Ramesh Holla

Manipal Academy of Higher Education | MAHE · Kasturba Medical College (KMC)

Introduction: The impact of the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and the effect of preventive health strategies on acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are largely unknown. The public health model imposed during the pandemic and the lessons learnt have implications on recommending future preventive strategies fo...

Background The purpose of the study was to assess the obstacles faced by diabetes patients in their self-care and determine the factors associated with these obstacles. The management of diabetes mellitus (DM) extends beyond the clinician’s efforts, with the responsibility of the care also being shared by the patient to achieve better treatment ou...

Background : Dengue is an emerging global viral disease with an increase 30-fold in incidence in the past fifty years. In the past decade it was restricted to only few a states of South and Northern India but in the recent past it has affected almost all the states in India. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical profile, trends and...

Background The infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF) decide child growth and well-being. Paternal perspectives and involvement in IYCF are of paramount importance and are grossly under-studied. Aims To study the experiences and opinions of fathers of infants and young children towards feeding practices. Settings and design Two focus gro...

Background: Frontline health care workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of developing unfavourable mental health outcomes and burnout, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the early warning signs of mental distress is very important to ensure the provision of quality patient care. Methods: In this facility-based cross-sectional study...

Introduction: Trypanophobia or needle phobia is a concern for many when it comes to vaccinations, injectable medicines, blood draws, donations and thus can form a basis of avoidance of certain procedures in healthcare professionals. Our study thus, aims to assess the proportion and risk factors associated with Trypanophobia among medical undergradu...

Background: Frontline health care workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of developing unfavourable mental health outcomes and burnout, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the early warning signs of mental distress is very important to ensure the provision of quality patient care. Methods: In this facility-based cross-sectional study...

Research is the key to advancement in medical science. Medical school can nurture the skill of research right from the under graduation. Research forms an integral part of the medical curriculum in western countries. We attempted the same in our medical school in India. We developed a structured research methodology program, which was implemented i...

BACKGROUND COVID-19 has become a major cause of concern globally for the past couple of years considering the number of lives it has claimed. The spectrum of clinical manifestations related to nervous system ranged from ageusia, anosmia to stroke and encephalopathies. The burden of follow-up and review currently lies in front of us, considering the...

Background: Frontline health care workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of developing unfavourable mental health outcomes and burnout, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the early warning signs of mental distress is very important to ensure the provision of quality patient care. Methods: In this facility-based cross-sectional study...

The aim of the present study was to determine whether the serum ferritin, the biomarker of an acute phase reactant and the gall bladder wall edema, an early indicator of capillary leakage can predict the severity of dengue fever. This study included 131 patients, who were between the age group of 18–80 years. The patients presented to our departmen...

Aims: To determine adherence levels to Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) and the factors influencing it in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Materials and Methods: An institution based descriptive longitudinal study was conducted from September 2017 to June 2019 to assess the level of adherence to IPT and its determinants among HIV patients. A total...

Background: Overall child health depends on nutrition and its related practices. At the family level, responsibility of child feeding lies with both parents. There is no uniform and systematic way to determine and assess the practices of fathers in infant and young child feeding (IYCF). Also, there is a paucity of evidence related to interventions...

Background: Frontline health care workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of developing unfavourable mental health outcomes and burnout, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the early warning signs of mental distress is very important to ensure the provision of quality patient care. Methods: In this facility-based cross-sectional study...

Background : Universal access to maternal new-born and child healthcare services (MNCH) is detrimental for attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three pertaining to promotion of health at all ages. Incentivization in the form of cash, vouchers, and goods have been used as part of strategies to improve maternal and neonatal health outcome...

Background: Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) is a rare, benign condition of unknown etiology, presenting as cervical lymphadenitis. Lymphadenopathy is usually tender and maybe associated with systemic symptoms. Despite the extensive literature on this disease, it continues to be misdiagnosed owing to its misleading clinical presentation. Methods: A r...

Background: Overall child health depends on nutrition and its related practices. At the family level, responsibility of child feeding lies with both parents. There is no uniform and systematic way to determine and assess the practices of fathers in infant and young child feeding (IYCF). Also, there is a paucity of evidence related to interventions...

Background : Universal access to maternal new-born and child healthcare services (MNCH) is detrimental for attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three pertaining to promotion of health at all ages. Incentivization in the form of cash, vouchers, and goods have been used as part of strategies to improve maternal and neonatal health outcome...

Purpose In resource-limited settings like India, the treatment efficacy of ART is monitored through CD4 count and clinical indicators. The objective of this study is to assess outcomes and indicators of treatment failure in patients on long-term first-line ART. Methods We carried out a retrospective study using data from 851 patients collected fro...

Purpose In resource-limited settings like India, the treatment efficacy of ART is monitored through CD4 count and clinical indicators. The objective of this study is to assess outcomes and indicators of treatment failure in patients on long-term first-line ART. Methods We carried out a retrospective study using data from 851 patients collected fro...

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the non-communicable diseases plaguing the world and contributes a major part to the total disease burden. Diabetes has been prevalent in all countries throughout the years, with the majority of diabetics living in low- and middle-income countries. Madras Diabetes Research Foundation developed the Indian...

Background HIV is an infectious disease affecting 36.7 million people worldwide. In recent times, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) has become accessible to the majority of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and this has transformed the course of infection to one that is chronic, characterized by fewer diseases pathognomonic of AIDS. In view of this, there...

Context: The feeding practices during first 2 years of life determine the overall health and survival during childhood and beyond. Child nutrition is responsibility of both parents and so far emphasis has been laid mostly on mothers. Fathers' involvement toward Infant and Young child feeding (IYCF) has been proved to be of paramount importance and...

Background : The major determinant to the well-being of infants and young children (IYC) is their feeding practices. These practices are the responsibility of both parents, meaning that fathers have an equal role to mothers. Fathers’ involvement can have an impact on the overall health of the children. Despite this, paternal involvement towards IYC...

Background: Vaccine hesitancy (VH) has been identified by the World Health Organization as one among the top ten threats to global public health. There is limited literature regarding VH from developing countries like India. Methods: In this facility based cross-sectional study, 172 mothers of under-five children were assessed regarding VH using th...

Aim To estimate the adherence to treatment among type 2 diabetic patients. Background Treatment adherence is a complex process which is controlled by multiple factors. Lack of treatment adherence is common with patients who suffer from type 2 diabetes and is becoming a very prevalent problem especially with the patients who suffer from non-communi...

Background: Unintentional injuries cause up to 950,000 deaths among children under 18 years worldwide annually. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of school based interventions in promoting child safety and reducing unintentional childhood injuries. Methods: This Cluster randomised trial with 1:1 allocation of clusters to intervention a...

Background : The major determinant to the well-being of infants and young children (IYC) is their feeding practices. These practices are the responsibility of both parents, meaning that fathers have an equal role to mothers. Fathers’ involvement can have an impact on the overall health of the children. Despite this, paternal involvement towards IYC...

Context: Anemia is a public health problem that can lead to growth, cognitive, and motor impairments. Objective: To collate evidence on interventions for addressing childhood and adolescent anemia. Methods: In this overview of systematic reviews, we included Cochrane as well as non-Cochrane systematic reviews (SRs) irrespective of language and publ...

Summary Background Many causes of vision impairment can be prevented or treated. With an ageing global population, the demands for eye health services are increasing. We estimated the prevalence and relative contribution of avoidable causes of blindness and vision impairment globally from 1990 to 2020. We aimed to compare the results with the World...

BackgroundA public health problem that has been on the rise in the twenty-first century is gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). There are serious adverse effects on both maternal and fetal health following GDM. Potential complications can be reduced by early detection of risk factors, which predispose women to GDM.Objectives This study aims to iden...

Background: Several chemokines, cytokine and biomarkers have previously been depicted in the pathogenesis of severe dengue fever. Despite the presence of clinical parameters, there have been no proven markers, during the period of defervescence to predict the progression of non-severe dengue cases to the severe dengue phase in the adult population....

Background Diabetes mellitus is a serious chronic condition affecting millions of people globally. The focus of our future health care providers should not lie primarily on increasing the “quantity” of life but also on improving the quality of life of the patient. There has been found to be serious lack of awareness and adherence regarding self‐car...

Background School children stay a significant hour of the day in their school and are the medium through which information can be carried to their parents and other family members, about basic information regarding Pre-Hospital Care. Objectives To determine the awareness about Pre-Hospital care among school teachers in Mangalore and to determine h...

Background Poor adherence is generally associated with bad outcomes of the disease especially in Non-communicable disease like diabetes. Objectives To study the level of adherence and factors associated with adherence to anti-diabetes medication among patients with diabetes. Method ology: In this cross-sectional study, 124 diabetes patients atten...

Background Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is a rare, benign condition, of unknown etiology, presenting as cervical lymphadenitis, usually tender and maybe associated with systemic symptoms. Despite the extensive literature on this disease, it continues to be misdiagnosed owing to its misleading clinical presentation. Results The mean age in our study was...

