Extensively drug-resistant Salmonella Typhi leading to relapsed urinary tract infection: A case report.

Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S Typhi) associated urinary tract infections are exceedingly rare, accounting for less than 1% of cases. Such infections have known to occur in immune-compromised or individuals with urogenital structural abnormalities. With the emergence of extensively drug resistant S Typhi strains in Pakistan, the management of its various unique presentations poses therapeutic challenges. We report the first documented case of a 74 years old male patient presenting with relapsed urinary tract infection secondary to extensively drug resistant S Typhi.

Knowledge and perception of Sepsis among Doctors in Karachi Pakistan.

Objectives: To assess knowledge and perception among Pakistani physicians towards sepsis. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Indus Hospital and Health Networks from September 2020 to March 2021. The International Sepsis Survey questionnaire was adapted, and its link was sent to trainee physicians as well as specialists, and consultants practicing in various hospitals via social media. Knowledge and perception were scored and 50% was considered the cut-off score for adequacy. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: Analysis was done on 222 respondents who completed the survey. 37.9% of the participants had adequate knowledge. Knowledge regarding sepsis was significantly associated with specialty, ICU/CCU/HDU, and work experience (P-value <0.0001). More recent trainee physicians and those with more experience in critical care areas demonstrated better knowledge. Over 2/3rd of the respondents strongly agreed that sepsis remains one of the unmet needs in critical care today. Conclusion: A common belief exists that sepsis remains a challenge to treat among doctors. Moreover, there is consensus that it is the most frequently miss diagnosed condition in critical care and a dire need exists for its early diagnosis. Additionally, prompt management of presumed sepsis is imperative to improve outcomes.

Epidemiology of in-hospital cardiac arrest in a Pakistani tertiary care hospital pre- and during COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: To determine epidemiology of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in a tertiary care hospital, pre- and during pandemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of inpatients who experienced an in-hospital-cardiac arrest at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi between August 2019 and August 2020. Outcome variables were return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival to discharge (StD) and analysis was also done comparing pre- and during pandemic period. Results: A total of 77 patients experienced at least one IHCA event during the 1-year study period. Comparing pre- and during pandemic, ROSC for women was higher during the pandemic albeit not significant (43% vs 50%) in comparison to men (54% vs 10%, p<0.001). During the pandemic, women with IHCA were significantly younger than men (µ ± sd; 36.8 ± 15.3 vs 55.9 ± 12.7, p=0.001,) whereas pre-pandemic, there was no gender differences in mean age. Non-shockable rhythm was more common (92.2%) than shockable rhythm (6.5%). Pre- and during pandemic, there were significant differences in the cause of IHCA for 4H4T (87% vs 100%) and cardiac (36% vs 9%). The proportion of hypoxic patients increased from 50% during pre-pandemic to 91% during the pandemic period, whereas hypo/hyperkalemia decreased from 53% to 34%. Conclusion: Despite the limitation of a small sample size, our study has provided important information regarding the epidemiology and outcomes of IHCA pre- and during pandemic in a busy Pakistani tertiary care hospital. Our finding that gender differences exist in survival pre- and during pandemic needs to be explored further with more hospitals doing comparative studies.

Fibromyalgia complicating disease management in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate frequency of fibromyalgia in rheumatoid arthritis and its effect on disease activity score. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Indus Hospital, Karachi, from December 2010 to May 2011. METHODOLOGY: All adult patients of either gender diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis on the basis of clinical, laboratory and X-ray criteria were included in the study. The sample data was separated into two groups depending on presence or absence of fibromyalgia and 28 joint disease activity score (DAS-28) value was evaluated. RESULTS: There were 31 (25.83%) patients with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia (RAFM) out of the total 120. The median (IQR) age of patients was 40 (32 - 51) years. All were females. The overall female frequency was 79 (88.8%). The median (IQR) DAS-28 score in RA group was 4.9 (3.66 - 5.71), while the median (IQR) DAS-28 score in RAFM was 7.04 (6.62 - 7.64) [p < 0.0001]. The number of patient getting combination therapy of DMARD in RAFM group was 61.3% while in RA group was 42.7%. CONCLUSION: DAS-28 was found to be significantly higher in RAFM patients probably because of higher perception of pain.