Violence against health care workers in rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan.

Objective: To determine the magnitude of violence against healthcare workers in a rural setting, and the consequences of this violence on their personal and professional lives.

Methods: The descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted in 4 rural districts of the Sindh province of Pakistan from February to December 2019, and comprised healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, support staff and field workers. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire.

Effect of low-cost interventions to reduce the incidence of violent events in two public sector tertiary-care emergency departments, Pakistan.

Background: Violence against health care workers has been widely reported in Pakistan.

Aims: This study, from September 2019 to April 2020, aimed to determine the effect of low-cost interventions to reduce violent events in two tertiary-care emergency departments in Karachi and Peshawar, Pakistan.

Methods: In phase one, a surveillance system was established in each department and information on violent events was recorded for three months.

Assessment of a mass media campaign on giving way to ambulances in five cities of Pakistan.

Objective: To determine the contribution of a mass media campaign towards encouraging more vehicles to give way to ambulances, and to identify the factors associated with higher likelihood of giving way to ambulances.

Methods: The three-phase observational study was conducted from December 2017 to March 2018 in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar cities of Pakistan. Six road sites in different areas of each city were selected for observation.

The magnitude and determinants of violence against healthcare workers in Pakistan.

Objectives: To determine the magnitude and determinants of violence against healthcare workers (HCWs) and to identify the predominant types and causes of violence experienced by them.

Methodology: A cross-sectional survey based on structured questionnaire adopted from previous surveys and qualitative data was conducted in 4 large cities and 12 districts in 3 provinces of Pakistan. The survey covered 8579 from all cadres of HCWs, including doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff, ambulance workers, vaccinators, lady health visitors, midwives and lady health workers (LHWs).

Out of pocket payment for diabetes mellitus in a public hospital of Karachi.

Objective: To estimate the out-of-pocket payment on routine management of type 2 diabetes in patients attending a public-sector facility.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to May 2017 at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, and comprised of persons with type 2 diabeties. A pretested questionnaire was administered to collect data from the patients.

Effectiveness of training on de-escalation of violence and management of aggressive behavior faced by health care providers in a public sector hospital of Karachi.

Background & Objective: Considering high burden of violence against healthcare workers in Pakistan APPNA Institute of Public Health developed a training to prevent reactive violence among healthcare providers. The purpose of this training was to equip healthcare providers with skills essential to control aggressive behaviors and prevent verbal and non-verbal violence in workplace settings. This study assesses the effectiveness of training in prevention, de-escalation and management of violence in healthcare settings.

Higher scrotal uptake ratio of (99m)Tc-MDP on bone scans in newly diagnosed prostate cancer: a reliable indicator of pelvic node metastasis.

Objective: Pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) is the gold standard procedure for nodal staging in prostate cancer (PC) but less commonly used due to its invasiveness. More commonly computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used although these have limited sensitivities and specificities. The aim of this study was to find out the correlation between higher scrotal uptake ratio (SUR) of (99m)Tc-methylene diphosphonate (MDP) on bone scan and pelvic node metastasis in patients with PC at high risk for nodal metastasis.

Pulmonary embolism in pregnancy: a diagnostic dilemma.

The diagnosis of PE in pregnancy poses a challenge due to pregnancy-related physiological changes. Missing the PE or wrongly treating a pregnant woman for PE has serious clinical consequences. There has been concern over the use of radiation-based imaging modalities due to risk of teratogenicity and oncogenicity.

Recent developments and future prospects of SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging.

Myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging is the most commonly performed functional imaging for assessment of coronary artery disease. High diagnostic accuracy and incremental prognostic value are the major benefits while suboptimal spatial resolution and significant radiation exposure are the main limitations. Its ability to detect hemodynamic significance of lesions seen on multidetector CT angiogram (MDCTA) has paved the path for a successful marriage between anatomical and functional imaging modalities in the form of hybrid SPECT/MDCTA system.

Awareness of bird flu amongst young college students.

Objective: To assess the awareness among students about the disease, their attitude during the outbreak, along with their perceptions about treatment, and severity of disease.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 220 intermediate students. The data was collected through a self filled questionnaire after taking verbal consent.