Medical Specialties Commons^™

Asymtomatic Arachnoid Cyst Presenting With Subdural Hygroma After Cyst Rupture: A Rare Complication, Pari Gul, Bushra Rehan, Saleha Anwar, Ayub Mansoor

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.

Prevelacne Of Pressure Ulcers In Patients With Spinal Cord Injury; A Retrospective Study, Aatik Arsh, Haider Darain, Syed Muhammad Ilyas, Amir Zeb

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Pressure ulcers in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) are associated with incredible financial cost and human sufferings. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine prevalence of pressure ulcers amongst patients with different levels of SCI.

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) December 2012, Benjamin Wachira

Family Medicine, East Africa

Uchunguzi means investigation in Swahili and provides a summary of some of the most recent international literature as presented in other leading journals, but with an emphasis on what is relevant to our continent.

Labrad : Vol 38, Issue 2 - December 2012, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

LABRAD - Departments of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Radiology Archives

• Automation in Microbiology Specimen Processing and Inoculation
• Use of Automated Urine Analyzer for Urinanalysis
• Automation in Blood Culture
• Vitek 2 System: An Automated System for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing
• TB Diagnosis-A New Horizon
• Serological and Molecular Diagnosis of Malaria
• Diagnosis of Leishmaniasis
• Rapid Detection of Dengue NS1 Antigen by ELISA in Suspected Dengue Patients
• Saline Infusion Hysterosonography to Evaluate Abnormal Uterine Bleeding
• Workshop on “Diagnosis of Fungal Infections in Clinical Laboratory”

3t Or Not To 3t? Making Sense Of Magnetic Field Strengths In Mr Scanners, Zafar Sajjad

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.

Frequency Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome In Patients Of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy, Ahmad Furqan Dr., Naeem Kasuri, Athar Javed, Javed Iqbal, Haroon Khan, Mohsin Zaheer

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.

Leukemia With Ptosis, Saira Saad, Mazhar Badshah, Muhammad Tariq, Muhammad Irshad Awan, Sohail Rao, Mansoor Iqbal, Haris Majid Rajput, Zakir Jan

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Knowledge, Attitude And Practice Of Epilepsy Among 221 School Teachers In Karachi, Syed Wasim Akhtar, Zarin Mogal, Shaukat Ali, Munawar Ali, Abdul Latif Sonija, Husainuddin Afridi, Hasan Aziz

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.

Histologic Findings In Biopsies/Resection Specimens From The Small Intestine With Special Emphasis On Celiac Disease: Experience From A Developing Country In South Asia, Huma Arshad, Zubair Ahmad

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Biopsies from the small intestine especially the duodenum are now being performed much more frequently than in the past. The most frequent reason for performing duodenal biopsies is to evaluate for malabsorption. In the last few years, increased awareness has resulted in more biopsies sent for evaluation of malabsorption, especially celiac disease (CD). In the duodenum, features of malabsorption (increased intraepithelial lymphocytes, villous shortening, and atrophy) were the most common histologic finding seen in 63.4% of cases. Serum tTG levels were available for correlation in 52.8% of cases. In patients with confirmed CD, 53.4% were MARSH IIIb, and 29.5% were …

Correlation Of Respiratory Symptoms And Spirometric Lung Patterns In A Rural Community Setting, Sindh, Pakistan: A Cross Sectional Survey, Imran Naeem Abbasi, Adeel Ahsan, Asaad Ahmed Nafees

Community Health Sciences

Background: Symptom-based questionnaires can be a cost effective tool enabling identification and diagnosis of patients with respiratory illnesses in resource limited setting. This study aimed to determine the correlation of respiratory symptoms and spirometric lung patterns and validity of ATS respiratory questionnaire in a rural community setting.
Methods: This cross sectional survey was conducted between January - March 2009 on a sample of 200 adults selected from two villages of district Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan. A modified version of the American thoracic society division of lung disease questionnaire was used to record the presence of respiratory symptoms. Predicted lung volumes i.e. …

A Clinical Approach To Myopathy, Sara Khan

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

No abstract provided.

