Pattern of external injuries sustained during bomb blast attacks in Karachi, Pakistan from 2000 to 2007.

Objective: To evaluate patterns of external injury resulting from bomb blasts in Karachi, and compare the injury profile resulting from explosions in open versus semi-confined blast environments.

Methods: The retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in Karachi and comprised relevant data from January 2000 to October 2007. Casualty medical records and medico-legal certificates of the victims presented to three large public-sector hospitals were evaluated using a self-designed proforma.

Validation of the Urdu version of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale.

Objective: To translate and validate the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for use in Urdu-speaking population.

Methods: The original Epworth Sleepiness Scale was translated into the Urdu version (ESS-Ur) in three phases - translation and back-translation; committee-based translation; and testing in bilingual individuals. The final was subsequently tested on 89 healthy bilingual subjects between February and April, 2010, to assess the validity of the translation compared to the original version.