Lipid profile in non-obese and non-diabetic: hypertensive patients

To find out the frequency and pattern of lipid abnormalities in non-obese and non-patients suffering from essential hypertension. This is the cross sectional descriptive study. The study was conducted at the Department of Medicine and its OPD, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore from July 2009 to February 2010. 100 patients were included in the study. Patients were taken randomly. Blood samp were checked in Pathology laboratory of the hospital. Increase in total serum cholesterol was seen in majority of patients. Increase in total cholesterol showed an increasing trend with the time duration of hypertension. Highly atherogenic LDL-cholesterol was increased in majority of patients. One patient of familial combined hyperlipidemia was also detected. Physicians should be careful while treating hypertensive patients. Lipid profile should be advised not only in obese and diabetic but also in thin lean non-diabetic, hypertensive patients. If we treat dyslipidemia in -0 hypertensive patients we can decrease the coronary artery disease risk to an appreciable level

Malnutrition assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

To assess the prevalence and severity of malnutrition among COPD patients along with the effect of dietary intervention on the disease outcome. This was an interventional, Quasi- experimental study. The study was conducted at Department of Medicine and Department of Chest Diseases, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. Total duration was one year from April 2009 to March 2010. Sample Size: 100 patients with COPD were investigated. Purposive Non-probability sampling. Majority of the patients were in the age range 50 - 70 years with more males than females. 97% patients had a positive tobacco smoking history. 57 - 78% of the patients included in the study were found to be malnourished, out of which 65 - 68% were moderately malnourished and 10% were severely malnourished according to SGA rating and BMI. There was a strong correlation between COPD staging and malnourishment. 54% patients with stage III COPD were malnourished while 90% patients with stage IV were found to be malnourished. Malnutrition is invariably observed in COPD patients and is more frequent and more severe in patients with advanced stage disease. Patients with COPD might benefit from a dietary intervention both in terms of pulmonary functions and nutritional state, which might have beneficial effects on prognosis

Comparison of pulmonary function tests in smokers and non-smokers

To compare the lung function tests in healthy non-smoker with age and sex matched smokers who are asymptomatic of respiratory impairment. This cross sectional analytic study was carried out from June 2009 to November 2009 in Department of Medicine and Pulmonology, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. A total of 200 subjects were included in the study. All individuals were selected from healthy general public visiting Jinnah hospital Lahore as attendants of the patients.FVC, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC were measured and recorded in Performa. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS 10. Mean age was 36.77+6.58 years. It was 34.11+7.38 in smokers and 33.43+5.39 in non-smokers group. Mean FEV1 was 2.55+0.79 in smokers and 3.52+0.55 in non-smokers. Mean FVC was 3.94+0.69 in smokers and 4.35+0.69 in non-smokes. Smoking causes significant reduction in lung functions in asymptomatic smokers which can be prevented by quitting smoking

Clinical presentation and CT scan findings in patients of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes

To compare the weighted clinical score and computed tomography scan brain of patients of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. This descriptive non-interventional study was conducted on 100 consecutive patients of all ages and both sexes presenting with stroke within 48 hours of the onset of the symptoms due to hemorrhage or infarction but not due to transient ischemic attack, reversible ischemic neurologic deficit, sub-arachnoid hemorrhage, tumors or trauma. The patients were admitted and examined, Siriraj Stroke Score was applied to make the clinical diagnosis and this score was compared with CT scan of the brain as gold standard. Out of 100 patients, eight were excluded due to invalid Siriraj Stroke Score between+1 to-1. Among 92 patients, 58.7% [54] were male and 41.3% [38] were female with a mean age of 61.8 +/- 7.8 years. Mean diastolic blood pressure was 94.78 mm Hg with range of 50 to 160. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor being present in 57.1% of ischemic and 54.4% of hemorrhagic patients. Clinically 72.8% [67] patients had ischemic and 27.2% [25] patients had hemorrhagic stroke. CT scan showed 76.1% [70] patients had ischemic and 23.9% [22] patients had hemorrhagic stroke. For ischemic strokes, Siriraj Stroke Score is 87%sensitive and 73% specific having a positive predictive value of 91%. For hemorrhagic stroke, Siriraj Stroke Score is 73% sensitive and 87% specific with a positive predictive value of 63%. Yule's coefficient using Chi-square test showed a high comparability between clinical and CT scan diagnoses. Siriraj Stroke Score needs to be further modified to be more objective and it should be compared with diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging as gold standard and not with computed tomography of the brain