Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences Quarterly

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety of fasting in diabetic and non-diabetic patients with stable CKD during Ramadan. METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted at three secondary and tertiary care hospitals of Karachi during the month of Ramadan from 25th March to 7th May 2022. Patients who met the eligibility criteria were assessed pre-Ramadan, and their baseline blood pressure, serum urea, creatinine, electrolytes, uric acid, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were documented and tracked over the course of Ramadan and up to one week post-Ramadan...

OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the clinical and functional outcomes of corticosteroid injections in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, focusing on two different approaches: ultrasound-guided and landmark-guided. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus and Embase databases for relevant studies published prior to 30th April 2023. Studies that were either randomized controlled trials or had a cohort design were included. The review assessed symptom severity, functional status, electrodiagnostic parameters, complications, need for surgical intervention, visual analogue score, and grip strength...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Aging is a global trend, and Korea is also entering an aging society, which threatens the mental health of the elderly due to isolation, etc. In line with the growing domestic and international interest in elderly issues, this study aimed to identify the effects of depression, stress and self-esteem on the lives of the elderly in South Korea and to provide basic data for welfare measures. METHODS: Depression, stress, self-esteem, and quality of life were measured in 104 South Korean seniors (32 men, 72 women, average age 72...

OBJECTIVES: To identify a correlation between the clinical parameters and CT chest severity score in COVID-19. METHODS: A total of 205 RT-PCR positive patients were included in this descriptive cross-sectional study with convenience sampling from November 2020 to June 2021 in KRL Hospital. The study population was stratified in disease severity as per the WHO's guidelines. Clinical and radiological characteristics were compared in survivors and non survivors to draw conclusion...

We identified the PACS2 gene responsible for the multifunctional sorting protein that play a role in nuclear gene expression as well as pathway traffic regulation. Diseases associated with PACS2 include early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE66), alacrima, achalasia, and mental retardation syndrome. Whole exome sequencing (WES) technique was used for the identification of variants that may lead to the disease. We identified a consanguineous Saudi family segregating developmental delay, mental retardation and epilepsy...

OBJECTIVES: To compare efficacy of 10-mg of vonoprazan daily & on alternate days by Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Symptom Assessment Scale (GSAS). METHOD: This prospective interventional cohort was done at Department of Medicine/Gastroenterology Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan during the period August 2022 & January 2023. Potential participants fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria were asked to fill out GSAS questionnaires after their written consent...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of the combined test of seven blood coagulation indexes, lipids and platelet agglutination on the evaluation of the hypercoagulable state of blood in parturient women. METHODS: This is a retrospective study. Total 50 high risk parturient women who underwent an antenatal examination in Baoding Maternal and Child Health Hospital from June 2021 to January 2023 were selected as the observation group, while 50 normal parturient women who underwent antenatal examination without comorbidities and complications were randomly collected in a ratio of 1:1 as the control group...

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate the distribution of ABO and RhD blood groups and their relationship with diseases. METHODS: The retrospective study was carried out in Bursa Uludag University Family Health Center in Turkey between 1-28 February, 2023. The data of individuals who were registered with the Family Health Center and whose blood types were known were evaluated retrospectively. Blood group type, sociodemographic findings, existing diseases, allergies, and genetic disease conditions were obtained...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the safety and efficacy of metastatic osteosarcoma treatment with combined sintilimab injection and chemotherapy. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 32 patients with metastatic osteosarcoma admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Beihua University between January 2019 and June 2020. The sample was divided into an observation group, treated with sintilimab injection combined with chemotherapy (n= 16) and a control group, treated with chemotherapy (n = 16)...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation of iron deficiency (ID) indexes with eradication and recurrence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection in children. METHODS: This is a clinical comparative study. One hundred and twenty-six children who were first diagnosed as Hp infection in Baoding Children's Hospital (Hp infection group); and the control group included 200 children without Helicobacter Pylori infection (negative stool Hp antigen test and/or 13C-urea breath test) in local region at the same time from January 2020 to January 2022...

OBJECTIVE: To explore relevant influencing factors of the prognosis of patients with winter sports-induced traumatic cervical spinal cord injury complicated with intramedullary hemorrhage and edema after emergency surgical treatment. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 73 cases of traumatic cervical spinal cord injury complicated with intramedullary hemorrhage and edema in The First Hospital Affiliated to Hebei North University from January 2020 to October 2022...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of serum glycated serum protein (GSP), homocysteine (Hcy) and cystatin-C (Cys-C) levels on pregnancy outcomes in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: Retrospective selection of 247 pregnant women who underwent normal prenatal examinations in The Yan'an People's Hospital from January 2020 to May 2022 were included in this retrospective study. Among them, 119 were pregnant women with diabetes (GDM-group) and 128 were pregnant women with normal blood glucose (Normal-group)...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of microendoscopic discectomy + fibrous ring suture versus microendoscopic discectomy alone in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) in young and middle-aged patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 66 young and middle-aged patients with single-segment LDH diagnosed in Orthopedic Hospital of Henan Province from October 2019 to October 2022. All patients were divided into two groups: the microendoscopic discectomy + fibrous ring suture group and the microendoscopic discectomy alone group, with 33 cases in each group...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the awareness, attitude and knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among university-enrolled medical and non-medical undergraduate students of Pakistan. METHODS: Cross-sectional online survey-based study was conducted across institutes in Pakistan from December, 2022 to January, 2023. The study involved university-enrolled undergraduate students across the country. The structured questionnaire was disseminated via Google forms. For statistical analysis, SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data by applying independent sample t-tests and ANOVA...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of Diffusion Weighted MRI in differentiating malignant from benign liver lesions taking histopathology as gold standard. METHODS: This Cross-sectional study was conducted at Departments of Radiology and Medicine, JPMC, Karachi from February 23, 2019 till September 25, 2019. Data was prospectively collected from patients after taking consent. One hundred twenty five patients presenting with hepatic mass who met the inclusion criteria were included...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of serum osteopontin levels with disease severity and prognosis in patients with acute cerebral infarction. METHODS: This retrospective analysis included forty patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI) admitted to the Department of Neurology of Baoding Children's Hospital from May, 2019 to May, 2022 within 24 hours of onset were selected as the observation group, while 40 healthy subjects in our hospital during the same period were selected as the control group...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) in combination with ropivacaine on post-operative outcomes in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture (HF) repair. METHODS: Retrospective analysis included data of 111 elderly patients who underwent HF surgery with FICB in Changxing County People's Hospital from October 2018 to October 2022. Observation group received 0.25% ropivacaine combined with FICB (n=52), and the control group was administered an intravenous injection of parecoxib sodium (n=59)...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical outcomes of InterTAN nail and proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) internal fixation for the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 151 elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures treated in The Second People's Hospital of Hefei from October 2019 to December 2021. Among them, 73 patients had undergone InterTAN (InterTAN group) and 78 patients had undergone PFNA (PFNA group) internal fixation...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) has severe implications for maternal morbidity and mortality; thus, boosting pregnant women's awareness and knowledge of this medical condition is crucial for improving the mother's and foetus's health. This study assessed the awareness and knowledge of PIH and its risk factors among pregnant women in Mdantsane, South Africa. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 249 conveniently selected and consenting pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in Mdantsane, Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa...