Efficacy of CVD risk factor modification in a lower-middle class community in Pakistan: the Metroville Health Study.

The Metroville Health Study aimed to reduce consumption of total cooking fats by 33%, salt by 25% and replace ghee with vegetable oil in a lower middle class urban community in Pakistan. Households (n=403) were randomly assigned to Intervention and Control groups. A baseline screening collected data on CVD risk factors, knowledge and attitudes and household consumption of cooking fats and salt. Intervention households received information about CVD and regular visits by social workers who measured cooking fats and salt and counselled cooks on the goals of intervention. Two years later, 291 households were re-screened. Intervention households reduced consumption of fats and salt compared to differences were total fat, 48% (p<0.0001); ghee, 37% (p=0.005); vegetable oil, 33% (p=0.0001); and salt, 41% (p=0.011). Household visits by trained social workers were effective in achieving reductions in consumption of cooking fat and salt in a lower class urban community.

Evaluation of paromomycin sulphate topical ointment as effective therapeutic agent in cutaneous leishmaniasis.

This is a prospective open study of randomly selected 35 patients with a single sore of cutaneous leishmaniasis who were treated with paromomycin sulphate topical ointment for 4 weeks. According to the observations made on days 0, 15, 45 and 105 after the careful application twice a day in 2 lengths from one side of the lesion to the other at right angles to each other and then smeared to cover the whole surface of the sore, the overall efficacy of the ointment as therapeutic agent was 91%. There was a mild and temporary adverse reaction in the form of painless, non-itching nodulation around the ulcers in 10 (28%) patients after 15 days application which disappeared within 5-7 days of further application. It thus proved a promising, simple and inexpensive remedial agent without any undesirable side effects as compared to other complicated and unpredictable therapeutic regimens.

Thyroid hormone in hyperemesis gravidarum.

OBJECTIVE: Several studies have suggested that nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy are related to the levels of thyroid hormones and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). To ascertain this relationship, we investigated 60 pregnant women (30 subjects each with morning sickness and hyperemesis gravidarum) and compared them with 30 control subjects (by enzyme immunoassay method). METHODS: Serum T3, T4 and TSH were determined in all the subjects while serum hCG was assayed in pregnant women only. Group comparison was done by applying Student's t-test and the relationship between various parameters was evaluated by calculating coefficient of correlation, "r". RESULTS: Serum T4 and hCG levels were significantly increased in hyperemesis gravidarum while TSH demonstrated a significant decline in the same group. Correlation analysis showed a direct relationship between serum T4 and hCG and an inverse relationship between serum TSH and hCG in pregnancy with morning sickness. CONCLUSION: Our results are suggestive of the involvement of these variables in the pathogenesis of morning sickness and hyperemesis gravidarum not only because their levels were significantly altered but the extent of increase or decrease in their level correlated well with the severity of symptoms in the study subjects.

Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus in a teaching hospital of Karachi--a laboratory study.

A search was made for Methicillin Resistant Strains of Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) among staph aureus cultures isolated at a teaching hospital in Karachi. Of 100 staphylococcus aureus isolated in 1987-88, 5 were MRSA, four from admitted patients and one from outpatient. These MRSA were resistant to Gentamicin as well as to other antibiotics. The presence of MRSA in the in-patients is a serious problem as it can act as reservoir to cause outbreak of colonisation and infection. No MRSA was isolated from 50 samples studied from Quetta.