Efficacy of amikacin and ciprofloxacin against clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis was a leading cause of death at the turn of the 20th century and continues to be one of the medical scourges of mankind. Before the availability of antimicrobial drugs the cornerstone of treatment was rest in the open air in sanatoria. The major breakthrough in treatment of tuberculosis came with the discovery of Streptomycin.

A crimean - congo haemorrhagic Fever outbreak in northern balochistan.

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics, epidemiology, predictors of fatal outcome (PFO), and management effects of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) patients during an outbreak in Northern Balochistan.

Design: Descriptive study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Fatima Jinnah Hospital and Combined Military Hospital, Quetta, from June to October, 2001.

Frequency of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis detection at a single laboratory in islamabad.

Objective: To determine the frequency of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis and to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of microscopy and conventional Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) culture technique in the diagnosis of cervical lymphadenitis caused by M. tuberculosis (MTB) Study Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Mycobacteriology, Public Health Laboratories Division, National Institute of Health, Islamabad, from January 2003 to December 2004.

Trend of blood groups and Rh factor in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of different blood groups and Rh factors in a random population sample from urban and rural areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad region of Pakistan.

Methods: Blood group and Rh factor determination was carried out by the antigen-antibody agglutination test from October 2003 to October 2004, and encompassed 2518 subjects.

Results: The percentages of various groups among male and female subjects, respectively, were recorded as 27.

Clinicopathological features of lupus anticoagulant; experience at AFIP during last seven years.

Background: The lupus anticoagulant (LA) belongs to family of immunoglobulins, most commonly an IgG isotype. These antibodies have been identified most frequently in association with thromboembolic events, recurrent fetal loss and thrombocytopenia. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presenting clinical and pathological features in patients LA positive presenting at AFIP Rawalpindi over the period of Jan 1993 to Nov 2000.

Penetration and activity of antibiotics in brain abscess.

Penetration of antimicrobial agents into the cerebrospinal fluid is dependent on numerous factors, including their serum protein binding, molecular size and lipid solubility, and degree of local inflammation. The choice of an appropriate agent is further complicated by diverse bacterial flora involved in brain abscess, local resistant patterns and activity of the drug in abscess environment. This update examines the conventional and newer agents in the above context for their role in the management of brain abscess.

Treatment response in HCV related chronic hepatitis.

Objective: To evaluate the virological response to treatment with interferon and ribavirin in patients with hepatitis C related liver disease.

Design: A descriptive study.

Place And Duration Of Study: January to September 2002 at Virology Department, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Rawalpindi.

Genus and species-specific IgG and IgM antibodies for pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objective: To evaluate three different enzyme immunoassays for serological diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis and to compare their diagnostic accuracy in different combinations.

Design: A non-interventional comparative study.

Place And Duration Of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi between April and September 2001.

Correlation of HBV DNA PCR and HBeAg in hepatitis B carriers.

Objective: To correlate hepatitis B HBV DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results with HBeAg and serum alanine transferase (ALT) in carriers.

Design: Non-interventional descriptive study.

Place And Duration Of Study: The study was carried out at Virology Department, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi, from January 2001 to September 2002.

Frequency and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of mycobacterial isolates from extra-pulmonary tuberculosis cases.

Objective: To determine the frequency and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in Rawalpindi.

Setting: Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi.

Methods: Between September 2000 and August 2002, 899 pulmonary and 460 extra-pulmonary specimens from suspected cases of tuberculosis were examined.

Diagnosis of beta-thalassaemia major in previously transfused patients.

Objective: The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of blood transfusion(s) on the haematological picture of b-thalassaemia major.

Design: Retrospective case control study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Haematology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi from January 1999 to December 2000.

Neonatal sepsis: high antibiotic resistance of the bacterial pathogens in a neonatal intensive care unit in Karachi.

Objective: To study the bacterial pathogens causing neonatal sepsis and their sensitivity pattern so that guidelines can be prepared for empirical antibiotic therapy.

