Medical Specialties Commons^™

Knowledge And Practice Of Radiation Safety Among Invasive Cardiologists, Nasir Rahman, Sajid H. Dhakam, Azam Shafqut, Sadia Qadir, Fateh Ali Tipoo

Section of Cardiology

OBJECTIVE: To assess the availability, practices and knowledge of radiation safety measures among invasive cardiologists in a tertiary care hospital.

METHOD: A cross sectional survey of invasive cardiologists working in academic institutions was conducted using a questionnaire.

RESULTS: A total of 28 cardiologists completed the questionnaire with a mean working experience of 10.5 + 7.6 years. All were of the opinion that radiation safety is extremely important and 93% always used lead aprons. Less than half of them used other radiation protective measures including thyroid collar, lead eyeglasses and lead shields. Only 7% regularly utilized a radiation dose badge to …

Schizophrenia: A Concept, Haider A Naqvi

Department of Psychiatry

Much of the current research-work into biological basis of mental disorders is predicted on implicit concept of disease that is less critical and sophisticated as it should be. It is remarkable, how the fundamental conceptual frame work of schizophrenia, as proposed by Professor Emil Kraepelin has stayed the same, since its inception almost 100-years ago. This review explores these issues besides highlighting alternative disease classification that suits behavioural neuroscience research.

Cervical Cancer Vaccine In Pakistan: Let's Start Thinking, Ali Jawaid

Medical College Documents

No abstract provided.

Film Retakes In Digital And Conventional Radiography, Waseem Akhtar Mirza, Mubashir Aslam, Arif Ali, Kashif Mirza, Nadeem Ahmad

Department of Radiology

Objective: To determine the film-retake rates and causes in digital radiography comparison to conventional X-rays method.
Study design: Comparative study.
Place and duration of study: Radiology Department, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2004 to December 2006.
Patients and methods: X-rays of different body parts, conducted during the year 2004, with conventional radiography (n=170300), and in 2006 with digital radiography (n=174550), were included in this study. Measurements were done for number of X-rays re-take due to different quality control reasons for both the conventional and digital radiography. Quality control reasons included underexposure, overexposure, positioning errors, patient movements, portable X-rays, …

Film Retakes In Digital And Conventional Radiography, Waseem Akhtar Mirza, Mubashir Ahmad, Syed Arif Ali, Kashif Mirza, Nadeem Ahmad

Department of Radiology

Objective: To determine the film-retake rates and causes in digital radiography comparison to conventional X-rays method.
Study design: Comparative study.
Place and duration of study: Radiology Department, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2004 to December 2006.
Patients and methods: X-rays of different body parts, conducted during the year 2004, with conventional radiography (n=170300), and in 2006 with digital radiography (n=174550), were included in this study. Measurements were done for number of X-rays re-take due to different quality control reasons for both the conventional and digital radiography. Quality control reasons included underexposure, overexposure, positioning errors, patient movements, portable X-rays, …

Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukaemia, Emaduddin Siddiqui, Shaheena Hanif

Department of Emergency Medicine

No abstract provided.

Dubin-Johnson Syndrome, Aziz-Un Nisa, Zubair Ahmad

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

A young man presented with recurrent episodes of mild jaundice. Apart from conjugated hyperbilirubinemia, other liver function tests were always normal. Clinical suspicion of Dubin-Johnson syndrome was raised. Liver biopsy showed diffuse deposition of coarse granular dark brown pigment in hepatocytes. Dubin-Johnson syndrome is a benign condition, which results from a hereditary defect in biliary secretion of bilirubin pigments, and manifests as recurrent jaundice with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. The defect is due to the absence of the canalicular protein MRP2 located on chromosomes 10q 24, which is responsible for the transport of biliary glucuronides and related organic anions into bile. No …

Gastric Corpus Polyps Associated With Proton Pump Inhibitors Therapy, Javed Yakoob, Zaigham Abbas, Wasim Jafri, Zubair Ahmad

Section of Gastroenterology

The prevalence of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is rapidly rising in Asia. We describe here a case of 51 years old man who had surgery for esophageal leiomyoma and received long-term therapy with Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) for persisting reflux symptoms. On Esophago-Gastroduodenoscopy (EGD) several sessile polyps were seen in the gastric corpus. Earlier EGD done 15 years back had not demonstrated those polyps. Sections revealed polypoid fragments of glandular epithelium with dilated glands and negative histology for H. pylori. Polymerase chain reaction for 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S rRNA PCR) of H. pylori was also negative. This is the …

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 …

Images In Cardiovascular Medicine. Cardiac Tuberculoma., Jeilan Mohamed, Matthias Schmitt, Gerry Mccann, Joan Davies, Joseph Leverment, Derek Chin

Internal Medicine, East Africa

A 43-year–old man with a 6-month history of cough, dyspnea, nocturnal sweats, and weight loss was reviewed in the clinic. Clinical examination revealed cervical lymphadenopathy and indicated constrictive physiology. Initial tests, including chest radiography, sputum examination, QuantiFERON-TB Gold test, and lymph node biopsy, were unyielding. HIV serology was nonreactive.

N-Acetyl-B-D-Glucosaminidase And Inflammatory Response After Cardiopulmonary Bypass, Perwaiz Iqbal, Hasanat M Sharif, Naseema Mehboobali, Farzana A Yousuf, Abrar H Khan, Frank W Sellke

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

OBJECTIVE: To determine the changes in activity of plasma N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, a marker for inflammation as well as renal, pulmonary and cardiac damage and proinflammatory cytokines in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and find out the relationship between their plasma levels with clinical outcome of patients.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University, Karachi, from January to June 2003.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity and concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha of (TNFalpha), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL8) and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were monitored in plasma samples of 12 angina patients …

Precipitating Factors Of Hepatic Encephalopathy In Patients With Chronic Liver Disease At Civil Hospital Karachi, Dileep K Rohra, Jaipal, Ameer A Khowaja, Khalid Mahmood, Kanya Lal Ahuja

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Need For Formal Paediatric Resuscitation Training In Pakistan., Adina R., Sheikh Sajjad, Junaid Razzak

Department of Emergency Medicine

No abstract provided.

An Open Study To Assess The Safety And Efficacy Of Heprovac-B Vaccine 10 Mcg-Dose For Adults, Hasnain Ali Shah, Wasim Jafri

Section of Gastroenterology

Heprovac B is a novel recombinant vaccine. There are many vaccines available in Pakistani market but Heprovac B claims to be immunogenic even at 10 meg dose. Aim of the study is to determine whether using 10 meg of Heprovac B vaccine is safe and effective in producing sufficient immunity in Pakistani population. One hundred and twenty five subjects, who fulfilled the Inclusion criteria, were enrolled for the study. Heprovac B was administered in a three-dose regimen given at 0, 1 and 6 months and adverse events were recorded. Immunogenicity was tested by measuring hepatitis B surface antibody one month …

Isolated Tuberculous Thyroiditis As Solitary Thyroid Nodule, Maseeh Uz-Zaman, Riffat Hussain, Muhammad Kashif Mirza, Khalil Ahmed Khan, Ghufran Mohammad Khan, M. Nadeem Ahmad

Department of Radiology

Isolated involvement of the thyroid by tuberculosis is very rare as reported in literature. We are presenting a case of isolated tuberculous thyroiditis presented as a solitary thyroid nodule. The patient was treated with anti-tuberculous regimen and he responded well with disappearance of the nodule and normalization of the thyroid scan.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Mri) Findings In White Matter Disease Of Brain, Humera Ahsan, Muhammad Zafar Rafique, Fozia Ajmal, Mohsin Wahid, Muhammad Azeemuddin, Farah Iqbal

Department of Radiology

Demyelinating and dysmyelinating white matter diseases are important components of neurological problems. Recently, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has played a key role in diagnoses of white matter diseases. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to evaluate the usefulness of MRI in determining the type and frequency of white matter disease. We studied 35 patients who visited the Radiology Department of the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) for MRI with suspected demyelinating/dysmyelinating disorder from January 2003 to December 2005. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) (17; 48%) and leukodystrophies (10; 29%) were the most common diseases. The MRI helped identify the sites …

Conjunctival Malignant Melanoma Mimicking As A Chalazion, Sana Shoukat Memon, Roomasa Channa, Tanveer Anjum Chaudhry, Khabir Ahmad

Department of Surgery Docs

No abstract provided.

Diagnostic Tool For Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia Clinicopathologic Spectrum, Natasha Bahadur Ali, Bushra Moiz, Mohammad Usman Shaikh, Salman Adil, Bushra Rizvi, Yasmeen Rahman

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: To platelet aggregometry and describe the clinical spectrum of Glanzmann's thrombasthenia diagnosed by platelet aggregometry.
Study design: A case-series.
Place and duration of study: This study was carried out at the clinical laboratories at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from January 2003 to January 2006.
Patients and methods: All patients irrespective of age and gender presenting with bleeding symptoms and having normal platelet count were evaluated. Demographic details, relevant clinical history along with results of complete blood count, bleeding time and platelet aggregation studies were retrieved through computerized data base and evaluated for the diagnosis of Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. …

Metachronous Primary Cancers Of Colon And Stomac, Zubair Ahmad, Ayesha Memon, Khurram Minhas

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Synchronous or metachronous occurrence of esophageal, gastric and colonic cancers is a very rare occurrence, although there are several case reports in literature. A case of a 41 years old man with metachronous cancers of colon and stomach is reported.

Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Of Health Care Workers Regarding Needle Stick Injuries At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan, Afia Zafar, Naveen Aslam, Nosheen Nasir, Riffat Meraj, Vikram Mehraj

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of HCWs regarding needle stick injuries at the Aga Khan University Hospital.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on medical personnel. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered during June-July 2003. The data was analysed by SPSS 13.0. Percentages of the categorical variables were computed and compared by Chi square test at a 5% level of significance. Odds ratios and their 95% CIs were also computed.

RESULTS: Of 80 participants, 29 were doctors and 51 were registered nurses. About 45% reported having a needle stick injury in the past. Frequency of injury was …

A Fatal Case Of Gram Negative Bacterial Sepsis Associated With Disseminated Strongyloidiasis In An Immunocompromised Patient, Naima Fasih, Seema Irfan, Usman Sheikh, M. Sim Beg

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

We report a fatal case of disseminated strongyloidiasis in a patient with multiple myeloma receiving chemrotherapy. A fifty-seven years old man presented with severe diarrhoea and vomiting, fever, weight loss and dysphagia,due to mouth ulcers. Despite broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics, albendazole (anti protozoal) and supportive treatment, the patient died of Gram-negative sepsis.

A Review Of Electroencephalograms Done At The Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, J. O. Jowi, Z. P Kidiga, M. G. Gitau

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Electroencephalogram based studies done elsewhere suggest that epileptiform activity originates predominantly from the left cortical hemisphere. There is evidence that partial epilepsies (focal spike and wave epileptiform discharges on tracings) connotes focal;secondary structural cortical dysfunction.Studies seeking similar findings have not been done locally.

Objective: To review electroencephalograms (BEGs) done at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH); looking for various types of epileptiform discharges and their cerebral cortex of origin.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya- from January 1986 to June 2004

Results: A total10431EEG records were reviewed. Ninety Eight percent of referrals for EEG evaluation was for …

Informed Consent And Some Of Its Problems In Pakistan, Robyna Irshad Khan

Department of Anaesthesia

Informed consent has become an essential element of human subject research. Certain components are essential for a well-understood informed consent. There are problems in procurement of a comprehensive and meaningful consent in the Pakistani research settings. The inefficient healthcare systems, low literacy rate with masses having no concept of individual rights, higher social status enjoyed by physicians inhibiting the patients from questioning them, and unwillingness to hear bad news are some of these factors. Establishing Bioethics education at all levels, encouraging the involvement of families in decision making, using improvisation in procurement of consent are suggested solutions. There needs to …

Sedation-Analgesia In Non Operative Locations: Practice Trends Of Anaesthetists, Fauzia Khan, Khalid Maudood Siddiqui, Rehan Qureshi

Department of Anaesthesia

Sedation/analgesia is a mode of anaesthesia which facilitates an uncomfortable or painful procedure, such as gastrointestinal endoscopy, in a rousable and cooperative patient. The objective of the study was to assess the practice trends for administering sedation analgesia in non operative locations in Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi by anaesthetists. It was a descriptive study which retrospective reviewed anaesthesia records. A total of 41 ASA I-IV cases were reviewed. Non invasive cardiorespiratory monitoring and clinical sedation monitoring were applied. Intravenous Propofol infusion and midazolam boluses were used, singly or in combination with fentanyl boluses. All our patients recovered uneventfully within 5 …

Precipitating Factors And The Outcome Of Hepatic Encephalopathy In Liver Cirrhosis., Dileep K. Rohra, Jaipal, Ameer A. Khowaja, Khalid Mahmood, Kanya Lal Ahuja

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Managing Severe Pneumonia In Children In Developing Countries - Increasing Resistance To First Line Antibiotics Means Recommendations Need Changing, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

No abstract provided.

First Successful Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation In Pakistan, Tashfeen Ahmad, Masood Umer, Loay Lubbad, Riaz Hussain Lakdawala, Anwar Ali Siddiqui

Section of Orthopaedic Surgery

Osteochondritis dissecans entails a hyaline cartilage defect of the articular surface causing pain and functional restriction in young adults, sometimes resulting in early degenerative arthritis. Conventional treatment methods such as abrasion chondroplasty and mosaicplasty have limitations in terms of quality of the resultant cartilage and donor site morbidity. A more recent technique, autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) results in hyaline cartilage formation and gives good long-term outcome, but requires a high-level cell culture facility and two surgical procedures. The patient was a young female with knee pain, intermittent locking and feeling of "joint mouse". MRI scan and arthroscopy showed a 2 …

Splenic Abscess: Outcome And Prognostic Factors, Abdul Rehman Alvi, Shazia Kulsoom, Ghina Shamsi

Section of General Surgery

Objective: To determine the spectrum of presentation, treatment outcome and prognostic factors of splenic abscess in a tertiary care hospital.
Study Design: Case-series.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of General Surgery, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from July 1988 to July 2007.
Methodology: The records of 27 patients with splenic abscess, diagnosed from 1988 to 2007, were retrieved through ICD-10 coding system. The demographic data, physical and radiological findings, treatment modalities, bacteriology reports, morbidity and mortality were collected on a proforma.
Results: There were 12 males and 15 females with a mean age of 43.52+/-17.49 years. Common symptoms …

A Unique Variant Of Intestinal Tuberculosis, Abdul Rehman Alvi, Masooma Zaidi

Section of General Surgery

Duodenum is a rare site of involvement in intestinal tuberculosis. We report a 19 years old boy who presented with nonbilious vomiting and weight loss. His workup showed stricture in ascending colon, multiple liver abscesses with pneumobilia on CT scan. Upper GI endoscopy revealed stricture in 2nd part of duodenum distally. He was operated and duodenojejunostomy with limited right hemicolectomy (for stricture in this part of gut) were done. Biopsy report was suggestive of tuberculosis. Antituberculous treatment was started. He responded well and gained 20 kg weight at 3 months follow-up.

Management Of Myelomeningocele, A Sattar M. Hashim, Shahid Ahmed, Rashid Jooma

Section of Neurosurgery

Objective: T To find out best possible protocol to provide productive life to children born with myelomeningocele.
Study design: Descriptive study.
Place & Duration of study: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Karachi from December 2001 to December 2006.
Patients and Methods: The medical record of 415 children with myelomeningocele operated at our center was reviewed retrospectively. The surgical & medical management protocol used for different sites of myelomeningocele was studied.
Results: The age of most of the patients at the time of myelomeningocele repair was between 25-30 days; however, children with ruptured myelomeningocele were consistently repaired early. All …