Background: HIV/AIDS has a greater impact on children. Besides being orphaned by the untimely demise of one or both parents due to the disease, these children are more prone for discrimination by the society. Methods: In this cross-sectional study 86 children orphaned by AIDS residing in care giving institutions for HIV positive children in Mang...

A balanced sex ratio is important for a stable society. However, son preference and discrimination towards the female gender has resulted in an adverse sex ratio. The objective of this cross sectional study was to assess the preference of women in post natal period, regarding gender of their next child. In this hospital based study 155 post-natal w...

Background: India is the world's third leading country in terms of people living with human deficiency virus (HIV) (2.1 million) with 0.4 million deaths due to HIV-associated tuberculosis (TB). Physical and mental stress degrades the quality of life (QOL) in these patients. Studies have been done in HIV patients but very few on HIV-TB co-infected p...

Introduction: From developing innovative practices to reduce the effects of changing climate, and to the implementation of legislations the young people can contribute immensely. Materials and Method: In this cross-sectional survey 375 college students from Mangaluru city were assessed regarding their perception, and attitude towards climate change...

Introduction: The most recent data from UNAIDS, about 35 million people are living with HIV infection worldwide. Cutaneous disorders occur more frequently as HIV infection advances and immune function deteriorates; however, they are common and of various types throughout the course of HIV disease. Taking cutaneous disorders into consideration for c...

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the common cancers affecting both genders. Although the incidence of CRC is low in India there has been an increase in the past few decades. Objective To assess the awareness regarding colorectal cancer and its screening among medical students and interns. Methods This cross-sectional study was conduct...

Introduction: Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) are the most effective long term, temporary method of contraception which have many benefits such as low cost, minimal side effects, etc. Despite this, IUD use is not prevalent in India; though, the expanding population stresses the dire need for effective contraceptive use. Aim: To determine the reasons fo...

Background Leptospirosis is a major neglected public health problem and is highly underreported in India. The spectrum of clinical features ranges from subclinical infection to multiorgan failure. The burden of leptospirosis is more in developing countries. Objective The present study was designed to assess the sociodemographic characteristics, cl...

Background Consumption of snacks in between the regular meals is a poor snacking behaviour. It is an established risk factor for several lifestyle-related disorders and has long-term effects among the younger individuals. Objectives To study the snacking behaviour and to assess their determinants among college-going students. Methods This cross-s...

The data file includes the variables incorporated in this study.

The objective of this artile is to assess the determinants of acceptance of conditional cash transfer scheme (Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)) among antenatal women in Mangalore.The study is on matched case control study. The study has been carried out in the Government maternity hospital of Manipal University and on the antenatal women visiting gover...

Introduction: The present study assessed the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related stigma and the factors influencing it among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) in tertiary care hospitals at Mangalore, South India. Stigma related to HIV still persists as a major public health issue globally and varies from person to perso...

Anemia is the most prevalent hematological complication among people living with HIV (PLHIV), and its presence can affect the disease progression and mortality. This study aims to ascertain the prevalence of anemia and the factors predicting it in PLHIV on anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Material and methods: In this study, 228 PLHIV who were enroll...

Background: Adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS among people living with HIV (PLHIV) is essential for the prevention of HIV transmission. Methods: A cross-sectional study consisting of 409 PLHIV aged ≥18 years were interviewed regarding their HIV-related knowledge, from April 2014 to April 2015. HIV-related knowledge was assessed using the HIV kno...

Background: Rabies, a 100% fatal disease claims more than 59,000 human lives every year globally. One human life is lost every 15 minutes due to this deadly preventable disease. Timely initiation of post exposure prophylaxis following an animal exposure can result in 100% preventability of this fatal disease. Methodology: This facility based stu...

Introduction: Antenatal depression has often been overlooked and under-diagnosed throughout the world, especially in developing nations like India. The study was conducted to assess the prevalence of antenatal depression among pregnant women in South India and to identify associated risk factors. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted over...

Background: The Medical Council of India (MCI) has envisioned a change in the undergraduate medical curriculum by encouraging integrated teaching and Problem Based Learning (PBL). Methods: In this cross-sectional study 110 medical teachers of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore were assessed regarding their perception on PBL. Independentt-test w...

Background: Bronchoscopy and different techniques to obtain tissue sample form the cornerstone of lung cancer diagnostics. The utility, specificity and sensitivity of various techniques are compared against each other and also in relation to the tumour type, location and morphology. Aim: To assess and compare the utility of various bronchoscopic pr...

