Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25849617›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2015

Predictors of rational management of diarrhea in an endemic setting: observation from India.

Tanmay Mahapatra, Sanchita Mahapatra, Barnali Banerjee, Umakanta Mahapatra, Sandip Samanta, Debottam Pal, Nandini Datta Chakraborty, Byomkesh Manna, Dipika Sur, Suman Kanungo

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 33% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Recent epidemiological and management approaches for cholera in India.Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Tanmay MahapatraDepartment of Epidemiology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700 010, West Bengal, India.
Sanchita MahapatraDepartment of Epidemiology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700 010, West Bengal, India.
Barnali BanerjeeDepartment of Data Management, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700 010, West Bengal, India.
Umakanta MahapatraDepartment of General Medicine, Midnapore Medical College & Hospital, Vidyasagar Rd, Medinipur, West Bengal, 721101‎, India.
Sandip SamantaDepartment of Pediatrics, Dr. B. C. Roy Memorial Hospital For Children, 111, Narkeldanga Main Road, Phool Bagan, Kolkata-700005, West Bengal‎, India.
Debottam PalDepartment of Epidemiology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700 010, West Bengal, India.
Nandini Datta ChakrabortyDepartment of Epidemiology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700 010, West Bengal, India.
Byomkesh MannaDepartment of Data Management, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700 010, West Bengal, India.
Dipika SurDepartment of Epidemiology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700 010, West Bengal, India; PATH India Office, A-9 Qutab Institutional Area, USO Road, New Delhi, 110067, India.
Suman KanungoDepartment of Epidemiology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata-700 010, West Bengal, India.
National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases · INInstitute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research · INMidnapore Medical College and Hospital · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDecades after the establishment of clear guidelines for management, mostly due to irrational approach, diarrhea is still a major concern in the developing world, including India. The scenario is even worse in urban slums owing to poor health-seeking and socio-environmental vulnerability. Determining the distribution of rational diarrhea management by practitioners and identification of its important predictors seemed urgent to minimize the potential for antibiotic resistance, diarrhea-related mortality and morbidity in these areas.

methodsBetween May 2011 and January 2012, 264 consenting, randomly selected qualified and non-qualified practitioners (including pharmacists) were interviewed in the slums of Kolkata, a populous city in eastern India, regarding their characteristics, diarrhea-related knowledge (overall and in six separate domains: signs/symptoms, occurrence/spread, management, prevention/control, cholera and ORS), prescribed antibiotics, intravenous fluid (IVF) and laboratory investigations. Rationality was established based on standard textbooks.

resultsAmong participants, 53.03% had no medical qualifications, 6.06% were attached to Governmental hospitals, 19.32% had best knowledge regarding diarrhea. While treating diarrhea, 7.20%, 17.80% and 20.08% respectively advised antibiotics, IVF and laboratory tests rationally. Logistic regression revealed that qualified and Governmental-sector practitioners managed diarrhea more rationally. Having best diarrhea-related knowledge regarding signs/symptoms (OR=5.49, p value=0.020), occurrence/spread (OR=3.26, p value=0.035) and overall (OR=6.82, p value=0.006) were associated with rational antibiotic prescription. Rational IVF administration was associated with best knowledge regarding diarrheal signs/symptoms (OR=3.00, p value=0.017), occurrence/spread (OR=3.57, p value=0.004), prevention/control (OR=4.89, p value=0.037), ORS (OR=2.55, p value=0.029) and overall (OR=4.57, p value<0.001). Best overall (OR=2.68, p value=0.020) and cholera-related knowledge (OR=2.34, p value=0.019) were associated with rational laboratory testing strategy.

conclusionDiarrheal management practices were unsatisfactory in urban slums where practitioners' knowledge was a strong predictor for rational management. Interventions targeting non-qualified, independent practitioners to improve their diarrhea-related knowledge seemed to be required urgently to ensure efficient management of diarrhea in these endemic settings.

Indexed as

Fluid TherapyAdultAnti-Bacterial AgentsCross-Sectional StudiesDiarrheaDisease ManagementHumansIndiaMalePractice Patterns, Physicians'Anti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID25849617
PMCPMC4388822
OpenAlexW1976916189

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.