Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Determination Of Complication Rate Of Picc Lines In Oncological Patients, Ghulam Haider, Shiyam Kumar, Basit Salam, Nehal Masood, Asim Jamal, Yasmeen Abdul Rasheed

Department of Radiation Oncology

OBJECTIVE: To determine the complication rate of (PICCs) peripherally inserted central catheters in cancer patients with a 1 year prospective cohort study.

METHODS: All PICCs inserted in adult cancer patients in Radiology Department of The Aga Khan University Hospital were followed prospectively till removed or patient expired and pattern of complications noted.

RESULTS: One hundred and fourty six PICCs were inserted over a period of 1 year and followed for a total of 3329 catheter-days; median placement, 14 days: range 3-218 days. Of these 67 (32.8%) PICCs were complicated and removed earlier, for a rate of 14.4/1000 PICC-days. Patients with …

Knowledge, Attitude And Preventive Practices For Breast Cancer Among Health Care Professionals At Aga Khan Hospital Karachi, Shiyam Kumar, Ayesha Mallick Imam, Nauman Fazal Manzoor, Nehal Masood

Department of Radiation Oncology

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge and practice of risk factors, symptoms and screening for breast cancer among health care professionals.

METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out at The Aga Khan University Hospital from January 2008 to March 2008. A total of 336 health care workers including consultants (48), fellows (17), residents (76), medical officers (14), interns (37), nurses (94) and fourth and final year medical students (50) were requested to fill a questionnaire designed to assess the knowledge about the risk factors, signs and symptoms, screening tools, breast self examination (BSE) and treatment.

RESULTS: More than two third …

Old Disease, New Targets--Part-I, Solid Malignancies, Shiyam Kumar, Nehal Masood, Asim Jamal Shaikh

Department of Radiation Oncology

Targeted agents are now an integral part of treatment regimens for some cancers. Trastuzumab is established in treatment of human epidermal receptor 2 (Her2) positive breast cancers, with improvements in both, the disease free and over all survival. Monoclonal antibody (MoAB) against vascular growth factor receptor (VEGF), bevacizumab and cetuximab a MoAB against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are establishing their role in a many cancers after making their mark in colorectal cancer. Sorafenib and sunitinib have success stories in renal carcinoma. The Sorafenib Hepatocellular Carcinoma Assessment Randomized Protocol (SHARP) trial has established sorafenib role in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, while …

A Case Of Finger Clubbing Associated With Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma In A Young Girl, And Review Of Pathophysiology, Nasir Ali, Ahmed Nadeem Abbasi, Farook Karsan, Raheel Hashmi, Quratul-Ain Badar, Asim Jamal Sheikh

Department of Radiation Oncology

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is characterized by clubbing of the digital tips and periosteal reaction of long bones. Most of the cases are associated with malignancy or other conditions such as congenital heart disease, liver cirrhosis, pulmonary fibrosis, biliary atresia and gastrointestinal polyps. Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy associated with malignancy is rare in children. A few cases of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in children with nasopharyngeal carcinoma have been reported. This is a case of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma with lung and bone metastasis in a 16 year old girl. In this case, lung metastases progressed after intensive chemotherapy and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (Clubbing) persisted.