Thirty-year trends of triple burden of disease in the adult population of Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: The triple burden of disease, i.e. communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and injuries, has significantly affected the healthcare system of Pakistan during the last three decades. Therefore, this study aims to determine and analyse the 30-year disease burden trends through prevalence, death rates and percentages. METHODS: The data for the last three decades, i.e. 1990 to 2019, was extracted from the Global Burden of Disease for Pakistan. Percentage change in prevalence and deaths over 30 years was calculated. Poisson regression analysis was performed to evaluate the triple disease burden trends and the incidence rate ratio. RESULTS: A relative decrease of 23.4% was noted in the prevalence rate of communicable diseases except for human immunodeficiency virus and dengue fever. A relative increase of 1.4% was noted in the prevalence rate of non-communicable diseases. A relative increase of 56.1% was recorded in the prevalence rate of injuries. The prevalence rate ratios of communicable diseases significantly decreased to 0.9796 [95% CI: 0.9887-0.9905], but the prevalence rate of injury increased to 1.0094 [95% CI: 1.0073-1.01145], respectively. CONCLUSION: Pakistan must take the next steps and develop strategies to decrease this burden and mortality rates in the population to create better outcomes and therefore help the healthcare system overall.

Prediction of major adverse cardiac events in the emergency department using an artificial neural network with a systematic grid search.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our research was to design and evaluate an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model using a systemic grid search for the early prediction of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) among patients presenting to the triage of an emergency department. METHODS: This is a single-center, cross-sectional study using electronic health records from January 2017 to December 2020. The research population consists of adults coming to our emergency department triage at Aga Khan University Hospital. The MACE during hospitalization was the main outcome. To enhance the architecture of an ANN using triage data, we used a systematic grid search strategy. Four hidden ANN layers were used, followed by an output layer. Following each hidden layer was back normalization and a dropout layer. MACE was predicted using three binary classifiers: ANN, Random Forests (RF), and logistic regression (LR). The overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and recall of these models were examined. Each model was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and an F1-score with a 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: A total of 97,333 emergency department visits were recorded during the study period, with 33% of patients having cardiovascular symptoms. The mean age was 54.08 (19.18) years old. The MACE was observed in 23,052 (23.7%) of the patients, in-hospital (up to 30 days) mortality in 10,888 (11.2%) patients, and cardiac arrest in 5483 (5.6%) patients. The data used for training and validation were 77,866 and 19,467 in an 80:20 ratio, respectively. The AUC score for MACE with ANN was 0.97, which was greater than RF (0.96) and LR (0.96). Similarly, the precision-recall curve for MACE utilizing ANN was greater (0.94 vs. 0.93 for RF and 0.93 for LR). The sensitivity for MACE prediction using ANN, RF, and LR classifiers was 99.3%, 99.4%, and 99.2%, respectively, with the specificities being 94.5%, 94.2%, and 94.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: When triage data is used to predict MACE, death, and cardiac arrest, ANN with systemic grid search gives precise and valid outcomes and will benefit in predicting MACE in emergency rooms with limited resources that have to deal with a substantial number of patients.

Epidemiology of unintentional injuries among 15-24-year-old vocational school youth from Peshawar Pakistan: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: The burden of unintentional injuries among youth (15-24 years) is high. There is paucity of data on unintentional injuries in youth working in Vocational Training Institutes. Objective: To determine the incidence, characteristics, and risk factors of unintentional injuries among youth. Methods: Design:: A retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted among select vocational school youth in Peshawar, Pakistan between February 2022 to October 2022.Participants:: A total of 547 study participants participated in the survey, 356 were males while 191 were females. Data were collected on using the World Health Organization community survey guide for injuries and violence. Multilevel Negative Binomial Regression model was used to report incidence rate ratios of all unitentional injuries. Results: A total of 503 injuries were reported by the youth, with road traffic injuries being the most common (n=197, 39%), followed by burns (n=89, 18%), falls (n=79, 16%) and poisonings (n=15, 3%), drownings (n=23, 7.1%). Occupational injuries reported during vocational training were (n=95, 18%). Males had a higher incidence rates of RTI 3.24[2.35-5.3], falls 1.30 [0.74-2.27], poisonings 2.14 [0.57-7.58] and drownings 2.46(0.84-7.21), while females had a higher incidence rate of burns 2.19 [1.785-3.46].Lack of education 4.6 [1.12 -18.91] (p=0.034), smoking 1.25 [1.05 -2.69] (p=0.049), lack of fathers education 4.71 [2.12 -10.49] (p=<0.001), carrying a gun 6.59 [2.54 -17.11] (p=<0.001), crowded families 3.59 [3.11 -5.07] (p=<0.001), lower family income 2.04 [1.04 -4.02](p=0.039*), lack of helmet use 4.54 [2.12 -9.76] (p=<0.001) and lack of seat belt use 1.3 [1.14 -1.69] (p= <0.001) were significant risk factors for unintentional injuries in youth. Conclusion Added value of the study: This study is one of the first research studies conducted in vocational school youth in Pakistan. It provides the recent rate of unintentional injuries among the youth of Pakistan. High occupational injuries among vocational school youth were reported which needs further research.

