Association of Gestational Iron-deficiency Anemia with Antenatal Depression among Pregnant Women: A Case-control Study from Tertiary Care Hospitals, Lahore.

Objective: The goal of this study is to investigate the potential association between gestational anemia and antenatal depression in pregnant women.

Methods: It is a case-control study consisting of 684 pregnant women under 18 years recruited in different tertiary care hospitals, in Lahore, between June 2023 and December 2023. Utilizing an online questionnaire, data collection encompassed demographics, dietary habits, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).

Healthcare professionals' understanding and perception of drug-related issues linked to off-label pharmacological medications used for COVID-19.

Background: To evaluate the opinions of healthcare workers regarding drug therapy problems linked to anti-infective medicines used for the treatment of COVID-19 infection in Pakistan.

Research Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to October 2022 using a self-administered questionnaire developed by the authors, having three sections: demographics, knowledge, and perception. The study was validated by research experts and pilot-tested on 30 subjects.

Evaluation of healthcare professionals' understanding of fluoroquinolones' safety profile, usage, and boxed warnings in Pakistan.

Introduction: Fluoroquinolones (FQs) is a distinct class of antibiotics which are prescribed and used quite frequently worldwide, despite the box warnings (BW) issued by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Literature has shown in spite of BWs related to FQs there is minimal impact on health care professionals (HCPs) prescribing habits, potentially attributing towards limited and insufficient awareness. In Pakistan, FQs are mostly prescribed antibiotics for microbial treatments, therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the level of knowledge about the safety profile, use, and BW of FQs among HCPs working in Pakistan.

Quality of life and wellbeing among breast cancer patients in Lahore, Pakistan.

Background: Breast cancer has a high incidence rate, emphasizing the necessity of enhanced information on health-related quality of life (HrQOL) in this population of patients. The aim of this study was to identify the factors influencing the QOL experienced by patients in Pakistan.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on women with breast cancer, and four instruments were used on a random sample of 130 Pakistani women: FACIT-B Version 4 questionnaire,WHO causality assessment scale, Naranjo's algorithm, and a demographic/clinical characteristics section.

Can Pharmacists' Counseling Improve the Use of Inhalers and Quality of Life? A Prospective "Pre" and "Post" Education Analysis in Mardan, Pakistan.

Introduction: Asthma is one of the common major non-communicable respiratory diseases, and is associated with a lower health-related quality of life (QOL). Poor inhalation is a significant contributing factor to poor control of asthma. Community pharmacist has a vital role to play in assisting patients and ultimately improving their asthma conditions through the use of inhalers.

Challenges of having a child with thalassemia in Pakistan: A phenomenological study.

Background: Thalassemia is a persistent hemolytic disease and has debilitating effects on patients and their parents. Parents of these children experience pain and suffer from additional emotional strain as they provide daily and lifetime care and are mostly concerned about the health and future of their children.

Aim: The study aimed to understand the experiences of parents of children with thalassemia related to their family, financial, social, treatment, and psychological issues in Pakistan.

Phylogenetic relationships of a novel bat fly species infesting the geographically widespread Old World fruit bat, Rousettus leschenaultii, in Southern Asia.

The global epidemiological significance of bats and their blood-sucking ectoparasites is increasingly recognized. However, relevant data are scarce from Pakistan where the Palearctic and Oriental zoogeographic regions meet. In this study, 200 bats belonging to five species were examined for the presence of ectoparasites in Pakistan.

Correction: Medication reconciliation on discharge in a tertiary care Riyadh Hospital: An observational study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Clinical Disease Characteristics and Treatment Trajectories Associated with Mortality among COVID-19 Patients in Punjab, Pakistan.

Background: Data on Pakistani COVID-19 patient mortality predictors is limited. It is essential to comprehend the relationship between disease characteristics, medications used, and mortality for better patient outcomes.

Methods: The medical records of confirmed cases in the Lahore and Sargodha districts were examined using a two-stage cluster sampling from March 2021 to March 2022.

Comparison of General Use of Antibiotics between Medical and Nonmedical University Students of Lahore.

Objective: To compare the knowledge of antibiotic resistance between medical and nonmedical university students of Lahore. . An observational cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among students of Lahore, Pakistan, from November 12, 2021, to December 13, 2021.

