High prevalence of HIV infection among injection drug users (IDUs) in Hyderabad and Sukkur, Pakistan.

Objective: To estimate size of injection drug users (IDU), determine their high risk behaviours and assess the prevalence of HIV.

Method: As part of second generation surveillance (SGS), we investigated specific demographic and behavioural characteristics of IDUs in Hyderabad and Sukkur in 2005. It was a cross sectional study.

Blastocyst injection of wild type embryonic stem cells induces global corrections in mdx mice.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an incurable neuromuscular degenerative disease, caused by a mutation in the dystrophin gene. Mdx mice recapitulate DMD features. Here we show that injection of wild-type (WT) embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into mdx blastocysts produces mice with improved pathology and function.

BCG protects toddlers during a tuberculosis outbreak.

In 2007, an outbreak of tuberculosis occurred in a toddler population attending two child care centres in Cork, Ireland. Of 268 children exposed, 18 were eventually diagnosed with active tuberculosis. We present the initial clinical and radiographic characteristics of the active disease group.

Laparoscopic accessory splenectomy: the value of perioperative localization studies.

Background: Laparoscopic splenectomy is an effective treatment for many patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who fail or relapse after treatment with steroids. Patients with an incomplete response to splenectomy and those who experience recurrence of symptoms should be evaluated for the presence of an accessory spleen. The clinical effectiveness of laparoscopic excision of an accessory spleen after a previous splenectomy for ITP has varied in different studies.

Is right laparoscopic donor nephrectomy right?

Introduction: Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has become the standard of care in many renal transplant centers. Many centers are reluctant to perform right laparoscopic donor nephrectomies, primarily due to concerns about transplanting a kidney with a short renal vein.

Methods: A retrospective review of 26 right and 24 left consecutive donor nephrectomies and their recipients was performed.

Assessment of lipid dysfunction in patients on maintenance haemodialysis.

Background: Dyslipidaemia is a major risk factor of cardiovascular disease in patients on maintenance haemodialysis. Both increased and decreased levels of cholesterol are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in haemodialysis patients.

Objective: To assess the lipid dysfunction among patients on maintenance haemodialysis in a nephrology unit at Rawalpindi as compared with healthy individuals.

Comparison of calcium acetate with calcium carbonate as phosphate binder in patients on maintenance haemodialysis.

Background: Hyperphosphatemia is common in end-stage renal disease patients. Objective of this study is to compare the hypercalcaemic effect and phosphate binding power of calcium acetate and calcium carbonate in end-stage renal disease patients on maintenance haemodialysis.

Methods: This randomised control trial was conducted in four phases with calcium acetate or calcium carbonate.

Descemet's membrane detachment caused by inadvertent vancomycin injection.

Descemet's membrane detachment is a condition with a wide range of etiologies. The most common cause is a localized detachment occurring after cataract surgery. We report a case of vancomycin injection-induced Descemet's membrane detachment as a complication following a routine cataract surgery and its management.

Severe post-dialysis hypokalaemia leading to quadriparesis.

A 36-year-old male developed acute renal failure and severe metabolic acidosis following acute severe gastroenteritis. Two hours following haemodialysis he developed generalized muscle weakness, which progressed to quadriplegia over the next 4 hours. Electrocardiography (ECG) revealed classic signs of hypokalaemia.

[Life-threatening hyponatremia provoked by alternative treatment. An occurrence in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia with no indication for treatment].

Alternative medicine is a heterogeneous group of treatments which has become increasingly popular in cancer patients in the Western world in recent years. We describe a 77-year-old female with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, who developed severe hyponatremia during treatment with alternative medicine given by a general practitioner over a 3-year-period. From a hematological point of view, there was no need for this expensive treatment as the disease was stable with a normal hemoglobin and thrombocyte count and no B-symptoms.

Frequency of dual tuberculosis/human immunodeficiency virus infection in patients presenting at tertiary care centers at karachi.

Objective: To determine the frequency of dual infection of Tuberculosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and document the sexual practices of infected patients.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Medical Unit-IV of Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, in collaboration with Sindh AIDS Control Program at Services Hospital, Karachi, from January 2003 to December 2004.

Hepatitis B and C infection in first-time blood donors in Karachi--a possible subgroup for sentinel surveillance.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and C virus (HCV) are major public health concerns in Pakistan. We conducted a baseline analysis of first-time replacement blood donors at the blood bank of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in the year 2000 with the view to developing low-cost sentinel surveillance for these infections. Among 7325 such donors, 264 (3.

High risk behaviors of injection drug users registered with harm reduction programme in Karachi, Pakistan.

Background: Surveillance data of Sindh AIDS Control Programme, Pakistan suggest that HIV infection is rapidly increasing among IDUs in Karachi and has reached 9% in 2004-5 indicating that the country has progressed from nascent to concentrated level of HIV epidemic. Findings of 2nd generation surveillance in 2004-5 also indicate 104/395 (26.3%) IDUs HIV positive in the city.

The cost of unsafe injections in pakistan and challenges for prevention program.

The burden of disease associated with unsafe therapeutic injection practices in Pakistan is very high. The number of injection per person per year has been estimated to be in the range of 8.2 to 13.

Background demographics and risk behaviors of injecting drug users in Karachi, Pakistan.

Objective: To find the prevalence of HIV infection and risk behaviors among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Karachi, Pakistan.

Design: A cross-sectional study of IDUs conducted in Karachi, Pakistan from February through June 1996.

Results: Of the 242 IDUs, 11 (4%) refused HIV testing.

Combining drinking water treatment and hand washing for diarrhoea prevention, a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of point of use water treatment with flocculent-disinfectant on reducing diarrhoea and the additional benefit of promoting hand washing with soap.

Methods: The study was conducted in squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan, where diarrhoea is a leading cause of childhood death. Interventions were randomly assigned to 47 neighbourhoods.

Effect of handwashing on child health: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: More than 3.5 million children aged less than 5 years die from diarrhoea and acute lower respiratory-tract infection every year. We undertook a randomised controlled trial to assess the effect of handwashing promotion with soap on the incidence of acute respiratory infection, impetigo, and diarrhoea.

Determinants of therapeutic injection overuse among communities in Sindh, Pakistan.

Background: Unsafe injections including reuse of disposable syringe is very common in developing countries including Pakistan. Healthcare providers unnecessarily prescribe injections to patients suggesting that patients ask for injections. We conducted this qualitative study to determine the reasons of overuse of therapeutic injections by the communities in Sindh province of Pakistan.