Risk of infection with arboviruses in a healthy population in Pakistan based on seroprevalence.

Infectious diseases caused by arboviruses are a public health concern in Pakistan. However, studies on data prevalence and threats posed by arboviruses are limited. This study investigated the seroprevalence of arboviruses in a healthy population in Pakistan, including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Tamdy virus (TAMV), and Karshi virus (KSIV) based on a newly established luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) assays, and Zika virus (ZIKV) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

Diagnostic Accuracy of Immature Platelet Fraction (IPF) to Differentiate Between Thrombocytopenia due to Peripheral Destruction versus Bone Marrow Failure.

Objective: To analyse the predictive value of immature platelet fraction (IPF) as an independent diagnostic marker to differentiate between hyperdestructive and hypoproductive thrombocytopenia.

Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Rawalpindi, from February to July 2022.

Fifth Generation Quality Control of Immunoassay Parameters by Six Sigma Value.

Objective: To determine the sigma value of immunoassay parameters which are within the 2Z score on external quality control (EQC).

Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Chemical Pathology and Endocrinology (AFIP),non-ability ity consecutive  from June to November 2022.

Role of δ-tocotrienol and resveratrol supplementation in the regulation of micro RNAs in patients with metabolic syndrome: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the effect of δ-tocotrienol and resveratrol mixture (TRM) supplementation in comparison to placebo for 24 weeks, on the relative expression of miRNAs (miRNA-130b-5p, miRNA-221-5p, miR-15b-5p, miRNA-122-5p, and miRNA-376b-5p) in patients with Metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Design: This randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted at the tertiary care institute of the NUMS, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. A total of 82 adult MetS patients were enrolled and randomly grouped into the TRM group (n = 41) and the Placebo group (n = 41).

BK virus associated haemorrhagic cystitis in related donor haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: A developing country experience.

A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted at the Virology Department, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Rawalpindi, from January 2016 to July 2018. Medical records of 193 patients were examined to determine the number of patients developing Haemorrhagic Cystitis associated with BK virus (BKV). BKV PCR testing was done on the patients' urine samples.

Herpes Simplex Virus Encephalitis: An Unexpected Outcome in a Polytrauma Patient.

An 84-year male was brought in the emergency after a road traffic accident leading to polytrauma with deteriorating consciousness. Prolonged unexplained unconsciousness led to cerebrospinal fluid examination. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was found to be positive for HSV-1 DNA.

Laboratory Evaluation and Pathological Features of Bone Marrow Metastasis in Non-haematological Malignancies.

This study aimed to analyse the diagnostic accuracy of different laboratory parameters that can predict bone marrow metastasis. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi from March 2021 to August 2021. Bone marrow aspirates and biopsy procedures were done on 60 newly diagnosed cases of non-haematological malignancies as part of staging.

δ-Tocotrienol in Combination with Resveratrol Improves the Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Biomarkers in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of central obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia. It is a global health issue with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Recently, a few natural products have been reported with promising anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects.

Early Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease by Inflammatory Biomarkers of Atherosclerosis in Patients with Angina.

Early diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with chest pain is a challenge. Currently diagnosis of CAD is confirmed by coronary angiography, which is invasive and not easily available in developing countries. Therefore, it is imperative to establish noninvasive biomarker for early diagnosis of CAD in patients with angina and determine the diagnostic accuracy of inflammatory biomarkers of atherosclerosis in comparison to angiography and correlate with severity of CAD in patients with angina.

Health care associated Clostridioides difficile infection and colonization in patients admitted at tertiary care hospital Pakistan.

Objectives: To evaluate the epidemiology of clostridioides difficile infections and colonisation in a tertiary-care setting.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from June 1, 2017, to October 31, 2019, and comprised adult patients admitted in high-risk units of the hospital for any disease experiencing watery stools after 48 hours of hospital admission and passing more than 3 stools per day with no other recognised aetiology. Stool samples of the participants, diagnosed with antibiotic associated diarrhoea, were submitted for glutamate dehydrogenase antigen assay and clostridioides toxin A/B assay detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and clostridioides difficile toxin gene detection by polymerase chain reaction.

Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum in COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Rare Occurence.

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum with COVID pneumonia is a rare occurrence with or without accompanying subcutaneous emphysema or pneumothorax. The aim of this study was to establish relation of this complication to severity of lung disease and its clinical outcome. The study was conducted for a period of seven months from April to October 2020 in the CT Department of Armed Forces Institute of Radiology and Imaging (AFIRI), Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Association of Trace Metals in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Objective: To compare the serum concentrations of copper, iron and zinc in schizophrenic patients with healthy individuals.