What Method Of Contact Works Best For Recruiting Participants In A Study: Lessons For Health Care Researchers?, Romania Iqbal, Ali Haroon, Abdul Jabbar, Neelofar Babar, Rahat Qureshi

Section of Internal Medicine

Objectives: To assess the various recruitment strategies used by medical researchers and their response rates.

Methods: The observational study, part of a larger retrospective cohort, was done at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from May 2008-December 2010, covering a period from 1999 to 2005. We used a multi-mode contact approach for including participants in the study. This comprised an invitational letter that described the study sent along with a mail-back, postage-paid envelope and multiple phone calls for recruitment of participants. The response to each mode was noted and described as frequency and percentage.

Results: There …

Radiation Exposure In Interventional Procedures, G. K. Korir, B. O. Ochieng, J. S. Wambani, I. K. Korir, C. Y. Jowi

Imaging & Diagnostic Radiology, East Africa

The aim of this study was to estimate radiation doses patients and staff are exposed to during interventional procedures (IPs), compare them with the international diagnostic reference levels and to develop initial National Diagnostic Reference Levels. The IP survey was undertaken as the initial task of which, retrospective data were collected from the only four Kenyan hospitals carrying out interventional radiology and cardiology procedures at the time of the study. Real-time measurement of radiation dose to patients and staff during these procedures was done. To the patients, kerma-area product (KAP) and fluoroscopy time measurements were done using an in-built KAP …

Limiting The Caesarean Section Rate In Low Risk Pregnancies Is Key To Lowering The Trend Of Increased Abdominal Deliveries: An Observational Study, Ilse Delbaere, Hendrik Cammu, Evelyne Martens, Inge Tency, Guy Martens, Marleen Temmerman

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Background: As the rate of Caesarean sections (CS) continues to rise in Western countries, it is important to analyze the reasons for this trend and to unravel the underlying motives to perform CS. This research aims to assess the incidence and trend of CS in a population-based birth register in order to identify patient groups with an increasing risk for CS.

Methods: Data from the Flemish birth register ‘Study Centre for Perinatal Epidemiology’ (SPE) were used for this historic control comparison. Caesarean sections (CS) from the year 2000 (N = 10540) were compared with those from the year 2008 (N …

Antiseptics And Disinfectants For The Treatment Of Bacterial Vaginosis: A Systematic Review, Hans Verstraelen Verstraelen, Rita Verhelst, Kristien Roelens, Marleen Temmerman

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Background: The study objective was to assess the available data on efficacy and tolerability of antiseptics and disinfectants in treating bacterial vaginosis (BV).

Methods: A systematic search was conducted by consulting PubMed (1966-2010), CINAHL (1982-2010), IPA (1970-2010), and the Cochrane CENTRAL databases. Clinical trials were searched for by the generic names of all antiseptics and disinfectants listed in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System under the code D08A. Clinical trials were considered eligible if the efficacy of antiseptics and disinfectants in the treatment of BV was assessed in comparison to placebo or standard antibiotic treatment with metronidazole or clindamycin …

Can Telemedicine Improve Stroke Outcomes?, Quratulain Shaikh, Ayeesha Kamran Kamal

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Omphalocoele, Ten Years Experience At A Tertiary Care Hospital, Anila Haroon, Akhtar Amin Memon, Rehan Ali

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Omphalocoele is a rare congenital anterior abdominal wall defect. We present 12 cases of Omphalocoele seen in our hospital. Further, we have discussed the clinical presentation, antenatal diagnosis, associated abnormalities and final outcome of the cases.

Fiberoptic Intubation In A Paediatric Patient With Severe Temporomandibular Joint (Tmj) Ankylosis, Ali Asghar, Faisal Shamim, Asiyah Aman

Department of Anaesthesia

Craniofacial abnormalities are associated with mandibular hypoplasia, reduced mandibular space with overcrowding of soft tissues and maxillary hypoplasia. Decreased mouth opening and limitation in jaw protrusion are independent predictors of difficult airway in such patients. The relative difficult problem becomes even graver in the paediatric age group because of their small mouth opening and un-cooperativeness. A child with severe temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis presented with negligible mouth opening and required surgical correction under general anaesthesia. Successful intubation was performed with endotracheal tube size 5.5 mm using an adult 4.3 mm fiberoptic bronchoscope under inhalational as well as topical anaesthesia.

Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Natasha Bahadur Ali, Salman Adil, Mohammad Usman Shaikh, Nehal Masood

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

We report a case series of 12 patients with acute myeloid leukemia who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplant with a matched related donor. Male to female ratio was 1:1. The main complication post-transplant was graft-versus-host disease (n=7 patients). Transplant-related mortality involved one patient; cause of death was multi-organ failure. After a median follow up of 36.0±11.3 months, overall survival was 16%.

Maternal Tetanus Toxoid Vaccination And Neonatal Mortality In Rural North India, A. Singh, S. Pallikadavath, R. Ogollah, W. Stones

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Objectives: Preventable neonatal mortality due to tetanus infection remains common. We aimed to examine antenatal vaccination impact in a context of continuing high neonatal mortality in rural northern India.

Methods and Findings: Using the third round of the Indian National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2005-06, mortality of most recent singleton births was analysed in discrete-time logistic model with maternal tetanus vaccination, together with antenatal care utilisation and supplementation with iron and folic acid. 59% of mothers reported receiving antenatal care, 48% reported receiving iron and folic acid supplementation and 68% reported receiving two or more doses of tetanus toxoid (TT) …

Foleys Protection Caps: Inexpensive Alternative In Ilizarov Fixation, K Abbas, H Rashid

Section of General Surgery

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Need And Supply Of Syringes For Therapeutic Injections In Pakistan, Adnan Ahmad Khan, Momina Saleem, Huma Qureshi, Rashid Jooma, Ayesha Khan

Section of Neurosurgery

Objectives: To determine the extent of shortfall in syringes by measuring the need from nationally validated sources and comparing it with position on the supply side. This was done in order to contribute to the ongoing national discussions that have focused on increasing syringe supply to curtail syringe reuse.
Methods: Using 'Injections received' data from the Pakistan Demographic Health Survey 2006-7 (N: 5429) and the National Hepatitis Survey (N: 47,043), the study estimated the number of injections received in Pakistan. We matched these against the local syringe production figures from the syringe manufacturers' association and import figures from the Federal …

Improved Quality Of Management Of Eclampsia Patients Through Criteria Based Audit At Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Bridging The Quality Gap, Hussein Kidanto, Peter Wangwe, Charles D. Kilewo, Lennarth Nystrom, Gunnila Lindmark

Faculty of Health Sciences, East Africa

Background Criteria-based audits (CBA) have been used to improve clinical management in developed countries, but have only recently been introduced in the developing world. This study discusses the use of a CBA to improve quality of care among eclampsia patients admitted at a University teaching hospital in Dar es Salaam Tanzania.

Objective The prevalence of eclampsia in MNH is high (≈6%) with the majority of cases arriving after start of convulsions. In 2004–2005 the case-fatality rate in eclampsia was 5.1% of all pregnant women admitted for delivery (MNH obstetric data base). A criteria-based audit (CBA) was used to evaluate the …

Association Of Gestational Weight Gain And Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index With Adverse Pregnancy Outcome, Shama Munim, Humaira Maheen

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Objective: To determine the association between gestation weight gain (GWG) and adverse pregnancy outcome in a Pakistani population.
Study Design: Analytical study.
Place and Duration of Study: The Aga Khan University, Karachi, from February 2003 to 2007.
Methodology: This study used secondary data of 4,735 women from a large cohort study on fetal growth. Pre-pregnancy BMI was categorized according to the recommendations from the institute of medicine (IOM, 2009) and gestation weight gain (GWG) was noted. Chi-square test was used to find the association of GWG and pre-pregnancy BMI with low birth weight (LBW), preterm delivery, large for gestational age …

Respiratory Symptoms And Illnesses Among Brick Kiln Workers: A Cross Sectional Study From Rural Districts Of Pakistan, Shiraz Shaikh, Asaad Ahmed Nafees, Vikash Khetpal, Abid Ali Jamali, Abdul Manan Arain, Akram Yousuf

Community Health Sciences

Background: Occupational risk factors are one of the major causes of respiratory illnesses and symptoms, and account for 13% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 11% of asthma worldwide. Majority of brick kilns in Pakistan use wood and coal for baking the bricks which makes the brick kiln workers susceptible to high exposure of air pollution. This study was designed to describe frequency of chronic respiratory symptoms and illnesses and study the association between these symptoms and different types of work.
Methods: This was a questionnaire based cross sectional survey conducted among the brick kiln workers in Larkana and Dadu …

Knowledge Attitude And Practices Among Urban Women Of Karachi, Pakistan, Regarding Breast Cancer, Zain-Ul-Abedeen Sobani, Zeb Saeed, Hafiza Noor-Ul-Ain Baloch, Amina Majeed, Sana Chaudry, Adil Sheikh, Jalal Umar, Hira Waseem, Murtaza Mirza, Irfan Qadir

Department of Surgery Docs

Objective: To determine the knowledge,attitudes and practices of urban women regarding breast cancer and its available screening modalities.Methods: The cross-sectional, questionnaire-based, descriptive study was conducted in the urban population of Karachi in November 2010. Female attendants (n=373) visiting a tertiary care centre and four of its urban outreach centres during the study period were administered a questionnaire. The answers were then scored with regard to their knowledge. Frequencies and percentages were computed through SPSS 17, and analysis of variance was used to confirm significance.Results: Of the 373 participants with a mean age of 32.4+/-10.9 years, 293 (78.6%) were married, and …

Knowledge Of Patients' Visual Experience During Cataract Surgery: A Survey Of Eye Doctors In Karachi, Pakistan, Mohammad Zain Tauqir, Tanveer Anjum Chaudhry, Sehreen Mumtaz, Khabir Ahmad

Department of Surgery Docs

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Several recent studies have recommended that ophthalmologists must be aware of the visual sensations (and their associated anxiety/fear) experienced by patients undergoing cataract surgery. We assessed the knowledge of a group of eye doctors in Pakistan regarding these phenomena.

METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional survey. Eye doctors (ophthalmologists, residents and medical officers) attending the Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan Annual Conference 2011, in Karachi were invited to participate in the study. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to examine their knowledge of visual sensations and their associated anxiety/fear experienced by patients during cataract surgery. Simple frequencies and proportions were …

Macrolide And Fluoroquinolone Resistance In Helicobacter Pylori Isolates: An Experience At A Tertiary Care Centre In Pakistan, Sana Rajper, Erum Khan, Zubair Ahmad, Syed Muhammad Zaheer Alam, Adil Akbar, Rumina Hasan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective:
To assess fluoroquinolone and clarithromycin susceptibility pattern along with the types of genomic mutations involved in the resistance of Helicobacter pylori isolates.
Methods:
The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from June 2009 to July 2010, and comprised 162 gastric biopsy samples which were tested with GenoTypeHelicoDR (Hain Lifescience GmbH, Germany), a reverse hybridisation multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) line probe assay (LiPA). Also, 23S rRNA (ribosomal ribonucleic acid) gene was analysed with three-point mutations at A2146G, A2146C and A2147G for clarithromycin, and gyrA gene was analyzed at two …

Multifocal Venous Thrombosis In Behcet’S Disease, Lena Jafri, Nosheen Nasir, Aysha Almas

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Behcet's disease is a multisystem inflammatory vascular disorder with a chronic course characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers, eye lesion, arthritis and skin lesions. It has a typically waxing and waning course. The cause and pathogenesis of the disease are unclear and specific treatment is not available. A 39 years old man presented with rash, ocular manifestation and left leg swelling. He was found to have deep venous thrombosis of left leg along with recurrent cerebral venous thrombosis. He was a known case of Behcet's disease since 3 years and had been on anticoagulants since then.

Diagnostic Utility Of Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibody And Its Comparison With Rheumatoid Factor In Rheumatoid Arthritis, Aysha Habib, Lena Jafri, M. Ahraz Hussain, Saliha Ishaq

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: To assess the diagnostic utility of anti-citrullinated protein antibody (anti-CCP) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and compare it with rheumatoid factor (RF). Study Design: Analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Section of Chemical Pathology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology and Medicine, the Aga Khan University, Karachi, from January to May 2010. Methodology: A review of medical records of patients presenting to the clinics with complaints of muscular or joint pains and who were tested for their serum anti-CCP was done. Inclusion criteria were presence of clinical synovitis in at least one joint and an absence of alternative diagnosis. Patients …