Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Frequency And Associated Factors For Care Giving Among Elderly Patients Visiting A Teaching Hospital In Karachi, Pakistan., Waris Qidwai Dr, Mohammad Uzair Abdul Rauf, Seema Sakina, Ayesha Hamid, Sidra Ishaque, Tabinda Ashfaq

Department of Family Medicine

Objective: To study frequency and associated factors for care giving among elderly Patients visiting a teaching hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methodology: A cross sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted at the Community Health Centre (CHC), Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi, Pakistan from September to November 2009. All individuals, visiting the CHC and aged 65 years or above were interviewed after taking written informed consent.
Results: A total of 400 elderly completed the interview. Majority were females, 65-69 years age, More than half of the individuals ie: 227 (85%) had received Care Giver experience for assistance and among these 195(72%) had …

Anaesthesia As A Career Choice In A Developing Country; Effect Of Clinical Clerkship, Fauzia Khan, Fauzia Nasim Minai, Shahla Siddiqui

Department of Anaesthesia

OBJECTIVE: To explore the fourth year medical student's knowledge regarding anaesthesia as a specialty, their attitude towards anaesthesia as a career choice and the effect of clinical clerkship on these.

METHODS: This survey was conducted in the Department of Anaesthesia of a university medical centre in a developing country. One hundred and fifty year four medical students rotating in anaesthesia were enrolled. They were asked to fill a structured questionnaire before (pre) and after (post) their anaesthesia rotation. The questionnaire sought information on their perception of anaesthesia as a specialty, role of anaesthetists clerkship duration, and reasons for considering or …

Clinical Profile And Outcomes Of Paediatric Patients With Diabetic Ketoacidosis At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan, Madiha Syed, Fariha Batool Khawaja, Taimur Saleem, Umair Khalid, Abdul Rashid, Khadija Nuzhat Humayun

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to present an experience in the management and clinical features of 88 children presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) from Pakistan.

METHODS: A retrospective medical chart review of all patients, < or = 15 years of age, who presented to the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan in the last ten years with a diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis was carried out. Severity of DKA was defined as mild (venous pH < 7.30 or bicarbonate=15mEq/l), moderate (venous pH < 7.2 or bicarbonate = 10 mEq/l) and severe (venous pH < 7 or bicarbonate < 5 mEq/l). These classes correspond to 1st, 2nd and 3rd degrees of diabetic ketoacidosis severity respectively. Cases in which diabetic ketoacidosis had occurred at onset of diabetic diagnosis were not included in the study.

RESULTS: Mean age was 7.5 +/- 3.6 years; 58 (66%) patients were male. Twenty six patients had mild diabetic ketoacidosis, 44 had moderate while 18 had severe diabetic ketoacidosis at the time of presentation. Severity of diabetic ketoacidosis was significantly associated with the presence of infection, history of omission of insulin, poor compliance, presence of shock at time of presentation, length of stay in the hospital, final …

Population Attributable Risk Of Unintentional Childhood Poisoning In Karachi Pakistan, Bilal Ahmed, Zafar Fatmi, Amna R Siddiqui

Department of Medicine

Background: The percentage of unintentional childhood poisoning cases in a given population attributable to specific risk factors (i.e., the population attributable risk) which can be calculated, determination of such risk factors associated with potentially modifiable risk factors, are necessary to focus on the prevention strategies.

Methods: We calculated PARs, using 120 cases with unintentional poisoning and 360 controls in a hospital based matched case- control study. The risk factors were accessibility to hazardous chemicals and medicines due to unsafe storage, child behavior reported as hyperactive, storage of kerosene and petroleum in soft drink bottles, low socioeconomic class, less education of …

The Role Of Computed Tomography For Identifying Mechanical Bowel Obstruction In A Pakistani Population, Omair Shakil, Syed Nabeel Zafar, Ziaur Rehman, Sarah Saleem, Rehmatullah Khan, Khawaja Muhammad Inam Pal

Section of General Surgery

Objective: To retrospectively review our experience of CT scan in cases with a final diagnosis of surgically confirmed mechanical bowel obstruction.
Methods: It is a retrospective analytical study, done from 2003 to 2008. All adult patients having undergone laparotomy in addition to a preoperative abdominal CT scan over a 5 year period were identified through the medical records and their case notes reviewed. Taking surgery to be the gold standard for diagnosing mechanical bowel obstruction, we compared results of the CT with operative findings to determine the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of CT scans. The data was …

Benzodiazepine Use Among Adults Residing In The Urban Settlements Of Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross Sectional Study., Saleem P. Iqbal, Syed Ahmer, Salima Farooq, Yasmin Parpio, Ambreen Tharani, Rashid A. M Khan, Mohammad Zaman

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: There are hardly any studies carried out in Pakistan on the usage of benzodiazepines at the level of community. This research was aimed to determine the frequency of benzodiazepine use, along with its associations with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics among community dwelling adults, residing in two urban settlements of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: We performed a cross sectional study from August 2008 to December 2009, in 2 areas of Karachi, namely Garden and Sultanabad. We followed the systematic sampling strategy to randomly select the households, with an adult of either sex and of age 18 years or more. Data collection …

Application Of Geographical Information System (Gis) For Mapping Road Traffic Injuries Using Existing Source Of Data In Karachi, Pakistan--A Pilot Study, Junsid Razzak, Uzma R. Khan, Sabeena Jalal

Department of Emergency Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of using Geographical Information System for mapping of road traffic injuries with an existing data source in a developing country.

