Gita Paudel

Background & Objectives: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) represent one of the most frequently occurring bacterial infections in all age ranges, with their incidence rising significantly in the elderly. Antibiotic resistance in recent years has become a major threat to public health globally. This study aimed to identify the antimicrobial drug resistance pattern of uropathogens isolated from patients with UTI. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess antimicrobial drug resistance pattern of uropathogens isolated from patients with UTI at chitwan medical college, from 15st January 2025 to 15th April 2025. A total of 140 reports with culture positive sample with UTI that came to microbiology lab during the study period and those fulfilling the inclusion criteria was included in the study. Data regarding patient information, bacterial isolates, their susceptibility to various antibiotics and other information were collected, compiled, entered and analyzed. The results are presented in frequency and percentage. Results: Among the identified pathogens, Escherichia coli was the most frequently isolated organism. The highest resistance among these isolates was observed against Nalidixic acid (70.3%) followed by Ampicillin (67.3%), Cefalotin (63.4%) and Ticarcillin (61.4%). UTI was found to be more prevalent in the female gender and majority of the patients were from 61-75 years. Conclusion: E. coli was the most commonly isolated organism. Urinary pathogenesis showed resistance to commonly used antibiotics.

Background: Increasing smartphone use among adolescents in todays’ world has made this handy device an indispensable electronic tool, however, it comes at a price of problematic overuse or addiction. We aim to investigate the prevalence of smartphone addiction among undergraduate medical students and explore its association with various demographic and personal factors. Methods: A pool of 250 undergraduate students completed a survey composed of socio-demographics information, smartphone-use related variables and 10-point Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version in February 2019. Results: Smartphone addiction among medical students was estimated at around 36.8% with higher percentage of male smartphone addicts. Phubbing was reported by 37.6% participants with more than 60% reporting overuse. Statistically significant association was observed between smartphone addiction and gender and overuse. Self-acknowledgement of addiction was found to be the biggest predictor of smartphone addiction. Conclusion: This study provides preliminary insights into smartphone use, smartphone addiction and various factors predicting smartphone addiction among early undergraduate medical students from Nepal, which should be extended in future studies. Education policymakers and educators need to develop some strategies encouraging student’s smartphone utilization to enhance academic performance.

Complete blood count is one of the routinely advised blood investigation during pregnancy. It is also utilized as a diagnostic tool for neonatal anemia, sepsis and determining hemostatic status of the newborn. The present study aims at estimating the complete blood count of maternal and umbilical cord blood at the time of delivery and to establish its correlation. This cross sectional study included 114 mothers and their healthy neonates born through normal vaginal delivery. Complete blood count of umbilical cord blood and maternal blood was estimated using automatic hematology analyzer. The mean maternal and neonatal hemoglobin concentration was 11.14 ± 1.39 g/dL and 16.34 ± 2.01 g/dL respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between maternal and fetal hemoglobin concentration (p < 0.001 and Pearson R = 0.496). The correlation between maternal and fetal WBC, RBC and Platelet count was not statistically significant. A significant positive correlation was found between maternal and fetal MCV and MCH while PCV showed a non-significant positive correlation. There was moderately positive correlation between maternal and fetal hemoglobin, MCV and MCH. The cord blood hemoglobin was lower in babies born to anemic mothers. The decrease in hemoglobin followed the severity of anemia, however, the correlation did not exist in anemic mothers. It suggested that fetal hematological parameters are not reflective of maternal hemogram.