem (10mcg), gentamicin (10mcg), cefaperazone sulbactum(75/10mcg), for Gram negative bacteria and erythromycin (15mcg), amikacin (30mcg), gentamicin (10mcg), ciprofloxacin (5mcg), and clindamycin (2mcg) for Gram positive bacteria. A total of 188 ETTs investigated, 128(68.08%) yielded positive culture. Single type of organisms was found in 119 (63.29%) and 9 (4.7%) cases yielded mixed type of growth. Acinetobacter spp. were the most predominant organism among all gram-negative organisms, which was found to be in 71 (51.82%) cases, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae in 27 (19.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 23 (16.78%), Escherichia coli in 5 (3.64%), Enterobacter in 2 (1.46%). Whereas, Staphylococcus aureus (4.37%) was the commonest among all gram-positive organism followed by coagulase negative Staphylococcus in 2 (1.46%) and Enterococcus in 1 (0.73%). Most of Acinetobacter spp. showed resistance to ciprofloxacin (84.5%), while 74.6% were resistant to amikacin, 73.2% to gentamicin, 71.83% to piperacillin-tazobactam and 42.2% towards imipenem. Out of the 6 strains of S. aureus, 5 (83.3%) were methicillin resistant. Due to the increasing incidence of organisms in ICUs, an early and correct diagnosis of ETT associated infections is a challenge for optimal antibiotic therapy. Therefore, the best approach to manage the respiratory infections following ETT application will be appropriate use of antibiotics with adaptation of proper infection control measures, which could help to prevent further spread of infection.

Back Pain among COVID-19 Positive Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

The world has been threatened with the emergence of the Novel Corona Virus straining the health care system and creating a global pandemic. This is not the first pandemic, and it certainly will not be the last to affect humanity. As the medical community is exposed to these highly contagious new diseases with arrays of symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, anosmia, insomnia, and myalgia. Back pain can also be considered as one of the symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, this study aimed to find out the prevalence of back pain among the Healthcare workers who were tested positive for COVID-19 by the end of their isolation period. This descriptive cross-sectional study was done from April 2021 to June 2021 in KIST Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Imadol, Lalitpur, Nepal, after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Registration number: 2077/078/57). Convenience sampling was done. Data collection and entry were done in Microsoft excel, point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Out of 156 COVID-19 positive patients, the prevalence of back pain was seen among 64 (41%) patients (95% Confidence Interval= 42.23-57.75). Among them 21 (32.8%) were males and 43 (67.2%) were females. Likewise, the minimum age was 20 years and the maximum was 68 years with a mean of 33.5±10.28. This study demonstrated that a high proportion of healthcare workers were suffering from back pain and the findings are similar to the data from other international studies.

Colistin Resistance among Human Clinical Isolates from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal

Background Colistin is increasingly being used for treatment of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial infections in human. The plasmid mediated mcr-1 gene was detected recently among the poultry in Nepal. Plasmid mediated colistin resistance among human isolates would severely compromise the treatment of MDR bacterial infections.
 Objective To find out the prevalence of colistin resistance among the gram-negative bacteria isolated from clinical specimen.
 Method A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu. Colistin resistance among all the gram negative bacilli (GNB), isolated in a year, from all clinical specimen subjected for aerobic bacterial isolation, was detected by disc diffusion and agar dilution methods. Those with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) > 2 mcg/ml were subjected to polymerase chain reaction for detection of mcr-1 gene.
 Result A total of 1993 aerobic GNB were isolated from clinical samples received from February 2018 to January 2019. By the agar dilution screening method, 2.1% of the GNBs isolated had MIC of colistin > 2 mcg/ml. None of these possessed the mcr-1 gene.
 Conclusion Given the occurrence of increased MIC of colistin in the clinical isolates in our set up, nationwide active surveillance would generate data for Nepal. The study for the presence of other genes (chromosomal or plasmid mediated) responsible for the increased MIC of colistin would further guide the control measures.

Association Between Erectile Dysfunction and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Erectile dysfunction is a distressing complication of diabetes among male patients. Despite being a serious concern affecting sexual health, the issue regarding sexual dysfunction is seldom discussed by patients with physicians in developing countries. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of Erectile dysfunction and its association with other risk factors among type 2 Diabetic males attending the tertiary care hospital in Nepal. A cross-sectional hospital-based study was carried out in the Diabetes Out Patient Department of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal. 160 male patients with a history of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) meeting the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study with informed consent. A validated questionnaire; an abridge 5 item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF 5) was used to assess the erectile function where the score below 22 was considered as having erectile dysfunction. The severity of erectile dysfunction was categorized based on IIEF 5 score. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction with varying degrees of severity was found to be 76.87% among T2DM male patients. There was a significant negative correlation of the IIEF5 Score with the duration of T2DM burden (r= -0.416, p<0.05) and the level of HbA1c (r= -0.391, p<0.05). There was a higher prevalence of erectile dysfunction among T2DM male patients that were also associated with poor glycemic control and the duration of T2DM burden.

Skin Tumors among Biopsy Samples in Patients Attending Dermatological Out Patient Department in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Skin tumors are on the rise in the Nepalese community. The different morphological pattern of skin tumors requires its meticulous categorization for understanding its effect on prognosis and treatment. Our study aimed at studying the prevalence of skin tumors among the skin biopsies performed in the dermatology outpatient department in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. A descriptive cross-sectional study was done from skin biopsy samples from 1st January, 2017 to 31st December, 2019, at a tertiary care center. Ethical clearance was taken from the institutional review committee (IRC), Ref No: 056-077/078. Convenience sampling was done. A self-designed proforma containing questions on the patients' socio-demographic data and clinical details were used, and a biopsy of those clinically suspected to have skin tumors was done. Skin tumors were classified according to the World Health Organization 2018 classification of skin tumors. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 16. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was done, and frequency and proportion were calculated. A total of 671 skin biopsies were done during this study, out of which 125 (18.63%) at 95% Confidence Interval (15.68-21.57) were diagnosed with skin tumors. Among them, 77 (61.6%) were female, and 48 (38.4%) were male. Among the diagnosed cases, 105 (84%) were benign, and 20 (16%) were malignant. Females showed preponderance in both benign and malignant tumors. The findings from our study show the increasing prevalence of skin tumors, and the results were comparable to other similar studies conducted in various parts of Nepal.

Estimation of Dental Age by Demirjian and Willems Method in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal

Introduction: Dental age estimation using orthopantomogram is very useful in pediatric dentistry, orthodontics in clinical diagnosis and treatment planning and also has forensic application. Demirjian method is widely used for age estimation and Willems method has been suggested to be accurate than Demirjian in various populations. To estimate the dental age of children in a specific population of Nepal by Demirjian and Willems method, compare them with the chronological age and assess their applicability. Materials and Method: Digital orthopantomograms of 5 to 14 years of children were used to estimate the dental age by Demirjian’s 7- teeth method and Willems method. Descriptive statistics was used and mean with standard deviation was calculated for gender and age of the samples. Paired t-test was used for comparison of chronological age with dental age. P &lt; 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Pearson correlation was used to assess the correlation between chronological and dental age in both the genders. Result: By Demirjian method, there was an underestimation of 0.276 years in males and 0.194 in females and by Willems method, 0.652 in males and 0.847 in females which were statistically significant. There was an underestimation of dental age in all the age groups except in the age group of 5,7 and 14 for Demirjian age which was statistically nonsignificant. Pearson correlation demonstrated strong positive correlation between chronological age and dental age. Conclusion: The underestimation of dental age was more by Willems method as compared to Demirjian method. There was a strong positive relationship between chronological age and dental age in both the genders. Demirjian’s 7- teeth method was more applicable as compared to Willems method when tested in selected Nepalese children population

Otorhinolaryngological diseases of Geriatric visiting Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal: An Overview of neglected and underrated field

Background and Objectives: In Nepal, person aged 60 years and above is considered elderly. The population of Nepal is approximately 30 million, and people aged 60 years and above makes about one tenth of the total population. This study aims to report the main complaints and prevalence of otorhinolaryngological diseases in patients aged 60 years and above, who visited outpatient otolaryngology department of Manmohan Memorial College and Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal during study period.&#x0D; Material and Methods: It is a prospective descriptive cross-sectional study done in Manmohan Memorial College and Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal for the duration of a year. All patients aged 60 years and above attending to Ear, Nose and throat (ENT) Outpatient Department were included in the study. The information including demographic data, ENT Complaints and physical examination were noted. Analysis of data was done and report was prepared.&#x0D; Results: Total of six hundred and ninety three patients were enrolled over the period of one year for the study. Number of Male and female patients in the study were almost equal. The otological problems had the highest prevalence constituting 51.7% of the study population. More than Twenty eight (28.3 %) percent had oral and oropharyngeal pathologies. Nasal complaints constituted 10.8% of the study population and 9.2% had pathologies related to neck and others.&#x0D; Conclusion: Hearing loss is the most common diagnosis among all the otological pathologies and epistaxis the most common nasal problem. Head and Neck malignancy is also increasing among the geriatric population.

Persistent Symptoms in Post-COVID-19 Patients Attending Follow-Up OPD at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital (STIDH), Kathmandu, Nepal.

The long-term effects of COVID-19 among survivors is a matter of concern. This research aimed to study persistent symptoms in post-COVID-19 patients attending a follow-up clinic at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal. All patients, presenting to the outpatient clinic during the study duration of six weeks, with history of positive reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) at least two weeks prior to presentation, were included. The duration of follow-up ranged from 15 till 150 days with the mean duration of 28 days after diagnosis of COVID-19. Of 118 patients, 43 (36.4%) had a history of mild COVID-19, 15 (12.8%) had moderate, and 60 (50.8%) had severe. At the time of presentation, 97 (82.2%) patients reported that they had at least one persistent/new symptom beyond two weeks from the diagnosis of COVID-19. Dyspnea, fatigue, chest heaviness, and cough were the commonest persistent complaints in 48 (40.7%), 39 (33.1%), 33 (28%), and 32 (27.1%) patients, respectively. The findings in our study highlight the need for extended monitoring of post-COVID-19 patients following discharge, in order to understand and mitigate long-term implications of the disease.

