ABSTRACT
Objective: The mains and objectives of the study was to evaluate the impact of Covid'19 vaccination on mental health status. Study Design: A Cross-Sectional Clinical Study. Place and Duration: It is a cross-sectional study which was conducted by the house officers and the faculty of Dow International Dental College from june2022 to January 2023. Methodology: This study was conducted by distributing the questionnaire among the patients coming to the Outpatient Department at Dow International Dental College. A total of 280 Questionnaires were filled among the Vaccinated Patients coming to the OPD. Questions were inquired related to demographics, dosage, history, last dose, and benefit of vaccine, depression, sleep deprivation, feeling low, trouble concentrating and suicidal thoughts. The consent to fill this questionnaire by the patient was taken by 'Implied Consent'. It was in English language but was translated in Urdu by the house officers whenever it was needed to ensure the comprehension of the questions to the patients. The filled questionnaire was collected by the house officers of the dental department. A total of more than 280 questionnaires were distributed among the participants out of which 250 questionnaires were filled correctly giving us a response rate of 89.2% and dropouts of 10.8%. Practical Implications: The results of this cross-sectional clinical study have practical implications for the wider community. Encouraging Covid-19 vaccination can have a positive impact on both physical and mental health, and promoting vaccine uptake may lead to improved mental health outcomes for individuals. Such benefits can reduce the overall burden of mental health issues during the pandemic, which is beneficial to the community. Thus, public health campaigns should focus on the potential positive effects of Covid-19 vaccines on mental health to improve community well-being and promote vaccine acceptance. Result(s): Approximately 48% women and 52% male have anxiety, depression or either disorder, respectively. Adults with anxiety and depression were more likely to have low educational attainment, low household income, lack of health insurance and either lack or delay medical care. The filled questionnaire was collected by the house officers of the dental department. A total of more than 280 questionnaires were distributed among the participants out of whom 250 questionnaires were filled correctly giving us a response rate of 89.2% and dropouts of 10.8%. There was a common mental impact that was noticed and brought about people's mental health at stake. Conclusion(s): Forceful vaccination has a potential to affect mental health of an individual. Further studies are required to extrapolate the findings of the present study.Copyright © 2023 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Plant Secondary Metabolites (PSMs) are naturally occurring organic compounds inside the plant produced in response to any internal or external environmental stress. These organic chemicals are in different forms (Terpenoids, polyphenols, alkaloids, etc.). PSMs are an active source of medicines against many types of viral as well as microbial diseases. Pakistani flora is also a rich source of medicinal plants, and their therapeutic range has great importance. These plants are already in use against various types of microbial diseases. The primary aim to write this paper is to highlight PSMs of medicinal plants of Pakistani flora, which can be effective against COVID-19.
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Background and Objective: COVID-19 can cause severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. With deteriorating disease, most of the patients may require intensive care admission. This study was carried out to determine and evaluate the response of Tocilizumab with special reference to C-reactive protein (CRP) in critically ill patients presented to Farooq Hospital, West Wood Lahore. Methods: This retrospective study included the data of 55 critically ill COVID-19 patients (respiratory rate ≥30, SpO2<93%, oxygen requirement ≥5L/min, PaO2/FiO2 ≤300 mmHg) admitted in Corona unit of Farooq Hospital West Wood Lahore, who were being treated with Tocilizumab alongwith standard treatment protocol between April 27 and June 21, 2020. The data has been retrieved from hospital records after taking appropriate permission and consent. Demographic, clinical features and serum CRP were recorded for each of them, before and after administration of Tocilizumab. Data analysis was done by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 and expressed as frequency and percentages. Results: Out of 55 patients who were administered Tocilizumab, 72.7% survived whereas 27.3% died. There was higher median reduction of CRP levels in patients who survived (77.5 to 34.9 mg/L) as compared to those who died (65.5 to 45.3 mg/L). There was a statistically significant difference between CRP levels at the time of admission, 72 hours after Tocilizumab was administered (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Tocilizumab administration might be helpful in reducing the complications of cytokine storm in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. © 2020, Biomedica. All Rights Reserved.
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Citrus (oranges, lemon, mandarin, limes and tangarines) has significant nutritional value in human foods. It is rich source of vitamin C, sugar, organic acids, amino acids, minerals like Ca, Mg and various other phytochemicals (flavonoids, hesperidin etc) compounds that are responsible for good health. Citrus is growing in more than one forty countries of the world including Pakistan, Brazil, China, Mexico, USA, Spain and India.Viral infection and inflammation triggers the production of oxygen free radicals and these radicals severely damage the cells, however hesperidin and vitamin C is reported to counteract these damages. Intake of plentiful citrus fruits is one of amongst the many possible approaches to prevent from COVID-19 role of nutrition. Citrus fruit are very rich in important substances with a potential beneficial for health such as modulating the immunity and in protecting cells from oxidative stress related with infection. Flavonoids and hesperidin two major key compound found in citrus have affinity to treat Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Hesperidin has a low binding energy, both with the coronavirus “spike” protein, and with the fundamental protease that alters the primary proteins of the virus (pp1a and ppa1b) into the complex liable for viral replication hence these compounds could work as an antiviral function. Pakistan is amongst top ten citrus producers in the world. Citrus is one of the best commercial fruits of Pakistan cultivated on a large area, however, in Pakistan yield of citrus has been affected due to attack of insects and pathogens (nematode, fungal, bacterial and viral) which causes heavy losses both in quality and quantity. The purpose of this article is to focusing on the controlling the pathogens of citrus to boost citrus production in country as these beneficial plants are well known for its essential vitamin and flavonoid contents to control COVID-19.
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Extending studies of the adverse effects of SARS-2 coronavirus on general health consequences, this research explores complexities related to the mental health of the elderly as a result of pandemic-related stress. The study addresses this issue by using resilience theory to examine the effects of fear and exposure related to COVID-19 and depression. Besides, our study examines the moderating effects of self-efficacy in order to provide an understanding of how the coping abilities of the elderly may mitigate the effect of stress levels on mental health during pandemics. Our model is tested by analysing the survey data collected from Rawalpindi, a metropolitan city in Pakistan. The main results of the study confirm the positive association of pandemic-related fear and exposure virus with depression. However, self-efficacy shows a negative direct effect on depression, and the findings also confirm the moderation effect of self-efficacy on the fear of COVID-19 and depression, but the moderation effect of self-efficacy on COVID-19 exposure and depression is not supported. Based on the outcomes, some severe geriatric care policies that could weaken the pandemic-related fear, exposure to the virus, and depression are recommended.
ABSTRACT
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) also known as COVID19, is a newly discovered virus that has been recently isolated from humans. A number of researches with special emphasis on its clinical and epidemiological parameters are being carried out in various parts of the world. Aim: To analyze and evaluate the clinical, laboratory and chest x ray findings of Covid-19 cases, admitted at a recently established Corona Unit of Farooq Hospital West Wood Lahore, Pakistan. Study Design: Retrospective study Methods: The current study included a total of 105 COVID-19 positive cases from 9th April to 27th May 2020. 94 cases were confirmed on the basis of laboratory values whereas 11 were diagnosed based on their clinical characteristics. Results: Of all 105 patients admitted, 94(89.50%) were detected as laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia with nasopharyngeal swab samples that were positive for SARS-CoV-2, whereas 11 (10.50%) were confirmed on clinical grounds. The mean age was 48.18 that ranged from 12 to 78 years. Majority were male patients (78.1%). Only 3 (2.9%) patients had recent travel history of abroad. The most common comorbidities were Hypertension (49.39%) and Diabetes Mellitus (43.37%). The most common symptoms (fever, dry cough, and tiredness) were observed in 29.5%, serious symptoms (shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, and loss of speech or movement) in 40% and only few cases with acute respiratory distress syndrome. The mean systolic blood pressure recorded was 122.8 +/- 12.85 mm Hg and mean diastolic blood pressure 79.29 +/- 9.96. The mean oxygen saturation levels were 94.30 +/- 5.063. The mean value for chest x ray scoring was 7,50 +/- 5.6. The laboratory values were taken into account and elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were reported in 65.75% and procalcitonin levels in 58% of the patients. Higher polymorph leukocytes count was observed in 34 (33%) whereas 40 cases (38.83%) of COVID-19 patients had lymphopenia. D-dimers, AST, ALT levels were raised in 79.68%, 47.2% and 58.3% of patients, respectively. Higher levels of serum ferritin were seen in 61.4% of cases. Conclusion: The clinical, laboratory and radiological findings may play pivotal role in early detection of positive COVID-19 cases and thus help in timely therapeutics management.
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A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the utility of online teaching for general surgery postgraduate residents at the end of 1 month of online teaching during the COVID-19 lockdown. A questionnaire related to different aspects of online teaching was developed on a 5-point Likert scale from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree". Following a pilot study, the questionnaire was shared among surgery residents, and response collection was done. The residents who did not attend at least 90% of scheduled classes were excluded. A total of 55 resident doctors without prior experience of online teaching program were enrolled in the study. All the participants responded to all questions and submitted their responses within stipulated time. On the basis of validity testing, questions 1 and 2 were found invalid and hence deleted. The median value for the total cohort was 4 indicating that majority of residents gave affirmative response. On segregating the result with the year of residency program, similar results were found in the 1st year and 2nd year group; however, the 3rd year group showed a median of 3, thus eliciting that only 50% of 3rd year residents liked online teaching. From the present study, it can be concluded that the online teaching is a feasible alternative to the physical class among surgical postgraduates. The questionnaire utilized in the present study can be used for assessing similar online teaching protocols.