Detection of typhoid carriers by duodenal fluid culture in a tertiary care hospital, Karachi: A cross-sectional study.

We aimed to detect typhoid carriers by performing duodenal fluid culture in patients in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2017 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were included. Participants were interviewed, and duodenal fluid samples were taken for culture to detect Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) and paratyphi. A polymerase chain reaction on 100 randomly selected sub-samples was also conducted. A total of 477 participants were enrolled. The mean age was 42.4±15.5 years. History of typhoid fever was present in 73 (15.3%) participants. Out of the 477 duodenal fluid cultures tested for various micro-organisms, 250 (52.4%) were positive. Neither S. typhi nor paratyphi were isolated. S. typhi was also not detected by PCR. To better detect S. typhi carriage in general population, future studies should target people with gall bladder diseases and screen them using culture and PCR based methods.

Survival following accidental scarf strangulation.

Injury or death by strangulation, unless otherwise explained, is almost always homicidal. Accidental strangulation may occur but only very rarely. We present such a case of accidental strangulation and survival in a motorbike pillion rider. A long scarf (dupatta) clad woman, sitting at the back of a two wheeler motorbike, fell after her long scarf got caught in the back wheel. The lady was first taken to a local clinic and then later was referred to a hospital for a suspected spine injury where she made an uneventful recovery. This case report exposes the precarious position of women pillion riders wearing a long scarf and emphasizes the need for extra caution and the need for wheel guards on spoked wheels in particular.

PARP inhibitors: current status and implications for anticancer therapeutics.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) comprise of a large family of 17 proteins encoded by various genes which participate in genome maintenance, apoptosis, inflammatory responses and the regulation of gene expression programs. PARP inhibitors, as therapeutic agents, come into play acting on both PARP 1 and PARP 2. These drugs seem to target tumor cells in a moment of vulnerability when they are undergoing DNA repair. In the past few years this class of anti-cancer drug has been discovered to show a promising niche in the clinic.