Pakistan Journal of Medical & Health Sciences

Outcomes of Optilume Balloon Dilatation in patient with Urethral Stricture

SUMAIYA NOOR — 2024-11-08

Background: Urethral stricture occurs at a rate of 0.2%–0.6% in the male population and accounts for hundreds of millions of dollars of health care costs yearly.
Aim: To determine the outcomes of optilume balloon dilatation in patient presenting with urethral stricture.
Methodology: This Quasi Experimental study was conducted from January to June-2024 at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi. At the time of enrollment demographic and clinical details were taken. All patients were screened for urethral stricture. Before procedure IPSS score was calculated. Uroflowmetry and was done to assess the Qmax and PVR. All patients with urethral stricture were undergoing optilume balloon dilatation. All patients were followed till 30 days assessment of outcomes.
Results: Data were collected from 50 male patients. Mean age of the patients was 45.6±12.3 years. Baseline IPSS score was 22.0±6.8, Qmax10.5 ± 2.8 ml/sec and PVR 100.5±20.3ml. The mean IPSS score decreased from 22.0±6.8 at baseline to 7.6±5.7 post-procedure (p < 0.001), reflecting a substantial reduction in urinary symptoms. The mean maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) increased from 10.5±2.8 ml/sec to 18.2±3.5 ml/sec (p <0.001), indicating improved urinary flow. Additionally, the mean post-void residual (PVR) volume decreased from 100.5 ± 20.3 ml to 30.4±10.2ml (p <0.001), suggesting more complete bladder emptying.
Conclusion: It is concluded that Optilume balloon dilatation represents a promising therapeutic approach for urethral stricture, as evidenced by significant improvements in IPSS, Qmax, and PVR within 30 days post-procedure.
Keywords: Optilume balloon dilatation and urethral stricture.

Evaluation of Awareness levels about foot care and its impact on foot care practices among Diabetic Individuals in Pakistan

HAMZA AZIZ — 2024-11-08

Background: This research covers a very important topic in today’s time, diabetic foot care. To prevent its complications, an in depth understanding of awareness levels and practices about foot care among diabetic individuals is very important.
Aim: To assess awareness levels about foot care and its impact on foot care practices among diabetic individuals.
Methods: The population of the study was composed of the diabetic patients coming to outpatient departments in a tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi. The study was carried out over a period of 6 months from January 2024 to June 2024. The participants were enrolled through non-probability convenience sampling. 266 diabetic patients participated in the research who met the inclusion criteria. Data was collected by using a structured questionnaire.
Results: A total of 266 valid responses were received that were analyzed using SPSS v25, out of which 124 (46.6%) are males and 142 (53.4%) are females. The analysis showed that there is a weak positive correlation between the total knowledge and total practice scores of 0.174 (p value 0.004).
Conclusion: Older patients, male population, patients with other chronic diseases, patients who received a formal education about diabetes foot complications, and patients having diabetes for more than 20 years show greater knowledge and better practice to protect from diabetic foot complications. It is imperative to inform people with diabetes that proper foot care is crucial in preventing the formation of wounds.
Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetic Foot, Chronic diseases, foot care practices

Investigating the Acceptability of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Population of Punjab: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices

MUHAMMAD KALEEM ULLAH — 2024-11-08

Background: The Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) is a pandemic that outbreak from Wuhan, China, in late 2019.
Aim: To determine the knowledge, practices, and attitude of the general population related to the COVID-19 vaccine in Punjab, Pakistan.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Punjab, Pakistan, comprising the general population from August 2021 to October 2021. Through the online survey, Google targeted the general public by providing surveys ranging from employment and education-specific issues to emails and social media platform listings to ensure that legitimate data was collected. Data was analysed through a chi-square test.
Result: Total 703 respondents participated in this study out of which 649(92.32%) were male and 54(7.68%) were female, 37(5.70%) male and 6(11.11%) female respondents were suffering from COVID-19 while 200(28.45%) male and 11(1.56%) female were injected Sinopharm, 28(3.98%) and 0.57% (4) female were injected Oxford/AstraZeneca, and 416(59.17%) male respondents and 39(5.55%) female respondents who were injected Sinovac against COVID-19. There were 294(41.82%) respondents who think that they will encourage their families and friends to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which is significant (p = 0.027). There were 277(39.40%) respondents who think that I think there is no harm in taking the COVID-19 vaccine. There were 503(71.55%) male and 51(94.444%) female respondents who were vaccinated against COVID-19.
Conclusion: This study concluded that respondents have less and improper knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, the general population showed a positive attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine and showed willingness to be vaccinated. This study recommended that the government should develop awareness regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.
Keywords: COVID-19, Vaccines, Knowledge, Practice, Punjab

Diagnostic Accuracy of Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Detection of Prostate Cancer Keeping Histopathology as Gold Standard

MARYAM SAMAD — 2024-11-08

Background: Prostate cancer is considered the most common tumour among males. In recent years, there has been a shift towards noninvasive techniques for diagnosing prostate cancer through diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). It can avoid unnecessary biopsy in many cases.
Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of DWI for prostate cancer diagnosis, keeping histopathology as the gold standard.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the radiology department of Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, from May 2023 to October 2023. We conducted a cross-sectional study in the radiology department of BVH, Bahawalpur, from May 2023 to October 2023. Prior approval was taken from the institutional ethical review board. 55 patients were included with elevated PSA levels and symptoms suspicious for prostate cancer. The DWI imaging was evaluated for prostate cancer, and the final results were compared with histopathological diagnosis.
Results: The mean age of patients was 59.85±5.60 years. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of DWI for prostate cancer diagnosis were 84.2%, 83.3%, and 83.6%, respectively.
Conclusion: DWI is an alternative, noninvasive technique for the diagnosis of prostate cancer with high diagnostic accuracy.
Keywords: histopathology, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), prostate-specific antigen (PSA)

Relationship of Hematological Indices with the Outcome of Dengue Infection

MALEEHA ZIA MUFTI — 2024-11-08

Background: Dengue infection poses a significant global health challenge, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of its hematological dynamics for effective clinical management. This study aimed to investigate the hematological parameters of dengue-infected patients, emphasizing platelet dynamics and their correlation with disease severity.
Methodology: This longitudinal study, conducted at Ayub Teaching Hospital, spanned August 2022 to February 2023. Employing consecutive sampling, 146 dengue patients were enrolled after obtaining approval from the ASRB/IRB IPDM KMU. Patients of all ages and both genders were included, except those with known ITP, hematologic malignancy, or any chronic disease. Data collection encompassed demographic characteristics and clinical symptoms, gathered through a proforma after obtaining informed consent. Hematological parameters were meticulously assessed at defined intervals Data analysis was done using SPSS V.25 and Graph-Pad Prism software. A p value ≤ 0.05 was deemed statistically significant.
Results: The mean age of participants was 38.58 ± 18.53 years. Thrombocytopenia classification revealed 50% mild, 32.9% moderate, and 17.1% severe cases at diagnosis, with 76.02% achieving normal platelet counts by the 10th day. Platelet counts and indices exhibited temporal normalization significantly quickly in a non-hospitalized group of patients, signifying recovery. Crucially, the platelet count at diagnosis was found to be a robust predictor for hospitalization, with lower counts correlating significantly with an increased likelihood of hospital admission on multivariate logistic regression [Exp(B) = 0.964, p<0.001].
Conclusions: We emphasize the predictive power of the platelet count at diagnosis for dengue severity. Trends, like the rapid normalization of platelet morphology and indices in non-hospitalized patients, provide valuable insights for clinicians, guiding more effective clinical decisions.
Keywords: Dengue Virus, Dengue fever, Epidemiology, Disease severity, Clinical Outcomes

World TB Day 2024

DR. SAULAT ULLAH KHAN — 2024-11-08

World TB day, falling on 24th March each year, is designed to build public awareness that tuberculosis still remains a public health problem in much of the world, causing the death of more than a million people each year, mostly in the third world. Dr. Robert Koch astounded the scientific community on 24th March 1882 by announcing that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus. Koch's discovery opened the way towards diagnosing and curing tuberculosis. Everyone can take an active role in helping all people in need gain access to accurate TB diagnosis and effective treatment. Patient can stop TB by becoming active participant in their own care and taking all their anti-TB drugs as prescribed. Health workers can stop TB by staying alert to the symptoms of the disease and providing prompt diagnosis and treatment. Scientist can stop TB by engaging in need research to develop new diagnostics, new drugs and new vaccines. Teachers can stop TB by educating their students about this age-old scourge.
Communities can stop TB by sharing information to help prevent the disease and get treatment to those who need it.