Compliance with hygiene practices among healthcare workers at an academic hospital emergency department.

Introduction: Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are an important contributor to patient morbidity and mortality. Healthcare workers (HCWs) hands are the chief mode of transmission of HCAIs. The emergency centre (EC) is frequently the first point of contact for patients within the health care system.

Type 2 diabetes prevalence in Pakistan: what is driving this? Clues from subgroup analysis of normal weight individuals in diabetes prevalence survey of Pakistan.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global health tissue. We determined factors relating to the likelihood of developing T2DM in normal BMI individuals.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional community-based representative survey, of people aged ≥20 years in Pakistan, using HBA1c as the screening tool.

A Comparative Assessment of the Nova Stat Profile Prime Plus® Critical Care Analyzer.

Background: Point-of-care testing (POCT) plays an integral role in the management of acutely ill patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Due to its rapid turnaround time, POCT has been shown to improve ED workflow, reduce unnecessary admissions and lessen the burden on ED staff. The aim of the study was to compare the accuracy, precision and linearity of the Nova Stat Profile Prime Plus (Nova Biomedical, Waltham, MA, USA) to the Radiometer ABL800 FLEX (Radiometer South Africa Pty Ltd, Gauteng) and the Abbott i-stat Chem8+ (Abbott, Princeton, NJ, USA) POCT analyzers.

Expert Opinion: Use of sodium glucose co-transporter type-2 inhibitors in South Asian population -The Pakistan perspective.

Sodium-glucose co-transporter type 2 inhibitors (SGLT 2- i)are increasingly being used in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). With the novel insulinindependent glycosuric action, these agents help to attain glycaemic goals by lowering HbA1c and fasting blood glucose. In addition, these agents improve metabolic control in diabetes and ameliorate comorbidities like obesity and hyper tension.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors in Pakistani population with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional study of selected family practitioner clinics in four provinces of Pakistan (CardiP Study).

Objective: To explore cardiovascular risk factors in people with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: The cross-sectional, prospective, multicentre, study was conducted from June 2014 till July 2015 at family practice clinics in 27 cities across Pakistan, and comprised individuals aged 30-50 years diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus within the preceding six months. Laboratory investigations were conducted at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, and Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.

Diabetes Prevalence Survey of Pakistan (DPS-PAK): prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and prediabetes using HbA1c: a population-based survey from Pakistan.

Objectives: We conducted a Pakistan-wide community-based survey on the prevalence of type 2 diabetes using glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) as the screening test. The aim was to estimate diabetes prevalence across different demographic groups as well as all regions of Pakistan.

Design, Settings And Participants: Multistaged stratified cluster sampling was used for the representative selection of people aged ≥20 years, residing in 378 sampled clusters of 16 randomly selected districts, in this cross-sectional study.

Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy and its Association with Cardiovascular and All-cause Mortality in Patients with End-stage Renal Disease.

Background End-stage renal disease frequently leads to increased cardiovascular mortality. Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) may be predictive of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in patients with end-stage renal disease. Methods A total of 70 patients with end-stage renal disease were included in the study.

Lack of uniformity in screening, diagnosis and management of gestational diabetes mellitus among health practitioners across major cities of Pakistan.

Objective: To determine knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) among Health Care Providers in major cities of Pakistan.

Methods: A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) questionnaire based study was conducted in major cities in Pakistan from health care providers in public and private hospitals and clinics. Questionnaires were provided to the health care providers regarding screening, diagnosis and management of patients with GDM.

Consensus Recommendations on Sulfonylurea and Sulfonylurea Combinations in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - International Task Force.

For decades, sulfonylureas (SUs) have been important drugs in the antidiabetic therapeutic armamentarium. They have been used as monotherapy as well as combination therapy. Focus on newer drugs and concerns about the risk of severe hypoglycemia and weight gain with some SUs have led to discussion on their safety and utility.

Causes of short stature in Pakistani children found at an Endocrine Center.

Background And Objective: Short stature is defined as height below 3 centile. Causes of short stature can range from familial, endocrine disorders, chronic diseases to chromosomal disorders. Most common cause in literature being idiopathic short stature.

A simple integrated primary health care based model for detection of diabetic retinopathy in resource-limited settings in Pakistani population.

Objective: To find out prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy in general population of three districts in Pakistan.

Methods: A community based cross-sectional survey was conducted in three large districts of Pakistan namely Rawalpindi in Punjab, Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Hyderabad in Sindh between January 2013 and August 2015. Lady Health Workers identified individuals at high risk for diabetes based on pre-defined criteria.

Turmeric use is associated with reduced goitrogenesis: Thyroid disorder prevalence in Pakistan (THYPAK) study.

Introduction: South Asian population has a particularly high prevalence of thyroid disorders mainly due to iodine deficiency and goitrogen use. There is no data available for prevalence of thyroid disorders in the general population living in nonmountainous regions of Pakistan.

Materials And Methods: A total of 2335 residents of Pak Pattan, Punjab, Pakistan were interviewed about demographic, dietary, medical and environmental history as well as screened for goiter.

Expanded dengue syndrome: subacute thyroiditis and intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background: Although most symptomatic dengue infections follow an uncomplicated course, complications and unusual manifestations are increasingly being reported due to rising disease burden. Expanded dengue syndrome is a new entity added into World Health Organization (WHO) classification system to incorporate this wide spectrum of unusual manifestations. We report a case of expanded dengue syndrome with subacute thyroiditis and intracerebral hemorrhage.

Gitelman syndrome manifesting in early childhood and leading to delayed puberty: a case report.

Introduction: Gitelman syndrome is an inherited autosomal recessive renal salt-wasting disorder. It presents with variable clinical symptoms including muscle weakness and fatigue, and the diagnosis is based on metabolic alkalosis, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia and hypocalciuria. It is usually diagnosed incidentally in early adulthood.

Gestational diabetes mellitus is rare in primigravida Pakistani women.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder defined as glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. Similar to other members of the Asian race, Pakistani women are also considered to be at a high risk for developing gestational diabetes.

Materials And Methods: In order to better understand whether this heightened risk attributed to race really exists, we conducted a prospective study to assess the glycemic status of primigravida women presenting to our hospital.

Multiple dengue serotypes and high frequency of dengue hemorrhagic fever at two tertiary care hospitals in Lahore during the 2008 dengue virus outbreak in Punjab, Pakistan.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with dengue viral infection during the 2008 outbreak in Lahore in order to better understand the clinical pattern and severity of disease in Lahore.

Methods: We analyzed the clinical characteristics of 110 patients infected with dengue virus; data were collected on standardized data collection sheets at two tertiary care hospitals from September to December 2008. Dengue infection was confirmed serologically or by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Nutrition-related vitamin B12 deficiency in patients in Pakistan with type 2 diabetes mellitus not taking metformin.

Objective: To estimate the frequency of undiagnosed vitamin B12 deficiency among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who had not taken metformin during at least the prior 5 years and to ascertain whether vitamin B12 deficiency among the patients with type 2 diabetes was due to nutritional deficiency or malabsorption.

Methods: Serum vitamin B12 levels were measured in 44 subjects with diabetes and a mean age of 51 years (range, 40 to 70), 21 (48%) of whom had low levels (<200 pg/mL). Of those 21 patients, 10 agreed to enroll in an intervention phase consisting of oral supplementation with mecobalamin, 1,500 microg daily for 3 months.

Beta-blockers have a beneficial effect upon endothelial function and microalbuminuria in African-American subjects with diabetes and hypertension.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with microalbuminuria (MA) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events (CVE) that may be attenuated by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), unless microalbuminuria persists (PMA). African-Americans (AA) have a higher prevalence of nephropathy with suboptimal response to ACEIs. We studied the effects of beta-blockers addition and comparative effects of carvedilol with metoprolol on 24-h urinary-albumin excretion (UAE) and endothelial function (EF) in AA with PMA.

Pioglitazone restores endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin.

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pioglitazone on endothelial function, as assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) nitroglycerine-induced dilatation (NID) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with insulin. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial involved 20 patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes. Patients received either pioglitazone 30 mg or placebo for 4 months.

Cardiovascular effects of insulin sensitizers in diabetes.

Diabetic patients have a greatly increased relative risk of cardiovascular disease compared with patients without diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of insulin resistance and impaired pancreatic secretion. Thiazolidinediones are a relatively new class of compounds for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus that lower glucose levels by decreasing insulin resistance and glucose production by the liver.

Endothelial and erectile dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, and the metabolic syndrome: common pathways and treatments?

The past decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity. Comorbidities of obesity include type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and lipid abnormalities, all of which contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and are associated with endothelial dysfunction. These abnormalities frequently cluster in individuals, and the term metabolic syndrome is now widely used to define this cluster.