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Introduction: People with limited health literacy are more likely to make medication errors, and they have less health knowledge, worse health status, more hospitalizations, and higher healthcare costs than people with adequate literacy. The objective of this study is to assess the health literacy status among patients who are able to read and understand English attending a tertiary care hospital by using Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine [REALM] technique and to compare the health literacy levels to educational status and other baseline characteristics. Material and Methods: A widely used word recognition method [REALM] was used to assess the HL status of 200 patients attending a tertiary care hospital in Southern India. The number of correctly pronounced words was used to assign a grade-equivalent reading level. Scores 0 to 44 indicate reading skills at or below the 6th grade level, scores from 45 to 60 represent skills at the 7th or 8th grade level, and scores above 60 indicate skills at the high-school level or higher. Results: HL status was found below adequate level in more than 50% of the patients. Younger age group showed better HL scores compared to those aged more than 25 years. General education level or the medium of education does not truly reflect HL levels as brought out in the study. Even those with postgraduate qualification had poor HL skills. Conclusion: The study was carried out to find out the HL levels among patients attending a tertiary care hospital. It was assumed that the general education levels may not reflect true HL status. In view of the results of this study it can be concluded that patient's HL skills should not be taken for granted and adequate attention should be paid in educating and briefing patients whenever patients are required to interpret and understand health care related documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Antimicrobial drug resistance is a fast emerging problem worldwide. It is a consequence of the use, particularly of the misuse of drugs. In most of the developing countries, antibiotics can be purchased without prescriptions, even when the practice is not legal. Presently, in India, Schedule H, under the Drug and Cosmetics Act and Rules, provides a list of over 536 drugs which include Antimicrobial Agents [AMAs], which are required to be sold on the prescription of a registered medical practitioner. Objectives: To evaluate the Over the Counter (OTC) sales of antimicrobial agents in allopathic pharmacies [community] within the city corporation limits. To describe the degree of difficulty which is faced in obtaining antibiotics without a prescription. To find out as to what advice, if any, was given by the pharmacists with regards to the administration of the medicines which had been sold. Methods: Three diseases were simulated by two medical students who presented as patients in randomly selected pharmacies at an Urban location. They then requested the pharmacists for medications for their illnesses. AMAs were requested for, if they were not issued at the first instance. Results and Discussion: Nearly 50% of the pharmacists declined to issue AMAs. Amoxicillin was the most common of the AMAs which were dispensed by the pharmacists. The duration and the frequency of the treatment which was advised by the pharmacists were mostly wrong. Conclusion: This study showed that the practice of dispensing AMAs without prescriptions was widely prevalent among the dispensaries which were located even in urban areas. Not only were the AMAs dispensed, but also they were dispensed without taking any history of hypersensitivity. What makes the practice worse is that the duration and the frequency of administration of these drugs are wrongly advised more often than not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acanthosis nigricansis was viewed recently as a possible marker of an increased risk for diabetes. Acanthosis Nigricans (AN) can help in identifying the patients with an increased risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) among Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) cases. Hence, this study was carried to know the prevalence of AN in PCOS and its correlation with diabetes mellitus and the body mass. Methods: A prospective, longitudinal study in the patients with PCOS, who attended the Department of Medicine, Kasturba Medical College [KMC] Hospital, Attavar, Mangalore, Karnatka, India between December 2008 to April 2010, was carried out. A total of 119 patients with PCOS were included in the study. A complete history, along with the demographic data of the patients who were aged between 15-35 years, were considered for the analysis. Results: AN was observed in 56% of the PCOS patients. The Body Mass Index (BMI) and the waist circumference were significantly higher in the PCOS patients with AN, as compared to those without AN. Among the 119 PCOS patients,77% were found to have BMI values which were above the normal. Among the obese PCOS patients, 58% had BMI values of more than 30kg/m2 as compared to 19% of the patients who did not have AN. Type 2 DM was observed in 77% of the PCOS patients with AN, while none of the PCOS patients were found to be diabetic among those without AN. A family history of DM in the first degree relatives was present in all the patients with AN. The results were analyzed by the Mann Whitney U test for the continuous data and by the Chi square test for the categorical data. Conclusion: The PCOS patients who had a family history of diabetes and obesity with a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2 and a waist circumference of ≥ 90 cm were more likely to develop AN, which is a marker of hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance. Identifying such PCOS patients will stimulate the discussions of the lifestyle modifications in the primary care setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]