Background Distress can bring about an unfavorable attitude among the patients toward tackling their disease which can affect adherence to medications. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of distress on adherence to medication among patients with diabetes. Methodology In this cross-sectional study, 124 type 2 diabetes patients above...

Background: With the wide usage of highly active antiretroviral therapy, the morbidity and mortality due to HIV have declined gradually. The aim of our study was to determine the cause of mortality among HIV-infected patients and the factors causing early death. Methods: Using medical records of 73 inpatients who are dead, data were collected an...

Introduction: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) or Ebola Hemorrhagic fever is a severe hemorrhagic febrile disease which can be fatal. Person-person or animal-person transmission of EVD occurs through direct contact of blood, organs, other body fluids or mucous membrane of infected person. It is transmitted from person-person, animal-person, and contact wi...

Introduction: As the number of patients on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) rises, it is important to identify factors that predict mortality among these patients so that they can be closely monitored. Aim of the study was to determine the mortality rate among a cohort of HIV patients on naïve ART and to assess the predictors of mortality among them....

Respecting patients' rights is a fundamental aspect of providing quality healthcare. The present investigation attempts to explore the awareness among patients about their rights in a coastal township in India. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 215 patients admitted to the wards of a tertiary care teaching hospital i...

Objectives To describe the sociodemographic characteristics and clinical profile of women presenting with cervical carcinoma and to identify factors associated with the timing of presentation and prognosis. Materials and Methods A record-based descriptive study was carried out from 1st February to 31st March 2014 at Tertiary Care Hospitals of Mang...

Background: Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) has transformed life threatening HIV/AIDS scenario into chronic manageable disease. Methodology: In this cross-sectional, 409 People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (PLHIV) aged ≥ 18 years, who were on ART, were assessed regarding the adherence to ART and factors affecting adherence using semi-st...

Background: Among the manifold uses of mobile phones, mobile-health (mHealth) has been an important one, which is the practice of public health initiatives by awareness raising and communication campaigns. Optimum utilization of mHealth is possible only through adequate awareness. Hence, we aimed to study the perceptions and knowledge about mHealt...

Introduction: Globally more than three hundred thousand people die from burn related injuries. It is also one of leading cause for disability and deformities. Lack of safety consciousness, stringent laws and substandard household cooking equipments has led to the increase in incidences. Objectives: To assess the awareness of fire safety measures, a...

Background: The global prevalence of this disease is on a steady rise. India has the second highest prevalence of diabetes in the world with 65.1 million people having diabetes and is estimated to be 109.0 million by the year 2035. Diabetics are also at a two-fold increased risk for depression. Methodology: A facility based cross-sectional study wa...

Interventions for the control and prevention of anaemia among children and adolescents: an overview of systematic reviews. PROSPERO 2016:CRD42016053687 Available from What are the interventions available for addressing childhood and adolescent anaemia in both poor resource settings and developed countries? Which are the effective interventions for...

Introduction: Coronary Artery Disease are on the rise in the general population and is the leading cause of death in both men and women. The impact of CAD is underappreciated in younger women when compared to men. Women have unique risk factors for CAD and postmenopausal women are at higher risk of developing CAD when compared to normal menstruatin...

Background: Globally, approximately 2.5 lakh deaths occur every year, with majority of cases from low and middle income countries. Burns is one of the major cause of mortality and morbidity in India with around a million people affected by burns every year. This study has been aimed to study the socio-demographic profile of burn patients and also t...

Objectives: To assess the proportion of modifiable risk factors for myocardial infarction (MI) among hypertensive patients and to categorize them into different risk categories so as to determine the probability of developing MI in near future. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study done in two tertiary care hospitals attached to a medical...

Objective: The present study was designed to assess the knowledge and practice among diabetic patients in a tertiary care hospital regarding diabetic foot care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in government district hospital of Mangalore in the month of January 2014. A pre-designed semistructured questionnaire was used to collect the...

A facility-based cross sectional study was carried out among 188 doctors working at the Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore, India, to assess the perception and practice of evidence based medicine (EBM) among medical professionals. Data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire and results obtained were expressed in percentages. Results: The...

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased life expectancy of HIV/AIDS patients, but the quality of life (QOL) still remains the same. In this cross-sectional study, 356 people living with HIV (PLHIV) were interviewed to assess their QOL using WHOQOL-HIV BREF questionnaire. The association between QOL with sociodemographic, clinical and cohabitatio...