ABSTRACT
Background: The specialty of dentistry was being reassembled in its response to Covid-19 pandemic. Teledentistry proved to be a promising way to reach the marginalized population, therefore providing effective substitute of physical dentist-patient interaction with minimal risk of cross infection. Aim(s): To assess the level of knowledge regarding teledentistry among urban population of Lahore. Moreover it was also focused to analyze the experience and satisfaction of patients regarding the use of virtual dental platforms. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2022 to June 2022 among 125 general dental patients visiting University Dental Hospital, University of Lahore who have used the virtual dental platforms. The sampling was done with non-probability convenience sampling technique. A self-structured questionnaire with 21 close ended questions was used. Questionnaire was divided into two sections. The first section consisted of 5 questions regarding patient's demographic data, how did they get to know about teledentistry and for who didthey used teledentistry platform. Result(s): A total of 125 patients participated in the study, out of which 38(30.4%) were male and 87(69.6%) were female. A large majority 120(96%) of patients were in the age category of 20-40 years. In reference to education, majority of the participants were graduates 107(85.6%). According to our study 14(11.2%) participants wereextremely familiar with the term teledentistry compared to 42(33.6%) who were slightly familiar and only 12(9.6%) were extremely unfamiliar. Regarding familiarity about different platforms of teledentistry (e.g., Marham, Oladoc etc. 30(24%) were moderately familiar 13(10.4%) were extremely familiar and 30(24%) were extremely unfamiliar. About satisfaction, majority 62(49.6%) of people were satisfied with the increasing trend of teledentistry. Conclusion(s): The majority of the survey participants expressed positive responses towards teledentistry in all domains. This study found high levels of patient satisfaction with virtual consultation.There is a further need to improve the knowledge and promote teledentistry. Copyright © 2022 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the association of body mass index with the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia in hospitalized patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, form May to Jun 2021. Methodology: Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia on PCR and chest imaging and admitted to our hospital were included in the study. Body mass index was calculated on the first day of hospital admission, and they were followed up for two weeks during the disease. Increased oxygen demand, duration of admission, CT severity score and use of non-invasive ventilation were compared in patients with normal and increased body mass index. Results: A total of 800 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital were included in the final analysis. The mean age of the study participants was 41.36±4.55 years. Out of 800 patients, 337(42.1%) had normal BMI, 420(52.5%) were classed in the category of overweight and 43(5.4%) were obese. Furthermore, it was seen that increased demand for oxygen, high CT severity score and longer duration of hospital admission had a statistically significant relationship (p-value<0.05) with high body mass index. Conclusion: More than half of the patients admitted after diagnosis of COVID-19 had higher than normal body mass index. A significant association was found between increased demand for oxygen, high CT severity score, longer hospital admission duration, and high body mass index. © 2022, Army Medical College. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a multisystem disorder and haematological abnormalities are frequently documented in affected patients. METHODS: This retrospective study included 549 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from 1st June to 15th July 2020 at Pak Emirates hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Median age was 60 years (range 12-94 years), males 442 (80.5%) and females 107 (19.5%). There was no patient with mild illness, 181 (32.9%) had moderate, 158 (28.7%) severe and 210 (38.2%) patients had critical disease. Patients with severe and critical disease had lower absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) and platelets (p<0.001 for both) while higher white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and lactate dehydrogenase levels (LDH) levels (all p<0.001). Overall survival of study cohort was 83.2% (n=457). Median haemoglobin and platelet count were significantly lower (p<0.001) while WBC, ANC, NLR, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), ferritin, IL-6, LDH were significantly higher (p<0.001) for patients who died. On multivariate logistic regression analysis WBC count>10x109/l (odds ratio [OR] 2.19 [95% CI 1.3-4.2] p=0.01), NLR>9 (OR 3.4 [95% CI 0.87-6.8], p<0.001), platelets<150x109/l (OR 3.9 [95% CI 1.4-9.8] p<0.001), CRP >100;(OR 4.1[95% CI 0.78-10.9] p<0.001) and ferritin >1000 (OR 5.3 [95% CI 1.9- 13.5], p<0.001) were associated with increased risk of death in patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Monitoring of haematological, coagulation and inflammatory parameters provide reliable, convenient, rapid and cost-effective method for predicting disease severity, complications and prognosis of COVID-19 patients.