Frequency of Congenital Hypothyroidism [CH] in Neonates of a Tertiary Care Hospital of Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To determine the frequency of congenital hypothyroidism among healthy newborns presenting to a public health facility in Karachi, Pakistan

Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out for six months duration at the Well Baby Clinic, Paediatric unit III, Civil hospital Karachi. Neonates of both sex delivered after 37 weeks of gestation, at Civil Hospital Karachi and visited the well baby clinic, after 48 hours of birth to <4 weeks of age for follow up were included in the study. A 3 cc venous blood sample taken for serum Thyroid Stimulating Harmone [TSH] level. Data analysis was done using SPSS statistics version 16

Results: A total of 215 healthy newborns were included, 112 were male and 103 female patients

Congenital hypothyroidism was considered according to the TSH value. The results showed that 35 patients had TSH >40 [microU/ml]

Conclusion: This study shows that in the screening for the congenital hypothyroidism, 16.3% had a TSH level of >40 [microU/ml]

This suggests that screening of hypothyroidism should be mandatory in all newborns especially in our region for early diagnosis and treatment of congenital hypothyroidism

Characteristics of symphysis and parasymphysis mandibular fractures

This descriptive study was conducted to determine the most common site of mandible fractures. 200 patients with fracture mandible who reported to Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from April 2012 to September 2012 formed study group. Data concerning age, gender, mechanism of injury and site of fracture evaluated and recorded on specially designed proforma. Orthopentomogram [OPG] and where necessary postero- Anterior and right and left lateral oblique views of the mandible were used to diagnose the fracture site. Fracture mandible was predominantly common in males [84%] as compared to females [16%] with male to female ratio of 5.25:1. The age range was 2-65 years with mean age of 21.45 S.D +/- 12.59 years. The most common age group involved was 21-30 years [30%] and road traffic accident was the common mechanism of injury [57%] followed by fall [31.5%]. Parasymphysis was the most common site when mandible was fractures at a single site i.e., 43%, while parasymphysis and angle fracture combination was observed in 31%. The study revealed that majority of the patients were young adult males. The most common etiological fracture was road traffic accident and isolated parasymphysis was the most common fracture site

effect of stress on the pain severity in temporomandibular joint dysfunction among college and university students

To evaluate the influence of stress and anxiety on the severity of pain in Temporomandibular joint Dysfunction and on the subjective pain report. The study was carried out in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, between the period of May 2010 to November 2010. One hundred and ten students reportingfrom universities and colleges with TMJpain were clinically diagnosed as Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction and were interviewed using specially designed proforma. To measure the level of pain, Visual Analog Scale was used. Variables like gender, age, geography and various stress factors were determined and analysed using statistical tools [SPSS V. 17]. Students in the age group of 26-30years were commonly affected [30%] followed by age group of 16-20 years [22.73%]. Most commonly affected students [68.18%] were those with moderate to very severe pain symptoms. Students belonged to Malakand Division [28.67%] and FATA. [25.67%] were commonly in the low income [n-42, 38.18%] and middle income [n-36, 32.73%] categories. Post Graduate students [40%] showed increased pain intensity during eating [35.45%] and talking [29.1'0%], particularly in their busy academic days, were reported to be the victims of severe painful episodes. A large proportion of students with Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction have potential psychological problems. Female gender, advanced educational levels and hostel residence as well as poor socioeconomic status are predisposing factors for pain severity in Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction