Background & Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurological disease, many a times presenting with non-motor symptoms. Pain is one of the most important non-motor symptom and there is no consensus regarding its exact mechanism and characterisation. This study was planned to evaluate the characteristics of pain and possible factors influencing it, in a cohort of patients with established Parkinson’s disease. Methods: 104 patients consenting to participate were included in the study. Data regarding age of onset, duration of disease, treatment, Hoehn-Yahr scale, phenotype of PD, UPDRS scores, pain type and distribution of pain were noted. Single and multiple logistical regression models with pain (1/0) as the outcome variable were used to check the association of pain with the above mentioned variables. Results: 54.8% of patients with PD experience pain. Presence of sensory symptoms was significantly associated with the pain group (42.1%) than the no pain group (21%). Pain was more pronounced on the side with predominant motor symptoms (72%) and in 68.4 % patients pain responded to dopaminergic treatment. Musculoskeletal pain (82.5%) was the commonest type and lower limbs were the commonest site of pain (43.2%). Conclusion: Pain in Parkinson’s disease has multiple dimensions and characteristics. Pain itself may be the reason for early diagnosis. Proper classification of pain will help in improved management of these patients.

Background: The hospitalization rates of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are 1.45 times higher than for age matched controls. We studied the causes for admission, hospital course and outcomes in PD population so that preventive measures could be developed. Methods: We prospectively studied patients with the diagnosis of PD admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Ludhiana, India from January, 2012 to December, 2014. Etiology for hospitalization was determined and the patients were divided into two groups, admission due to causes related to PD or not associated with PD. The PD related admissions were further categorized into Group I: directly disease related causes and Group II: indirectly disease related causes. The primary outcome was mortality. The secondary outcome measures were duration of hospitalization, requirement for ICU, need for mechanical ventilation and complications. Results: There were 146 patients of PD out of 25,326 hospital admissions. Forty two patients (28.7%) had direct cause, 73(50%) had indirect cause and 31(21.2%) were non-PD related admissions. The mean age was 68.5+9.9 years, 97males (66.7%). There were 16(10.9%) deaths. The commonest cause of admission was infections and encephalopathy. The indirect PD related admission had significantly higher age (p= 0.0014), increased risk of ICU admission (p=0.011), need for mechanical ventilation (p < 0.005) and longer duration of hospital stay (p=0.0001) as compared to group I. Also there was a six fold increased risk of death in this group (p 0.034). Conclusion: As disease progresses, the indirect reasons for admission becomes more troublesome than the initial motor complaints.

Background: Dental pain management is an important aspect of patient management in pediatric dentistry. Articaine is considered the most successful anesthetic agent for infiltration anesthesia. Buffered articaine has been observed to have faster onset and longer duration of action with less pain on injection. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare pain on injection, onset of action, and pain during extraction using buffered (using Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 )) and non-buffered 4% articaine (with 1:100000 adrenaline) infiltrations for primary maxillary molar extractions in 4–10-year-old children. Methods: Seventy children who required extraction of maxillary primary molars were enrolled in this triple-blind randomized study. Children undergoing extraction were randomly divided into two groups, with 35 in each group. The study group was the buffered articaine group; the control group was the non-buffered articaine group. Buccal and palatal infiltrations were administered with either buffered or non-buffered articaine. Subjective evaluation was done for pain on injection, pain during extraction using Wong–Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale (WBFPR) and onset of anesthesia in seconds. Pain on injection, pain during extraction were objectively evaluated using Sound Eye Motor (SEM) scale and onset of anesthesia was also evaluated objectively by pricking with sharp dental probe. Results: The outcome was, significantly less pain on injection and significantly faster onset of anesthesia with significantly less pain during extraction for both subjective and objective evaluations in the buffered articaine group. Subgroup analysis was also performed and it showed variable results, with only significant difference for WBFPR scores in age subgroup 4–7 years for palatal infiltration. Conclusion Less pain on injection, faster onset of anesthesia, and less pain during extraction were observed when buffered articaine was used for maxillary primary molar extraction.

Background: Pain control is a crucial aspect of pediatric dentistry for patient management. Thermo-mechanical devices (Buzzy TM Pain Care Labs, USA) work on the concept of vibration and cooling and have shown promising results in pain control during local anesthesia in pediatric dentistry. On the other hand, audio distraction has also been used for pain management. The amount of pain endured is determined by the patient's perception and attentiveness. Thus, if audio function is added to the thermomechanical device it might increase its efficiency. Hence, the present study aimed to compare pain on injection using a thermo-mechanical device with and without audio during inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) injection in children aged 5-10 years old. Methods: Twenty-eight children aged between 5 and 10 indicated for IANB were included in this randomized study. Children who were undergoing the dental procedure were divided into 2 groups, with 14 children in each group. The study group was the thermo-mechanical device with audio distraction; the control group was the thermo-mechanical device without audio distraction. IANB was administered. Subjective pain evaluation was performed using the Wong–Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale (WBFPR) and objective pain evaluation was done using the Faces, Leg, Activity, Consolability, Cry (FLACC) scale. Results: The outcome depicted a significant reduction in pain on injection for both objective and subjective evaluations in the thermo-mechanical device with an audio distraction group. Conclusions Less pain on injection was observed, when a thermo-mechanical device was used with audio distraction for IANB procedures.

PURPOSEOrofacial trauma is becoming a leading medical problem worldwide. Most of the studies pertaining to orofacial trauma have been done in urban areas but very little scientific literature is available for rural areas.

METHODSA prospective medical institute-based study of orofacial injury patients was carried out from May 2013 to April 2016 (36 Months). Data regarding incidence, age and sex distribution, causes, types and site of injury, treatment modalities and trauma associated complications were collected and analysed.

RESULTSA total of 784 patients were studied. Males outnumbered females by a ratio of 2.9:1. Age range was 9 months-75 years with the peak incidence in the age-group of 18-34 years. Most injuries were caused by road-side accidents (72.7%), followed by assault and falls in 11.6% and 8% respectively. Soft tissue injuries and mandibular fractures were the most common type of injuries. Head/neck (50.29%) and limb injuries (27.2%) were the most prevalent associated injuries. Surgical debridement and soft tissue suturing was the most common emergency procedure. Closed reduction was performed in 61% of patients and open reduction and internal fixation in 30% of cases and 9% were managed conservatively. Complications occurred in 6.88% of patients, mainly due to infection and malocclusion. The mean duration of hospital stay was (10.12 ± 6.24) days.

CONCLUSIONThis study highlights the importance of department of dental surgery along with other disciplinaries in the management of orofacial injuries. Road-side accident remains the major etiological factor of orofacial injuries in our setting.