Medicine
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/12
This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
Browse
4 results
Search Results
Item Why are we still living in the past? Sri Lanka needs urgent and timely reforms of its archaic mental health laws(Cambridge University Press, 2023) Hapangama, A.; Mendis, J.; Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A.Mental health legislation protects the rights of people with mental illnesses. However, despite major social, political and cultural changes, Sri Lankan mental health services still operate on laws enacted mostly during the British rule more than a century ago, in the pre-psychotropics era, and focusing more on the detention of people with mental illnesses than on their treatment. It is high time all stakeholders made efforts for the much-awaited new Mental Health Act to pass through parliament urgently to meet the needs and protect the rights of patients, their caregivers and service providers.Item Betel-quid use and its effects on symptoms of schizophrenia and extrapyramidal symptoms among a group of patients in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.(Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists, 2020) Isuru, A.; Ediriweera, D.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Embuldeniya, A.; Narammalage, H.; Warnakulasuriya, S.; Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A.; Hapangama, A.BACKGROUND: There is limited research regarding the prevalence of betel quid use and its effects on symptoms of patients with schizophrenia. Available studies suggest an association between betel chewing and positive symptoms among males with schizophrenia. AIMS: This study aimed to compare the prevalence of betel quid chewing between patients with and without mental illness, and to explore the association between betel quid use, symptoms of schizophrenia and side effects of psychotropic medication. METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried atoutpatient clinics at a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka. A structured interview schedule was administered to all participants. RESULTS: Out of 1000 participants, 20.9% chewed betel quid (95%CI: 18.4% - 23.4%). The rate of betel chewing among patients with and without a mental illness was 20.7% (95% CI: 17.0% - 24.4%) and 21.0% (95% CI: 17.6% - 24.5%) respectively and there was no significant difference between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the occurrence of positive or negative symptoms and extra pyramidal side effects in patients with schizophrenia who did and did not chew betel. Female gender (p=0.004) and betel quid chewing (0.002) were associated with more anticholinergic side effects. CONCLUSIONS: There was no association between betel quid usage and the occurrence of positive or negative symptoms of schizophrenia or extra pyramidal side effects. KEYWORDS: Schizophrenia, Betel quid, Positive symptoms, Negative symptoms, Extra pyramidal side effectsItem Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-SR) sinhala version(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2020) Hapangama, A.; Kuruppuarachchi, L. A.; de Silva, R.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Ravindran, A.; Williams, S. S.No abstract availableItem Volatile substance misuse is often missed(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2007) Hapangama, A.; Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A.No Abstract Available