Journal of University College of Medicine and Dentistry

Learning Theories: From Divine to Mortals

Ahmed Badar — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 18:41:04 +0500

Learning is a fascinating journey, a puzzle waiting to be solved. It's like piecing together a complex jigsaw, with each theory offering a unique piece of the puzzle. As an educator, I've come to appreciate three fundamental learning theories that have shaped the way we understand the process of acquiring knowledge: Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism.

Detection of Inguinal Hernia in Patients with Groin Pain on Ultrasound

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 15:33:14 +0500

Objective: To establish ultrasound's contribution to precise diagnosis and to differentiate between inguinal hernia from other diseases in patients with groin pain.
Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar from January to June 2023, with permission of Research Board Ethics Committee. The inclusion criteria comprised patients of all ages and genders with right or left lower quadrant pain suspected of having a hernia. Exclusion criteria included patients who had undergone other ultrasound examinations for lower quadrant pain, diagnosed male prostatic pain, and pregnant women with groin pain. Data collection involved the use of a self-structured questionnaire after obtaining ethical approval and informed consent.The collected data was analysed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, per-
centages, mean, and standard deviations, were used to present the data.
Results: A total of 323 patients were presented with groin pain and swelling. Out of 323 patients 280 (86.7%) were male patients and 43 (13.3%) were females patients included in our study. All of 323 patients 267 patients were evaluated for inguinal hernia by ultrasound examination during the study period.
Out of 323 patients 56 patients of ultrasonographic examinations shows other diseases of groin region
which includes 40 patients (12.4%) of enlarged lymph nodes, 10 patients (3.1%) were mass and 6
patients (1.9%) were abscess noted. Thus, ultrasound diagnosed accurately inguinal hernia detection and differentiated us inguinal hernia from other diseases in patients with groin region pain or swelling.

Conclusion: Routine Ultrasonography is a helpful and accurate imaging modality performed before general surgery to identify inguinal hernias in groin discomfort patients or swelling.

Attitude, Practice and Preparedness of Dental Practitioners for Providing Oral Care to Patients with Speech and Hearing Impairment

khansa Rafi, Syed Masood-ul- Hasan, Saba Tabassum — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0500

Objective: To explore the attitudes, practices and preparedness of dental practitioners for providing oral
care to patients with speech and hearing impairment.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 467 dental practitioners between November 2021 and April 2022. A survey questionnaire was administered to practicing dental practitioners in Pakistan through online Google forms and in person. The survey included questions regarding dentists' demographic information, their attitudes and concerns, practices and views regarding training needs concerning the provision of oral care to patients with speech and hearing impairment. Data was analyzed with STATA version 16. Descriptive statistics with frequencies were computed and x² was used to find out the associations between different variables.
Results: The findings suggest that a significant proportion of participants, specifically 88.22%, were
unfamiliar with sign language and relied on the assistance of an attendant (54.82%) for communication
purposes. According to their accounts, surgical extraction (54.4%) was perceived as the most challenging treatment to execute, whereas scaling and polishing (73.9%) was considered the easiest treatment to administer in this particular population. When it came to providing care for individuals with speech and hearing impairment, several barriers were identified. These included communication obstacles (65.3%), patient cooperation (63.2%), concerns about medical emergencies (29.1%), inadequately trained staff (26.3%), and limited experience (25.5%). The participants unanimously agreed that there is a pressing need for enhanced undergraduate training (43.68%). Additionally, they suggested that it should be obligatory for students to treat a specific number of patients with speech and hearing impairment as part of their undergraduate training (49.25%).
Conclusion: There is a need to address the identified barriers and create a better understanding between
dentists and individuals with speech and hearing im- pairments. Basic dental signs should be learned and
mastered to engage patients more effectively via non-verbal communication.

