Effect of metformin on ovulation in PCOS

To evaluate the effect of metformin on ovulation in patients having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome [PCOS]. This clinical trial was carried out in a private infertility clinic of Karachi on fifty infertile PCOS females with individual study period of 3 months. A total of 57 infertile PCOS females with ages between 20-40 years were enrolled after a written consent. Only 50 subjects completed the study. Metformin HC1 thrice daily was given to fifty infertile PCOS females with ages between 20-40 years for three months. Plasma progesterone level was done at day-0 and day-90, besides fasting serum glucose, insulin, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin and testosterone at day- 0 as per requirement for the diagnosis of PCOS. 33 [66%] patients developed regular cycles and 11 [22%] patients showed improvement in their cycles at day-90. Serum progesterone level showed an increase from a mean +/- SD of 1.3 +/- 0.3 to 9.5 +/- 5.1 at day-0 to day-90. On statistical evaluation it was found to be significant with P-value of 0.001. Metformin promotes ovulation in PCOS patients

Treatment compliance and associated demographic factors in newly diagnosed tuberculous patients on directly observed therapy - short course [DOTS]

To asses the treatment compliance and effectiveness of DOTS program at a secondary health facility level. A Hospital based Cross Sectional study. Patients attending TB clinic at Taluka Hospital SajawaL District Thatta Sindh. a secondary health facility during 2003-2004. A total of 240 Patients were enrolled for the study irrespective of gender, ethnicity and religion. Present study showed population compliance of 82.19%, success rate of 75% and disease specific death rate [case fatality rate] of 7.5% on DOTS therapy. DOTS [directly observed treatment short-course] strategy for tuberculosis [TB] control as recommended by the World Health Organization has proved to be a is a very effective program for decreasing morbidity and mortality in tuberculous patients provided it is practiced properly