J Postgrad Med
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Aleatory uncertainties are generated by intrinsic factors such as studying a sample rather than the whole population and the source of epistemic uncertainties is extraneous such as limitations of knowledge. These uncertainties inflict all the findings in empirical medical research, but they are rarely appreciated. ⋯ We conclude that aleatory and epistemic uncertainties should get due consideration while drawing conclusions and before the results are put into practice. Methods to reduce their impact on results are also presented.
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Comparative Study
Is routine pre-entry chest radiograph necessary in a high tuberculosis prevalence country?
Chest radiographs have been used worldwide as a screening tool before employment and training, by various healthcare and other government and nongovernment institutions. Many studies done in the past have demonstrated a relatively low yield for tuberculosis detection and therefore, the authors have questioned this practice. ⋯ In a country where the prevalence of tuberculosis is high, the pre-employment chest radiograph may still have a role in detecting tuberculosis in the post-exposure group.
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A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of morbidities in communities residing at variable distances from the closed down insecticide manufacturing plant premises of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), Bhopal, India and to determine association of morbidities, if any, with their drinking water usage pattern and distance of localities from the UCIL plant. ⋯ By and large similar pattern of morbidities were recorded in the two strata suggesting that the communities, irrespective of the distance of their residences from UCIL plant or sources of their drinking water, are equally vulnerable to various morbidities.
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Idiopathic CD4+ T lymphocytopenia (ICL) is a very rare immunodeficiency syndrome with an unexplained depletion of CD4+ T lymphocytes and no evidence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. Here we report a 29-year-old male patient who had severe ulcerative colitis with low level CD4+ count of 254 cells/mm3, and had no evidence of HIV or Human T cell Lymphotrophic virus type I or II infections. He had recurrent Candidiasis infection and his CD4 count was just 53 cells/mm3 after 3 months. The cause for the decline of CD4 T lymphocytes was unknown.
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Hypertension is one of the leading causes of premature deaths worldwide. Drivers have an additional risk of hypertension when compared to the general population because of the nature of their profession. Hence, the current review was done to estimate the global burden of hypertension among professional drivers. ⋯ More than one-third of drivers have hypertension globally which is in excess of the general population. Hence, more focus needs to be given for allocating resources and developing workplace interventions for prevention and control of hypertension.