Challenges and health outcomes of the exposure to soybean dust in the harbor neighborhood of Karachi, Pakistan: a wake-up call.

BACKGROUND: Chemical disasters are common worldwide and result from technological failure, war, and terrorism activities. Pakistan imports huge quantities of hazardous chemicals to meet its industrial and energy needs. Hence there is a risk of chemical disaster at the ports, during transportation of such material and processing in the chemical industry. This study aimed to review the challenges and health outcomes of cases of soybean dust exposure in Kemari district (harbor neighborhood) of Karachi, Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with all the affected people from a chemical incident of soybean dust which was reported in the Keamari district of Karachi, Pakistan. Included patients ≥ 18 years who visited the two major tertiary care hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan after the incident between February 17 to 23, 2020. A total of 574 patients were brought to these two major tertiary care hospitals. We collected data on basic demographics, event details, and major signs and symptoms of the affected individuals. Calculated frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. Mean ± standard deviation (SD) was calculated for continuous variables. RESULTS: The mean ± (SD) age of the victims were 32 (13.5) years. Of the 574 patients, majority of the patients (n = 319, 56%) were males. In 28 cases (41%), the onset of symptoms occurred at home, in 27 cases (39%) the onset of symptoms started in the workplace and the remaining cases (n = 14, 20%) experienced the first symptoms while roaming around the roadside. The most common reported co-morbidity was a history of asthma (56%), followed by diabetes mellitus (22%). The most common clinical manifestation was shortness of breath, reported in 94% of the cases, followed by neurological symptoms such as drowsiness, unconsciousness, or seizures experienced by 10% of the victims. A total of 9 deaths (1.5%) were recorded. CONCLUSION: A multi-sectoral systematic approach is also required to address these incidents comprehensively including the trained and equipped pre-hospital system, integrated emergency medical response, and community-wide emergency response system.

Which curve is better? A comparative analysis of trauma scoring systems in a South Asian country.

Objectives: A diverse set of trauma scoring systems are used globally to predict outcomes and benchmark trauma systems. There is a significant potential benefit of using these scores in low and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, its standardized use based on type of injury is still limited. Our objective is to compare trauma scoring systems between neurotrauma and polytrauma patients to identify the better predictor of mortality in low-resource settings. Methods: Data were extracted from a digital, multicenter trauma registry implemented in South Asia for a secondary analysis. Adult patients (≥18 years) presenting with a traumatic injury from December 2021 to December 2022 were included in this study. Injury Severity Score (ISS), Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Mechanism/GCS/Age/Pressure score and GCS/Age/Pressure score were calculated for each patient to predict in-hospital mortality. We used receiver operating characteristic curves to derive sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC) for each score, including Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). Results: The mean age of 2007 patients included in this study was 41.2±17.8 years, with 49.1% patients presenting with neurotrauma. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 17.2%. GCS and RTS proved to be the best predictors of in-hospital mortality for neurotrauma (AUC: 0.885 and 0.874, respectively), while TRISS and ISS were better predictors for polytrauma patients (AUC: 0.729 and 0.722, respectively). Conclusion: Trauma scoring systems show differing predictability for in-hospital mortality depending on the type of trauma. Therefore, it is vital to take into account the region of body injury for provision of quality trauma care. Furthermore, context-specific and injury-specific use of these scores in LMICs can enable strengthening of their trauma systems. Level of evidence: Level III.

