Browsing by Author "Dilina, A. K. N."

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Opportunities and challenges to reduce weight among knee osteoarthritis patients
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2018) Dilina, A. K. N.; Ediriweera, E.P.D.S.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the single most common cause of disability in older adults and overweight is a major risk factor of OA. Weight reduction is important to treat OA and it is important to understand the knowledge and attitudes among OA patients to implement interventional programs. METHODS: Systematic sampling was used to recruit 255 patients from the Rheumatoid and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and anthropometric assessments were done. RESULTS: Median age of the patients was 57 (IQR: 50 - 65) years and 235 (92%) of them were females. 21 % mentioned that they do not want to reduce weight, of them, 41 % were overweight and 8% were obese. 19% wanted to reduce weigh due to disfiguration and 75% of patients knew overweight is related to OA, however, less than 35% knew the association between overweight and diabetes, hypertension and psychological disturbances. 25% did not know the causes for overweight and 45% believed it was familial. Only 43%, 41% and 38% mentioned that heavy meals, meals with high fat and sugar and lack of activity/exercise cause overweight/obesity respectively. 56% believed exercises were bad for OA and 40% did not know the suitable exercises. 8% mentioned that they felt embarrassed to exercise and 14% did not have time. CONCLUSION: There are considerable misconceptions of overweight and weight management among OA patients and one fifth did not want to reduce weight. It is important to conduct educational programs for these patients and encourage weight reduction.
A profile of knee osteoarthritis patients attending Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2018) Dilina, A. K. N.; Ediriweera, E.P.D.S.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the single most common cause of disability in older adults and 10% to 15% of all adults aged over 60 have some degree of OA. Data on OA is scarce in Sri Lanka and this study was done to describe the profile of OA patients who are attending the RRH. METHODS: Systematic sampling was used to recruit patients. Sample characteristics were presented using descriptive statistics. Wilcoxon Rank Sum test was used for group comparisons and a P value of< 0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: Of255 clinic attending patients, median age of the patients was 57 (IQR: 50 - 65) years, 235 (92%) were females and 61 (24%) were employed. Median (IQR) weight and body mass index of patients were 69.0 (62.0 -76.7) kg and 30.0 (27.1 - 32.9) respectively. Among them, 49.6% were obese (BMI > 30), 36.6% (BMI between 25 and 30) were overweight, 0.9% were underweight. Females showed significantly high BMI compared to males (30.0 (27.4 - 33.1) vs 27.5 (23.5 - 30.1), P < 0.01). Median (IQR) waist and hip measurement were 95.0 (88.0 -102.0) cm, 108.0 (102.0 - 114.0) cm and waist hip ratio (IQR) for females was 0.87 (0.83 - 0.91) and males was 0.97 (0.96 - 0.98) respectively. CONCLUSION: Majority of clinic attending OA patients were females and more than 85% of patients were either overweight or obese. Weight reduction programs are necessary for these patients and should be encouraged at early age to prevent OA in later life.
Profile of spinal cord injuries and the prevalence of malnutrition risk among spinal cord injury patients admitted to Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama ,
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2018) Dilina, A. K. N.; Ediriweera, E.P.D.S.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition is a problem with a long period of debilitation. This study describes socio demographic characteristics and malnutrition risk of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) patients at Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama (RRH). METHODS: All SCI patients admitted to RRH during September to November 2015 were studied. Mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) was measured to assess the body mass index (BMI) category and nutritional screening was done with the Malnutrition Universal Screening tool (MUST). RESULTS: There were 138 SCI patients. 124 (90%) of them were males, median age was 39 (IQR: 27 to 57) years. Cause of spinal injury was as follows: 62 (45%) falls, 35 (25%) road traffic accidents (RTA), 20 (14%) disease related, 5 (3.6%) each from assault, blunt trauma and spinal tumors. The median (IQR) MUAC was 25 (22-27) cm and 23% were in BMI category less than 20 kg/m2 and 7% were in BMI category more than 30kg/m2. 84 (61 %) were at risk ofundernutrition (MUST score 1 or more). 27 (19.5%) were at high risk ofundernutrition (MUST score 2 or more), where the high risk was seen in 37.5% ofbedbound patients compared to 12.27% in others (P<0.01). 44 (32%) of SCI patients had pressure ulcers and 38.6% of them were at high risk ofundernutrition (MUST score 2 or more) compared to 10.6% in non-ulcer patients (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: According to MUST, more than half of the SCI patients were at risk of undernutrition and 19.5% were at high risk of undernutrition, where this was specifically seen in bedbound patients and patients with pressure sores.