Typhidot - A blessing or a menace.

Objectives: Typhoid remain an increasing problem in Third world countries like Pakistan. A reliable, easy and affordable rapid diagnostic test is a need for our clinicians, many of whom consider Typhidot to be promising. Typhidot has been used as the only tool to diagnose typhoid fever by general practitioners and consultants despite its low sensitivity and specificity causing misdiagnosis and treatment.

Effects of papaya leaves on thrombocyte counts in dengue--a case report.

Dengue fever is on the rise in developing nations like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. There is no antiviral chemotherapy or vaccine for dengue virus and management of the disease is done on supportive measures. The decline in the thrombocyte count leads to dengue haemorrhagic fever accounting for complications and mortality.

Medical students perception of their medical environment-expected versus actual perceptions--a cross sectional study.

Objective: To compare the expected (perceptions of their environment at the beginning of their 1st year) versus actual perceptions (perceptions at the end of 1st year) of 1st year students at Dow University of Health Sciences.

Methods: The 'expected' perceptions of the students were recorded at the beginning of their 1st year (n = 411) of medical education when they entered the medical school using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). DREEM is a validated and self-administered inventory which focuses on learning, teachers, self-confidence and academic as well as social environment.

Hepatitis patients lost to follow-up at a liver centre in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan--a cross-sectional descriptive study.

Objective: To investigate the causes for loss-to-follow-up of hepatitis patients at a liver centre of a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: A representative sample of 165 patients who were lost to follow-up during 2009 to 2010 was chosen and a cross-sectional descriptive study was performed. All hepatitis patients included were screened for antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV Ab) and hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HbsAg), and were tested through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genotyping.

Delayed diagnosis of post-traumatic C7 vertebra anterior subluxation with an unusual neurological pattern: a case report.

Introduction: Post-traumatic subluxations are potentially devastating injuries to the axial skeleton. Of utmost priority are an expedient and timely diagnosis and realignment because of its association with spinal cord and nerve root trauma, which lead to progressive deleterious neurological deficits. A good radiological study of the occipitocervical joint and first thoracic vertebra is key to a successful early diagnosis.

The role of children with congenital anomalies in generating parental depressive symptoms.

Background: Many expectant parents wish to have a normal child. Unfortunately this does not always happen and some of them may have a child with birth defects leading to detrimental psychological effects on the parents. One of the common presentations generally observed is depression.