Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Sri Lankan adults

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of overweight, obesity and abdominal obesity, and the underlying socio‐demographic correlates among Sri Lankan adults. Data were from 4532 adults aged ≥18 years randomly selected for a national level study on diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Weight, height and waist circumference (WC) were measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated. The mean (95% confidence interval) BMI and WC were 21.1 kg m^?2 (20.9–21.3), 22.3 kg m^?2 (22.1–22.4) and 78.0 cm (77.5–78.6) and 77.5 cm (77.0–78.0) for males and females, respectively. According to the proposed World Health Organization cut‐off values for Asians, the percentage of Sri Lankan adults in the overweight, obese and centrally obese categories were 25.2%, 9.2% and 26.2%, respectively. Based on the cut‐offs for Caucasians, these were 16.8%, 3.7% and 10.8%. Our findings were compatible with prevalence of obesity in regional countries. In addition, female sex, urban living, higher education, higher income and being in the middle age were shown to be associated with overweight and obesity in Sri Lankans. In conclusion, we have documented a relatively high prevalence of overweight and obesity, particularly, abdominal obesity among adults in Sri Lanka which is a middle‐income country. Urgent public health interventions are needed to control the problem at an early stage.     

Infective endocarditis of native valve after anterior nasal packing

We present a case report of a patient who was previously treated for spontaneous epistaxis with a petroleum jelly gauze (0.5 in x 72 in) anterior nasal packing filled with an antibiotic ointment, along with prophylactic oral clindamycin. The patient presented with fever and hypotension 3 days after the nasal packing. Her blood cultures grew methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and the transesophageal echocardiography showed vegetation on the atrial surface of the posterior mitral valve leaflet, confirming the diagnosis of bacterial endocarditis attributable to nasal packing. Several case reports discuss toxic shock syndrome after nasal packing, but none describe endocarditis of the native heart valves subsequent to anterior nasal packing. Current guidelines on endocarditis prophylaxis produced by the American Heart Association, European Cardiac Society, and British Cardiac Society together with published evidence do not recommend endocarditis prophylaxis for patients with native heart valves undergoing anterior nasal packing.     

Solubilized ibuprofen: evaluation of onset, relief, and safety of a novel formulation in the treatment of episodic tension-type headache

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relative efficacy of a new solubilized formulation of ibuprofen compared with acetaminophen caplets. METHODS: This double-blind, randomized, parallel group study evaluated 154 subjects taking a single dose of solubilized ibuprofen, 400 mg; acetaminophen, 1000 mg; or placebo for the relief of episodic tension-type headache. Time to relief was measured using a stopwatch, and overall efficacy was measured using traditional categorical pain and relief scales. RESULTS: Ibuprofen capsules (liquigel), 400 mg, were significantly faster than both acetaminophen, 1000 mg, and placebo for all time-to-relief measures. Ibuprofen liquigel had a median time to first perceptible pain relief of 39 minutes compared with 47 minutes for acetaminophen and 113 minutes for placebo. For median time to meaningful relief, ibuprofen liquigel had a time of 39 minutes compared with 53 minutes for acetaminophen and more than 180 minutes for placebo (P相似文献   

Microbicidal activities of low frequency atmospheric pressure plasma jets on oral pathogens

Research using low frequency atmospheric pressure plasma jets (LF jet) is becoming increasingly more common. We carried out experiments to evaluate the sterilizing effects of this technology on oral pathogenic microorganisms (S.mutans, C.albicans and E. faecalis) and to determine its potential for clinical application. We performed the direct exposure test on a solid surface, indirect exposure test on a liquid phase, and ROS (reactive oxygen species) inhibitory test. The results showed the LF jet had microbicidal effects on oral pathogens, and that the ROS influenced this sterilization effect. The experiments of this study revealed that LF jet had a sterilizing effect on oral pathogenic microorganisms present in both the solid and liquid phases. The sterilizing mechanism was considered to be related to the effect of superoxide anion radicals. These results indicate that LF jets may represent a novel technology that can be applied to the field of clinical dentistry.