Parents' refusal to vitamin-K supplementation among neonates and its association with vaccine refusal: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate the prevalence of neonatal vitamin K prophylaxis refusal among parents and its possible association with subsequent vaccine hesitancy or refusal.

Methods: The databases searched included PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase via Ovid, CINAHL Plus and Medline via EBSCOhost, ProQuest and PsycINFO from inception to 31 August 2017. Keywords, such as "vitamin K", "refusal", "decline", "hesitancy", and "vaccination" were used to identify potential studies.

A systematic review on the effectiveness of herbal interventions for the treatment of male infertility.

Male infertility is an emerging health issue in the world today. Surgical interventions for the treatment of male infertility are available but are quite expensive. Herbal interventions pose a popular alternative for the treatment of infertility.

Evaluation of Conspiracy Beliefs, Vaccine Hesitancy, and Willingness to Pay towards COVID-19 Vaccines in Six Countries from Asian and African Regions: A Large Multinational Analysis.

Vaccination protects people from serious illness and associated complications. Conspiracy theories and misinformation on vaccines have been rampant during the COVID-19 pandemic and are considered significant drivers of vaccine hesitancy. Since vaccine hesitancy can undermine efforts to immunize the population against COVID-19 and interferes with the vaccination rate, this study aimed to ascertain the COVID-19-vaccine-related conspiracy beliefs, vaccine hesitancy, views regarding vaccine mandates, and willingness to pay for vaccines among the general population.

Advances in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Infectious diseases pose substantial challenges to the healthcare system and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality [...

Evaluation of knowledge and practices about administration and regulations of high alert medications among hospital pharmacists in Pakistan: findings and implications.

Background: A death of a nine months old child in Pakistan following the rapid administration of potassium chloride raised serious concerns on the awareness of appropriate use of high alert medications (HAMs) among healthcare professionals (HCPs). This study aimed to ascertain HAMs-related knowledge among hospital pharmacists in Pakistan.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study using exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling was conducted among hospital pharmacists in healthcare settings in Punjab, Pakistan.

Acute Kidney Injury and Mortality among Patients with Coronavirus Disease-2019 in Pakistan.

The kidney is the most vulnerable organ in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients besides the lungs, with evidence of acute kidney injury (AKI). We aimed to find the prevalence of AKI among COVID-19 patients and further evaluate the association of between COVID-19 and AKI along with an understanding of mortality. A prospective observational study was conducted among COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex, between March 2020 and June 2020.

A Prospective Study of Medication Surveillance of a Pediatric Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan.

Purpose: Several studies have shown that polypharmacy is the main cause of drug interactions, and the prevalence and the level of the severity varied with the duration of stay in the hospital, sex and race of the patients. The aims of this investigation were to identify the drug-drug interactions in hospitalized pediatric patients associated with polypharmacy, and to categorize the drug interactions in pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interactions according to their level of severity.

Methods: A cross-sectional, prospective analytical study was performed at a pediatric tertiary care hospital in Lahore, Pakistan for the duration of 4 months, which included prescription orders for 300 patients.

Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with bats.

Background: Fruit bats play an important role in pollination and seed dispersal, and their conservation is important to maintain the productivity of some crops and natural ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and perception of fruit bats by orchard farmers and agricultural communities in Pakistan.

Methods: The present survey was conducted in two districts (i.

Medication reconciliation on discharge in a tertiary care Riyadh Hospital: An observational study.

The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency and characteristics of discharge medication discrepancies as identified by pharmacists during discharge medication reconciliation. We also attempted to identify the factors that influence the occurrence of drug discrepancies during medication reconciliation. From June to December 2019, a prospective study was performed at the cardiac center of King Fahad Medical City (KFMC), a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh.

Impact of Pharmacist-Led Diabetes Self-Care Education on Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Pakistan: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

There is a little evidence on efficacy of pharmacy-based interventions on clinical outcomes of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Pakistan. To appraise the impact of pharmacist-led self-care education on glycemic control, self-care practices and disease knowledge of T2DM patients with poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 7%). In this 6-months, randomized controlled trial (RCT), = 75, T2DM patients seeking care at a diabetes clinic were randomized in to two groups.