Association of Dysmenorrhea with Mental Health and Academic Performance among University Students

Ayesha Jamil, Malaika Sheraz, Sana Ashraf, Sana Akram — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0500

Background: To determine the association of dysmenorrhea with mental health and academic performance among university students.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 384 female university students of age 19 to 29 years. The data was collected using self-structured questionnaires. Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) were the outcome measure tools for determining pain and mental health. The CGPA grading system was used for observing academic performance. A chi-square test was applied to find out the association of dysmenorrhea with mental health and academic performance.

Results: There were 356 (92.7%) participants who were experiencing painful menstruation with a mean age of 22.97 ± 8.79 years. The majority of females i.e., 186 (48.4%) had moderate pain. There was a statistically significant relationship between dysmenorrhea and the academic performance of students (p<0.05). However, no association was observed between dysmenorrhea and mental health (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Dysmenorrhea is highly prevalent among university female students, but it is not significantly associated with mental health. However, there is a significant association between dysmenorrhea and the academic performance of university students.

Breast Cancer: Epidemiology, Risk Factors and Survival Analysis in the Pakistani Population

Shumaila Zaib, Nosheen Masood, Jahangeer Sarwar Khan, Iqra ., Azra Yasmin — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 14:26:16 +0500

Objective: To find out the association of genetic, reproductive and socio demographic factors with breast cancer in Pakistani women along with the sur- vival percentage of patients having breast cancer.
Methodology: A case control study was carried out for a period of 3 years. Data were collected from different hospitals in Pakistan and the survival rate was determined by having direct contact with patients through telephone calls. For the estimation of survival probability Kaplan-Meier curve was used. Association of various demographic and epidemiological factors with breast cancer occurrence was estimated by using the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Various tests used to find out the significance of results included student t-test, chi-square test, Fisher exact test and ANOVA. A statistical tool SPSS version 22 was used to analyze the data and results orientation.
Results: The mean age for breast cancer diagnosis 47.3±11.8 years of age was found as mean age for breast cancer diagnosis. Higher BMI was the major contributing factors in developing breast cancer (OR=3.5, 95% CI=2.6-4.5). Significant risk factors found to be associated with the breast cancer included long reproductive period (menarche to menopause), family history of disease and habit of passive smoking (P<0.05). Out of 448 married patients, 23% were nulliparous and 26% of patients did not have a lactation history. Chemotherapy along with radiotherapy and surgery have been found to be effective methods for breast cancer treatment (80% survival).
Conclusion: Present study concluded that age, body mass index, oral contraceptives usage, lactation duration, reproductive duration and marital status of the female are significant factors in developing breast cancer in Pakistani women.

Role of Career Counselling in Medical Profession: Perceptions of Medical Students

Hina Ahmed, Abdullah Yousaf, Muhammad Ahmed, Muhammad Tauqeer Akhtar — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 14:23:10 +0500

Objective: To determine the perception of medical students regarding the role of career counselling in
medical profession.
Methodology: It was a cross sectional study done between April and October 2023, where140 medical
students from Central Park Medical College, Lahore were enrolled via convenience sampling. After receiving formal IRB approval, data was collected via self-designed google forms and WhatsApp groups from MBBS students in their first to final academic year who volunteered to participate after piloting with Cronbach Alpha score of 0.81. After collecting data, SPSS software version 26 was utilized for analysis. The outcomes were presented as frequency tables and bar graphs.
Results: A total of 140 responses were collected with the average age of the respondents being 21+1.7SD
years. About 59 (42.1%) of the students who responded were from 2nd year MBBS, 38 (27.1%) were from 4th year MBBS, 26 (19%) were from 1st year MBBS, 09 (6%) were from 5th year MBBS and remaining 08 (6%) were from 3rd year MBBS. About 60 (42.9%),52 (37.1%), 133 (95%) and 131 (93.6%)of the students said that career counselling helped identify their capabilities. About 130 (93 %), 115 (82 %), and 113(81%) gave positive responses when asked about the impact on gaining perspective, developing strategies, and managing conflicts. There was a significant relationship between the role of career counselling in identifying opportunities and building the CV 109(95%) (p=0.01), understanding interest59(99%) capabilities49(94%) (p=0.00), broadening one's perspective 126(95%) (0.00), adopting the right strategies 126(97%) (0.00), and resolving conflicts 108(95%) (0.00).
Conclusion: Career counselling should be conducted in the early years of medical professional career, so
that students can identify their areas of interest in order to choose the appropriate specialization in the future.