Study Design: Cross-sectional comparison study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Chemical Pathology and Endocrinology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

ChromagarTM Col-Apse for Detection of Colistin Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Multidrug Resistant Gram Negative Bacilli.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of CHROMagarTM COL-APSE, for detection of colistin resistance in clinical isolates of multi drug resistant (MDR) gram negative bacilli (GNB).

Study Design: Cross-sectional validation study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi, Pakistan from February 2019 to August 2019.

HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 Alleles in Celiac Disease Patients and Healthy Controls.

Objective: To compare HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 alleles between celiac disease patients and healthy control group.

Study Design: Observational cross-sectional study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Immunology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), from April to December 2018.

Phylogenetic and sequencing analysis of Chikungunya virus strains from local Pakistani population.

Objective: To outline the genotype of Chikungunya virus strains and to form their phylogenetic tree.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from August 2016 to September 2017, and comprised suspected Chikungunya samples. The viral ribonucleic acid was extracted and amplified.

Procalcitonin as a biomarker of bacterial infection in critically ill patients admitted with suspected Sepsis in Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care hospital.

Objective: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin (PCT), C- reactive protein (CRP), total leukocyte count (TLC) and lactate in critically ill patients admitted with suspicion of sepsis.

Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted at the department of Chemical Pathology and Endocrinology AFIP, Rawalpindi, in collaboration with Medical and surgical intensive care units (ICU) of CMH Rawalpindi from January 2019 to December 2019. A total of 126 patients of both genders with age above 18 years and fulfilling the inclusion criteria of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) were inducted in the study.

Effect of Temperature and Preservative on Neo-ethanol Formation in Postmortem Whole Blood Samples.

Objective: To determine the association of temperature, time duration, and preservatives with ethanol neo-genesis in postmortem whole blood samples.

Study Design: Observational cross-sectional study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Chemical Pathology and Toxicology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, in collaboration with Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi from August 2020 to January 2021.

Association of Therapeutic Dose of Valproic Acid and Plasma Glycine Levels in Epileptic Patients.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of hyperglycinemia in epileptic patients taking valproic acid (VPA); and the correlation between therapeutic dose of valproic acid and plasma glycine levels in epileptic patients.

Study Design: Observational, cross-sectional study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Chemical Pathology and Endocrinology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Rawalpindi, in collaboration with Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from August 2020 to January 2021.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Markers of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and Insulin Sensitivity (QUICKI) in Gestational Diabetes.

Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of HOMA-IR, and QUICKI in diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) considering oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) as gold standard.

Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Chemical Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi from September 2020 to February 2021.

Comparison evaluation between gene Xpert Mtb/Rif and multiplex PCR for rapid diagnosis of mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of Gene Xpert mycobacterium tuberculosis-rifampicin and multiplex polymerase chain reacton for the detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance.

Methods: The cross-sectional validation study was conducted at the Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from March to October 2018, and comprised mycobacterium tuberculosis-positive rifampicin-resistant and rifampicin-susceptible samples, with the latter acting as negative controls. Gene Xpert mycobacterium tuberculosis-rifampicin assasy and multiplex polymerase chain reacton were applied simultaneously and compared with gold standard mycobacterium growth indicator tube 960.

Coding-Complete Genome Sequence of a SARS-CoV-2 Strain Isolated in Gilgit, Pakistan.

Here, we report the coding-complete genome sequence of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) isolate obtained from a nasopharyngeal swab from the first patient with COVID-19 in Gilgit, Pakistan.

Trace metal profiling in patients with depression in Pakistani population.

Objective: To determine level of trace metals in patients with depression in order to explore any association between the two.

Methods: The case-control study was conducted at the Department of Chemical Pathology and Endocrinology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January to December 2017, and comprised diagnosed cases of depression with equal number of age- and gender-matched controls. Depression was diagnosed by a consultant psychiatrist as per the International Classification of Diseases version 10 / Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -IV criteria and a self-reported depression screening through Siddiqui-Shah Depression Scale.

Evaluation of blood lead levels by atomic absorption spectrometry in school going children of northern areas of Pakistan.

Objective: To evaluate blood lead levels and assess their correlation with academic performance in school children.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Chemical Pathology and Endocrinology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January to December, 2017, and comprised school children in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and Hajira, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. About 5 ml of venous blood was collected in potassium-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid tubes for lead levels, haemoglobin and plasma ferritin.