What do we know about the idiosyncratic risk of clean energy equities?

The COVID-19 pandemic stimulated the need to invest in clean energy firms for better returns and climate risk mitigation. This study provides a detailed overview of the impact of idiosyncratic risk (IVOL) on excess returns of 95 clean energy stocks. Overall, investors in clean energy stocks are guided by the pessimist group of investors who underprice the high IVOL stocks and demand high-risk premiums to diversify the firm-specific risk. Further, during the COVID-19 period, there is no significant relationship between clean energy excess stock returns and IVOL. During this period, clean energy stocks were exposed to higher information asymmetry, limiting the arbitrage opportunities and producing a weaker return-IVOL relation indicating that clean energy stocks reflect the properties of technology stocks. IVOL has a low level of persistence which may be helpful in forecasting. This study offers valuable insights for regulators and investors from the investment decisions, asset pricing, and diversification perspective.

Global retailers' CSR initiatives during COVID-19 crisis: a cross-cultural examination

Purpose: This study develops a conceptual framework to examine (1) whether global retailers' CSR actions in the form of in-kind charitable contribution affect consumers' attribution of CSR to intrinsic motives, (2) whether consumers' attribution of CSR to intrinsic motives affects brand-self connection and (3) whether the cultural factors of self-transcendence and conservation moderate the relationship between consumers' attribution of CSR to intrinsic motives and brand-self connection. Design/methodology/approach: Data are collected from two culturally diverse countries, the US and China, each of which managed the pandemic in different ways. Before hypothesis testing, the invariance of measures is established. To measure differences between the groups, a multi-group analysis is conducted. Findings: Global retailers' in-kind charitable contribution is a significant drivers of consumers' attribution of CSR to intrinsic motives, and attribution of CSR to intrinsic motives has a positive effect on consumer brand-self connection. Both of the cultural values, self-transcendence and conservation, moderate the relationship between attribution of CSR to intrinsic motives and brand-self connection. Self-transcendence is a strong moderator in China, whereas conservation moderates strongly in the US. All of the relationships differ significantly between the groups (US versus China). Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate empirically the role of in-kind charitable contribution in creating an attribution of CSR to intrinsic motives that eventually leads to strong brand-self connection in the COVID-19 context. The study provides novel insights into how consumer behavior differs across two significantly different cultures with regard to COVID-19-related CSR. The findings help international marketers manage uncertainties and crisis and to design their CSR-based marketing programs and develop positioning strategies across cultures. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Anxiety status of junior archers in COVID-19 during training isolation period towards the shooting performance

Studies have indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic has had miserable effects on athlete performance due to the movement control order (MCO) announced by the Malaysia Government. Dealing with self-training without the coach's guidance leads the archers to lose concentration, diminished self-confidence, and elevated anxiety levels. These factors contribute to inconsistent shooting performance. This study attempted to identify the archer's anxiety status during the training isolation period on the shooting performance. A total of 32 participants from the recurve archery category were recruited and enrolled in a web-based cross-sectional study during the MCO. The CSAI-2R instrument was applied to participants to examine the psychological aspect. Training Isolation resulted in a significant effect on anxiety status and shooting performance. Analysis from CSAI-2R, low-level archers, indicated 5% more anxiety than top-level archers for both cognitive and somatic anxiety sub-component. In contrast, Top archers revealed a higher self-confidence mean of 2.32 (moderately high) than low archers (1.38). The result shows improvement in anxiety and score performance with complete online monitoring and coaching supervision first session until the 8th session. These findings could assist sports institutions in improving a better training experience and understanding the pandemic's impact on athletes' mental health during home isolation. © 2023, Intelektual Pustaka Media Utama. All rights reserved.

Malaysian Household Debt: The Impact of Covid-19 on Non-Performing Financing

In Malaysia, the composition of total financing includes household and sectoral financing, in which household financing holds the most considerable portion of the pie. Despite the significant portion of household financing, the non-performing ratio is recognized among the lowest among other sectoral ratios. The recent Covid-19 pandemic however, has directly given a negative impact on both sectoral and household repayment in the country. This study explored the effect of Covid-19 on the relationship between household financing and non-performing financing, examining the different impacts on non-performing financing during and before the pandemic. Apart from household financing, the study included the impact of other sectoral financing, mainly those that largely contributed to the economy on non-performing financing. The study used 15-year monthly aggregate data spanning from April 2006 to April 2021. The results indicated that household financing significantly affected the non-performing financing. As anticipated, the finding revealed the non-performing financing was significantly higher during the pandemic relative to before the crisis. In response to this phenomenon, banks have become more stringent in granting financing particularly to households. Evidently, the interaction between Covid-19 and household financing exhibited an opposite effect on non-performing financing before and during the pandemic. © 2022, Universiti Teknologi Mara. All rights reserved.

A Proposed Implementation of Internet of Things as a Teaching Aid for Learning Science Collaboratively

Collaboration is one of the competencies within the 21st century skills framework. To nurture this competency in schools, teachers design their lessons to include group work and activities. The COVID-19, however, has dramatically changed the way teachers design collaborative activities. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an example of technology that can play a role in collaborative learning. The use of IoT as a teaching aid might not be as widespread as mobile technologies, virtual reality, and augmented reality but its impact is equally beneficial. The impact of IoT in teaching and learning can be seen in two perspectives. Firstly, it could make learning more interesting as the use of the IoT devices provides more hands on to the students. Students get to use the IoT device, record the data and perform analysis on the data. Secondly, IoT allows for collaborative learning to happen as data captured by the IoT device is stored on the Internet. The aim of this paper is to explore the potential of IoT as a collaborative learning teaching aid for Science subject. This paper proposes two IoT implementations. This paper presents the design of the two IoT systems and the way that it can be used in the teaching and learning of science. The intention of adopting IoT as a teaching aid for science subject is to enhance student's learning experience in the subject through hands on and collaboration activities. © 2022 IEEE.

Preliminary Study on e-Collaboration Readiness and Community of Inquiry Presences in a Higher Educational Institution

The current nature of large class size in Higher Educational Institutions (HEI), the recent COVID-19 pandemics, and more importantly, because lecturer-student’s relationships mostly terminate right after the class session have made educators faced many new challenges. Based on these, educators have found it imperative to change the pedagogical and didactical approaches to teaching by integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into the classroom. e-Collaboration is one of the pedagogical approaches that enable two or more people to work together using technology to help achieve a goal. This study has introduced students to e-collaboration platforms via Learning Management System (LMS) and Piazza. The present research focuses on finding out the experience and readiness of the e-collaboration in a HEI. Both qualitative and quantitative approach were employed in the study. Results indicated that majority of participants in the study have positive attitude towards e-collaboration, their attitude results are significantly varied with their gender, and there are positive correlations among the Community of Inquiry (CoI) constructs at r = 0.75, n = 75, p = 0. In addition, majority of participants would like to use e-collaboration in future at M = 3.95. Thus, both male and female have positive attitudes towards e-collaboration at M3.82 SD = 0.74. The research brings to light the usefulness and the possibilities of e-collaboration for effective teaching and learning in HEI. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Job Embeddedness: Cross-cultural Comparison Between China and Pakistan During COVID-19 Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the globe, cross-cultural studies are at the forefront of individuals’ minds. Following this line, we conducted a cross-cultural examination between Chinese and Pakistani management employees’ attitude toward job embeddedness. Survey data were collected using the English and Chinese versions of seven items exhibiting attitudes towards the employees’ job embeddedness scale in the COVID-19 pandemic setting. As, the two groups are diverse on geographic, cultural, religious and economic scopes;it was not surprising to see that in this COVID-19 pandemic, these future managers differed on a number of opinions regarding job embeddedness. On the other hand, some similarities were also noted. The current research proposes a novel approach to probe cross-cultural comparison on job embeddedness in COVID-19 background. Considering the previous research on job embeddedness, there is scant attention given to Pakistan and China. This research will not only help to enhance understanding of job embeddedness knowledge but also help to boost the continued development of worldwide business opportunities in the COVID-19 pandemic. The implications of curated findings and future directions are also discussed. © 2022 Management Development Institute.

