Journal of Clinical and Basic Research
Volume:5 Issue: 3, Summer 2021

Self-medication is a common practice worldwide and medical students are at higher risk of self-medication because of early exposure and access to drugs and related information. The objective of this study was to assess the practice and perceptions of self-medication among medical students.

In this cross-sectional study, data were collected using a questionnaire from undergraduate medical students at the Maharajah’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Vizianagaram, India, during November-December 2019. The subjects were selected via convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using the SPSS (version 21) and chi-square test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The prevalence of self-medication among 440 students was found to be 83%. Self-medication was more common among female students (85.8%) as compared to male counterparts (80.9%) (p>0.05). The majority of students (73.4%) cited mild nature of illness as the factor responsible for self-medication. Fever was the most common indication for self-medication accounting for 81.4% cases, and antipyretics was the most commonly (74.8%) used drug category. Moreover, 48.9% of the participants opined that self-medication is part of self-care and needs to be encouraged.

Self-medication is widely practiced among undergraduate medical students. Therefore, there is an urgent need to educate them regarding the dangers of irrational drug use along with the implementation of stringent regulations regarding the sale of drugs without a valid prescription.

The Olfactory bulb is a crucial structure involved in olfaction that is located in the ventral anterior of the forebrain. Due to physiological and anatomical connection between olfactory and emotion processing networks, olfactory dysfunction is seen in some psychiatric disorders. Strong evidences suggest that olfactory bulb volume can mirror olfactory system function. Due to this correlation, there has been an interest to investigate the possible correlation between reduction of olfactory bulb volume and some neuropsychiatric disorders. Nowadays, mental disorders are mostly diagnosed according to behavioural symptoms. Gradual progression of mental disorders and delayed onset of behavioral symptoms have increased the importance of finding objective biomarkers. Such biomarkers can improve treatment outcome, accuracy of diagnosis, and prognosis. It is hypothesized that the reduction of olfactory bulb volume could be a biomarker for some disorders. In this article, we reviewed studies on the association of olfactory bulb volume with depression, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, migraine, and multiple sclerosis.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that can affect all systems of the human body. Considering that there is no definitive treatment for AIDS, timely and accurate diagnosis is important. Symptoms of HIV infection may sometimes be nonspecific and should always be considered in high-risk individuals. We herein report a patient with HIV who was presented with chronic diarrhea as the sole symptom of HIV Infection.

A 40 years old man was admitted to hospital with complain of diarrhea that had started seven months ago. He also experienced extensive weight loss and complained of vomiting and abdominal pain in the past month without any fever. Abdominal computed tomography scan and colonoscopy and stool examination were normal. However, biopsy indicated active colitis. Laboratory tests for HIV, functional expression of the lymphoid chemokines, and anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody were negative, but hepatitis C viral load was positive. Because the patient had many tattoos on his body that were done in unsanitary places, AIDS was suspected. The related test was requested, and the result was positive. Finally the patient was prescribed with co-trimoxazole and referred to an AIDS consultation center.

We presented a case of HIV infection with chronic diarrhea as the only symptom without any others clinical findings. Our observations suggest that for better diagnosis and management of HIV infection, it is important to consider chronic diarrhea as one of the important complications of HIV even when not accompanied with any other symptom.

Infectious mononucleosis is a disease mainly caused by Epstein-Barr virus. The disease is most frequently observed in children. Acyclovir is a nucleoside analogue with high in-vitro antiviral activity. The present study was performed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of oral acyclovir on hospitalized children with infectious mononucleosis.

This randomized double-blind clinical trial was performed on 48 patients with infectious mononucleosis who were randomly divided into an intervention (n=22) and a control (n=26) group. The intervention group received 80 mg/kg/day oral acyclovir q.i.d. for five days and the control group received placebo (Starch capsule, Barij Essence). Clinical symptoms, test results, drug side effects and demographic information of the patients were recorded in a checklist. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18. Descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation were used to describe data. The chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests were used for comparison of data. All analysis was carried out at significance of 0.05.

