Educating the power: HIV/AIDS and parliamentarians of Pakistan.

Increasing rates of HIV have been recorded amongst the Injection Drug User community from all parts of Pakistan. This has mobilized the health authorities into definitive action before there is a general spread of the epidemic into the Pakistani populace. Lacking any formal research as pertains to HIV policy development in Pakistan, international collaborating agencies, including the United Nations, are aiding in the formulation of a national policy to tackle HIV/AIDS. This article discusses the progress and importance of interventions being conducted amongst the Parliamentarians of Pakistan, relatively unchartered waters. The series of Seminars help to appraise the Parliamentarians of the ground situation as pertains to HIV in their constituencies, aiming to ultimately generate federal and provincial governmental policies, and a solid strategy to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan.

HIV and homosexuality in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, seven times more men are reported to be infected with HIV than women. Among the Pakistani population, modes of HIV transmission include infection through sexual contact, contaminated blood and blood products, injecting drug use, and mother-to-child transmission. Although most sexual transmission of HIV results from unsafe heterosexual contact, homosexual and bisexual contact also represent important modes of transmission. According to unpublished reports, the prevalence of HIV among homosexual and bisexual Pakistani men is reaching alarming proportions. We describe the Pakistani homosexual and bisexual culture, review statistics regarding HIV prevalence and risk behaviour, and identify areas of improvement in the HIV policy with specific focus on men who have sex with men.

Tricuspid Regurgitation and Mortality in Patients With Transvenous Permanent Pacemaker Leads.

Estimates of the prevalence and importance of significant tricuspid regurgitation (STR) related to implantable device leads are based mainly on case reports, small observational studies, or mixed samples that include defibrillators. We sought to assess whether patients with permanent pacemaker (PPM) leads have an increased risk of STR and to determine mortality associated with PPM-related TR in a large longitudinal single-center cohort. We examined the prevalence of STR (defined as moderate-severe or ≥3+) among all echocardiograms performed from 2005 to 2011 excluding those with defibrillators. We then examined mortality risk according to the prevalence of PPM and STR after adjusting for cardiac co-morbidities, left ventricular systolic/diastolic function, and pulmonary artery hypertension. We screened 93,592 echocardiograms (1,245 with PPM) in 58,556 individual patients (634 with PPM). The prevalence of STR was higher in patients after PPM placement (mean age 79 ± 3 years; 54% men) compared with those without a PPM (adjusted odds ratio 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.54 to 3.49; p <0.0001). Among patients with a PPM lead, the presence of STR was associated with increased mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.40; 95% CI 1.04 to 2.11, p = 0.027, vs no STR). Compared with having neither a PPM lead nor STR, adjusted hazard ratios for death were 2.13 (95% CI 1.93 to 2.34) for STR but no PPM, 1.04 (0.89 to 1.22) for PPM without STR, and 1.55 (1.13 to 2.14) for PPM with STR. In conclusion, in a sample comprising >58,000 individual patients, PPM leads are associated with higher risk of STR after adjustment for left ventricular systolic/diastolic function and pulmonary artery hypertension; similarly to STR from other cardiac pathologies, PPM-related STR is associated with increased mortality.

High resource use among adult congenital heart surgery admissions in adult hospitals: risk factors and association with death and comorbidities.

OBJECTIVE: Adult hospitals are a common location of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) admissions, including cardiac surgical admissions. Understanding the patterns and predictors of resource use could aid these institutions by identifying and targeting potentially modifiable determinants of high resource use (HRU). Our objectives were to examine resource use during adult congenital heart surgical admissions in adult hospitals, determine the association of HRU with mortality, and identify risk factors for HRU. DESIGN: Population-based retrospective study We obtained data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2005-2009 and examined ACHD surgical admissions ages 18-49 years (n = 16 231). OUTCOME MEASURES: We defined HRU as admissions with >90th percentile for total hospital charges. RESULTS: Despite representing 10% of admissions, HRU admissions accounted for 32% of total charges. HRU admissions had a higher mortality rate (9.7% vs. 1.8%, P < .001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that HRU is associated with government insurance adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6,2.4), emergency admissions AOR 3.9 (95% CI 3.1,4.8), complications AOR 4.2 (95% CI 3.3,5.2), renal failure AOR 1.8 (95% CI 1.4,2.2), congestive heart failure AOR 1.2 (95% CI 1,1.4), surgical complexity risk category-2 AOR 2.0 (95% CI 1.0,3.6), and category-3+ AOR 2.3 (95% CI 1.4,3.8). CONCLUSIONS: HRU admissions for adult congenital heart surgery consumed a disproportionate amount of resources and were associated with higher mortality. HRU risk factors included nonelective admissions, government insurance, heart failure, surgical complexity, renal failure, and complications. Complications, if preventable, may be a target for improvement strategies to decrease resource use. Other risk factors may require a broader patient care approach.

Progressive ventricular dysfunction among nonresponders to cardiac resynchronization therapy: baseline predictors and associated clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) nonresponders have poor outcomes. The significance of progressive ventricular dysfunction among nonresponders remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We sought to define predictors of and clinical outcomes associated with progressive ventricular dysfunction despite CRT. METHODS: We conducted an analysis of 328 patients undergoing CRT with defibrillator for standard indications. On the basis of 6-month echocardiograms, we classified patients as responders (those with a ≥5% increase in ejection fraction) and progressors (those with a ≥5% decrease in ejection fraction), and all others were defined as nonprogressors. Coprimary end points were 3-year (1) heart failure, left ventricular assist device (LVAD), transplantation, or death and (2) ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF). RESULTS: Multivariable predictors of progressive ventricular dysfunction were aldosterone antagonist use (hazard ratio [HR] 0.23; P = .008), prior valve surgery (HR 3.3; P = .005), and QRS duration (HR 0.98; P = .02). More favorable changes in ventricular function were associated with lower incidences of heart failure, LVAD, transplantation, or death (70% vs 54% vs 33%; P < .0001) and VT or VF (66% vs 38% vs 28%; P = .001) for progressors, nonprogressors, and responders, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, progressors remained at increased risk of heart failure, LVAD, transplantation, or death (HR 2.14; P = .0029) and VT or VF (HR 2.03; P = .046) as compared with nonprogressors. Responders were at decreased risk of heart failure, LVAD, transplantation, or death (HR 0.44; P < .0001) and VT or VF (0.51; P = .015) as compared with nonprogressors. CONCLUSION: Patients with progressive deterioration in ventricular function despite CRT represent a high-risk group of nonresponders at increased risk of worsened clinical outcomes.

Communicable disease among displaced Afghans: refuge without shelter.

More than 23 years of warfare in Afghanistan has caused over 6 million Afghans to seek asylum in approximately 70 different countries, with most Afghan refugees settling in the developing countries of Pakistan and Iran. In a developing host country, poor sanitation and nutrition, overcrowding and inaccessibility to health care facilities act synergistically to influence morbidity and mortality from infectious disease in the refugee population. In this Science and Society article we discuss the prevalence of transmissible infection, modes of transmission, associated risk factors, and the state of health and health care in the displaced Afghan population.