Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Practices And Knowledge Of Schoolchildren Regarding Chhaalia/Paan Masala In Mahmoodabad And Chanesar Goth, Karachi, Sameena Shah, Riaz Qureshi, Iqbal Azam Syed

Department of Family Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To determine the practices and knowledge about chhaalia and paan masala chewing among school children in Mahmoodabad and Chanesar Goth, Karachi, Pakistan.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three government schools of Mahmoodabad and Chanesar Goth, Jamshed Town, Karachi. Students of either gender were interviewed using a pre-coded structured questionnaire. In addition to the demographic data, questions included frequency of use, practices among friends and family and procurement of these substances. Knowledge about harmful effects, source of the knowledge and practices in relation to knowledge were also assessed.

RESULTS: A total of 370 students, ages between 10 to …

Prevalence And Factors Associated With Intestinal Parasitic Infection Among Children In An Urban Slum Of Karachi., Vikram Mehraj, Juanita Hatcher, Saeed Akhtar, Ghazala Rafique, Mohammad Asim Beg

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:Intestinal parasitic infections are endemic worldwide and have been described as constituting the greatest single worldwide cause of illness and disease. Poverty, illiteracy, poor hygiene, lack of access to potable water and hot and humid tropical climate are the factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections. The study aimed to estimate prevalence and identify factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections among 1 to 5 years old children residing in an urban slum of Karachi Pakistan. Methods And Principal
Findings:A cross sectional survey was conducted from February to June 2006 in Ghosia Colony Gulshan Town Karachi, Pakistan. A simple random …

Misoprostol In Addition To Routine Treatment Of Postpartum Hemorrhage: A Hospital-Based Randomized-Controlled Trial In Karachi, Pakistan., N. F. Zuberi, Jill Durocher, Rozina Sikander, Neelofur Baber, Jennifer Blum, Gijs Walraven

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Background:Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) remains a major killer of women worldwide. Standard uterotonic treatments used to control postpartum bleeding do not always work and are not always available. Misoprostol's potential as a treatment option for PPH is increasingly known, but its use remains ad hoc and available evidence does not support the safety or efficacy of one particular regimen. This study aimed to determine the adjunct benefit of misoprostol when combined with standard oxytocics for PPH treatment.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in four Karachi hospitals from December 2005 - April 2007 to assess the benefit of a …

Factors Associated With Non-Adherence Among Psychiatric Patients At A Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan: A Questionnaire Based Cross-Sectional Study, Fawad Taj, Mansoor Tanwir, Zarmeneh Aly, Ameer Ali Khowajah, Asma Tariq, Fahd Khalid Syed, Fahd Waqar, Khezar Shahzada

Department of Psychiatry

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate predictors of non-adherence among psychiatric patients presenting at a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan, for follow-up with consultant psychiatrist.

METHODS: A convenient sampleof psychiatric patients from Aga Khan University Hospital was enrolled between April and May, 2005. An interviewer assisted, standardized questionnaire was used for data collection. Patients with cognitive deficit or psychosis and those presenting for the first time were not included in the study.

RESULTS: Out of 128 patients, those with co-morbidity (32.81%) were less adherent than those without comorbidity (p-value:0.002). Adherence among depressed was 61.53%; psychotic was 58.82%; bipolar disorder was 73.91%. Reasons for …

Time Trends In The Incidence Of Cancer Cervix In Karachi South, 1995-2002, Yasmin Bhurgri, Shahid Pervez, Naila Kayani, Muneeza Afif, Imran Tahir, Kauser Nazir, Ahmed Usman, Naveen Faridi, Hadi Bhurgri, Jawaid Malik, Imtiaz Bashir, Asif Bhurgri, Rashida Ahmed, Sheema H Hasan, Mohammad Khurshid, S. M. H. Zaidi

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Introduction:The objective of the study was to determine the trends of cancer cervix in Karachi South during an eight (1995-2002) year period. Methododology: Cancer cervix cases recorded at Karachi Cancer Registry during 1st January 1995 to 31st December 2002 were analyzed. Trends were studied by analyzing the age standardized incidence rates (ASR)s in 2 time periods, 1995-97 and 1998-2002.

Results:

Cancer cervix ranked sixth in the 1995-97 period the age standardized incidence rate (ASR) world and crude incidence rate (CIR) per 100,000 were 6.81 and 3.22. It reached the fifth ranking in the 1998-2002 period with an ASR and …

Drug Overdose: A Wake Up Call! Experience At A Tertiary Care Centre In Karachi, Pakistan, Muhammad Junaid Patel, Muhammad Shahid, Mehmood Riaz, Waqaruddin Kashif, Syed Imran Ayaz, Muhammad Shoaib Khan, A. Jawwad Samdani, Ayesha L Sorathia, Muhammad Furqan