The mean age of patients in the treatment and control groups was 5.67± 2.82 and 6.94± 3.43 years, respectively (p=0.50). The symptoms of infectious mononucleosis e.g. fever, exudative erythema, tonsillitis, lymphadenopathy, tenderness, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly did not differ significantly between the two groups (p>0.05). In addition, the mean duration of hospitalization in the intervention and control groups was 4.23 ± 1.71 and 5.85 ± 7.27 days, respectively (p=0.65).

The use of acyclovir-based regimens in the treatment of patients with infectious mononucleosis still depends on clinical suspicion and the experience of the treating physician, and its routine use is not recommended.

Tuberculosis (TB) has infected billions of people worldwide. The clinical appearance of TB is close to that of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Active pulmonary TB infection can lead to severe pulmonary distress syndrome. Recent studies have revealed the clinical significance of TB surveillance in COVID-19 patients. In this mini-review, we compiled data from published literature and addressed the significance of interplay between TB and SARS-CoV-2 co-infection. Bilateral cross-relationship between these two major public health issues can be classified into two main categories. On one hand, active TB and multidrug-resistance infections lead to poor prognosis, particularly in elderly patients with COVID-19. On the other hand, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic caused major harm to the global TB services and surveillance.

Congenital cartilage masses can cause pain and restrict joint movement. This mass can be used in the differential diagnosis of osteomyelitis and other benign cartilage masses, such as osteochondroma and chondroma.

In this report, a 51-day-old boy with a pathological diagnosis of cartilage mass in the proximal tibia is introduced. The patient had normal growth and development and was referred due to presence a mass below his right knee. Based on the pathological findings, the final diagnosis was congenital cartilage mass.

The presence of a cartilage mass can mimic the symptoms of osteomyelitis, and since treatment for osteomyelitis must be performed promptly, it is important to distinguish between congenital cartilage masses and osteomyelitis. In addition, the presence of the cartilage mass in the patient affected joints movement and caused pain, indicating the importance of the need for intervention.

Dental anxiety refers to the fear associated with the idea of seeking dental care. It is the fifth most common cause of anxiety. The purpose of this study was to investigate efficiency of educational videos for reducing anxiety and fear in adult patients undergoing root canal treatment in private dental clinics.

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. The statistical population consisted of all patients referred to private dental clinics in Shiraz (Iran) during the summer of 2016. Overall, 50 subjects were selected via the convenience sampling method. The subjects were randomly divided into an intervention group (n=25) and a control group (n=25). Both groups responded to two anxiety and fear questionnaires. Then, the intervention group participated in a video training session, while the control group did not receive any training. Subjects in both study groups once again completed the questionnaires. Data were analyzed in the SPSS (version 22) using one-way analysis of covariance and at statistical significance of 0.05.

After the intervention, the mean scores of fear and its components (avoiding dental treatment, physical symptoms caused by anxiety, and anxiety caused by dental stimuli) were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (P<0.05).

Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the educational video on root canal treatment could help reduce anxiety and fear in adult patients.

Neuro-developmental delay (NDD) is a chronic neurologic problem that adversely affects the quality of life of affected individuated. The aim of this study was to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in patients with global developmental delay (GDD) and Isolated NDD and evaluate their efficacy in diagnostic approach to children with NDD.

A cross-sectional study was designed to enroll all patients with static developmental delay who had been referred to outpatient neurology clinic at Bahrami hospital, Tehran, Iran, between Feb 2012-Feb 2013. Neurologic examination results and the presence of GDD or Isolated NDD in patients were recorded using of a pre-prepared questionnaire, Bayley Scales for Infants and Toddler-4th edition and Denver Developmental Screening Test.

Totally 140 patients with developmental delay were enrolled during the study. 70 patients (50%) had global developmental delay (GDD), and 70 cases (50%) had Isolated NDD. In addition, abnormal associated neurological symptoms were present in 67.9% of patients. Patients whit GDD had significantly probability of abnormal MRI compare to patients with isolated NDD (P<0.001). Furthermore, a great proportion of positive MRI findings was reported from patients with Isolated motor NDD (P=0.007). Microcephaly was the most abnormal neurologic finding in patients with GDD (P=0.04).

A significant proportion of abnormal MRI findings in patients with global developmental delay, confirms the necessity of imaging diagnostic tool, especially brain MRI, in diagnostic approach to patients with GDD. In addition, the benefit of brain MRI in diagnostic approach to children with isolated NDD seems to be low.