ABSTRACT
To access the Antioxidant Status in Patient with Variation in Duration of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. 90 selected patients suffering from Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus [DM] and 30 subjects as control group. Case Control Study, Rawal Institute of Health Sciences, Islamabad. July 2013 - March 2014. Out of 120 selected subjects, 90 were of DM type 2and 30 were assigned as control group [group 1]. Based on duration, patients of DM type 2 were divided into; group 2, 3 and 4; group 2 - patients with DM [type 2] duration less than 5 years, group 3 - with DM duration between 5-10 years and group 4-with duration of DM more than 10 years. Smokers, renal failure, coronary artery disease, thyroid disease and previous antioxidant treatment patients were excluded from the study. Diabetes mellitus type 2 was diagnosed according to the standards set by American Diabetes Association. The fasting plasma glucose levels were measured by glucose oxidase method; HbA1c by automated kit on Cobas Integra of Roche. The TAC was measured by calorimetric TAC Assay Kit [BioVision] while Vitamin C and E were measured by using ELISA Kit [HUMAN]. Cut off values for HbA1c was taken as ;6%; FBS 110 mg/dl; TAC 1.16 mmol/L; Vitamin C 2 mg/dl; Vitamin E 9.5nmol/ml. As the duration of type 2 diabetes increases, it was seen that vitamin C levels and TAC levels in all groups except between groups 1 and 2 decreased significantly; however, anti-oxidant vitamin E, was found to be significantly decreased in all the groups as the duration increases. A significantly increased level of HbA1c were noticed in groups 2, 3 and 4 as compared to group 1 as the duration of diabetes increases; however, the levels were found to be non-significant when group 4 was compared with that of group 2 and group 3. When fasting blood sugar was compared between the diabetic groups a significant increased levels were noticed in all the groups with the exception between group 3 and 4. A significant differences between each group and within the groups was observed when HbA1c, vitamin E, vitamin C, and TAC were compared using ANOVA. A statistical significant correlation was observed when HbA1c was correlated with FBS; however, it shows an inverse relationship with TAC, vitamin C and vitamin E. A significant inverse correlation of FIBS was noticed with TAC, vitamin C, and vitamin E. A significant positive correlation was seen when TAC was correlated with vitamin C and vitamin E. A similar trend of significant positive correlation was seen when vitamin C was correlated with vitamin E. The levels of total anti-oxidant capacity, vitamin C, and vitamin E gradually decrease with duration of diabetes and are associated with oxidative stress. These antioxidant vitamins [vitamin C and vitamin E] should be supplemented in diabetics to increase their quality of life. TAC status may be taken as early marker to detect complications in diabetic type 2 patients especially of longer duration
ABSTRACT
In Pakistan maternal mortality rate [MMR] is very high and more than one in five women die from pregnancy related causes; solution to this is to have low fertility rate. The emergency contraceptives [ECs] can be used to prevent unwanted pregnancies. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about ECs among doctors. Institution-based crosssectional descriptive study on knowledge, attitude and practice of ECs was conducted at Rawal Hospital from Feb to May, 2012. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS-16. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents were >30 years of age, 94% were Muslim, 81% were married and 51% were women. Ninety-seven percent had heard of ECs before, only 17% knew Intra-uterine contraceptive device [IUCD] a method of EC. Sixty-one percent responded that IUCD should be removed if patient gets pregnant [p=0.007] and according to 31% ECs were not abortifacient [p=0.045]. Regarding attitude, 55.5% of the participants supported its use [p=0.027] and agreed to its easy accessibility [p=0.004]. Thirty-eight percent responded an increased dose of birth control pills as a form of EC [p=0.008], while 40% did not agree that ECs are effective when taken before intercourse [p=0.011]. Knowledge and practice of ECs is very low among doctors but a positive attitude is there. Evidence-based knowledge to family physicians regarding emergency contraception is strongly recommended to reduce the chances of MMR
ABSTRACT
To analyze the citation pattern adopted by the Rawal Medical Journal [RMJ] for the year 2006. Citations of articles published in the RMJ during the year 2006 were collected and analyzed manually from the journal articles employing systematic methods. There were 437 citations in 32 research articles in two issues of volume 31 from January to December 2006. The authorship pattern of the citations indicated that more than 23% contributions were from single author and 77% were the result of team work. The ratio of the coordinated work was higher than the sole effort which was a healthy sign among researchers. The articles contributed by single author were 23.11% and that with collaboration of five or more authors was 20.82%. Among the citations, 49.52% pertained to journal articles. Out of the total cited articles, 23 were contributed by the Pakistani authors, 8 by foreign authors and 1 jointly by Pakistani and foreign author. The citations from Pakistani researchers were rather low. Majority of contributions were by Pakistani authors; author and journal self citations were low indicating a high Impact factor. More research activities and better literature search are required to improve journal quality