Parental knowledge attitude and practices about chemical and medicinal poisons: A hospital based study from Karachi, Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Unintentional poisoning is among the leading cause of death in children less than 20 years age. The incidence of unintentional poisoning in Low-income countries LMICs is four times higher compared to high-income countries (HICs). In Pakistan a 10% (25/211) incidence of unintentional poisonings among 0-15-year-old children has been reported. Most of the poisoning occur because of household chemical and medicines. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of parents in Karachi regarding poisonous household chemicals and medicines. METHODS: This KAP study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from May to August 2019. A maximum sample of 384 was calculated using a 50% knowledge about household chemicals. Data were collected about parental knowledge, attitude and practices about poisons and chemicals at home and presented as frequency and percentages. Chi-square test of independence (or Fisher's exact test) was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: A total of 364 parents of 0-16-year-old children completed the survey out of which 229 were mothers and 127 were fathers (eight had missing data). We had 70% of parents that kept chemicals and medicines locked in cabinets and 80% chose to never leave medicines unattended, there are still 20-30% parents that need improvement in the parental knowledge and practices for storing chemicals and medicines. A general lack of knowledge regarding poisoning first aid and emergency response centers was noted. CONCLUSIONS: Two-pronged approach for future interventions could be useful; (1) Improving the knowledge and practice among the remaining 20-30% through repeated awareness' sessions for the community. (2) Information regarding PCCS needs to be made readily available to the parents which is a measure useful in cases a child poisoning occurs.

Epidemiology of patients presenting to the emergency department with acute febrile illness in the summer months in Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.

Low and middle-income countries, including Pakistan, encounter many acute, undifferentiated fevers in their emergency departments (EDs), especially in the summer. There is a need to understand the prevalence and etiologies of fever to create sustainable risk stratification systems and better identification processes for more efficient treatments. This study aims to determine the patterns, causes, and outcomes of patients presenting to the ED with a fever in the summer months in Karachi, Pakistan. Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional surveillance study conducted in the summers of 2017 and 2018 in the EDs of four tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Patients 18 years of age and older, both males and females, that presented with a fever within 48 h were enrolled in the study. The study sample was 5034. Prior comorbidities, medication history, and treatment offered for the illness and diagnosis were noted. The data were stratified by years, that is, 2017-2018. A χ 2-test and a one-way analysis of variance test were applied to check the association between fever presentation in years and covariates. Results: Of the 5034 patients, 3045 (60.5%) presented in 2017 and 1989 (39.5%) presented in 2018. Almost half of the patients who presented with fever to the ED were between 25 and 44 years of age [2383 (47.3%)]. A majority of those presenting were male [3049 (60.6%)]. Most of the patients had a fever recorded between 101 and 102°F [1038 (20.6%)]. The most common accompanying symptoms were headache [2636 (52.4%)] and nausea and vomiting [2274 (45.2%)]. The majority of the patients were diagnosed as viral fever [2390 (47.5%)]. Patients were managed with antibiotics [3342 (66.4%)] and intravenous fluids [2521 (50.1%)] and a majority of patients were discharged [4677 (93.8%)]. Conclusions: Fever is a common presentation in the ED. Understanding the frequency of the causative agent will help improve diagnosis and the judicious use of antibiotics.

Improvement in the diagnosis and practices of emergency healthcare providers for heat emergencies after HEAT (heat emergency awareness & treatment) an educational intervention: a multicenter quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of heat emergencies, including heat stroke and heat exhaustion, have increased recently due to climate change. This has affected global health and has become an issue of consideration for human health and well-being. Due to overlapping clinical manifestations with other diseases, and most of these emergencies occurring in an elderly patient, patients with a comorbid condition, or patients on poly medicine, diagnosing and managing them in the emergency department can be challenging. This study assessed whether an educational training on heat emergencies, defined as heat intervention in our study, could improve the diagnosis and management practices of ED healthcare providers in the ED setting. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in the EDs of four hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Eight thousand two hundred three (8203) patients were enrolled at the ED triage based on symptoms of heat emergencies. The pre-intervention data were collected from May to July 2017, while the post-intervention data were collected from May to July 2018. The HEAT intervention, consisting of educational activities targeted toward ED healthcare providers, was implemented in April 2018. The outcomes assessed were improved recognition-measured by increased frequency of diagnosing heat emergencies and improved management-measured by increased temperature monitoring, external cooling measures, and intravenous fluids in the post-intervention period compared to pre-intervention. RESULTS: Four thousand one hundred eighty-two patients were enrolled in the pre-intervention period and 4022 in the post-intervention period, with at least one symptom falling under the criteria for diagnosis of a heat emergency. The diagnosis rate improved from 3% (n = 125/4181) to 7.5% (n = 7.5/4022) (p-value < 0.001), temperature monitoring improved from 0.9% (n = 41/4181) to 13% (n = 496/4022) (p-value < 0.001) and external cooling measure (water sponging) improved from 1.3% (n = 89/4181) to 3.4% (n = 210/4022) (p-value < 0.001) after the administration of the HEAT intervention. CONCLUSION: The HEAT intervention in our study improved ED healthcare providers' approach towards diagnosis and management practices of patients presenting with health emergencies (heat stroke or heat exhaustion) in the ED setting. The findings support the case of training ED healthcare providers to address emerging health issues due to rising temperatures/ climate change using standardized treatment algorithms.

Trends in mortality related to unintentional poisoning in the South Asian region from 1990 to 2019: analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate the burden of unintentional poisoning in South Asian countries from 1999 to 2019. DESIGN: An ecological study conducted at the regional level for South Asian countries, based on data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. SETTING: We extracted unintentional poisoning data from the Global Burden of Disease Study data set from 1990 to 2019 to assess trends in mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), years of life lost, years lived with disability (YLDs) and causative agents in South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan). OUTCOME MEASURES: We determined the per cent change and 95% CI for the period between 1990 and 2019 by age, gender and country. We also conducted Poisson regression to measure the percentage change in the rate per year. RESULTS: The absolute number of deaths due to unintentional poisoning in South Asia decreased (-32.6%) from 10 558 deaths in 1990 to 7112 deaths in 2019. The age standardised death rate from unintentional poisoning in South Asia has seen a downward trend (-55.88%), declining from 0.87 (0.67-1.01) age-standardised per 100 000 population in 1990 to 0.41 (0.34-0.47) in 2019. Among age groups, under 9 years and 10-19 years have seen downward trends for death and DALYs, accounting for -93.5% and -38.3%, respectively. YLDs have seen an upward trend (5.9%), increasing from 10 461.7 per 100 000 in 1990 to 11 084 per 100 000 in 2019. YLDs in women increased by 7.4%, from 11 558.2 per 100 000 to 12 418.3 per 100 000. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) adjusted by all age groups and gender for DALYs in all South Asian countries has reduced significantly (IRR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96 to 0.97) from 1990 to 2019. CONCLUSION: This study showed reduction in death and DALYs due to unintentional poisoning in South Asia except YLDs which is showing an increasing trend. Public health systems should continue efforts to minimise and prevent disabilities arising from unintentional poisoning in South Asia.

Synthesis and characterization of biologically active flurbiprofen amide derivatives as selective prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase II inhibitors: In vivo anti-inflammatory activity and molecular docking.

A novel series of twenty two flurbiprofen amides (1-22) were designed and synthesized in good to excellent yields by reacting flurbiprofen acid with various aromatic/aliphatic primary amines in the presence of 1,1­carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) in basic medium using acetonitrile as solvent. Structures of the synthesized derivatives were elucidated with the help of HR-ESI-MS, 1H-, and 13C NMR spectroscopy and finally screened them for their in-vivo anti-inflammatory potential using carrageenan induced mice paw oedema assay. Among the series, four compounds (8, 14, 15, and 20) displayed excellent activity ranging from 59.0 to 77.7 % decrease, while eight compounds (1, 3, 7, 10, 12, 13, 17, and 18) exhibited good activity in the decrease range of 37.0-50.0 %. Additionally, four compounds (2, 6, 16, and 22) attributed less activity, while the remaining six compounds (4, 5, 9, 11, 19, and 21) were found to be inactive. Furthermore, the In-silico studies were executed on the synthesized derivatives in order to explain the binding interface of compounds with the active sites of prostaglandin endoperoxide-synthase II enzyme.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Traumatic Cardiac Arrests in the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about survival outcomes after traumatic cardiac arrest in Asia, or the association of Utstein factors with survival after traumatic cardiac arrests. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of traumatic cardiac arrests in Asia, and analyze Utstein factors associated with survival. METHODS: Traumatic cardiac arrest patients from 13 countries in the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study registry from 2009 to 2018 were analyzed. Multilevel logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with the primary outcomes of survival to hospital discharge and favorable neurological outcome (Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) 1-2), and the secondary outcome of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). RESULTS: There were 207,455 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases, of which 13,631 (6.6%) were trauma patients aged 18 years and above with resuscitation attempted and who had survival outcomes reported. The median age was 57 years (interquartile range 39-73), 23.0% received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), 1750 (12.8%) had ROSC, 461 (3.4%) survived to discharge, and 131 (1.0%) had CPC 1-2. Factors associated with higher rates of survival to discharge and favorable neurological outcome were arrests witnessed by emergency medical services or private ambulances (survival to discharge adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.99-4.38; CPC 1-2 aOR = 2.57, 95% CI = 1.25-5.27), bystander CPR (survival to discharge aOR = 2.16; 95% CI 1.71-2.72; CPC 1-2 aOR = 4.98, 95% CI = 3.27-7.57), and initial shockable rhythm (survival to discharge aOR = 12.00; 95% CI = 6.80-21.17; CPC 1-2 aOR = 33.28, 95% CI = 11.39-97.23) or initial pulseless electrical activity (survival to discharge aOR = 3.98; 95% CI = 2.99-5.30; CPC 1-2 aOR = 5.67, 95% CI = 3.05-10.53) relative to asystole. CONCLUSIONS: In traumatic cardiac arrest, early aggressive resuscitation may not be futile and bystander CPR may improve outcomes.

Bioinformatics techniques for efficient structure prediction of SARS-CoV-2 protein ORF7a via structure prediction approaches

Protein is the building block for all organisms. Protein structure prediction is always a complicated task in the field of proteomics. DNA and protein databases can find the primary sequence of the peptide chain and even similar sequences in different proteins. Mainly, there are two methodologies based on the presence or absence of a template for Protein structure prediction. Template-based structure prediction (threading and homology modeling) and Template-free structure prediction (ab initio). Numerous web-based servers that either use templates or do not can help us forecast the structure of proteins. In this current study, ORF7a, a transmembrane protein of the SARS-coronavirus, is predicted using Phyre2, IntFOLD, and Robetta. The protein sequence is straightforwardly entered into the sequence bar on all three web servers. Their findings provided information on the domain, the region with the disorder, the global and local quality score, the predicted structure, and the estimated error plot. Our study presents the structural details of the SARS-CoV protein ORF7a. This immunomodulatory component binds to immune cells and induces severe inflammatory reactions.

Acceptability of telephone-cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) practice in a resource-limited country- a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: T-CPR has been shown to increase bystander CPR rates dramatically and is associated with improved patient survival. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the acceptability of T-CPR by the bystanders and identify baseline quality measures of T-CPR in Karachi, Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December 2018 at the Aman foundation command and control center. Data was collected from audiotaped phone calls of patients who required assistance from the Aman ambulance and on whom the EMS telecommunicator recognized the need for CPR and provided instructions. Information was recorded using a structured questionnaire on demographics, the status of the patient, and different time variables involved in CPR performance. A One-way ANOVA was used to compare different time variables with recommended AHA guidelines. P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: There were 481 audiotaped calls in which CPR instruction was given, listened to, and recorded data. Out of which in 459(95.4%) of cases CPR was attempted Majority of the patients were males (n = 278; 57.8%) and most had witnessed cardiac arrest (n = 470; 97.7%) at home (n = 430; 89.3%). The mean time to recognize the need for CPR by an EMS telecommunicator was 4:59 ± 1:59(min), while the mean time to start CPR instruction by a bystander was 5:28 ± 2:24(min). The mean time to start chest compression was 6:04 ± 1:52(min.). CONCLUSION: Our results show the high acceptability of T-CPR by bystanders. We also found considerable delays in recognizing cardiac arrest and initiation of CPR by telecommunicators. Further training of telecommunicators could reduce these delays.

Out of hospital cardiac arrest: experience of a bystander CPR training program in Karachi, Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Nearly 90% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients are witnessed, yet only 2.3% received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in Pakistan. This study aimed to determine retention of knowledge and skills of Hands-Only CPR among community participants in early recognition of OHCA and initiation of CPR in Karachi, Pakistan. METHODS: Pre and post-tests were conducted among CPR training participants from diverse non-health-related backgrounds from July 2018 to October 2019. Participants were tested for knowledge and skills of CPR before training (pre-test), immediately after training (post-test), and 6 months after training (re-test). All the participants received CPR training through video and scenario-based demonstration using manikins. Post-training CPR skills of the participants were assessed using a pre-defined performance checklist. The facilitator read out numerous case scenarios to the participants, such as drowning, poisoning, and road traffic injuries, etc., and then asked them to perform the critical steps of CPR identified in the scenario on manikins. The primary outcome was the mean difference in the knowledge score and skills of the participants related to the recognition of OHCA and initiation of CPR. RESULTS: The pre and post-tests were completed by 652 participants, whereas the retention test after 6 months was completed by 322 participants. The mean knowledge score related to the recognition of OHCA, and initiation of CPR improved significantly (p < 0.001) from pre-test [47.8/100, Standard Deviation (SD) ±13.4] to post-test (70.2/100, SD ±12.1). Mean CPR knowledge after 6 months (retention) reduced slightly from (70.2/100, ±12.1) to (66.5/100, ±10.8). CPR skill retention for various components (check for scene safety, check for response, check for breathing and correct placement of the heel of hands) deteriorated significantly (p < 0.001) from 77.9% in the post-test to 72.8% in re-test. Participants performed slightly better on achieving an adequate rate of chest compressions from 73.1% in post-test to 76.7% in re-test (p 0.27). CONCLUSION: Community members with non-health backgrounds can learn and retain CPR skills, allowing them to be effective bystander CPR providers in OHCA situations. We recommend mass population training in Pakistan for CPR to increase survival from OHCA.

Clinical profile and outcomes of adult oncological patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical presentations, diagnosis, and outcomes of oncological patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: The single-centre, cross-sectional study was conducted at the emergency department of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 1 to December 31, 2018, and comprised all adult patients with diagnosed solid or haematological malignancy. Demographical and clinical data was recorded from medical record files. The immediate outcomes were reported as hospitalisation or discharge from the emergency department. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Of the 320 patients, 167(52.2%) were females. Overall, 214(66.9) patients were aged 35-64 years. Most of the patients had solid organ malignancy 276(86.2%), with the most common being breast carcinoma 60(18.8%). Among haematological malignancies, B-cell lymphoma 32(10%) was the most common. The most common symptoms at presentation were vomiting 78(24.4%), fever 77(24.1%), and generalised weakness 66(20.6%). Of the total, 240(75%) patients were admitted and 80(25%) were discharged. The most common discharge diagnosis was chemotherapy-induced vomiting, followed by febrile neutropenia and malignant hypercalcaemia. There were 26(10.8%) deaths among the in-patients. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer patients presented to the emergency department with diverse signs and symptoms. It is essential for physicians in the emergency department to be familiar with their presentations in order to initiate prompt and timely management plans for better clinical outcomes.

Lead encephalopathy in an adult opioid abuser.

A 38-year-old man presented at the emergency department with abdominal pain, vomiting, generalised weakness and altered consciousness. He had been ingesting opioids for over 5 years and had several past hospital admissions for abdominal pain. His investigations showed deranged liver function tests, anaemia and basophilic stippling on the peripheral blood smear. Further investigations revealed a significant increase in the serum lead level. We started chelation with peroral penicillamine 250 mg every 6 hours for 2 days and switched to intramuscular dimercaprol 4 mg/kg every 12 hours and intravenous calcium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid 50 mg/kg in two divided doses daily for the next 5 days. We then discharged him home; he had become clinically stable by that time. We repeated his lead level and followed him up in the clinic. In this report, we emphasise the consideration of lead toxicity in opioid abusers and bring to attention a rare way of lead chelation in resource-limited settings.

Heat Emergencies: Perceptions and Practices of Community Members and Emergency Department Healthcare Providers in Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study.

Heat waves are the second leading cause of weather-related morbidity and mortality affecting millions of individuals globally, every year. The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions and practices of community residents and healthcare professionals with respect to identification and treatment of heat emergencies. A qualitative study was conducted using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, with the residents of an urban squatter settlement, community health workers, and physicians and nurses working in the emergency departments of three local hospitals in Karachi. Data was analyzed using content analysis. The themes that emerged were (1) perceptions of the community on heat emergencies; (2) recognition and early treatment at home; (3) access and quality of care in the hospital; (4) recognition and treatment at the health facility; (5) facility level plan; (6) training. Community members were able to recognize dehydration as a heat emergency. Males, elderly, and school-going children were considered at high risk for heat emergencies. The timely treatment of heat emergencies was widely linked with availability of financial resources. Limited availability of water, electricity, and open public spaces were identified as risk factors for heat emergencies. Home based remedies were reported as the preferred practice for treatment by community members. Both community members and healthcare professionals were cognizant of recognizing heat related emergencies.

Novel biallelic loss-of-function mutations in / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Multiple morphological abnormalities of the sperm flagella (MMAF) is a specific type of asthenoteratozoospermia, presenting with multiple morphological anomalies in spermatozoa, such as absent, bent, coiled, short, or irregular caliber flagella. Previous genetic studies revealed pathogenic mutations in genes encoding cilia and flagella-associated proteins (CFAPs; e.g., CFAP43, CFAP44, CFAP65, CFAP69, CFAP70, and CFAP251) responsible for the MMAF phenotype in infertile men from different ethnic groups. However, none of them have been identified in infertile Pakistani males with MMAF. In the current study, two Pakistani families with MMAF patients were recruited. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) of patients and their parents was performed. WES analysis reflected novel biallelic loss-of-function mutations in CFAP43 in both families (Family 1: ENST00000357060.3, p.Arg300Lysfs*22 and p.Thr526Serfs*43 in a compound heterozygous state; Family 2: ENST00000357060.3, p.Thr526Serfs*43 in a homozygous state). Sanger sequencing further confirmed that these mutations were segregated recessively in the families with the MMAF phenotype. Semiquantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was carried out to detect the effect of the mutation on mRNA of the affected gene. Previous research demonstrated that biallelic loss-of-function mutations in CFAP43 accounted for the majority of all CFAP43-mutant MMAF patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report CFAP43 biallelic loss-of-function mutations in a Pakistani population with the MMAF phenotype. This study will help researchers and clinicians to understand the genetic etiology of MMAF better.

Perception of the healthcare professionals towards the current trauma and emergency care system in Kabul, Afghanistan: a mixed method study.

BACKGROUND: Trauma and injury contribute to 11% of the all-cause mortality in Afghanistan. The study aimed to explore the perceptions of the healthcare providers (pre and in-hospital), hospital managers and policy makers of the public and private health sectors to identify the challenges in the provision of an effective trauma care in Kabul, Afghanistan. METHODS: A concurrent mixed method design was used, including key-informant interviews (healthcare providers, hospital managers and policy makers) of the trauma care system (N = 18) and simultaneous structured emergency care system assessment questionnaire (N = 35) from July 15 to September 25, 2019. Interviews were analyzed using content analysis approach and structured questionnaire data were descriptively analyzed. RESULTS: Four themes were identified that describe the challenges: 1) pre-hospital care, 2) cohesive trauma management system, 3) physical and human resources and 4) stewardship. Some key challenges were found related to scene and transportation care, in-hospital care and emergency preparedness within the wider trauma care system. Less than 25% of the population is covered by the pre-hospital ambulance system (n = 23, 65.7%) and there is no communication process between health care facilities to facilitate transfer (n = 28, 80%). Less than 25% of patients with an injury requiring emergent surgery have access to surgical care in a staffed operating theatre within 2 h of injury (n = 19, 54.2%) and there is no regular assessment of the ability of the emergency care system to mobilize resources (human and physical) to respond to disasters, and other large-scale emergencies (n = 28, 80%). CONCLUSION: This study highlighted major challenges in the delivery of trauma care services across Kabul, Afghanistan. Systematic improvement in the workforce training, structural organization of the trauma care system and implementing externally validated clinical guidelines for trauma management could possibly enhance the functions of the existing trauma care services. However, an integrated state-run trauma care system will address the current burden of traumatic injury more effectively within the wider healthcare system of Afghanistan.