Emergency services [1122]; A ten years data from four largest cities in Punjab 2004- 2014

Emergency services were working all over the world to deal with different types of emergencies and the frequency of emergencies were increased with the passage of time. Many developing countries even don't have such services and it was difficult to estimate the scale of emergencies in those countries. To know about the types of emergencies and to help to plan for their prevention in future. Data was collected from emergency services department 1122 in four big cities of Punjab from Nov.2004-Feb.2014. Descriptive observational study. The road traffic emergencies received were 243481 in Lahore, 92367 in Faisal Abad, 52507 in Multan and33847 in Rawalpindi. Medical emergencies were 247692 in Lahore, 82910 in Faisal Abad, 112531 in Multan and 31069 in Rawalpindi. Fire incidences were 14594 in Lahore, 6369 in Faisal Abad, 3707 in Multan and 3929 in Rawalpindi. Crime incidence related emergencies were 13301 in Lahore, 15051 in Faisal Abad, 5326 in Multan and 1705 in Rawalpindi. Road traffic related emergencies were increased even some times more than medical emergencies. Fake calls were also in higher proportion

HIV infection; prevalence among intravenous drug users

Human immune deficiency virus [HIV] infection was a major health problem all over the world. The infection had become pandemic and no country was immune. The main burden of disease was shared by developing countries and their crippled economies were unable to deal with it. As a result the number of HIV patients were increasing day by day. Treatment was expensive and preventive measures were not effective. The intravenous drug users [IDUs] were major contributors in its spread. To assess the prevalence of HIV infection by determining the frequency of HIV infection in intravenous drug users.Cross-sectional study. Rehabilitation center for IDU,s in District Headquarter Hospital Faisalabad [DHQ], a Tertiary Care Hospital, Affiliated with Punjab Medical College during Jan.2013 to Dec.2013. Subjects and All I. V. drug users attending the rehabilitation center of D.H.Q. hospital were included in the study. All were subjected to be screened for HIV/AIDS infection. Total 352 patients attended the center. Each patient was given a code number to hide the identity and results of tests were kept secret. The blood samples were collected and labeled with respected code on it. Total 352 intravenous drug users were enrolled at rehabilitation center and 96 were tested positive for HIV infection. Another 62 belonged to urban area and 34 belonged to rural area. About 80 were living with their families and 16 were living out of their families. The 78% were not having sufficient earnings for their living. Intravenous drug users were threat to public health in transmitting HIV infection by sharing needles

Substance abuse; among prisoners and its consequences

To study the prevalence of substance abuse among prisoners and its effects on other inmates. A cross sectional study. Central jail Faisal Abad Pakistan during Jan. 2012 to Feb 2012. All the convicted and condemned prisoners were included in the study and those exclusively charged for drugs abuse crimes were excluded. A snow ball convenient sampling technique was adopted. Sample size was not predetermined. The study population was [1080] male and above the age of 18 years. About one hundred and eighty four [184] prisoners were found using different drugs. Among them seventy six 76 [41.3%] started using drugs on entering the prison and one hundred and eight 108 [58.7%] were using drugs before coming to prison. The 91[49.5%] belonged to rural area and 93 [50.5%] belonged to urban areas. The most commonly used drug was heroin 181[96.7%] and 3[.6%] used different drugs like injections or pills. Substance abuse among prisoners was increasing day by day leading to increased crimes, health issues, and significant economic constrains in every country especially among poor nations. Strong political will and public motivation was the need of time to deal with the issue

Impact of early tracheostomy on outcome in tetanus patients

Background: Tetanus is a disease with high mortality, and different treatment modalities are being tried

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the impact of early tracheostomy on outcome in tetanus

Patients and Methods: This randomized clinical trial, was carried out in Surgical Unit-5, DHQ Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan from 1[st] January, 2012 to 31[st] December, 2013. Sixty patients of tetanus [grade-2] of any age and sex, diagnosed clinically were taken and divided into two groups, 30 patients in each. One group was given only medical treatment and second group was given medical and surgical treatment and both groups were observed for the impact of these treatment modalities on outcome. The data was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 17

Results: Out of 30 patients who underwent medical treatment, 10 [33.3%] were cured and 20 [66.7%] were expired. Among patients who underwent both medical and surgical treatment, 18[60%] were cured and 12 [40%] expired. 21[70%] developed tracheostomy complications and 9 [30%] did not develop any complication. [P-value < 0.05]

Conclusion: Tracheostomy in early stages of tetanus has mortality benefit and it is associated with less morbidity and mortality

Tetanus; still cannot be prevented, a three year retrospective study in DHQ hospital, Faisalabad

Tetanus still remains a major public health problem in Pakistan like in most other developing countries, with a high morbidity and mortality. To study the demographic profile the clinical profile, the outcome of the tetanus patients and effectiveness of tetanus immunization coverage in district Faisalabad. Retrospective record based study. Surgical unit-5 DHQ Hospital, Faisalabad from January 2010 to December 2012. All data of 198 patients of tetanus of any age and sex, diagnosed clinically was collected, compiled and analyzed from the Medical Records Department of the Hospital. Out of 198 patients of tetanus,138[69.7%] were males and 60[30.3%] were females. Their ages ranged from 1 to 85 years with a mean and a standard deviation respectively of 29.36 and 17.48 years.162 [81.8%] were from rural and36[18.2%] were from urban areas. 47[23.7%] patients were having prior immunization and151[76.3%] were not immunized. The most common presenting symptoms were trismus [47.5%], body stiffness [24.2%],fits[19.2%] and respiratory distress[9.1%]. 23[11.6%] patients were having mild disease,71[35.9%] patients were having moderate disease,71[35.9%] patients were having severe disease and 33[16.7%] were having very severe disease. Overall mortality rate was 41.4%. Respiratory failure was the most common cause of death and there was statistically significant association between mortality and increasing grades of disease. By making expanded programme of immunization [EPI] more effective and removing flaws from out-dated vaccination through incomplete vaccination. By improving awareness in public and complete vaccination through EPI program, we can reduce the incidence of tetanus