Young-Onset Diabetes in Sri Lanka: Experience From the Developing World.

Young-onset diabetes (YOD) is characterised by unique diagnostic and management challenges more pronounced in resource-limited settings like Sri Lanka. We aimed to ascertain the prevalence, patterns and characteristics of YOD in Sri Lanka and describe the state of care. Retrospective review of baseline data of all patients enrolled in the prospective multicentre Database for Young-Onset Diabetes, Sri Lanka (DYOD-SL), was performed, from April 2021 to April 2023.

Assessing radiation exposure of fingers of PET/CT technologists duringF-FDG procedures using active extremity dosimeters: a single-center study.

Extremity radiation exposure in nuclear medicine is a growing concern because it may surpass the maximum permissible dose of 500 mSv. This study aimed to assess the occupational finger dose received by technologists during the preparation and administration ofF-FDG radiopharmaceuticals in positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) whole-body scan procedures. Fifty scans were selected, with one procedure excluded due to a high administered activity.

Perception of diet, dietary practices and sources of dietary information among people with type 2 diabetes followed up at a tertiary care outpatient clinic: a qualitative study.

Background: Dietary practices and beliefs among people living with diabetes in low-middle-income South-Asian countries are unique. Understanding them is paramount in supporting them to improve their clinical outcomes. This study aimed to understand the perception of diet, dietary practices, and sources of dietary information among Sri Lankan adults with type 2 diabetes.

Lived Experiences of Primary Caregivers of Children with Dyslexia: A Phenomenological Study.

Background: Caregivers play an important role in children's development. Therefore, they need to recognize the learning difficulties that their children face and support them to ensure learning gains and prevent secondary complications. Nevertheless, supporting a child with a learning disability can be challenging for caregivers in many ways.

Surveillance of carbapenem resistance in Asian countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Carbapenems are used to treat multidrug-resistant organisms as last-resort antibiotics. Resistance to carbapenems is an emerging public health threat worldwide, with alarming reported rates in Asian countries. To minimise further spread of resistant strains and guide interventions, it is important to understand the prevalence rates and causative molecular determinants.

Coping with cancer pain: a qualitative study to explore pain perception and self-coping strategies of patients with cancer in Sri Lanka.

Unlabelled: Pain is one of the most debilitating symptoms of cancer, substantially diminishing one's quality of life. The level of pain experienced is eventually determined by the pain coping strategies adopted by patients individually. The awareness of the 'self-coping methods of pain' of individual patients would be beneficial for the multidisciplinary pain team to consider such methods when planning future interventions to manage pain.

Are viral loads in the febrile phase a predictive factor of dengue disease severity?

Background: As many studies have shown conflicting results regarding the extent of viraemia and clinical disease severity, we sought to investigate if viraemia during early dengue illness is associated with subsequent clinical disease severity.

Methods: Realtime PCR was carried out to identify the dengue virus (DENV serotype), in 362 patients, presenting within the first 4 days of illness, from 2017 to 2022, in Colombo Sri Lanka. To characterize subsequent clinical disease severity, all patients were followed throughout their illness daily and disease severity classified according to WHO 1997 and 2009 disease classification.

Caesarean scar endometriosis: how to make an accurate diagnosis.

Caesarean scar endometriosis is a rare condition characterised by the presence of endometrial tissue within a surgical scar following a caesarean section. A woman in her late 30s presented with a painful lump beneath her caesarean section skin scar, worsening during menstruation. Despite a previous incision and drainage procedure for a 'scar abscess', the symptoms persisted.

Anti-dengue viral activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots in Vero cells.

Despite being a global public health problem, there are no antiviral agents for dengue. Plants are the sources of most approved drugs and many phytochemicals have exhibited in vitro antiviral activity. We explored the antiviral potential of the aqueous extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots (GGaq) on dengue viruses.

Generalized tetanus complicated with Takotsubo-cardiomyopathy in a septuagenarian following a laceration injury with soil contamination - a case report.

Background: Tetanus is a clinical rarity due to the successful globally adopted childhood vaccination programme. The rising elderly population in the United Kingdom creates a subset of individuals whom are prone to develop Tetanus as they preceded this vaccination drive. A 76 year old Caucasian lady presented with a soil contaminated laceration injury on her knee following a fall.

Evaluation of automatic tube current modulation in a CT scanner using a customised homogeneous phantom.

The introduction of automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) has resulted in complex relationships between scanner parameters, patient body habitus, radiation dose, and image quality. ATCM adjusts tube current based on x-ray attenuation variations in the scan region, and overall patient dose depends on a combination of factors. This work aims to develop mathematical models that predict CT radiation dose and image noise in terms of attenuating diameter and all relevant scanner parameters.

Assessment of occupational eye lens dose in interventional cardiology suites in Sri Lanka.

Purpose: The research investigates the occupational eye lens dose of interventional cardiologists and examines several methodologies for measuring eye lens doses, including direct methods using Hp(3) dosimeters and indirect methods using surrogate dosimeters. Moreover, the study scrutinizes factors impacting the evaluation of eye lens dose, making a substantial contribution to the field within Sri Lanka.

Methodology: Twelve interventional cardiologists underwent monitoring for eye lens doses utilizing both direct (Hp(3)) and indirect (Hp(10) and Hp(0.

Risk factors for antenatal anxiety: a cross-sectional study in field antenatal clinics in Sri Lanka.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the prevalence and factors affecting antenatal anxiety (AA) among Sri Lankan women.

Design: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of first trimester data from a population-based cohort of antenatal women.

Setting: Field antenatal clinics of four field health areas in Colombo District, Sri Lanka.

Androgen Deficiency, Associations and Survival of Men With Stage 4 and 5 Chronic Kidney Disease: A Cohort Study.

Objectives: Anaemia is a key cause of morbidity in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Androgen deficiency (AD) in males can contribute to anaemia of all causes, including in CKD. We sought to examine the prevalence of AD in men with CKD, the extent to which it contributed to anaemia and whether it was independently associated with long-term survival.

Development of home-based care educational programme for the family caregivers of activity limited older people: an educational programme model for community nurses.

Background/aim: A home-based care educational programme for family caregivers of activity-limited older people was developed and implemented to provide caregiver education and to teach basic caregiving techniques. The purpose of the home-based care educational programme was to improve the caregivers' knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to perform the caregiving tasks with reduced physical strain.

Methods: The educational programme model comprises the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out the caretaking responsibilities of older people, especially those with limited activities.

An approach to assess real workload of medical linear accelerators in Sri Lanka.

Due to the introduction of new radiotherapy treatment techniques and the increased number of cancer patients, there is a higher possibility of redundant workload on radiotherapy machines. Therefore, this study aims to assess the workload in three linear accelerator units. An 8-week survey was conducted in the selected three units, during which all treatment parameters were accumulated.

Impact evidence and post-ricochet behaviour of shotgun pellets ricocheting off standard floor tiles.

Compared to popular handguns and rifle bullets, quantitative and empirical-based ricochet studies using shotgun pellet ricochets are observed to be far fewer. This empirical study examines the ricochet behaviour and impact evidence when shotgun pellets (Buckshot) ricochet off standard floor tiles, providing a series of novel findings related to the resultant ricochet marks. Among these findings, a novel and statistically significant relationship between the lengths and widths of individual ricochet marks and the shot impact angles is demonstrated, offering useful forensic application.

Variations in out-of-pocket spending and factors influencing catastrophic health expenditure of households with patients suffering from chronic conditions in four districts in Sri Lanka.

Introduction: Healthcare financing systems, dependent on out-of-pocket expenditure(OOPE), impose a heavy burden on those who use the services regularly, such as patients suffering from chronic diseases. High OOPE for health services leads to decreased utilization of the services and/or catastrophic health expenditure, which would significantly impede the achievement of Universal Health coverage.

Objective: We aimed to determine variations in OOPE and factors associated with Catastrophic Health Expenditure (CHE) of households with patients suffering from non-communicable diseases(NCDs) in four districts.