Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Prevalence Of Diabetic Retinopathy Among Individuals Screened Positive For Diabetes In Five Community Based Eye Camps In Northern Karachi Pakistan, Jamal-U- Din, Mohammad Babar Qureshi, Akhtar Jamal Khan, Mohammad Daud Khan, Khabir Ahmed

Department of Surgery

Background: Population-based data on the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in Pakistan are lacking. We determined the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among individuals screened positive for diabetes in five community-based eye camps in northern Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: In summer 2002, five community-based eye camps were set up in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. All individuals aged 30 years or older who visited the camps were requested to participate in the study. Those who agreed were screened for diabetes and those found to have the disease were referred to an eye hospital for diabetic retinopathy screening. Verbal informed consent was obtained from all …

Psycho-Social Consequences Of Secondary Infertility In Karachi., Neelofar Sami, Tazeen Saeed Ali

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVE:

To explore the experiences of social consequences among women suffering from secondary infertility.

METHODS:

Descriptive case series of 400 women with secondary infertility attending tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.

RESULTS:

More than two thirds (67.7%) of women stated that their inability to give live births or give birth to sons had resulted in marital dissonance. The respondents had been threatened for divorce (20%), husband's remarrying (38%) or to be returned to their parent's home (26%) by their in laws or husbands. Majority (68%) of the women threatened did not have any live births. However, those who had live …

Tuberculosis Diagnosis And Treatment Practices Of Private Physicians In Karachi, Pakistan, J Khan, A Malik, H Hussain, N K. Ali, F Akbani, S J. Hussain, G N. Kazi, S F. Hussain

Section of Pulmonary & Critical Care

In a densely populated urban area of Karachi, Pakistan, a questionnaire survey was made of the knowledge and practices of 120 private general practitioners about the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB). The majority knew that cough, fever and weight loss were the main symptoms of TB, but less than half knew that blood in sputum, poor appetite and chest pain were associated with the disease. Only 58.3% of physicians used sputum microscopy for diagnosing TB and 35.0% used it as a follow-up test. Only 41.7% treated TB patients themselves, the remaining referring their patients to specialists. Around 73.3% of …

Cancer Patterns In Karachi Division (1998-1999), Y. Bhurgri, S. Naseeruddin, S. A. H. Zaidi, A. Bhurgri, Z. A. Zaidi, S. H. Hasan, A. Usman, N. Faridi, K. Z. Hashmi, H. Ahsan, J. Malik, M. Khurshid, Shahid Pervez, Naila Kayani, S. M. H. Zaidi, I. Bashir, Z. Isani, F. Sethna, S. M. Aiam

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: A minimal cancer incidence data for Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, is being presented here, for the years 1998-1999. The city has a population of 9,802,134; males 5,261,712 (52.6%) and females 4,540,422 (47.4%); census 19981.

Methodology: A predominantly mixed (passive and active) registration system has evolved in Karachi, the data sources being the hospitals within the Karachi Division. The reported/retrieved cancer data sets at the Karachi Cancer Registry are checked, coded, computerised in an analytical format and analysed.

Results: The incident cancer cases registered in Karachi, during the 2-year period, 1st January 1998 to 31st December 1999 were …

Health-Seeking Behavior Of Karachi Women With Reproductive Tract Infections, Lubna Ishaq Bhatti, Fariyal F. Fikree

Community Health Sciences

To explore the contextual factors influencing health-seeking behavior of women in Karachi regarding reproductive tract infections, 18 women with reproductive tract infections from different clinics and community settings were identified and in-depth interviews were conducted. Physicians in our study diagnosed a woman to have lower reproductive tract infection if she complained of malodorous vaginal discharge with or without perineal itching; and to have pelvic inflammatory disease or upper reproductive tract infection if she had any two of the following complaints: malodorous vaginal discharge, menstrual irregularities, lower abdominal pain or dyspareunia. Women consulted a variety of healthcare providers in their pursuit …

Flow Cytometric Analysis Of Childhood Leukemias, R. Z. Yusuf, Shahid Pervez, S. A. Aziz, Mohammad Khurshid

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: To collect demographic data for childhood (less than 15 years) leukemias in Karachi, describe the accuracy of the cell surface markers routinely used in the flow cytometric analysis of leukemic cells and arrive at an ideal panel of antibodies for analyzing leukemic samiples.

Materials and Methods: Data from 62 consecutive cases of childhood leukemias referred to the Department of Pathology, Aga Khan University Hospital. (AKUH) between January 1995 and December 1998 was analyzed using Epi Info Version 6. Flow cytometry on all samples was performed using standard protocols.

Results: The mean age of patients was 8.2 years and 49 …

Views About Women's Mental Health: Study In A Squatter Settlement Of Karachi., Fauziah Rabbani

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVE:

Mental health of women is globally receiving particular attention. This study assessed community's view on certain aspects of women's mental health prior to introducing an intervention.

SETTING:

The study was conducted in an urban squatter settlement located in District West of Karachi in 1997 where the Aga Khan University has set up a Primary Health Care program in partnership with the communities.

METHODS:

Using convenient sampling, door to door household survey was conducted by medical students.

RESULTS:

Two hundred and eighty one residents were interviewed. Respondents were asked to list contributory factors which lead to mental distress in women. …

Cholera In Children In Karachi From 1990 Through 1995: A Study Of Cases Admitted To A Tertiary Care Hospital, S Q. Nizami, B J. Farooqui

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Although cholera is an endemic disease in Bangladesh, India and other countries, it was never a significant cause of gastroenteritis in Pakistan before 1988. Since then, cases of cholera are identified each year, both in adults and children in Pakistan. In order to see the contribution of Vibrio cholerae as a cause of gastroenteritis in children, we reviewed the cases of cholera admitted in the pediatric ward of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Of 4346 children hospitalized with gastroenteritis during 1990 through 1995, 348 children (8%) were confirmed to have cholera. The youngest child with cholera was seven …

Gestational Diabetes In A Developing Country, Experience Of Screening At The Aga Khan University Medical Centre, Karachi, Khalid S. Khan, Javaid H. Rizvi,, Rahat Qureshi, Rauf Mazhar

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

In order to determine the prevalence of glucose intolerance in pregnancy, 1267 consecutive women attending the antenatal clinic of the Aga khan University Medical Centre were subjected to a 75g glucose challenge followed 2hr later by plasma glucose determination irrespective of gestation on the first antenatal visit. The test was repeated at 28-32 weeks of gestation if the patients had an abnormal initial screen at < 28 weeks gestation and a normal glucose tolerance test on diagnostic follow-up and for those who had a risk factor for gestational diabetes and a normal initial screen at < 28 weeks gestation. The glucose challenge test was abnormal (2hr plasma glucose> 1 40mg%) in 8.6% of the screened population. Follow-up oral glucose tolerance test on these patients revealed a prevalence of 3.2% of gestationat diabetes and 1.9% of impaired glucose tolerance test based on the modified …