A REVIEW ON ASPECTS OF CURRENT PHARMACOTHERAPIES FOR COVID-19

: The novel coronavirus has infected over 609,848,852 individuals throughout the world with a total death of over 6.5 million since its outbreak in December 2019. Since then many therapeutic options have been approached and tested in clinical trials as well to find a potential cure or preventive therapy for the COVID-19 disease. This review summarizes the potential therapeutic options currently available for the treatment of COVID-19 including lopinavir-ritonavir, Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir, Ribavirin, dexamethasone, interferon, antibodies, Tocilizumab, Azithromycin, Piperacillin-tazobactam, Moxifloxacin, Ivermectin, Nitazoxanide, Baricitinib, and Arbidol. This study briefly discusses the clinical trials and encompasses the dosage, efficacy, adverse drug reactions, and possible mechanism of action of the potential treatment candidate where applicable. The growing number of reported cases posits an exigent need for a suitable therapy for the prevention and cure of this disease. Therefore, the study aims to provide vital information on each drug to highlight the latest scientific research that could be helpful for better prevention/treatment of COVID-19 disease.

Khamira Banafsha for the symptomatic treatment of Covid-19 Disease

Respiratory illness is one of the most important public health problems in many countries worldwide. Even though most of the ailments are treatable with normal care, respiratory-related mortality continues to increase year after year. The global situation is deteriorating as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. Numerous Unani formulations are beneficial against a variety of respiratory disorders, but they must be clinically researched before they can obtain widespread acceptance in the modern world. At the moment, no antiviral medication is either available for each respiratory disease or is costly and not easy to use in pandemics like COVID-19 on large scale, although Unani medicines may be considered an option. Khamira Banafsha (KB) is a semi-solid blend of three dried flowers, Viola odorata L., Borago officinalis L., and Rosa damascena Mill and the distillate of Rosa damascena, and sugar. The components in this formulation are well-known and frequently utilized in the treatment of respiratory problems.The formulation has been used to treat a wide range of illnesses for decades. This review will discuss the pharmacology, ethnopharmacology, and repurposing of KB as an adjuvant or symptomatic treatment for Covid-19 illness.The chemical composition of the ingredients may be evaluated In-silico to identify their eligibility for Covid-19 disease symptomatic management.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ophthalmic Outpatient Care in a Tertiary Care Center in Riyadh.

In this paper, we measured the impact of a full COVID-19 lockdown on ophthalmic patients after a period of lockdown in Saudi Arabia, from March to September 2020. A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out on 180 patients who had their appointments delayed or canceled due to the lockdown. Data was collected from electronic medical records and patients via voice calls using a validated questionnaire that were analyzed using a multivariable binary regression analysis. The results show no statistically significant mean difference in visual acuity when comparing pre- and post-lockdown measurements. The median number of appointment cancellations/delays per patient was two, and the estimated delay for the first canceled appointments was equal to 178.8 days. Of the cohort studied, 15.4% of patients faced delays in necessary surgical and therapeutic interventions; 22.1% of patients sought eye care at other institutions due to the delay, and 15% of those were seen by doctors unspecialized in ophthalmology. The odds of dissatisfaction with care were higher in patients who experienced cancellations in a surgical procedure and patients who experienced difficulty in obtaining medications. In conclusion, the pandemic hampered ophthalmic patients' access to medications. Subjective visual outcomes of patients were also negatively affected; however, the change in objective visual parameters was not statistically significant.

UTILIZING AN ADVANCED LIVER DISEASE DASHBOARD TO IDENTIFY PATIENTS WITH CIRRHOSIS OVERDUE FOR ESOPHAGEAL VARICES SCREENING: A SINGLE INSTITUTION QUALITY IMPROVEMENT STUDY

