There are about 300 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Nepal. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
The underlying concept behind this feasibility trial is to achieve a reduction in indoor smoke from biomass fuels and minimize changes in cooking practices such that it prompts one of the two improved, ventilated cookstoves to be the selection of choice. Typical fuel sources used in developing countries include wood, dried dung, and agricultural waste. The investigators propose to reduce indoor air pollution by replacing the household traditional cookstove with an improved design that incorporates the following key elements: - Burner openings customized to the size and shape of the cooking vessels in the home. - Flue designed to draw air into the fire box under the cooking pots and pass it out through a chimney. - A chimney with adequate height to create a draft and vented to the exterior. - An exterior port that has bidirectional openings to prevent backflow of smoke. - An access port for the chimney that permits cleaning of soot. The investigators propose to use two types of improved cookstoves that meet these criteria. As part of piloting activities, the investigators will test several different types of commercially-available cookstoves with a chimney, and we may also want to test a locally-made improved cookstove. The investigators want to evaluate those designs by comparing their ability to reduce indoor air pollution, the reliability between cookstoves of the same type, the functioning over time, the logistics of import/build locally, preferences and cultural compatibility, and costs. The investigators will select two types of improved cookstoves to use in the feasibility trial. The study design will be a crossover intervention trial in which all patients will first have a run-in observational period of 4 months with the traditional cookstove prior to randomization. At baseline, the investigators will obtain sociodemographic information for each household, respiratory outcomes and other health data for the participating women, and cooking times and practices including the types of fuels used. All 40 patients at each site will receive the two types of improved cookstoves, one after the other: 20 will be randomized to receive the first type of cookstove with a chimney and the other 20 to first receive the second type of improved cookstove with a chimney. The patients will be followed for 4 months before the crossover. The investigators will assess cooking behavioral practices and compliance with cookstove use monthly, and respiratory and environmental measures at the mid-point of the 4 month period to minimize carry-over effects. At the end of second 4 month period, the investigators will switch the order of the improved cookstoves and follow all participants for another 4 months. The investigators will assess behavior, compliance, respiratory and environmental measures as above. The study is expected to require 12 months to complete.
Primary objective of the study is to compare requirement of blood transfusion and mortality in patients receiving Tranexamic acid (Cyklokapron®) and those not receiving it. Secondary objective is to; assess the re-bleeding events; need for surgical intervention; length of stay in Intensive care unit in between the two groups.
Global eradication of poliomyelitis has proven to be elusive. Although 99% of cases have been eliminated since 1988, outbreaks continue to occur, and new tools are needed to accelerate eradication. One concern in this effort is that some populations have decreased immunogenicity to oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Past studies have shown decreased seroimmunity to trivalent OPV (tOPV) in children with diarrhea. In 2009, bivalent OPV (bOPV) was recommended for use in immunization campaigns, and will likely replace tOPV in routine immunization in 2016. However, the effect of diarrhea on seroconversion to bOPV has not been studied. This project evaluated the effect of diarrhea on seroconversion to bOPV among infants who reside in Nepal. The investigators conducted a prospective, interventional study that assessed immune response to bOPV among infants with and without diarrhea. Immune responses were compared among infants with and without diarrhea. This study will result in a better understanding of the factors that decrease the ability of some children to seroconvert to OPV and be protected from poliomyelitis infection.
Acute rheumatic Fever (ARF) results from an autoimmune response due to molecular mimicry between the M-protein on the group A β-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) cell membrane and cardiac myosin, and may lead through recurrent or sustained inflammation to Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD). RHD remains a major contributor to morbidity and premature death in the working age population in Nepal. Secondary prevention with regular oral or intravenous administration of penicillin continued until early adulthood is recommended to prevent the progression of the development of endocarditis and subsequent valvular dysfunction. Screening for rheumatic heart disease using echocardiography has the potential to detect rheumatic valvular lesions at an earlier, clinically silent stage, as compared to clinical examination alone and might have a beneficial impact on long-term outcome of children with RHD. Schoolchildren aged 5-16 years from several public and private schools from rural and urban areas in Southeastern Nepal will be screened for RHD using portable echocardiography. Three main inter-related objectives will be pursued in three phases of the study: In a first phase using a cross sectional approach, the prevalence of clinical and subclinical RHD will be investigated among a representative sample of schoolchildren from public and private schools in urban and rural areas. In a second phase, using a cohort study approach among those children diagnosed at different stages of RHD, clinical outcomes with regular medical surveillance will be assessed (a), and clinical and social risk factors associated with prognosis of the disease after receiving medical care at various stages of disease at diagnosis will be determined (b). A third phase will integrate the prevalence rates from phase 1 and the clinical outcomes from phase 2 in a mathematical model to assess the impact of screening and RHD treatment on health resource utilization.
intraperitoneal nebulisation with magnesuim sulphate will reduce post operative pain and analgesic consumption in postoperative period following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
The objective of this study is to determine the efficacy of metoclopramide in relieving the symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). It is our hypothesis that the combined antiemetic and analgesic effects of metoclopramide (which has been study-proven to be effective in relieving symptoms of migraine headache) will prove to be more efficacious in relieving symptoms of acute mountain sickness than the standard, previously-studied analgesic medication, ibuprofen.
More than 70% of visitors to high altitude suffer poor sleep. The present study seeks to answer the question: Which medication is associated with better sleep at high altitude: temazepam or acetazolamide? The investigators hypothesis is that one medication will be associated with higher subjective sleep scores than the other. The study will compare the sleep quality of 100 subjects as they take either temazepam or acetazolamide during a visit to high altitude.
Helen Keller International (HKI), the ministry of health and population, and ministry of agriculture and cooperatives, of Nepal and local non-governmental organizations (NGO) partners are currently implementing a USAID funded Action Against Malnutrition Through Agriculture (AAMA) project in Baitadi district located in far Western development region of Nepal. HKI is undertaking this study within the AAMA project to test whether providing micro-nutrient powders (MNPs) in a programmatic context along with homestead food production (HFP) and an intensive community level Infant and Young Child Feeding Behavior change communication (IYCF-BCC) intervention will have a greater impact on reducing anemia and improving growth in young children than only providing the HFP and IYCF-BCC intervention without MNPs or a control with no intervention.
Background: Benzodiazepine, a common premedicant, suppresses endogenous melatonin levels and thus paradoxically increases episodes of arousal during sleep and thus causes restlessness and hangs over effects. Adding melatonin to it may decrease nocturnal arousal and promote the perception of sound sleep in the perioperative period. Methods: Eighty patients (ASA 1&2) with anxiety VAS ≥ 2 posted for general anaesthesia will be randomly assigned to receive 0.5 mg alprazolam (Group A), 3 mg melatonin, a combination of 0.5 mg alprazolam and 3 mg melatonin (Group AM), or a similar looking placebo (Group P), approximately 90 minutes before surgery.
The investigators aim to compare two antibiotic treatments for enteric (typhoid) fever. Three hundred patients at Patan Hospital will be enrolled in the study. Patients will be assigned to one of the two treatments by chance and followed for 6 months. The two treatment groups will be compared to see which treatment is more likely to make the patient better.