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Background: As oral cavity and oropharynx cancers are the second most common type of tobacco-related cancer reported in Jaipur city so it is imperative to study the drug utilization pattern in these cancers. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the trends in drug usage patterns for oral cancer patients in Jaipur city. Methods: The prescriptions of oral cancer patients attending the outpatient department of SMS Medical College and Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer and Research Centre from May 2017 to August 2017 were studied. They were studied for WHO Prescribing indicators for good prescribing practice. Results: A total of 188 prescriptions were studied. Average number of drugs per prescription was 7.4±1.8. The combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin was the most frequently prescribed antineoplastic drug, prescribed to 29.8% of patients. The drafting of the prescriptions was of average quality. In 5% of the prescriptions, a diagnosis was omitted, and in 48% of the prescriptions, the patient’s weight and/or body surface area (BSA) were omitted. Only 52% of the prescriptions contained the medications’ generic names. Conclusion: The quality of prescribing was fair and moderately acceptable. To ensure rational prescribing and safe and successful treatment of cancer patients, interventions such as new policy formulation and educational measures should be developed.

Background: This study aims to study the predictors and the pattern of adverse drug reactions to Covishield vaccine which is being used in the mass vaccination program of the Government of India. Methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among the dentists working as faculty in four different tertiary care centers in Jaipur city. A prevalidated questionnaire was circulated through E-mail/social media groups to all the participants. Results: A total of 574 participants fulfilled the questionnaire platform; however, six had been excluded from the study due to incompletely filled questionnaires. The remaining 568 were enrolled for the final analysis. About 296 (52.11%) were male and 272 (47.89%) were female. About 52.8% were in the age group of 31–49 years. About 87.32% of the enrolled participants had received both doses of Covishield. Most common postvaccination symptoms were fever (n = 145), local pain at injection site (n = 123), tenderness at injection site (n = 117), and fatigue (n = 91). Female gender, presence of comorbid diseases, and past coronavirus disease-19 infection were statistically significant risk factors for having adverse reactions post vaccination, P = 0.02, 0.043, and 0.0002, respectively. Conclusions: The data suggest that Covishield is well tolerated in the Indian population. Fever, local pain, tenderness at injection site, and fatigue are few commonly reported side effects. All the side effects were mild to moderate in terms of severity.

Objectives: Quality of life (QOL) is a valuable prognostic indicator of survival in cancer patients. It further aids the health-care professionals to cater to patient needs. This study aimed to estimate longitudinally the changes in the QOL of oral cancer patients in early and late stages and receiving chemotherapy treatment. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted with 400 oral cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment at a government tertiary care cancer hospital in Jaipur city. QOL for each patient was measured before treatment, after 6 months, and 1 year posttreatment using the instrument Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head and Neck version 4. Statistical analysis was conducted with IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for Windows version 17.0 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). For all the analyses, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A statistically significant difference in the mean score for physical (P < 0.0001), social (P < 0.0001), and functional (P = 0.001) well-being was recorded for early- and late-stage cancer patients at baseline. Only emotional (0.03) and social (0.04) well-being showed a significant improvement for late-stage cancer patients in contrast to early-stage patients where all QOL subscores improved longitudinally. Conclusion: Early-stage disease is associated with better QOL. Chemotherapy treatment could improve only emotional and social well-being parameters in late-stage disease patients. QOL studies can be fruitful clinical endpoint and should be inculcated in the framework of various tertiary care centers.

Background: The purpose of our study was to ascertain the effectiveness of competency-based training model for dental interns. Materials and Methods: This competency-based integrated training program was conducted for the dental interns of a dental college in Jaipur city. Clinical vignettes, interactive video lectures, webinar sessions, group discussions, and multiple-choice questions were the components of our training module. The whole program was divided into five modules, which were planned meticulously to achieve five different learning objectives. Before starting each module and at its completion, the students were evaluated for their performance by the same multiple-choice questions and the feedback of the students was taken. Results: The respondents included 8 (16.67%) males and 40 (83.33%) females, with a mean age of 22.34 ± 0.78 years. An increase in overall mean score was found in the posttest for all the five modules, and this was statistically significant with P < 0.001 using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Conclusion: Competency-based training program for the dental interns was very effective in training them various skills and knowledge that cannot be merely achieved by traditional teaching methodology. More integrated programs are warranted for dental undergraduates to train them to become a skilled practitioner.

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Nigeria with a view of generating evidence to enhance planning and response strategies. A national surveillance dataset between 27 February and 6 June 2020 was retrospectively analysed, with confirmatory testing for COVID-19 done by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The primary outcomes were cumulative incidence (CI) and case fatality (CF). A total of 40 926 persons (67% of total 60 839) had complete records of RT-PCR test across 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory, 12 289 (30.0%) of whom were confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of those confirmed cases, 3467 (28.2%) had complete records of clinical outcome (alive or dead), 342 (9.9%) of which died. The overall CI and CF were 5.6 per 100 000 population and 2.8%, respectively. The highest proportion of COVID-19 cases and deaths were recorded in persons aged 31-40 years (25.5%) and 61-70 years (26.6%), respectively; and males accounted for a higher proportion of confirmed cases (65.8%) and deaths (79.0%). Sixty-six per cent of confirmed COVID-19 cases were asymptomatic at diagnosis. In conclusion, this paper has provided an insight into the early epidemiology of COVID-19 in Nigeria, which could be useful for contextualising public health planning.