METHODS: The study was a retrospectives case series of road traffic injury cases registered with the medico-legal office located in the three major trauma centers in Karachi for the period of January 1, 2004 till December 31st, 2004. Spatial data analysis was performed using ARCVIEW 3.1.

RESULTS: Out of 3650 of all road traffic injury, only 3% had locations detailed and accurate enough allowing mapping on a GIS map in the first attempt. Even after …

Prevalence Of Physical Inactivity And Barriers To Physical Activity Among Obese Attendants At A Community Health-Care Center In Karachi, Pakistan., Nafisa Samir, Sadia Mahmud, Ali Khan Khuwaja

Department of Family Medicine

Background: Overweight and obesity are significant public health problems worldwide with serious health consequences. With increasing urbanization and modernization there has been an increase in prevalence of obesity that is attributed to reduced levels of physical activity (PA). However, little is known about the prevalence of physical inactivity and factors that prohibit physical activity among Pakistani population. This cross-sectional study is aimed at estimating the prevalence of physical inactivity, and determining associated barriers in obese attendants accompanying Patients coming to a Community Health Center in Karachi, Pakistan.
Findings: PA was assessed by using international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ). Barriers to …

Knowledge And Practice Gaps Among Pediatric Nurses At A Tertiary Care Hospital Karachi Pakistan, Rozina Roshan Essani, Tazeen S. Ali

School of Nursing & Midwifery

The advancement in medical science has created health care environments that require nursing professionals who posses specialized clinical knowledge and skills to provide care and deal with critically and acutely ill children. This study explored gaps between knowledge and practice as perceived by the registered nurses of pediatric units by further recommending the changes suggested by them. A descriptive exploratory Study Design under the quantitative research methodology was utilized using universal sampling of all pediatric nurses working at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. The gaps between knowledge and practice, as perceived by the participants, were categorized into five …

Does Improving Maternal Knowledge Of Vaccines Impact Infant Immunization Rates? A Community-Based Randomized-Controlled Trial In Karachi, Pakistan, Aatekah Owais, Beenish Hanif, Amna R. Siddiqui, Ajmal Agha, Anita K. M. Zaidi

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: In Pakistan, only 59-73% of children 12-23 months of age are fully immunized. This randomized, controlled trial was conducted to assess the impact of a low-literacy immunization promotion educational intervention for mothers living in low-income communities of Karachi on infant immunization completion rates. Methods: Three hundred and sixty-six mother-infant pairs, with infants aged Results: Baseline characteristics among the two groups were similar. At 4 month assessment, among 179 mother-infant pairs in the intervention group, 129 (72.1%) had received all 3 doses of DPT/Hepatitis B vaccine, whereas in the control group 92/178 (51.7%) had received all 3 doses. Multivariable analysis …

Association Of Depression With Treatment Outcomes In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study From Karachi, Pakistan, Saman I. Zuberi, Ehsan U. Syed, Junaid A. Bhatti

Section of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism

Background: To assess the associations of depression with glycemic control and compliance to self-care activities in adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary-care hospital in Karachi (Aga Khan University Hospital). Equal numbers of depressed and non-depressed Patients were consecutively recruited from the diabetic clinic. Information on demographic and clinical characteristics was collected in face-to-face interviews and from medical records. Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure depression. Associations of depressed status (HADS >= 8) with poor glycemic control (Hemoglobin A1c level >= 7%) and compliance to self-care activities were …

Oral Hygiene Kap Assessment And Dmft Scoring Among Children Aged 11-12 Years In An Urban School Of Karachi, Farhan Vakani, Nadia Basaria, Shahjahan Katpar

Department of Continuing Professional Education

Objective:To assess the oral hygiene knowledge, attitude and practices among school children and evaluate their DMFT (Decayed/Missing/Filled Teeth) scores.

Study Design:

Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study:

A private school of Karachi from March to April 2008.

Methodology:

Convenient sample comprising 300 students of grade 6 within the age group of 11-12 years was selected. A knowledge, attitude and practices survey questionnaire based on quantitative indicators was filled by the students. Clinical examination was done for DMFT. Data analysis was done by using SPSS version 11. Associations were assessed using chi-square test and a p-value of < 0.001 was considered significant.

Results:

There …

Perception And Practices Of Breastfeeding Of Infants 0-6 Months In An Urban And A Semi-Urban Community In Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study, Sumera Ali, Syed Faizan Ali, Ayesha Mallick Imam, Samia Ayub, Abdul Gaffar Billoo

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

OBJECTIVE: To investigate mother's perception and practices about breastfeeding and their socio-demographic correlate in infants equal to or less than 6 months.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 200 mother-infant pairs who visited the health care centers, Bilal Colony (semi-urban) and the Aga Khan University (urban), for their well baby follow-ups and vaccination using convenient sampling. Frequencies and percentages were computed and Chi-square was used to find associations between socio-demographics of mothers and their perception and practices about breastfeeding.

RESULTS: Exclusive breastfeeding was reported by about 54% of the mothers. Thirty-five percent of the mothers gave prelacteal feed, …