Background and Aims: Decompensation events, such as portal hypertensive bleeding, are associated with increased morbidity and mortality among persons living with cirrhosis. Current practice guidelines recommend surveillance for esophageal varices in the setting of clinically significant portal hypertension. The Advanced Liver Disease Dashboard (ALDD) is a national online database developed and maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to facilitate tracking of hepatocellular cancer and esophageal variceal surveillance exams. This online database has potential to optimize workflow through appropriate triage of patients to direct endoscopy or hepatology clinic. The COVID-19 epidemic served as an impetus to utilize a population-based approach to variceal surveillance given delays in access to EGD procedures and limited face-to-face patient encounters. We report the results of our experience at a single VA tertiary care center. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review quality improvement initiative conducted from May 2020 to May 2021 at the San Diego VA Medical Center of patients identified via the ALDD as overdue for esophageal variceal screening. Patients were selected for review by cohort (variceal surveillance/management), platelet filter (none), and category (no EGD (>3Y)). After identifying the study population, patients were managed in three expectant ways: Group 1. Direct EGD referral for esophageal varices screening, Group 2. Direct hepatology clinic referral for further evaluation of diagnosis/ procedure discussion, Group 3. Omit from screening due to age, comorbidities, and/or confirmation of hepatology care at an outside institution. Results: A total of 153 patients were identified during the study period. 11 patients were excluded due to not carrying a cirrhosis diagnosis. 27 patients (19.0%) were directly referred for EGD for esophageal varices screening, 61 patients (43.0%) were directly referred to hepatology clinic for further evaluation of advanced liver disease status and/or discussion of EGD, and 54 patients (38.0%) were omitted from further screening due to age, comorbidities, and/or receiving care with an outside hepatologist. Of the 61 patients referred to hepatology clinic, 12/61 (19.7%) needed to confirm cirrhosis diagnosis. Conclusions: Using an online database of advanced liver disease patients allows for identification of patients overdue for appropriate cirrhosis screening measures and specialist-directed triage to optimize workflow. In the future, the ALDD can be used to improve patient adherence to EGD, increased implementation of pharmacological prophylaxis with non-selective beta blockers in select cases and utilize ALDD review on a recurring basis to minimize missed opportunities for preventive care. (Figure Presented)

Asgand (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal - A prophylactic and immune-modulator AYUSH-Unani botanical drug

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is a valuable plant of family Solanaceae, which is commonly known as Asgand in Unani system of medicine (Tibb-e-Unani). The plant is found throughout the drier parts of India and other parts of the world. The main drug component comprises of the roots that is used for its therapeutic actions either singly or as an ingredient in compound formulations. Asgand is well described in Unani classics as Musakkin (sedative), Muqawwi (tonic) Muhallil-e-waram (anti-inflammatory), Muaddil (alterative), and Muqawwi-e-Bah (aphrodisiac). In Unani system, it is prescribed for rheumatism, gynecological disorders, cough, hiccup dropsy, and as a sedative in cases of senile debility. Studies indicate that the pharmacological activities of the root and leaf are attributed to the presence of several alkaloids and steroidal lactones including withanine, somniferine, somnine, and somniferinine. Leaves contain a group of (nearly twelve) “Withanolides” including “Withaferin-A” with antibiotic and anti-tumor activity. Asgand possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anxiolytic, adaptogenic, memory enhancing, antiparkinsonian, and antitumor properties. Several other effects such as immuno-modulation, cardiovascular protection, hypolipidemic, antibacterial, and sexual behavior, tolerance have also been studied. In conventional Unani system, enhancing immunity with immune-boosters is one of the key approaches for prevention of disease and maintenance of health. An attempt has been made in this review to explore the various dimensions of the drug viz;morphological, pharmacological, chemical studies and more specifically the therapeutic actions, uses and Unani perspective of Asgand in the time of Covid-19.

Correlates of mental health on online distance learning during COVID-19 among Malaysia vocational students

The declaration of the movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia has led to the closure of the education sector due to pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The teaching and learning (T&L) structure shifted from conventional classroom education to fully online distance learning (ODL). The unprecedented experience of 'home quarantine' has multifaced impacts on students' mental health. The study aimed to obtain the correlation of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) students' depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) in fully implementing online distance learning. A survey study was used using a quantitative approach and respondent was evaluated by the depression anxiety stress scale-21 (DASS-21). Understudy's t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized to investigate the relationship between these perspectives. Analysis from the DASS-21 inventory revealed that 30% had severe or extremely severe depression, 41% anxiety, and 20% stress among the vocational students. Anxiety showed a hugely significant difference among genders and the department compared to depression and stress. Therefore, the finding suggests that some intervention must ensure online distance learning is conveniently accessible and congenial with practical work for the vocational student syllabus. © 2022, Intelektual Pustaka Media Utama. All rights reserved.

The Challenges in Implementing Wearable Antennas for Large-Scale Health Monitoring

The rise of antenna technology, smartphones, and the Internet-of-things (IoT) has enabled wearable antennas for wireless communication between implantable devices such as pacemakers, infusion pumps, etc., and external devices for health monitoring. This work describes the key challenges that need to be addressed for such wireless body area network (WBAN) technologies to be integrated into large-scale health monitoring programs. These include the miniaturization of antennas, fabrication techniques to enable mass production, and methods to protect patients from data infringement and hackers. Furthermore, the role of wearable and implantable antennas is pivotal to realize devices for continuous healthcare monitoring especially during Pandemic situations such as Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). © 2021 IEEE.

