A study on awareness and perception about perinatal death auditing among health care workers in two districts of Karnataka State, India.

Background: To start perinatal death auditing, doctors should have good knowledge about it.

Objectives: To know the awareness and perceptions of doctors about different aspects of perinatal death auditing like 1) different types of contributors; 2) high-risk approach; 3) consequences; 4) documentary requirements; and 5) existing system of mortality meeting/child death reviews.

Methodology: The perinatal death auditing project was implemented in two districts of Karnataka state.

Levofloxacin based non-rifampicin anti-tuberculous therapy: An effective alternative in renal transplant recipients in resource limited setting.

Introduction: Rifampicin is one of the most effective components of anti-tuberculous therapy (ATT). Since rifampicin is a hepatic enzyme (CYP3A4) inducer, in a post-renal transplant recipient, the dose of calcineurin inhibitors needs to be up-regulated and frequently monitored. In resource-limited (low- and lower-middle-income countries) setting this is not always feasible.

A Cross-sectional Study on Learning Preferences for Research Methodology among Medical Students.

Background: The modalities of learning could be Visual, Auditory, Reading/ writing, and Kinesthetic (VARK). VARK concept has been used to know the learning preferences among First Year Medical Students. But learning preferences for "Research Methodology" have rarely been reported.

Step-Up Therapy in Black Children and Adults with Poorly Controlled Asthma.

Background: Morbidity from asthma is disproportionately higher among black patients than among white patients, and black patients constitute the minority of participants in trials informing treatment. Data indicate that patients with inadequately controlled asthma benefit more from addition of a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) than from increased glucocorticoids; however, these data may not be informative for treatment in black patients.

Methods: We conducted two prospective, randomized, double-blind trials: one involving children and the other involving adolescents and adults.

Quintupling Inhaled Glucocorticoids to Prevent Childhood Asthma Exacerbations.

Background: Asthma exacerbations occur frequently despite the regular use of asthma-controller therapies, such as inhaled glucocorticoids. Clinicians commonly increase the doses of inhaled glucocorticoids at early signs of loss of asthma control. However, data on the safety and efficacy of this strategy in children are limited.

Physician perceptions of children's coping with asthma are associated with children's psychosocial and disease functioning.

Introduction: Low-income, ethnic minority children disproportionately face poor asthma control, and poorly controlled asthma is related to psychosocial difficulties. This study assessed physician reports of coping in child patients and examined associations between physician reports of child coping and parent and child reports of children's coping, psychosocial, and asthma outcomes (asthma-related stress, emotional and behavioral problems, asthma control, and school missed due to asthma).

Method: Physicians reported on coping in their patients (N = 67) ages 5-17 with asthma.

A computable phenotype for asthma case identification in adult and pediatric patients: External validation in the Chicago Area Patient-Outcomes Research Network (CAPriCORN).

: Comprehensive, rapid, and accurate identification of patients with asthma for clinical care and engagement in research efforts is needed. The original development and validation of a computable phenotype for asthma case identification occurred at a single institution in Chicago and demonstrated excellent test characteristics. However, its application in a diverse payer mix, across different health systems and multiple electronic health record vendors, and in both children and adults was not examined.

Parental coping, depressive symptoms, and children's asthma control and school attendance in low-income, racially, and ethnically diverse urban families.

Objective: Low-income urban children of color are at elevated risk for poor asthma control. This cross-sectional study examined associations among parents' coping (primary control, secondary control, and disengagement), parental depressive symptoms, and children's asthma outcomes (asthma control and school attendance) in a predominantly low-income, racially/ethnically diverse sample of families.

Methods: Parents (N = 78; 90% female) of children (33% female; 46% Black; 38% Latino) aged 5-17 years (M = 9.

Coping with Asthma in Racially and Ethnically Diverse Urban Children: The Role of Emotional Problems in Disease Control.

This study examined cross-sectional associations among coping, mental health, and asthma outcomes in racially/ethnically diverse urban children. Children (N=42; 65% female) ages 9 to 17 (M=11.9) years old and their parents reported on the child's coping, emotional and conduct problems, asthma control, and school missed due to asthma.

Individualized therapy for persistent asthma in young children.

Background: Phenotypic presentations in young children with asthma are varied and might contribute to differential responses to asthma controller medications.

Methods: The Individualized Therapy for Asthma in Toddlers study was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy clinical trial in children aged 12 to 59 months (n = 300) with asthma necessitating treatment with daily controller (Step 2) therapy. Participants completed a 2- to 8-week run-in period followed by 3 crossover periods with daily inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs), daily leukotriene receptor antagonists, and as-needed ICS treatment coadministered with albuterol.

Acetaminophen versus Ibuprofen in Young Children with Mild Persistent Asthma.

Background: Studies have suggested an association between frequent acetaminophen use and asthma-related complications among children, leading some physicians to recommend that acetaminophen be avoided in children with asthma; however, appropriately designed trials evaluating this association in children are lacking.

Methods: In a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial, we enrolled 300 children (age range, 12 to 59 months) with mild persistent asthma and assigned them to receive either acetaminophen or ibuprofen when needed for the alleviation of fever or pain over the course of 48 weeks. The primary outcome was the number of asthma exacerbations that led to treatment with systemic glucocorticoids.

PLA2R antibodies, glomerular PLA2R deposits and variations in PLA2R1 and HLA-DQA1 genes in primary membranous nephropathy in South Asians.

Background: Antibodies to M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) correlate with clinical activity of primary membranous nephropathy (PMN). Risk alleles in PLA2R1 and HLA-DQA1 genes are associated with PMN. Whether these alleles are associated with the development of anti-PLA2R is unknown.

Risk factors for cranial nerve deficits during carotid endarterectomy: a retrospective study.

Background: Cranial nerve deficits during CEA are a known complication. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if significant changes in somatosensory evoked potentials and electroencephalography increase cranial nerve deficits during CEA.

Procedures: This is an observational retrospective case-control study analyzed with data collected from patients who underwent CEA at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

A retrospective study on magnitude and factors associated with anemia in postnatal period from coastal South India.

Background: Anemia in the postnatal period is a common problem, which has been subject of research recently. Though, it is a common problem, it is a less researched topic in India. Hence, this study was undertaken.

A Study on Knowledge and Screening for Cervical Cancer among Women in Mangalore City.

Background: Most of the cervical cancer cases are diagnosed late leading to poor outcomes. Very few studies have explored the role of doctor and source of information for awareness of women about cervical cancer in India.

Aim: Hence, this study was conducted with the objective of knowing the knowledge of women about cervical cancer, its screening, role of doctor, source of information, and reasons for not undergoing screening if the women had not undergone testing for cervical cancer.

Mallampati score and pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.

Rationale: Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common, and a delay in diagnosis can lead to significant morbidity. Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for the diagnosis of OSA. However, difficulty accessing PSG due to the relative shortage of sleep centers with pediatric expertise can lead to a delay in the diagnosis and management of OSA.

Intuitive weights of harm for therapeutic decision making in smear-negative pulmonary Tuberculosis: an interview study of physicians in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Background: To estimate the amount of regret and weights of harm by omission and commission during therapeutic decisions for smear-negative pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Methods: An interviewer-administered survey was done among young physicians in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh with a previously used questionnaire. The physicians were asked to estimate probabilities of morbidity and mortality related with disease and treatment and intuitive weights of omission and commission for treatment of suspected pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Time trends and inequalities of under-five mortality in Nepal: a secondary data analysis of four demographic and health surveys between 1996 and 2011.

Background: Inequalities in progress towards achievement of Millennium Development Goal four (MDG-4) reflect unequal access to child health services.

Objective: To examine the time trends, socio-economic and regional inequalities of under-five mortality rate (U5MR) in Nepal.

Methods: We analyzed the data from complete birth histories of four Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) done in the years 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011.

Prevalence of self-reported tuberculosis, knowledge about tuberculosis transmission and its determinants among adults in India: results from a nation-wide cross-sectional household survey.

Background: Knowledge about symptoms and transmission of tuberculosis determines health seeking behavior and helps in prevention of tuberculosis transmission in the community. Such data is useful for policy makers to formulate information, education and communication strategies for tuberculosis control.

Methods: A secondary data analysis of India demographic and health survey, 2005/6 was carried out.

Prevalence, distribution and correlates of tobacco smoking and chewing in Nepal: a secondary data analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey-2006.

Background: Nearly four-fifths of estimated 1.1 million smokers live in low or middle-income countries. We aimed to provide national estimates for Nepal on tobacco use prevalence, its distribution across demographic, socio-economic and spatial variables and correlates of tobacco use.