The menace of self citation: An audit of two years from journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Objective: To assess the author and journal self-citation amongst journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2021 to July 2021. In total, manuscript published in 10 journals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, either recognized by the Higher Education Commission or Pakistan Medical Commission, in the years 2018 and 2019 were included in the present research. All types of manuscripts were analyzed using a pre-designed data extraction table. Results were extracted, analyzed and appropriate statistics were applied. Results: About 1235 manuscripts published in 68 issues over a period of two years' time were analyzed. The majority of manuscripts were 1039 (84.1%) original articles followed by case reports 90 (7.3%). Author self-citation came out to be 11.26% and journal self-citation was 6.5%. The same institute's author affiliation came out to be 40.6%. Conclusion: The trend of author self-citation was found to be high while that of journal self-citation was low when compared with already prevalent literature.

Translating and Validating PRISMA-7 Questionnaire in Urdu: A Screening Tool to Identify Frail Individuals.

Frailty is a condition in which the affected individual is more prone to both external and internal stressors and has a higher risk of succumbing to chronic diseases. The aim of this research was to translate and validate the PRISMA-7 questionnaire in the Urdu language. This is a validation study conducted in a hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. PRISMA-7 Questionnaire was translated into Urdu language using forward and backward translations and was then piloted on a sample of 151 subjects, aged 60 and above, and validated by applying reliability and validity statistics. Amongst the sampling population, frailty was found to be 63.26%. All the items in the questionnaire were significantly different from each other, however, the correlation between each was found to be low. Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.322. Urdu translated version of PRISMA-7 is not a valid and reliable tool for screening frailty in the elderly population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Key Words: Frailty, Validation, Translation, Frail elderly, Urdu.

An Episode of Psychosis After Nitrous Oxide Abuse During a Pandemic: A Case Report.

The abuse of inhalants like nitrous oxide (N2O), readily available worldwide, has remained a prominent public health problem during the last few decades. Literature reveals increased use during the previous pandemic, particularly regarding recreational use. There is limited evidence-based data available to relate the abuse of N2O with psychosis. Therefore, this case report of a 22-year-old adult with no previous psychiatry history, reportedly abusing 75-100 canisters of N2O per day during the last pandemic COVID-19 lockdown, highlights the relationship between (N2O) abuse and the symptoms evolved including delusions, auditory hallucinations, and disorganized cognition. All the laboratory findings and results from imaging modalities were inconsistent for any organic cause of the symptoms. The case then underwent treatment with antipsychotic medications and a multidisciplinary model, which improved the symptoms gradually. The case, in particular, discusses N2O abuse, which is widespread in European Union countries, including the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and its chronic use puts one at a higher risk of developing psychosis, personality changes, affective lability, anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment, and myeloneuropathy. The sale of N2O for its psychoactive properties is prohibited in many countries, including the Republic of Ireland, as per legislation. However, N2O is not a controlled drug, meaning it is not a crime to possess N2O. This case report manifests the psychopathy caused by abuse of N2O, which would further attract specialists in the field to conduct epidemiological studies for prevention at the primary level.

Link between COVID-19 vaccines and myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) include ChAdOx1-SARS-COV-2 (AstraZeneca), Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen), mRNA-1273 (Moderna), BNT162b2 (Pfizer), BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm), CoronaVac (Sinovac), and Bharat Biotech BBV152 (Covaxin). AIM: To find the association between COVID-19 vaccines and myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS: This is a systematic review that involved searching databases such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PakMediNet after making a search strategy using MeSH and Emtree terms. Eligibility criteria were set, and studies having no mention of MI as a complication of COVID-19 vaccination, protocols, genetic studies, and animal studies were excluded. Data was extracted using a predesigned extraction table, and 29 studies were selected after screening and applying the eligibility criteria. RESULTS: The majority of studies mentioned AstraZeneca (18 studies) followed by Pfizer (14 studies) and Moderna (9 studies) in subjects reporting MI after vaccination. Out of all the studies, 69% reported MI cases after the first COVID-19 vaccination dose and 14% after the second, 44% reported ST-segment elevation MI, and 26% reported non-ST-segment elevation MI. The mortality rate was 29% after MI. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, many studies linked MI to COVID-19 vaccinations, but no definitive association could be found.

Strength of Motivation among Public and Private Dental Students for the Field of Education: A Comparative and Correlational Study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare and correlate the strength of motivation for the field of education among public and private dental students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytical study. Place and Duration of the Study: Khyber College of Dentistry (KCD), KMU Institute Dental Science (KIDS), Peshawar Dental College (PDC), and Dental Section, Women Medical College (DS,WMC) from October to December 2019. METHODOLOGY: A multi-staged proportionate random sampling was used to enrol a calculated study population of 398 students. After following set criteria and taking informed written consent, a pre-designed performa including demographics and strength of motivation for medical school-revised (SMMS-R) questionnaire was distributed. Extracted data was analysed using SPSS version 25.0, where descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample (398) was 19.24 ± 0.941 years, in which public and private sector students were 207 (52%) and 191(48%) respectively. Gender ratio was 1:5.4 for males and females. The intermediate score mean was 877 ± 75.6. The SMMS-R score had no significant difference in public and private sector with median of 3.3 (3.0-3.7) and 3.3 (2.9-3.5), respectively (p=0.883). SMMS-R was significantly correlated with ''willingness to sacrifice'' and had a maximum correlation coefficient (r=0.841). CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in the strength of motivation between public and private sector dental students. Furthermore, in overall correlational aspects, significant results were recorded. The study also showed no impact of last educational institute attended on motivational powers. Key Words: Motivation, Students, Dental, Strength of motivation for medical school - revised (SMMS-R), Public institute, Private institute.