Evaluation of blood bank practices in Karachi, Pakistan, and the government's response.

Background: National legislation in Pakistan regulating blood banks has been introduced several times, but has never been passed. To support provincial-level efforts to develop legislation we conducted a study to evaluate blood-banking practices in Karachi, Pakistan, to identify areas that could be improved.

Methods: Thirty-seven blood banks were randomly selected from a list of 87 Karachi blood banks.

Post-colectomy peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum.

We report a patient with peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum which mimicked a necrotizing bacterial infection. It occurred as an extra-intestinal manifestation of chronic mucosal ulcerative colitis (MUC). Initially misdiagnosed as a cutaneous infection, it finally responded to intravenous high dose corticosteroid therapy.