Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Training In Emerging Advances In Chronic Hepatitis C Infection In Pakistan: The Teach-Pak Project, Faisal Wasim Ismail, Shahab Abid, Minaz Mawani, Wasim Jafri, Saeed Hamid

Section of Gastroenterology

Purpose: Viral hepatitis B and C represent the primary health challenge confronting Asia and Pakistan. With direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C, patients will be treated by general physicians (GPs) and will need training through continuing medical education (CME). Blended learning is a combination of didactic teaching with online, self-paced learning, and it has not been evaluated as a CME tool for general physicians. We aimed to compare the change in physician's knowledge about chronic viral hepatitis following a blended learning educational program.
Methods: Participants enrolled in a 6 week blended learning program comprising three modules, each of 2 weeks …

Frequency Of Poor Quality Of Life And Predictors Of Health Related Quality Of Life In Cirrhosis At A Tertiary Care Hospital Pakistan, Om Parkash, Romaina Iqbal, Fatima Jafri, Iqbal Azam, Wasim Jafri

Section of Gastroenterology

Background

Cirrhosis produces variety of symptoms which eventually lead to a negative impact on Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). The general aim of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of poor HRQOL and to assess factors related with HRQOL in patients with CLD in Pakistan.

Findings

This was a cross sectional study conducted in gastroenterology outpatient clinics of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi on adult patients with cirrhosis. In this study chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ) was used to assess HRQOL of these patients and CLDQ score was used as an outcome measure to determine factors related with …

Precipitating Factors And The Outcome Of Hepatic Encephalopathy In Liver Cirrhosis, Khalid Mumtaz, Umair Syed Ahmed, Shahab Abid, Noshaba Baig, Saeed Hamid, Wasim Jafri

Section of Gastroenterology

Objective: To determine precipitants of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and their impact on hospital stay and mortality.

Study Design: Cross-sectional, analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: The Aga Khan University Hospital, from January 2005 to December 2007.

Methodology: Consecutive patients admitted with different grades of HE were evaluated between January 2005 and December 2007. The precipitants of HE were correlated with the different grades of HE, and length of hospital stay and mortality. Chi-square test was used to compare the proportion of precipitating factors versus hospital stay and grade with significance at p < 0.05.

Results: Of the 404 patients 252 (62%) …

Epidemic Non-A Non-B Hepatitis In Urban Karachi, Pakistan, R A Jr Smego, A A. Khaliq

Section of Gastroenterology

An outbreak of icteric non-A non-B (NANB) hepatitis occurred in a residential community of urban Karachi, Pakistan, from August 1986 through October 1986. Of the 114 cases reported from this community during the 1986 calendar year, a clustering of 85 cases was seen during the above period. Twenty-seven percent of 226 households and 9% of 1,250 individuals were affected. Five persons were hospitalized and 1 death occurred in a young pregnant woman. Cases occurred predominantly in the less than or equal to 29-year-old age group (72%), with a male:female ratio of 1.8:1. Thirty-four cases occurred singly within households, while in …