Setting: The study was conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at PNS Shifa (Naval Hospital), Karachi during January 1997 to June 1999.

Methods: Blood specimens for culture were drawn from 520 newborns admitted in a NICU with sepsis.

Clinical and laboratory features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Pakistani patients.

Objectives: To study the clinico-pathological features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Pakistani patients at the time of presentation in the four teaching hospitals of Rawalpindi-Islamabad area.

Settings: Department of Immunology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi, Military Hospital (MH), Rawalpindi, Armed Forces Institute of Urology (AFIU), Rawalpindi, Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Rawalpindi, Department of Rheumatology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad.

Subjects: Patients suffering from SLE, diagnosed on the basis of the ARA criteria.

Prenatal diagnosis of beta-thalassaemia in Pakistan: experience in a Muslim country.

A service for prenatal diagnosis of beta-thalassaemia was introduced in Pakistan in May 1994. Two renowned Islamic scholars, consulted before the service was introduced, ruled that a pregnancy can be terminated if the fetus is affected by a serious genetic disorder, and if termination is before 120 days (17 weeks) of gestation. During the first 3(1/2) years of the service 300 couples requested the test.

Characterization of multi-drug resistant Salmonella typhi isolated from Pakistan.

Thirty-nine strains of Salmonella typhi, isolated in 1995 from four Districts in Pakistan, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Kharian and Jehlem, were catalogued and examined. Chromosomal DNA from each isolate was digested with XbaI restriction endonuclease and subjected to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Three clonal variants comprising of 17-19 DNA fragments were identified.

Drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a four years experience.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of drug resistance amongst the clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis.

Setting: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi.

A case for comprehensive antenatal screening for blood group antibodies.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of various blood group antibodies responsible for haemolytic disease of the new born (HDN).

Design: A prospective study of all neonates and still born foetuses suspected to have haemolytic disease of the new born and their mothers.

Subjects: Neonates suspected to have HDN as per study criteria along with their mothers and mothers of still born foetuses with hydrops foetalis.

Prenatal diagnosis of haemophilia-A: a basis for the Pakistani families.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of a PCR based strategy for prenatal diagnosis of Haemophilia-A in Pakistani Families.

Design: Prospective.

Setting: Department of Haematology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi.

Demographic aspects of hepatitis C in northern Pakistan.

Objective: To find out the prevalence of hepatitis C in various, age, sex and ethnic groups in Pakistan.

Setting: Specimens obtained from military/civil hospitals and General Practitioners of Rawalpindi Islamabad, region and other areas of Northern Pakistan, in vicinity.

Subjects: Serum of 1710 patients of hepatitis C, diagnosed at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi between 1st July 1996 and Dec 31, 1997, tested for Anti HCV by 3rd generation Murex Elisa.

Presenting features in Pakistani patients suffering from the antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody--classical subtype (c-ANCA) associated vasculitis.

Objectives: To study the clinicopathological features in c-ANCA positive patients suffering from vasculitis with a view to find out the most common mode of presentation.

Study Design: Retrospective.

Settings: Department of Immunology, AFIP, Rawalpindi, MH Rawalpindi, CMH Rawalpindi, Department of Rheumatology, PIMS, Islamabad, RGH Rawalpindi, FFH, Rawalpindi.

Role of ciprofloxacin in typhoid fever.

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of ciprofloxacin in typhoid fever and to compare its efficacy with chloramphenicol. Eighty patients between 20-45 years with positive blood culture were included in the study. Seventy five percent patients treated with ciprofloxacin became afebrile within 72 hours while with chloramphenicol it took upto 120-144 hours for the same percentage of patients to become afebrile.

Indirect immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and IgM capture ELISA for detection of antibodies to lipopolysaccharide in adult typhoid fever patients in Pakistan.

Sera from 339 adult febrile patients in Pakistan were tested for antibodies to Salmonella typhi lipopolysaccharide by indirect immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and IgM capture ELISA. A total of 55 patients had S. typhi cultured from their blood, 20 had S.