Burden of Respiratory Disease in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Experience from a PICU of a Tertiary Care Center in Pakistan.

Introduction: We aimed to determine the burden of respiratory disease by examining clinical profiles and associated predictors of morbidity and mortality of patients admitted to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in Pakistan, a resource limited country. We also stratified the respiratory diseases as defined by the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Classification.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on children aged 1 month to 18 years who were diagnosed with respiratory illness at the PICU in a tertiary hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

Clinical pattern, neuroimaging findings and outcome of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis in children: A retrospective study.

Objective: To determine the clinical spectrum, neuroimaging findings, and outcome of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) in children.

Method: We conducted a descriptive cross sectional study of all children aged 6 months to 18 years, diagnosed with ADEM at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from January 2018 till December 2022.

Results: This retrospective study enrolled 30 cases of ADEM, with a mean age of 6.

Graft Failure After Revascularization for Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischaemia (CLTI) Patients: The Role of Graft Surveillance.

Introduction Failure of infrainguinal bypass grafts remains a major problem tackled by vascular surgeons despite a meticulous surgical technique. All infrainguinal bypasses should go under routine surveillance to pick the grafts at risk for the prevention of graft failure. Objectives The aim was to find out if we were adhering to the European Society of Vascular Surgery (ESVS) guidelines in the management of chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) patients, including postoperative follow-up and to monitor whether the patients were having postoperative duplex surveillance scans to pick any graft at risk.

Availability and use of Automated External Defibrillators in Karachi, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: To assess the availability and use of automated external defibrillators in various public and private establishments, and to assess knowledge, attitude and practices related to its use.

Methods: The telephone-based survey was conducted from March to August 2019 in Karachi after approval from the ethics review committee of the Aga Khan University, Karachi, and comprised public and private establishments identified through purposive sampling based on the standard requirements for automated external defibrillators installation. Data was collected using a predesigned questionnaire which was pilot-tested for reliability and validity.

Vitamin D and COVID-19: is there a role?

The COVID-19 pandemic requires a rapid understanding of the pathogenesis of the spectrum of the disease and factors associated with varied clinical presentations. Immune dysregulation with a cytokine storm (CS) progressing to ARDS with resemblance to sHLH is suggested as a main cause of tissue injury. Low levels of vitamin D were observed in COVID-19 cases with higher incidence of mortality in 20 European countries, increased risk of severity in COVID-19 contributing to ARDS or fulminant myocarditis and micro vascular thrombosis is proposed.