Contactless Vital Signs Monitoring by mmWave Efficient Modulatorless Tracking Radar

This paper proposes a millimeter-wave (mmWave) radar sensor architecture for contactless vital signs detection and monitoring at the industrial, scientific, medical (ISM) 60 GHz band. Such fast remote touchless monitoring is extremely important during pandemic seasons such as COVID-19. The architecture utilizes a leaky wave antenna to synthesize a reconfigurable radar beam whose direction is steered in the space without additional modulator circuits. The modulatorless architecture enables monitoring the vital signs of multiple patients at different locations by measuring the Doppler shifts from their movements. Furthermore, it also offers building power and cost effective sensor components by eliminating the modulator circuitry. The system considerations of the proposed architecture are discussed and the Doppler radar technique for vital signs detection is reviewed. A laboratory experiment of measuring the Doppler shift due to a vibrating target using a prototype of the proposed sensor is successfully conducted. The application of the proposed sensor can be extended to remotely scan and control running machines in industrial environments. © 2021 IEEE.

Carbon Footprint Assessment from Purchased Electricity Consumption and Campus Commute in Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP): Pre- and During COVID19 Pandemic

Most institutions and organizations nowadays have been taking responsibility in reducing their carbon footprint (CF) to curtail the global warming impact to at least 20–25% reduction by 2030. Universities and higher learning institutions are starting to invest in becoming greener and carbon-free. Current COVID19 communicable disease has swayed the routine and concurrently influenced regular trends of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions throughout the world. This study explored the possible GHG emissions (calculated as CO2e) from internal campus commute and purchased electricity consumption from the year 2018–2020 at Universiti Malaysia Perlis main campus to analyze the influence of COVID19 pandemic on its CO2e emission. The average amount of CO2e emitted during pre-COVID19 period (n = 26) was 1,518.8 tCO2e/year while during COVID19 period, it was 1,071.5 tCO2e/year (n = 10), marked as 29.5% reduction. Due to completeness and quality of data for contracted bus (monitoring period of years 2018, 2019 and 2020 as 12 months, 12 months, and 2 months, respectively), year 2019 was determined as the appropriate baseline year for setting the CO2e reduction target due to COVID19 pandemic precedented year. In comparison to pre-COVID19 pandemic, almost 95%/year and 7%/year reductions of CO2e were recorded for both Scope 1 and Scope 2, respectively. Comparing Scope 1 and 2, it was obviously observed that the purchased electricity consumption (Scope 2) was the predominant contributor to GHG emission at UniMAP campus by 78% despite of current pandemic influence and its reduction was indistinct (7%/year reduction). Thus, the reduction target in future should be venturing in energy savings and energy auditing in addition to carbon offsetting. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Islamic Banking Transaction and Social Based Crowdfunding During Pandemic: Shariah Analysis on Islamic Financial and Non-Financial Institutions Approaches

This paper is based on an ongoing study titled "Social Based-Crowd Funding in Battling Covid-19 and Maqasid Shariah: Some Legal and Shariah Observations in Malaysia and Indonesia." The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most serious health crises since the turn of the century. The corona pandemic has presented Islamic banks with significant challenges in dealing with this pandemic, taking into account, on the one hand, its impact on various economic sectors and regulatory authorities' decisions. However, it appears that Islamic financial institutions are at odds over how to handle Islamic banking transactions, particularly a moratorium between the bank and their clients during the pandemic, as well as the use of social-based crowdfunding activities. This investigation begins with a historical pandemic that afflicted the entire world. The purpose of this paper is to examine the position of Islamic banking transactions and social-based crowdfunding during the pandemic from a Shariah standpoint. This paper also highlights Malaysia's Islamic banking approach to social based financing and social based crowd funding by financial and non-financial institutions during the pandemic. The qualitative research method was used in this paper, which included a library-based research method. A descriptive content analysis method will be used to analyse the data. This paper is significant in that it will add to the body of knowledge and literature on the subject while also providing Shariah's perspective on the status of Shariah's commercial and socially based crowdfunding contracts. The principles of adl and Ihsan appear to have been applied, affecting Islamic banking commercial transactions and social-based crowdfunding contracts. During a pandemic, however, there is a need to strike a balance between the financial stability of the financial institution and the needs of society as a whole. As a result, Shariah parameters must be developed in such a way that financial institutions understand how Islamic commercial transactions and socially based crowdfunding should be treated, particularly during a pandemic. © 2021, CA and C Press AB. All rights reserved.