Department of Emergency Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To study the characteristics of patients admitted with drug overdose caused either by accidental overdose of the prescribed medications or as an act of deliberate self harm (DSH) at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.METHODS: A retrospective case series review was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital from January 2002 to October 2006. Three hundred and twenty four adult patients admitted with drug overdose were included in the study.RESULTS: Our sample group revealed mean age of 36.2 +/- 17.0 years, more females (59%), housewives (34%), and students (20%). Fifty six percent of patients committing DSH were married …

Prescription Of Medicines By Medical Students Of Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study, Syed Nabeel Zafar, Reema Syed, Sana Waqar, Faria A. Irani, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

Background: Prescription of medicines by non-doctors is an issue with serious global implications. To our knowledge prescription of drugs by medical and non-medical students has not been studied before. We aimed to determine the practice and attitudes of drug prescription by medical students and: a) how non-medical students respond to this practice, b) How this compares with the attitudes and practices of non-medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 600 students randomly selected from 2 medical and 2 non-medical universities. Ethical requirements were ensured and data was collected using self administered questionnaires. The Chi square …

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Outcome And Its Predictors Among Hospitalized Adult Patients In Pakistan., Nadeem Ullah Khan, J. Razzak, Humaid Ahmed, Muhammad Furqan, Ali Faisal Saleem, Hammad Alam, Anwar Ul Huda, Uzma R. Khan, Rifat Rehmani

Department of Emergency Medicine

Introduction:Our aim was to study the outcomes and predictors of in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among adult Patients at a tertiary care centre in Pakistan.
Methods:We conducted a retrospective chart review of all adult Patients (age > or =14 years), who underwent CPR following cardiac arrest, in a tertiary care hospital during a 5-year study period (June 1998 to June 2003). We excluded Patients aged 14 years or less, those who were declared dead on arrival and Patients with a "do not resuscitate" order. The 1- and 6-month follow-ups of discharged Patients were also recorded.
Results:We found 383 cases …

Self-Medication Amongst University Students Of Karachi: Prevalence, Knowledge And Attitudes, Syed Nabeel Zafar, Reema Syed, Sana Waqar, Akbar Jaleel Zubairi, Talha Vaqar, Mehrine Shaikh, Wajeeha Yousaf, Saman Shahid, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence, attitude and knowledge of self-medication amongst university students of Karachi, Pakistan.

METHODS: This cross-sectional, study was conducted from Jan-Feb 2007. A convenience sample was taken from 2 medical and 2 non-medical universities of the city of Karachi, Pakistan. Data was analyzed using SPSS v 14 and associations were tested using the Chi square test.

RESULTS: Of the 572 participants (mean age=21 +/- 1.8 years, Male: Female ratio=1:1.5), 295 were medical and 277 were non-medical students. The prevalence of self-medication was 76%. Forty three percent students stated that they alter the regimen of prescribed medicines while …

Primary Drug Resistance Against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis In Karachi, Nisar Ahmed Rao, Muhammad Irfan, Shahid Javed Hussain

Section of Pulmonary & Critical Care

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the primary drug resistance of new culture positive cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in Karachi.

METHODS: All new suspected pulmonary tuberculosis patients were recruited initially. They were instructed to produce three-sputum samples for smear examination and on one of the specimen's culture was applied. Bronchoscopy and bronchial wash was done in patients who were not expectorating. Bronchial wash was then applied for both smear and culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

RESULTS: Out of 79 cases recruited initially, 52 were able to produce sputum while bronchoscopy was performed in the remaining. AFB direct smear was positive in 32/52 sputum and …

What Do Patients Want From Their Psychiatrist? A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Based Exploratory Study From Karachi, Roomasa Channa, M. N. Siddiqi

Department of Psychiatry

Background: The aspects of consultation that are important for psychiatric Patients have always remained a less acknowledged area. The aim of this study was to identify these aspects. Methods: A Cross- sectional, questionnaire based study was carried out in a psychiatry outPatient clinic of two tertiary care hospitals in a developing country. The Patients were asked to fill out the questionnaire containing a total of 11 close-ended questions plus 1 open- ended question. They graded them as not important, important, very important or do not know. Non-psychotic Patients aged 18 and above, visiting the clinic were recruited into the study …

Socio-Demographic Correlates Of Exhaled Breath Carbon Monoxide In Karachi's Adult Population, Majid Shafiq, Sumera Khan, M. Rizwanulhaq Khawaja, Suleman Haque, Javaid Khan

Section of Pulmonary & Critical Care

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between CO levels and putative factors including smoking status among residents of Karachi, an urban center with very high levels of air pollution.

METHODS: Two hundred and eighteen volunteering subjects were asked to maximally exhale into a Smokerlyzer breath CO analyzer. Each of the volunteers was also asked to reply to a questionnaire-based interview seeking demographic information as well as details of exposure to tobacco, traffic fumes and other air pollutants.

RESULTS: Out of the 218 participating subjects, 75% were males and 27% were current or ex-smokers. The mean CO level was 2.92 parts per …