A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VICRYL RAPIDE SUTURE VERSUS CHROMIC CATGUT SUTURE FOR EPISIOTOMY REPAIR.

Background: An episiotomy is a perineal incision performed to facilitate childbirth by enlarging the diameter of the vulvae outflow. This study used vicryl rapide suture, a polyglactin analogue that causes less tissue reactivity and is removed through hydrolysis (as opposed to chromic catgut suture), because long-term complications after episiotomy repair are common. Made of collagen, chromic catgut is broken down by proteolytic enzymes and phagocytosis, which causes an inflammatory response in the tissues.

The Factors Associated With Mutant Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Positivity in Patients With Lung Cancer: A Study From a Tertiary Care Center in Pakistan.

Objective In this study, we sought to elucidate the relationship between demographic and clinical factors and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK) positivity in patients with advanced-stage lung cancer at a tertiary care center in Pakistan. Methods This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2020 to July 2023 at Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB), University of the Punjab. The study included 70 consecutive patients with advanced-stage lung cancer, and aimed to identify common EGFR mutations (Exon 19 deletion and Exon 21 L858R mutation), determine their frequency, and correlate EGFR-TK mutation positivity with clinical and non-clinical factors.

Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome in a Young Patient: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of severe vomiting, abdominal pain, and intractable nausea in chronic cannabis users. With the legalization of recreational marijuana in many states, awareness of CHS is crucial to prevent delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis. This case report presents a 25-year-old male with a history of type 1 diabetes mellitus and chronic cannabis use who presented to the emergency department with vomiting and epigastric pain.

A Challenging Case of Managing Septic Arthritis of the Sternoclavicular Joint in a Patient With a History of Intravenous Opioid Use Disorder: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Septic arthritis of the sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) is a rare condition with limited literature available. We present a case of a 31-year-old female patient with a history of opioid drug use who presented with septic arthritis of the left SCJ. The patient exhibited chest wall pain; imaging revealed septic arthritis with an associated retrosternal abscess.

Hydroxyzine-Induced Torsade De Pointes: A Case Report and a Literature Review.

Hydroxyzine is an H1-receptor antagonist used for managing allergies, anxiety, opioid withdrawal, and insomnia. An adverse effect of hydroxyzine, QT prolongation, may lead to torsade de pointes (TdP). Our case report and literature review highlight the risk of TdP with hydroxyzine use.

Managing Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) in Adults With Cryptogenic Stroke and Lymphoma: A Multidisciplinary Perspective.

​​Cryptogenic strokes are strokes with no clear underlying cause. Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is believed to be one of the causes of cryptogenic strokes. To manage such cases, closing the PFO is usually considered an option.

Diagnostic Dilemma, Possible Non-celiac Gluten Sensitivity: Consideration in Approach and Management.

Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is clinically identified as a condition where a percentage of the population reports intestinal and/or extraintestinal symptoms caused by gluten and/or wheat ingestion, and they are tested negative for celiac disease (CD) on the basis of specific serology and histopathology. NCGS should be labelled after the exclusion of CD and wheat allergy. This population reports improved symptoms on a gluten-free diet.

New Delhi Metallo-Beta-Lactamase Producing Carbapenem-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacilli: Microbiological And Genotypic Analyses At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan.

Background: Metallo-beta-lactamases (MBL) catalyze the hydrolysis of beta-lactam antibiotics including carbapenems. A novel MBL subtype, New Delhi MBL (NDM), poses a serious public health problem. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of NDM producers among the Carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacilli (GNB) in hospitalized patients and carrying out the molecular analysis of the NDM genes as reliable data on this is not available in Pakistan.

Dental caries experience in preschool children: is it related to a child's place of residence and family income?

Purpose: To assess the caries prevalence in 3- to 5-year-old children and determine whether urbanisation and income are associated with the dental decay status of these preschool children residing in the district of Lahore, Pakistan.

Materials And Methods: Multistage random sampling was done to collect the sample of children from urban and rural areas. A list of children 3 to 5 years of age was prepared, and every 2nd child on the list was randomly selected until a total of 700 children were enrolled in the study.

Dermatological manifestations of dengue fever.

Background: Each year dengue related infections are rising in tropical countries. There is not enough data available on dermatological manifestations of dengue fever. This study was conducted to investigate prevalence and type of dermatological manifestations of dengue fever (DF).

Clinical characteristics of patients with dengue fever: report of 48 patients in 2010.

Background: Dengue fever is a mosquito born viral disease. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Symptoms appear 3-14 days after the infective bite.

Classical presentation of Darier's disease: a rare disorder of keratinisation.

Keratosis follicularis or Darier's disease (DD), a rare autosomal dominant disorder is characterised clinically by appearance of multiple, prurutic, discrete, scaly papules affecting seborrheic areas coupled with palmar pits, nail changes and mucosal involvement. Histologicaly the lesions show suprabasal clefts with acantholytic and dyskeratotic cells. We report a case of 35 years old woman with typical clinical and histological features of Darier's disease.

Teaching biostatistics and epidemiology in a postgraduate medical institution: are we going in the right direction?

We examined the attitude and knowledge of 40 supervisors and trainees as well as the impact of workshops on statistical thinking and analytical processes in a medical facility in Pakistan: 45% thought that statistics and epidemiology should be left to professional statisticians; 86% of the trainees and 58% of the supervisors, however, thought that statistics should be taught as a full-time subject. The majority of trainees (86%) were dissatisfied with the workshops compared to 33% of supervisors. Our findings indicate an urgent need to revise our approach to teaching statistics and epidemiology.

Estimating the burden of head and neck cancers in the public health sector of Pakistan.

This study was designed to establish the burden of head and neck cancers (HNCA) in public sector based cancer centres of Pakistan. Data were obtained from the central body governing all the cancer centres in the country. The frequency of treated HNCAs out of the total body cancers treated across Pakistan was found to be 14.

Helicobacter pylori in dental plaque and gastric mucosa: correlation revisited.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) related gastric infection is highly prevalent in developing countries. Prevalence of bacterium in dental plaque from these regions is also reported to be high, but association between simultaneous colonization of H.

Is the fluoride level in drinking water a gold standard for the control of dental caries?

Aim: To obtain baseline knowledge of levels of dental caries in 12-year-old children residing in areas with varying levels of fluoride in drinking water in Pakistan; and to observe a dose-response relationship between the prevalence of dental caries at different concentrations of fluoride in drinking water.

Method: Clinical examination of children and analysis of samples of drinking water.

Results: The maximum reduction of caries in relation to fluoride levels in Pakistan was witnessed between the fluoride concentrations of 0.

Determining the optimal concentration of fluoride in drinking water in Pakistan.

Objectives: This study was designed to determine the optimal concentrations of fluoride for drinking water in Pakistan. Clinical dental examination of 1020 school children aged 12 years was carried out in 19 cities of Pakistan. Correlation between concentrations of water fluoride, caries and fluorosis was investigated by analyzing the data on fluoride concentrations in drinking water in the sampled population for which the caries and the fluorosis levels were also measured.

Dentistry as a possible route of hepatitis C transmission in Pakistan.

Aims And Objectives: To identify the role of dental surgical procedures in contributing to the transmission of hepatitis C.

Design: Prospective observational pilot study.

Setting: Shaikh Zayed Federal Postgraduate Medical Institute Lahore, Pakistan.

A map of natural fluoride in drinking water in Pakistan.

Aim: The assessment of fluoride levels in domestic water supplies in Pakistan.

Method: Water samples were collected from sources supplying the majority of the population: taps in places where piped water supply was available, tube-wells, boreholes and wells in rural areas, and stream water where appropriate.

Results: Analysis of 987 water supplies showed that they are predominantly low in fluoride content, 84% containing less than 0.

Correlation of Helicobacter pylori in dental plaque and gastric mucosa of dyspeptic patients.

Objective: To establish the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori colonization of dental plaque and its correlation with Helicobacter pylori infection of the antral mucosa in patients with symptomatic dyspepsia.

Methods: Seventy eight adult dyspeptic patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy were prospectively enrolled. Four air dried dental plaque cytology slides and four gastric antral mucosal biopsies were stained with Giemsa stain.