Investigating disease awareness of cutaneous leishmaniasis in rural Sri Lanka to inform public health services: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To assess community awareness of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in a disease-endemic district in Sri Lanka.

Design: Population-based cross-sectional study.

Setting: This study was conducted in selected 158 Grama Niladhari divisions covering all the 22 Divisional Secretariat areas of the Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka.

Assessment of the productivity loss due to leading maternal ill-health conditions: a follow-up study of a prospective pregnancy cohort in rural Sri Lanka.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the productivity loss and cost due to maternal ill-health conditions and its associated factors throughout pregnancy in rural Sri Lanka.

Design: A follow-up study of women registered in the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort (RaPCo).

Setting: Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka.

A real-world study of BBIBP-CorV vaccine effectiveness in a Sri Lanka rural province.

Objective: Real-world studies assessing the effectiveness of the BBIBP-CorV vaccine in low and middle-income countries are limited. We evaluated the BBIBP-CorV vaccine's effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 symptomatic disease, hospitalisation, severe disease, and mortality during the third wave of the pandemic in Sri Lanka.

Methods: We conducted a test-negative case-control study in North Central Province from May 2021 to February 2022.

Anticipated and experienced stigma and discrimination in the workplace among individuals with major depressive disorder in 35 countries: qualitative framework analysis of a mixed-method cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Workplace stigmatisation and discrimination are significant barriers to accessing employment opportunities, reintegration and promotion in the workforce for people with mental illnesses in comparison to other disabilities. This paper presents qualitative evidence of anticipated and experienced workplace stigma and discrimination among individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) in 35 countries, and how these experiences differ across countries based on their Human Development Index (HDI) level.

Design: Mixed-method cross-sectional survey.

Effectiveness of an educational intervention to promote psychosocial well-being of school-going adolescents in Sri Lanka.

Background: One-fifth of the Sri Lankan population consists of adolescents, with 71% of them schooling. An extreme need exists in the country for the introduction of evidence-based interventions for the psychosocial well-being of adolescents. The present study assessed the effectiveness of an educational intervention to promote the psychosocial well-being of school-going adolescents in grade nine in Western Province, Sri Lanka.

Out-of-Pocket Expenditure for Antenatal Care Amid Free Health Care Provision: Evidence From a Large Pregnancy Cohort in Rural Sri Lanka.

Introduction: Global evidence suggests that high out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure negatively affects health service utilization and creates an economic burden on households during pregnancy. This study aimed to estimate the magnitude and associated factors of OOP expenditure for antenatal care (ANC) in a rural Sri Lankan setting by following up with a large pregnancy cohort (The Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort [RaPCo]) in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka.

Methods: Data were collected from July 2019 to May 2020.

Incorporating early pregnancy mental health screening and management into routine maternal care: experience from the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort (RaPCo), Sri Lanka.

Early identification of mental health problems in pregnancy in low-income and middle-income countries is scarcely reported. We present the experience of a programme assimilating screening and management of antenatal anxiety and depression in conjunction with the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort, in Sri Lanka. We adopted a two-stage screening approach to identify the symptoms and the reasons for anxiety and depression.

Effectiveness of single intra-bursal injection of platelet-rich plasma against corticosteroid under ultrasonography guidance for shoulder impingement syndrome: a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of intra-bursal injection of single-dose platelet-rich plasma (PRP) against corticosteroids under ultrasonography guidance in shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS).

Materials And Methods: This single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted on 60 participants with a clinical diagnosis of SIS from a selected orthopedic clinic. Thirty participants in each arm were given a single dose of either PRP or triamcinolone acetonide into the subacromial sub-deltoid bursa (SASD) under ultrasonography guidance.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health service utilisation and household economy of pregnant and postpartum women: a cross-sectional study from rural Sri Lanka.

Objectives: This study aims to describe how household economies and health service utilisation of pregnant and postpartum women were affected during the pandemic.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: This study was conducted in the Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka.

'We do not rush to the hospital for ordinary wounds (suḷu tuvāla)': A qualitative study on the early clinical manifestations of cutaneous leishmaniasis and associated health behaviours in rural Sri Lanka.

Background: Knowledge of early clinical manifestations, people's perceptions and behaviours is crucial in preventing and controlling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an NTD that causes skin lesions and affects millions worldwide. Delayed healthcare-seeking behaviour leading to prolonged treatment periods and complications is rife among people with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in early pregnancy and changes during the pregnancy.

Renal functions in pregnancy undergo rapid changes, and the thresholds for normal values are a major research gap and are still debatable. The lack of prospective population-based studies with early pregnancy recruitment hampered the decision-making process on the best thresholds to be used in clinical practice. We present the serum creatinine (sCr) and sCr-based estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) in early pregnancy with changes over the gestational period in a large prospective, community-based cohort, the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort (RaPCo).

Hypertrophied posterior longitudinal ligament and ligamentum flavum causing myelopathy: a case report and literature review.

Introduction: The occurrence of concurrent hypertrophied posterior longitudinal ligament (HPLL) and hypertrophied ligamentum flavum (HLF) in the thoracic spine is a very rare presentation. This case report describes a young female who developed thoracic myelopathy secondary to a combination of both thoracic HPLL and HLF.

Case Presentation: A 30-year-old previously well female was referred for an MRI scan of the thoraco-lumbar spine.

Social determinants of health pave the path to maternal deaths in rural Sri Lanka: reflections from social autopsies.

Background: Ending preventable maternal deaths remains a challenge in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Society perceived causes and real-life observations can reveal the intangible causes of maternal deaths irrespective of formal maternal death investigations. This study reports complex patterns in which social determinants act towards paving the path to maternal deaths in a rural Sri Lankan setting.

The magnitude of out-of-pocket expenditure for antenatal care in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Owing to the lack of compiled global evidence on out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) for antenatal care (ANC), this systematic review and meta-analysis estimated the magnitude of OOPE for ANC in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: An electronic search was conducted using 10 databases and a hand search of the eligible studies' reference lists. Studies on OOPE for ANC in LMICs, published in English without time restriction, were included.

Quality of life among community-dwelling older adults: evidence from a large population-based study in rural Sri Lanka.

Purpose: Against the backdrop of the ever-increasing aging population in Sri Lanka and the scarcity of local evidence on quality of life (QoL) among rural elderly, this study was conducted to assess the QoL of the community-dwelling older adults in rural Sri Lanka.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among community-dwelling older adults (60-74 years) in a selected rural setting in Sri Lanka. K-means cluster analysis was used to stratify participants into 'low' and 'high' levels of QoL and then significant associations between these clusters and underlying socio-demographic and self-reported health related factors were estimated using bivariate and subsequent multivariable binary logistic regression models.

Asthma in a prospective cohort of rural pregnant women from Sri Lanka: Need for better care during the pre-conceptional and antenatal period.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiology and the effect of asthma on pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women from a rural geography.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka enrolling all eligible pregnant women registered in the maternal care program. An interviewer-administered questionnaire-based symptom analysis and clinical assessment was conducted in the first and second trimesters.

Placing Leishmaniasis in the Limelight through the Communicable Disease Surveillance System: An Experience from Sri Lanka.

Having an effective surveillance system is imperative to take timely and appropriate actions for disease control and prevention. In Sri Lanka, leishmaniasis was declared as a notifiable disease in 2008. This paper presents a comprehensive compilation of the up-to-date documents on the communicable disease and leishmaniasis surveillance in Sri Lanka in order to describe the importance of the existing leishmaniasis surveillance system and to identify gaps that need to be addressed.

Economic burden of out-of-pocket expenditure, productivity cost during pregnancy and COVID-19 impact on household economy in a cohort of pregnant women in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka; A study protocol.

Investigating the out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) associated with maternal health is important since OOPE directly affects the affordability of health services. Global evidence suggests the importance of capturing the productivity cost during pregnancy in terms of absenteeism and presenteeism. Furthermore, the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the household economy needs to be further evaluated as pregnant women are one of the most vulnerable groups.

Portal Venous and Mesenteric Wall Calcifications along with Intra-splenic Vascular Calcification: A Rare Case Report and Literature Review.

Background: Cross-sectional imaging findings of portal vein calcification were found to be an indicator of portal vein thrombosis. Calcification of the portal vein and its tributaries in portal hypertension is an uncommon finding and the mechanical stress due to long-standing portal hypertension on the vessel wall is considered leading to sclerosis and calcification in the intima and media of the vessel wall. Intra-splenic vascular calcification is a rare occurrence and has been seen in patients with portal hypertension.

Characteristics of Connective Tissue Diseases Associated Interstitial Lung Diseases - A Single Centre Study in Sri Lanka.

Introduction: Interstitial Lung Diseases are the major cause of mortality in Connective Tissue Diseases.

Objectives: Our aim is to describe patients with Interstitial Lung Disease associated with Connective Tissue Diseases (CTD-ILD) in Chest Clinic -Colombo 08.

Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at Central Chest Clinic, Colombo, Sri Lanka and data of all patients attending the clinic during were analysed.

How costly is the first prenatal clinic visit? Analysis of out-of-pocket expenditure in rural Sri Lanka - a country with free maternal health care.

Background: This study aimed to determine the magnitude of and factors associated with out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) during the first prenatal clinic visit among pregnant women in Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka, which provides free maternal healthcare.

Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional study, and the study setting was 22 Medical Officers of Health (MOOH) areas in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka. Data of 1389 pregnant women were analyzed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests.