Efficacy and Safety of Rivaroxaban Versus Enoxaparin in Prevention of Recurrence of Venous Thrombo-Embolism Events in Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of rivaroxaban compared to enoxaparin in patients diagnosed with cancer and venous thromboembolism. METHODS: A search of Pub Med, Scopus, and Google Scholar, from inception through April 2023 was conducted. Articles comparing rivaroxaban with enoxaparin in patients with cancer and VTE/PE/DVT were included. Review Manager Version 5.2 was utilised for the analysis of the following outcomes; VTE, PE, DVT, major bleeding, and mortality. RESULTS: A total of 8 articles and 2276 patients were included in the final analysis. Pooled analysis showed that rivaroxaban had a statistically insignificant reduced association with VTE occurrence (RR:0.83, 95% CI:0.58-1.18, P:0.3) as well as a statically insignificant reduction in major bleeding (RR:0.79, 95% CI:0.53-1.18, P:0.25). Analysis showcased that there was an insignificant reduction of mortality rivaroxaban as compared to enoxaparin (RR:0.74, 95% CI: 0.46-1.20, P:0.23). CONCLUSION: Rivaroxaban can serve as a viable alternative to enoxaparin, with no appreciable drawbacks, for preventing and managing VTE in patients with malignancy.

Concurrent Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Patients With Schizophrenia: A Retrospective Study From a Tertiary Care Centre in Sindh, Pakistan.

INTRODUCTION: The present study aimed to evaluate the proportion of concurrent symptoms of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCSs) among patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken at the Department of Psychiatry, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Sindh, Pakistan between 1st March 2019 and 1st April 2020. All cases with diagnosed schizophrenia irrespective of gender, age, or ethnicity were eligible for the study. We excluded patients with acute psychosis due to isolated substance use disorder or any organic brain disease. The medical records for each patient were retrieved from the departmental database. Sociodemographic factors including age, gender, ethnicity, and presence of OCSs and other psychiatric comorbidities were recorded in a predefined pro forma. The presence of OCSs was noted by the attending psychiatrist during history taking as positive or negative. RESULTS: A total of 139 patients were included. A predominance of the male gender was noted. There were 63 (45.3%) patients with concurrent OCSs. Out of the total patients, 42 (66.67%) males and 21 (33.33%) females had OCSs. A total of 28 (44.44%) patients between 31 and 45 years of age had OCSs. Out of the 63 patients with OCSs, 36 (57.14%) had a history of substance abuse (p = 0.471). In the study, 17 (26.98%) Balochi and 19 (30.16%) Pashtuns had OCSs. However, the difference was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, OCSs were frequent in patients with schizophrenia, according to the current study. We discovered that males, individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 years, Balochis, Pashtuns, and those with a history of substance abuse were more likely to have OCSs. However, the difference was not statistically significant.