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Aga Khan University

Section of Internal Medicine

COVID-19

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Discrepancy Between Pcr Based Sars-Cov-2 Tests Suggests The Need To Re-Evaluate Diagnostic Assays, Zain Mushtaq, Sadia Shakoor, Akber Kanji, Najma Shaheen, Asghar Nasir, Zeeshan Ansar Ahmed, Imran Ahmed, Syed Faisal Mahmood, Rumina Hasan, Zahra Hasan Aug 2021

Discrepancy Between Pcr Based Sars-Cov-2 Tests Suggests The Need To Re-Evaluate Diagnostic Assays, Zain Mushtaq, Sadia Shakoor, Akber Kanji, Najma Shaheen, Asghar Nasir, Zeeshan Ansar Ahmed, Imran Ahmed, Syed Faisal Mahmood, Rumina Hasan, Zahra Hasan

Section of Internal Medicine

Objective: We investigated the discrepancy between clinical and PCR-based diagnosis of COVID-19. We compared results of ten patients with mild to severe COVID-19. Respiratory samples from all cases were tested on the Roche SARS-CoV-2 (Cobas) assay, Filmarray RP2.1 (bioMereiux) and TaqPath™ COVID19 (Thermofisher) PCR assays.
Results: Laboratory records of ten patients with mild to severe COVID-19 were examined. Initially, respiratory samples from the patients were tested as negative on the SARS-CoV-2 Roche® assay. Further investigation using the BIOFIRE® Filmarray RP2.1 assay identified SARS-CoV-2 as the pathogen in all ten cases. To investigate possible discrepancies between PCR assays, additional testing was …


Acuity Level Of Care As A Predictor Of Case Fatality And Prolonged Hospital Stay In Patients With Covid-19: A Hospital-Based Observational Follow-Up Study From Pakistan, Aysha Almas, Zain Mushtaq, Jette Moller May 2021

Acuity Level Of Care As A Predictor Of Case Fatality And Prolonged Hospital Stay In Patients With Covid-19: A Hospital-Based Observational Follow-Up Study From Pakistan, Aysha Almas, Zain Mushtaq, Jette Moller

Section of Internal Medicine

Objectives: To determine if there is an association between acuity level of care (ALC), case fatality and length of stay in patients admitted to hospital due to COVID-19.
Design: A hospital-based observational follow-up study.
Setting: Internal Medicine Service of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan, from 26 February 2020 to 30 June 2020.
Participants: Adult patients with confirmed COVID-19, aged ≥18 years.
Methods: ALC was categorised into low, intermediate and high level and patients were triaged using the standard emergency severity illness score. All patients were followed until the end of hospital admission for the outcome of case fatality and …


Clinical Characteristics And Outcomes Of Covid-19: Experience At A Major Tertiary Care Center In Pakistan, Nosheen Nasir, Kiren Habib, Iffat Khanum, Naveera Khan, Zehra Abdul Muhammad, Syed Faisal Mahmood Apr 2021

Clinical Characteristics And Outcomes Of Covid-19: Experience At A Major Tertiary Care Center In Pakistan, Nosheen Nasir, Kiren Habib, Iffat Khanum, Naveera Khan, Zehra Abdul Muhammad, Syed Faisal Mahmood

Section of Internal Medicine

Introduction: Limited data exist on clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in low-middle income countries. We aimed to describe the clinical spectrum and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at a tertiary-care center in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methodology: We conducted an observational study of adult COVID-19 patients hospitalized between February-June 2020. Patients with a discharge diagnosis of COVID-19 and PCR positivity were included. We created logistic regression models to understand association of clinical characteristics with illness severity and in-hospital mortality.
Results: The study population comprised 445 patients [67% males, median age 53 (IQR 40-64) years]. Majority of patients (N = …


Subcutaneous Emphysema And Pneumomediastinum In Patients With Covid-19 Disease; Case Series From A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan, Sher Sethi, Amber Sabeen Ahmed, Sadaf Hanif, Masooma Aqeel, Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi Jan 2021

Subcutaneous Emphysema And Pneumomediastinum In Patients With Covid-19 Disease; Case Series From A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan, Sher Sethi, Amber Sabeen Ahmed, Sadaf Hanif, Masooma Aqeel, Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi

Section of Internal Medicine

Since December 2019, the clinical symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its complications are evolving. As the number of COVID patients requiring positive pressure ventilation is increasing, so is the incidence of subcutaneous emphysema (SE). We report 10 patients of COVID-19, with SE and pneumomediastinum. The mean age of the patients was 59 ± 8 years (range, 23-75). Majority of them were men (80%), and common symptoms were dyspnoea (100%), fever (80%) and cough (80%). None of them had any underlying lung disorder. All patients had acute respiratory distress syndrome on admission, with a median PaO2/FiO2 ratio of 122.5. …


Rigorous Hand Hygiene Practices Among Health Care Workers Reduce Hospital-Associated Infections During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rozina Roshan, Anam Shahil Feroz, Zohra Rafique, Nazleen Virani Dec 2020

Rigorous Hand Hygiene Practices Among Health Care Workers Reduce Hospital-Associated Infections During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rozina Roshan, Anam Shahil Feroz, Zohra Rafique, Nazleen Virani

Section of Internal Medicine

The experiences of these recent months have left us with as many new questions as they have given us new solutions. The main question that infection prevention and control department is having these days is "Why have hospital-associated infections (HAIs) reduced during COVID-19 pandemic?" What is the one unique strategy that has brought decline in increasing HAIs? Would it be appropriate to say that rigorous hand hygiene practices among health care workers (HCWs) have reduced HAIs in a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan? This commentary is written to understand the effect of rigorous hand hygiene among HCWs on number of …