Chandrashekhar Purohit

Abstract

Background: Stigma is experienced by a patient when he/she is termed as less desirable, handicapped and infected. This feeling may come in terms of feeling or enact. When the stigma is felt by the patients, it is known as shame. It is experienced by the patients as they develop the fear of being discriminated as well as they have an inferiority complex. The aim of this study was to draw on narrative interviews with patients with lung cancer and to explore their perceptions and experience of stigma Materials and Methods: A qualitative study (post ethical committee approval) was carried out among 40 lung cancer patients at the Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Science. The study period was one year (May 2018 to April 2019). During the course of the study, the patients were asked to narrate about their story since starting when they were diagnosed with the disease. The interview was the selected instrument for data collection. From the data, various themes were created. Results: Majority of the patients belonged to 51-60 years of age group. The result showed that majority of the patients had non-small cell cancer. The patients agreed that they have often experienced a situation where people avoid contact after knowing about their disease. Many of the patients accepted that smoking became one of the major reasons for their lung cancer. Conclusions: It was found that the patients feel stigma as other people associate them to have acquired lung cancer due to their habit of smoking. This adds up when the people think that the cancer patients will not survive and they start distancing them from the patients. The stigma can have adverse implications on the patients by restraining them from seeking support and care from anyone. Keywords: Cancer, Lung Cancer, Stigma.

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Abstract

Introduction: It has been observed that airflow obstruction is permanent and progressive and accompanied by hyper-responsiveness which may be partially reversible. There are three main types of disorders in COPD. It includes emphysema, peripheral airways disease and chronic bronchitis. Aim of this study was to study of sputum cytology in COPD and bronchial asthma. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective study carried out in the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Science, Bhuj, Gujarat, India. The study period was from January 2019 to December 2019. The number of healthy patients recruited for the current study was 20, along with 20 asthmatic patients and 30 COPD patients. Spirometry and body plethysmography was used to measure the capacity and volume of the lungs of all the patients. One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was conducted for counting the differences in counts of lung function variables and sputum cells. Results: It was identified that the mean age of healthy patients was 62.81+6.2 years, of asthmatic patients was 55.4+12.5 years, and that of the COPD patients was 65.35.6 years. During the study, it was further determined the Specific airway conductance (sGAW) for asthmatic patients to be [0.400.02 kPa.Sec-1], while for the COPD patients it came out to be [1.72+0.16 kPa.Sec-1]. Similarly, for the healthy patients, it was [1.15+0.19 kPa.Sec-1]. sGaw was positively associated with sputum macrophages. However, it was found that sGaw was inversely associated with neutrophil and neutrophil-macrophage ratio in COPD. Conclusions: In light of the current results, it was identified that one of the important pathophysiological conditions among the COPD patients is poor airway conductance. It increases significantly when the penetration of neutrophils increases in the airways. Keywords: Asthma, COPD, Emphysema.

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