ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: The normal Central corneal thickness (CCT) ranges about 510-520 microns. It is normally seen in clinical practice that corneas which are thicker are linked with greater intraocular pressures (IOPs). The purpose of the study was to determine the central corneal thickness and establish its relationship with age and serum electrolytes in hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients. Methodology: A total of 108 subjects were included in our cross-sectional comparative study (54 hypertensive and 54 non-hypertensive). Written informed consent was taken. We measured blood pressure with mercuric sphygmomanometer. Ultrasound pachymeter was used to measure central corneal thickness while we drew 5 ml of blood for estimation of the serum electrolytes. Data was entered and evaluated using IBM SPSS 17. Quantitative variables were presented as Mean ± SD. Pearson correlation was used to find correlation of normally distributed variables p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Central corneal thickness was statistically same in hypertensive and non-hypertensive subjects. Serum Na+ was significantly increased in hypertensive subjects while serum K+ and Cl- were significantly decreased in hypertensive subjects. No significant correlation was seen in hypertensive while weak negative correlation was observed between CCT and age in non-hypertensive patients. Weak positive correlation was observed between CCT and Na+ both in hypertensive and non-hypertensive. Significant correlation was observed in CCT and K+ in hypertensive while negative correlation was seen in non-hypertensive. Weak correlation was observed in CCT and Cl- both in hypertensive and non-hypertensive. Conclusion: Mean CCT was significantly lower in hypertension. CCT and age showed weak and positive correlation in hypertensive while weak and negative correlation in non-hypertensive. Serum electrolytes and CCT showed no significant correlation.
ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: Epilepsy which is a disorder with an extensive variability of symptomatology and multifactorial origins is categorized by emergent and recurrent seizures. Numerous studies showed that seizures are triggered by hyperactivity of the neurons of the brain which may be atypical and synchronous. Our study was aimed to find out the association of inflammation in terms of total leukocyte count (TLC) and serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) concentration in epilepsy and their comparison with pseudo-seizures and healthy controls. Methodology: We conducted this study in Mayo Hospital, Lahore with the collaboration of the Physiology Department of King Edward Medical University, Lahore after approval from Advanced Studies and Research Board of KEMU, Lahore. The sample size was ninety and they were divided equally into three groups, 30 patients of GTCS, 30 patients with a history of pseudoseizures and 30 healthy subjects of comparable age. p< 0.001 was taken as significant. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS 21. Results: Mean total leukocyte count (TLC) in Pseudo-seizures groups was 8216.3 ± 2195.8 cu.mm, in the epileptic group was 13219.9 ± 2686.8 cu.mm and in the control group, the mean TLC was 6832.1 ± 1154.9 cu.mm. Mean serum CPK in pseudo-seizure groups was 130.1 ± 74.3 IU/100 ml, in the epileptic group was 257.7 ± 24.6 IU/100 ml and in the control group, the mean CPK was 79.9 ± 27.7 IU/100 ml. Conclusion: Total leukocyte count (TLC) and CPK were higher in the epileptic group as compare to the pseudo-seizure groups as well as the control group. Elevated WBC levels may be a result of continuing inflammatory progressions in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. Therefore it was concluded that serum CPK and TLC may serve as a differentiating marker between epileptic generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) and pseudo seizers.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the awareness among undergraduate medical students towards patient safety in a medical school of the military set up in Pakistan. Methods: “Attitudes toward Patient Safety Questionnaire III” was used to assess awareness of MBBS students regarding patient safety. The questionnaire on 7 points Likert scale was administered to MBBS students of the fourth and final year during their clinical rotation at “The CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry” in 2019. Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20 was used for the analysis of data. Results: The questionnaire was filled by 166 participants, yielding a response rate of 80%. The two out of nine domains regarding “teamwork” and “long working hours” scored the highest 6.0 mean score. “Disclosure responsibility” scored lowest 4.4 mean score followed by domain regarding “Professional incompetence” 4.5 and “Error inevitability” 4.7. Domain about the integration of this emerging issue in the curriculum scored 5.5. The mean scores of items showed no significant difference with respect to their academic levels and gender. Conclusion: Students showed an interest in patient safety. Most of them supported the integration of this important issue in an undergraduate medical curriculum. However, there was a knowledge gap among students regarding the causes and disclosure of medical errors. Due to insufficient awareness among future doctors, the inclusion of the formal patient safety curriculum and its early integration from the beginning of medical education is imperative.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: To measure levels of empathy among undergraduate dental students in Pakistani Dentistry Institute and to find the difference with respect to gender and academic year in the dental college. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at CMHLMC and IOD in Pakistan, from December 2018 to April 2019, and comprised dental students of all four years. A valid and reliable “The Toronto empathy questionnaire” was used for the collection of data. Responses were indicated on a four-point Likert scale and total scores ranged from 0-64, with higher values indicating higher levels of empathy. Eight out of sixteen items were positively worded and the remaining eight items were negatively worded. Comparison of empathy scores across the year of study was analyzed using one-way ANOVA whereas a t-test was utilized for gender differences. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: Questionnaire was returned by 281 students, with a 94% response rate. First-year dentistry students scored the highest mean score of 3.0, followed by second and third-year students by scoring 2.8 whereas the final year students obtained the lowest mean empathy score of 2.7. When mean empathy scores were compared among students of all 4 years by ANOVA test, it was found to be statistically significant, F=3.22, p=0.02. No significant differences in empathy scores were found with respect to gender (p ≥ 0.05). Conclusion: The present study reported a decline of empathy mean scores among dentistry students as the years of study progressed. This study reflects the need for early exposure to clinical training, educational programs and innovative teaching strategies in the undergraduate dentistry curriculum by emphasizing on dentists-patient communication skills, which in turn could encourage dentistry students to become empathetic health professionals.