Essential oils for the treatment of skin anomalies: Scope and potential

Skin diseases contribute significantly to worldwide morbidity and mortality. It is the most common of all human diseases which can affect people of any age group. Most importantly, it is seen that the COVID-19 pandemic have further detrimentally contributed to dermatological manifestations. Due to the enormous socioeconomic burden created by skin disorders, the dermatological treatments have been added in the WHO List of Essential Medicines. Some of the major predominant diseases are acne, psoriasis, eczema, fungal infections and skin carcinoma. As a matter of fact, focus on treatment of skin diseases should be arguably considered as a matter of global urgency. Although treatments are available, they face numerous challenges which limit patient acceptability. Essential oils have a long history of pharmacological use;however their role in the treatment of dermatological disorders is vague. Therefore, in this review, the potential and mechanism of different essential oils obtained from various sources in the treatment of major dermal disorders has been summarized. This will help the formulation scientists and the clinicians to develop suitable formulation strategies for the prevention and cure of skin diseases. © 2021 SAAB

A Study of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), Absolute Lymphocyte Count (ALC) in COVID-19 Infected Patient in Teriary Care Centre in South-West Bihar

Introduction: COVID-19 is caused by novel severe acute respiratorysyndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV-2). Which first appeared inDecember 2019 in Wuhan, china, China on December 31, 2019,reported on a cluster of cases suffering from severe pneumonia ofunknown cause in Wuhan, Hubei province. Two Week later new virusvariant called sever acute respiratory corona virus syndrome (SARSCoV-2) Caused by Corona Virus disease 2019 (covid-19) was foundin an outbreak in Wuhan china and spread to the rest of the world Thefirst case of COVID-19 in India was reported on 30 january 2020 inkerala.Aims &Objectives: To Profile the Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio(NLR), Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), Absolute LymphocyteCount (ALC) in Covid-19 Infected Patient.Materials &Methods: Retrospective study of hematologicalparameter of covid19 positive patient during (01 May 2021-31 May2021).Result: In 100 covid-19 positive patientsin which, 62(62%)were maleand 38(38%) were Female,with age range from 5 months to 80 yearswith 50% patients above 50 years,there was increase in NLR in all100 patients and decrease ALCin75.Conclusions: Majority of the patients are elderly and there was malepredominancein was increase in NLR in all 100 patients and decreaseALCin75.

PREVALENCE OF MORTALITY AND ITS DISTRIBUTION BY SEX AND AGE GROUPS IN INDOOR COVID-19 PATIENTS IN D.I.KHAN DIVISION, PAKISTAN

Background: COVID-19 has become one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of mortality and its distribution by sex and age groups in indoor COVID-19 patients in D.I.Khan Division, Pakistan. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, Gomal Medical College, D.I.Khan, Pakistan. A sample of 438 patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR was selected. Sex & age groups were two demographic and presence of mortality was a research variable. The data type for all variables was nominal, except ordinal age groups. Prevalence & distribution were described by count and percentage with 95%CI. The hypotheses were tested by chi-square goodness of fit test. Results: Out of 438 COVID-19 patients, mortality was 43 (9.82%), including 34 (7.76%) men and nine (2.06%) women. The mortality was 0% for 0-19 years, four (0.92%) for 20-39 years, 12 (2.74%) for 40-59 years and 27 (6.16%) >= 60 years. Our mortality 9.82% was lower than expected 20.95% (p=<.001). It was higher in men than women (p=<.001). It was highest in age group >= 60 years, while 0% in 0-19 years. It was similar to expected by sex (p=.070) and age group (p=<.207). Conclusion: Our study showed 9.82% mortality in indoor COVID-19 patients. The mortality was lower than expected. The mortality was higher in men than women. It was highest in elderly, while zero in children and adolescents. It was similar to expected by sex and age group.