A Ten-year Retrospective Study of Nasal Bone Fractures at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal

Introduction: Nasal bone fracture occurs due to its vulnerable position and reduced biomechanical resistance to traumas. If not timely treated, it can result in permanent functional and esthetic damage. Methods: A retrospective and cross-sectional study conducted on 91 patients above 17 years of age with nasal bone fractures in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck surgery of a tertiary care hospital in Kavre. Results: Road traffic accident was the most common cause of fracture (45.1%) followed by fall (36.3%), violence (13.2%), sports-related accidents (4.4%) and occupational accidents (1.1%). Class I fracture was seen in 70 (76.9%), Class II in 17 (18.7%), and Class III in 4 (4.4%). A closed reduction procedure was performed in 74 (81.30%) of the cases, closed reduction with septoplasty was done in 10 (11%), closed reduction with augmentation rhinoplasty was performed for 3 (3.3%), closed reduction with inferior turbinoplasty was required in 3 (3.3%) whereas closed reduction with debridement was done in 1(1.1%). Conclusion: Nasal bone fracture is a complex clinical issue which needs to be addressed early. Violence prevention programs along with drinking and driving campaigns need to be more strengthened to decrease the alarmingly high frequency of nasal bone fracture in the current scenario.

Risk factors for the development of neonatal sepsis in a neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital of Nepal

BackgroundSepsis is an overwhelming and life-threatening response to bacteria in bloodstream and a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Understanding the etiology and potential risk factors for neonatal sepsis is urgently required, particularly in low-income countries where burden of infection is high and its epidemiology is poorly understood.MethodsA prospective observational cohort study was conducted between April 2016 and October 2017 in a level three NICU at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal to determine the bacterial etiology and potential risk factors for neonatal sepsis.ResultsAmong 142 NICU admitted neonates, 15% (21/142) and 32% (46/142) developed blood culture-positive and -negative neonatal sepsis respectively. Klebsiella pneumoniae (34%, 15/44) and Enterobacter spp. (25%, 11/44) were the most common isolates. The antimicrobial resistance of isolates to ampicillin (100%, 43/43), cefotaxime (74%, 31/42) and ampicillin-sulbactam (55%, 21/38) were the highest. BlaTEM (53%, 18/34) and blaKPC (46%, 13/28) were the commonest ESBL and carbapenemase genes respectively. In univariate logistic regression, the odds of sepsis increased with each additional day of use of invasive procedures such as mechanical ventilation (OR 1.086, 95% CI 1.008–1.170), umbilical artery catheter (OR 1.375, 95% CI 1.049–1.803), intravenous cannula (OR 1.140, 95% CI 1.062–1.225); blood transfusion events (OR 3.084, 95% CI 1.407–6.760); NICU stay (OR 1.109, 95% CI 1.040–1.182) and failure to breast feed (OR 1.130, 95% CI 1.060–1.205). Sepsis odds also increased with leukopenia (OR 1.790, 95% CI 1.04–3.082), increase in C-reactive protein (OR 1.028, 95% CI 1.016–1.040) and decrease in platelets count (OR 0.992, 95% CI 0.989–0.994). In multivariate analysis, increase in IV cannula insertion days (OR 1.147, 95% CI 1.039–1.267) and CRP level (OR 1.028, 95% CI 1.008–1.049) increased the odds of sepsis.ConclusionsOur study indicated various nosocomial risk factors and underscored the need to improve local infection control measures so as to reduce the existing burden of sepsis. We have highlighted certain sepsis associated laboratory parameters along with identification of antimicrobial resistance genes, which can guide for early and better therapeutic management of sepsis. These findings could be extrapolated to other low-income settings within the region.

Assessment of Prescription Errors in the Internal Medicine Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Prescription errors are common problems in hospitals that lead to increase in morbidity, mortality and cost of treatments. They also reduce faiths towards healthcare providers. They are avoidable and their adverse outcome can be reduced if they are assessed and recognized earlier. This study was conducted to assess prescription errors occurred in tertiary care hospital Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Internal Medicine department of Lumbini Medical College for five months duration. Patients who prescribed at least one drug in prescription form were included. Results: Out of total patients, 39.5% had medication error. Among medication errors, 37.6% patients had error of omission. Among error of omission, dose of the drug was not mentioned in 26.1% patients. Category B (21.6%) of severity of medication error was the most common. Patients with one diagnosis less likely had medication errors comparing to the patients with more than one diagnosis (p = 0.0002). The tendency of making medication errors was higher among patients with polypharmacy (p < 0.001) and patients who prescribed Fixed-Dose Drug Combination (p < 0.001). Similarly, the tendency of making errors of omission was also higher among patients with more than one diagnosis (p = 0.0002), patients with polypharmacy (p < 0.001) and patients who prescribed Fixed-Dose Drug Combinations (p < 0.001). Conclusion: One-third of patients had medication errors. Among them, errors of omission were the most common. The collaborative program between doctors, clinical pharmacologists and hospital administration to minimize the occurrence of errors will be effective.