Six-minute walk test performance in healthy adult Pakistani volunteers.

Objective: To determine the six-minute walking distance (6MWD) for healthy Pakistanis, identify factors affecting 6MWD, compare published equations with the local data and derive an equation.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Two medical institutes of Karachi, from January to May 2011.

Atypical pathogens causing community-acquired pneumonia in adults.

Objective: To determine the frequency of community-acquired respiratory pathogens with special focus on atypical organisms in patients presenting to a tertiary care facility with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Methods: The descriptive study on adult patients was conducted from February 2007 to March 2008 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. It comprised 124 consenting patients of age 16 and above who presentd with a diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia.

Death certificate completion skills of hospital physicians in a developing country.

Background: Death certificates (DC) can provide valuable health status data regarding disease incidence, prevalence and mortality in a community. It can guide local health policy and help in setting priorities. Incomplete and inaccurate DC data, on the other hand, can significantly impair the precision of a national health information database.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral montelukast in acute asthma exacerbation.

Background: Leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) are well established in the management of outpatient asthma. However, there is very little information as to their role in acute asthma exacerbations. We hypothesized that LTRAs may accelerate lung function recovery when given in an acute exacerbation.

Assessing two spirometric criteria of pre-bronchodilator and post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio in detecting air flow obstruction.

Objectives: To assess the Pre-bronchodilator criteria and the Post-bronchodilator criteria of FEV1/FVC ratio in diagnosing Airflow obstruction.

Methods: An observational study was conducted from 1988 to 2006 at the Aga Khan University Hospital Patients referred to the pulmonary function test laboratory for spirometry with bronchodilator reversibility at the hospital during the above said period were enrolled. Forced spirometry was performed according to ATS guidelines.

Pulmonary functions in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Background: A reduction in lung capacity has been reported previously among diabetics. According to WHO estimates, Pakistan is currently eighth in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and will become fourth by the year 2025 with over 15 million individuals. This study was designed to see the impairment of lung functions on spirometry in DM patients.

Osseous spinal sarcoidosis: an unusual but important entity to remember.

Sarcoidosis is a multi-system disorder of unknown aetiology characterised by non-caseating granulomatous inflammation with varying presentation and prognosis. Bone involvement is uncommon and vertebral involvement is rare. We report a case of vertebral osseous sarcoidosis which presented with pulmonary symptoms mimicking tuberculosis and later developed vertebral involvement despite administration of oral corticosteroids.