Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Commons^™

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Pediatric Obesity In School-Aged Children, Amaani Faizal, Maryanna Schweininger, Suzanna Hosein

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The prevalence of childhood obesity in those aged 2-19 in the United States was 19.3% in 2017-2018. Childhood obesity is a major health concern with growing rates of incidence. Being overweight or obese put children at risk for developing several chronic conditions such as coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and asthma at a younger age. Studies have shown that higher BMI numbers in childhood added an increased risk of being obese as an adult.

The pathophysiology of developing obesity includes several complex factors ranging from nutrition, physical activity, genetic background and lifestyle preferences. Among children, nutrition and …

A Suspected Case Of Vaccine Induced Thrombosis With Thrombocytopenia Following Sars Cov2 Vaccine, Maryam Soliman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

With the new development of the SARS-CoV vaccine and the majority of the population receiving this vaccine, it is important to recognize some of the rare side effects associated with it.

VITT is a rare complication of the COVID vaccine

Diagnostic criteria: COVID vaccine 4-24 days prior to symptom onset, any venous or arterial thrombosis, thrombocytopenia < 150, positive PF4 HIT ELISA, markedly elevated D-dimer >4x ULN.

Vaccine Induced Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia is a potentially life-threatening diagnosis that must be recognized and treated correctly to prevent poor outcomes.

Is Covid-19 Impacting Cancer Screening In Pakistan? An Observational Study Of Cancer Screening Test Requests During The Pandemic, Sibtain Ahmed, Muhammad Abbas Abid, Noureen Niaz Ali, Junaid Ahmed, Imran Siddiqui

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: The purpose of this study is to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic affected cancer screening at a large tertiary care setting in the city of Karachi, the third largest city in the world, and to identify if there has been any decrease in cancer screening during the ongoing pandemic.
Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted at the clinical chemistry laboratory at the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi Pakistan. Data for test volumes was extracted from the Integrated Laboratory Management System (ILMS) for the following tumor markers: CA19 Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 (CA …

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Pre And Post Analytical Clinical Laboratory Testing Processes- A Performance Evaluation Study Using Six Sigma, Sibtain Ahmed, Farhat Jahan, Muhammad Umer Naeem Effendi, Farooq Ghani

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the total testing process using six sigma metrics based on a comparison of pre and during pandemic periods.
Material & methods: The study duration was over 12 months, 6 months before and 6 months after the COVID-19 onset in Pakistan in March 2020 after the recognition of the first case, using quality indicators (QIs). QIs were chosen from a model of QIs recommended by the CAP. Analysis was performed using Six Sigma calculators and QIs were expressed in percentage (%) and Sigma value were computed. …

Higher Entropy Observed In Sars-Cov-2 Genomes From The First Covid-19 Wave In Pakistan, Najia Karim Ghanchi, Asghar Nasir, Kiran I. Masood, Syed Hani Abidi, Syed Faisal Mahmood, Akber Kanji, Safina Abdul Razzak, Waqasuddin Khan, Saba Shahid, Maliha Yameen, Ali Raza, Javaria Ashraf, Zeeshan Ansar Ahmed, Mohammad Buksh Dharejo, Nazneen Islam, Zahra Hasan, Rumina Hasan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: We investigated the genome diversity of SARS-CoV-2 associated with the early COVID-19 period to investigate evolution of the virus in Pakistan.
Materials and methods: We studied ninety SARS-CoV-2 strains isolated between March and October 2020. Whole genome sequences from our laboratory and available genomes were used to investigate phylogeny, genetic variantion and mutation rates of SARS-CoV-2 strains in Pakistan. Site specific entropy analysis compared mutation rates between strains isolated before and after June 2020.
Results: In March, strains belonging to L, S, V and GH clades were observed but by October, only L and GH strains were present. The …

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2021, Iujhs Full Issue

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

The full June 2021 issue (Volume 1, Issue 1) of the International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Persistent Neurocognitive Impairment And Neurological Complications Following Covid-19: Challenges Of The Long Covid Syndrome, Timothy Wong, Sung Kang, Munaza Khan

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2).(1) As of April 23, 2021, there are close to 150 million cumulative cases, with over 3 million deaths worldwide.(2) In terms of clinical presentation, individuals afflicted with COVID-19 vary greatly in terms of their disease progression and symptomatology.(3,4) During the acute phase of COVID-19, patients may experience flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, dyspnea, headache,(5,7) though gastrointestinal, renal, hepatological, rheumatological, and neurological symptoms and complications have been reported.(8,9) Recently, there has been increasing interest in the chronic sequelae of COVID-19.(10). One …

Case Report: Covid-19 Associated Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Matthew Aharonov, Neelesh Parikh, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report a case of a 72-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with a complaint of generalized weakness. The patient was found to have ascending muscle weakness and subsequently diagnosed with Covid-19 related Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Our patient was negative for Campylobacter jejuni. It is noteworthy that the patient did not have fever, respiratory symptoms or loss of the sensation of taste.