Challenges and Barriers of Online Teaching: Perspective of Faculty in a Private Medical College of Lahore

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 12:39:20 +0500

Objective: To identify the challenges and barriers faced during initiation of online teaching by the faculty of a private medical college of Lahore.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted from Sep-Dec, 2021 in FMH College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore. List of faculty members was obtained from the Human Resource Department amounting to 140, a sample size of 70 was selected which was the half of total sample. A predesigned, structured questionnaire was used. Approval from IRB committee and consent was obtained. Data was collected online using Google Performa via email, analyzed using SPSS version 20 and Microsoft Excel. Percentages, proportions and means were calculated.
Results: The respondents included 23 (32%) Demonstrators, 11 (15.7%) Senior Demonstrators, 22
(31.4%) Assistant Professors, 7 (10%) Associate Professors and 7 (10%) Professors. Year wise distribution
of faculty was as follows; 13 (18.5%) were teaching 1st year, 9 (12.8%) 2nd year, 19 (27%) 3rd year, 25 (35 .7%) 4th year, and 4 (5.7%) final year MBBS respectively. Mean age in years was 39±9.8 of the enrolled faculty. Predominance of females 47 (67.1%) to males 23 (32.9%) was observed. Maintaining class decorum and controlling students' plagiarism was a major challenge for 65 participant s(92.9%). Inadequate online teaching resources were recognized by 61 (87.1%) to be a challenge making it difficult to inculcate clinical skills while, 58 (82.9%) accepted effectiveness of lecture was interfered by lack of face to face interaction. Most common barrier 60 (85.7%) was connectivity issues, software failure, power issues and 57(81.40) complained of lack of finances.
Conclusion: Lack of face to face interaction, connectivity, software and power failure issues, in addition
to finances and time management were major challenges and barriers faced during initiation of online
teaching by the faculty.

Assessing Professionalism among First Year Medical Students through Professionalism Assessment Tool

Nabiha Farasat Khan, Muhammad Saeed, Ruksana Majid — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 12:21:21 +0500

Objective: To assess the professional level among 1st year MBBS students of Bolan Medical College, Quetta.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried at Bolan Medical College Quetta from September to November, 2022. All 200 medical stu- dents of 1st year MBBS were invited to participate in the study. A validated Professional Assessment Tool (PAT) was distributed by 3 senior demonstrators during lectures. The PAT contained 33 items within five domains: (1) Reliability and Responsibility, (2) Life-long Learning and Adaptability, (3) Relationships with Others (4) Upholding Principles of Integrity and Respect, and (5) Citizenship and Professional Engagement. Results were prepared by using SPSS version 29. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. A p-value<0.05 was considered as significant.
Results: Twenty four out of 200 students were consistently absent at the time of data collection (99% response rate). Fifty one percent were females (n=102/200). Seventy out of 200 students (35%) were 20 years of age. Thirty four percent (68/200) demonstrated only the basic level of critical thinking and only 10 students (5%) demonstrated the higher cognitive level. Overall, statistically significant results were observed at items number 3 and 1 (p-<.001) of domain 3 and 4 respectively (empathizing to the situations of others and actively and productively participating in the profession respectively)
Conclusion: Students of 1st year MBBS demonstrate positive attitude towards professionalism.

Role of Physical activity in abating Non-Communicable Diseases: A survey of residents of Central Park Housing Society, Lahore

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 18:07:06 +0500

Objective: Regular physical activity is beneficial to both physical and emotional well-being. The present study goal is to observe how lack of physical exercise leads to various noncommunicable diseases.
Methodology:A study was conducted at Central Park Housing Society, Lahore using cross sectional study design. Data was collected from 250 residents of Lahore, Pakistan’s Central Park Housing Society using the structured tool IPAQ-LF. Structured tool used in this study was applicable on age group between 15-69 years, therefore we included participants aged between 15-69 years in this study. While children, adolescences having age between 10-14 years, adults > 69 years old, pregnant women and those with existing non- communicable diseases were excluded from the study. The Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA test was used to determine whether there was a significant relationship between physical activity and non-communicable diseases.
Results: About 20.8% participants had family history of hypertension. Greater physical activity is linked to reduce hypertension risk. Lower physical activity is associated with a higher diabetes risk (18%) compared to the higher activity levels (14%). BMI (p-value=0.00) and random blood sugar level (p-value=0.03) is associated with physical activity.
Conclusion: Most of the participants were not involved in moderate physical activity. People who
participated in physical activities are at a lower risk of developing diabetes and hypertension. In general,
physical activity aids in mitigating harmful chronic diseases.

A study on Bacterial Infections Associated with Central Nervous System in Pakistani Population

Muneeba Afzal, Hamza Altaf, Tayyaba Faiz, Samra Mannan — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 18:53:46 +0500

Objective: This paper reviews the evolving trends and epidemiology of CNS infections in Pakistan over four
decades, exploring pathophysiology, diagnostic criteria, and treatment approaches through systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methodology: A comprehensive research study was conducted from August 2021 to May 2022 at the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore. It involved a literature review and meta-analysis of CNS infections in Pakistan from 1980 to 2022. This study estimates the burden of CNS infectious diseases, analyzing 183 articles. Approximately 100 studies used cerebrospinal fluid as a diagnostic specimen, while 83 studies used extra-ventricular drainage, meeting inclusion criteria.
Results: The highest numbers of studies were conducted in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020,
and 2021, indicating an increasing focus on this area. Karachi had the highest publication rate. Bacterial
agents accounted for 69% of cases, affecting both children (60%) and adults (72.2%). Males comprised 65%
of the affected population. Low to middle-in- come patients with limited education were prevalent. Common symptoms included headache, nausea, neck stiffness, fever, seizures, and photosensitivity. Meningitis
was the most prevalent type (55%), followed by subdural empyema (51.4%) and brain abscesses (41%).
Major pathogens included Streptococcus pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterococcus faecium, and Haemophilus influenzae, Viruses, fungi, and parasites were also involved. Many
patients exhibited stages 3 and 4 on the MRC Breathlessness scale. These trends emphasize the importance
of understanding CNS infections in Pakistan, focusing on causes, clinical presentations, and pathogens
involved.
Conclusion: This review highlights the need for improved training, resources, and high quality care. Bacterial CNS infections continue to remain a significant challenge in the country.

Unusual Variant of Ameloblastoma with Calcifying Epithelial Odontogenic Tumor-like Areas in a Three-Year Old Child

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 19:13:42 +0500

The Calcifying Epithelial Odontogenic Tumor (CEOT) is a benign odontogenic tumor, comprising approximately 1% of all odontogenic tumors. It presents as a slow-growing tumor in posterior mandibular region. A three year-old female child from Multan, reported a swelling in right lower jaw progressively increasing in size eventually causing facial asymmetry. On intraoral examination, a protuberance was seen arising from posterior mandibular region and causing displacement of overlying teeth. The swelling was cystic on palpation and mildly tender. The patient underwent complete excision of lesion at a tertiary care center in her locality. The excision biopsy specimen was received at our lab which was intact and well preserved. A diagnosis of ameloblastoma with Calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor-like areas was made. The patient was followed up after six months however no complaint of any recurrent swelling in the area of was recorded.