Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Population Study Of 1311 C/T Polymorphism Of Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase Gene In Pakistan - An Analysis Of 715 X-Chromosomes., Bushra Moiz, Amna Nasir, Tariq Moatter, Zulfiqar Ali Naqvi, Mohammad Khurshid

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:Nucleotide 1311 polymorphism at exon 11 of G6PD gene is widely prevalent in various populations of the world. The aim of the study was to evaluate 1311 polymorphism in subjects carrying G6PD Mediterranean gene and in general population living in Pakistan.

Results:

Patients already known to be G6PD deficient were tested for 563C-T (G6PD Mediterranean) and 1311 C-T mutation through RFLP based PCR and gene sequencing. A control group not known to be G6PD deficient was tested for 1311C/T only.C-T transition at nt 1311 was detected in 60/234 X-chromosomes with 563 C-T mutation (gene frequency of 0.26) while in …

Evaluation Of Two Elisa Assay Kits Against Rt-Pcr For Diagnosis Of Dengue Virus Infection In A Hospital Setting In Karachi, Pakistan, Erum Khan, Vikram Mehraj, Amna Nasir, Nabil Ahmad Khan, Bushra Billoo, Tariq Moatter, Rumina Hasan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate two commercially available ELISA-based kits against RT-PCR for the diagnosis of dengue virus infection in a Tertiary Care center in Karachi.METHODS: During the 2006 Dengue outbreak, sera were collected from patients clinically classified as dengue fever and graded according to WHO grading. Out of these, 83 samples were selected randomly and analyzed using two different commercial kits (PanBio versus Calbiotech) and were compared with RT-PCR. Clinical charts of the inpatients were also reviewed. Statistical significance was considered at P < or = 0.05.RESULTS: Clinically, a total of 29 (69%) in-patients were diagnosed with dengue haemorrhagic fever, the remaining 13 (30.9%) were diagnosed as dengue fever. Diagnostic PCR was positive in 73 (87.9%) of the total 83 patients. PanBio capture ELISA had a sensitivity of 83.5%. Calbiotech on the other hand, had a sensitivity of 50.7%. The association of PanBio assay with PCR was found to be statistically significant (p

Impact Of Infection Control Activities On The Rate Of Needle Stick Injuries At A Tertiary Care Hospital Of Pakistan Over A Period Of Six Years: An Observational Study., Afia Zafar, Faiza Habib, Roshan Hadwani, Muslima Ejaz, Khurshid Khowaja, Rozina Khowaja, Seema Irfan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:Accidental exposure to blood and body fluids is frequent among health care workers. They are at high risk of nosocomial transmission of blood borne pathogens due to injuries caused by used sharps. We are reporting impact of surveillance and educational program on the rate of needle stick injuries among health care workers at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.

Methods:

At Aga Khan University Hospital sharp injuries are reported to infection control office. To reduce these incidents a quality improvement project was inducted in the year 2005. Health care workers were educated, surveillance data from 2002 to 2007 was …

Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms Across Tuberculosis Clinical Spectrum In Pakistani Patients., Ambreen Ansari, Najeeha Talat, Bushra Jamil, Zahra Hasan, Tashmeem Razzaki, Ghaffar Dawood, Rabia Hussain

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:Pakistan ranks 7(th) globally in terms of tuberculosis (TB) disease burden (incidence 181/100000 pop./yr, prevalence of 329/pop./yr). Reports from different populations show variable associations of TB susceptibility and severity with cytokine gene polymorphisms. Tuberculosis clinical severity is multi-factorial and cytokines play a pivotal role in the modulation of disease severity. We have recently reported that the ratio of two key cytokines (IFNgamma and IL10) show significant correlation with the severity spectrum of tuberculosis. The objective of the current study was to analyze the frequency of cytokine gene polymorphisms linked to high and low responder phenotypes (IFNgamma +874 T(hi)-->A(lo) …