Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Global Health and Enhancing Healthcare in Developing Nations.

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI), which combines computer science with extensive datasets, seeks to mimic human-like intelligence. Subsets of AI are being applied in almost all fields of medicine and surgery. AIM: This review focuses on the applications of AI in healthcare settings in developing countries, designed to underscore its significance by comprehensively outlining the advancements made thus far, the shortcomings encountered in AI applications, the present status of AI integration, persistent challenges, and innovative strategies to surmount them. METHODOLOGY: Articles from PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane were searched from 2000 to 2023 with keywords including AI and healthcare, focusing on multiple medical specialties. RESULTS: The increasing role of AI in diagnosis, prognosis prediction, and patient management, as well as hospital management and community healthcare, has made the overall healthcare system more efficient, especially in the high patient load setups and resource-limited areas of developing countries where patient care is often compromised. However, challenges, including low adoption rates and the absence of standardized guidelines, high installation and maintenance costs of equipment, poor transportation and connectivvity issues hinder AI's full use in healthcare. CONCLUSION: Despite these challenges, AI holds a promising future in healthcare. Adequate knowledge and expertise of healthcare professionals for the use of AI technology in healthcare is imperative in developing nations.

Intramuscular myxoma of the thigh: A case report.

Intramuscular Myxomas are rare benign soft tissue tumors which usually occur between the ages 40 and 70 years and are more common among females. A thorough history and examination can help with diagnosis and it can be confirmed via histological examination. A 40-year-old female presented with a swelling in the medial aspect of right thigh which measured about 5 × 5 cm. Ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and histopathology examination confirmed the diagnosis and a complete surgical resection was performed to remove the mass. Intramuscular myxoma should be included in differential diagnosis of sarcomas, hemangioma, desmoid tumor, clear cell sarcoma, and lipomas. Magnetic resonance imaging should be the investigation of choice, and histopathology remains the gold standard of investigation. Complete surgical excision with negative margins is the treatment of choice.

Sporadic Case of Peutz-Jeghers Polyp in a 14-Year Boy.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal dominant hamartomatous polyposis of the gastrointestinal tract, with pigmentation around lips, the buccal mucosa, and anal area. Patients have a strong family history. Patients of PJS present with abdominal pain, blood in stools, and occasionally melena because of polyps, along with classical mucocutaneous pigmentation. Very rarely a sporadic case of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome occurs in early childhood and adolescent. The case of a 14-year boy is reported, who presented with intussussception and bleeding per rectum due to jejunal polyp and a rectal polyp. Intussussception was treated by resection anastomosis due to vascular impairment. Rectal polyp was removed during colonoscopy. There was no family history of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome or polyps but patient had classical mucocutaneous pigmentation of buccal mucosa. Therefore, this case is of sporadic Peutz-Jeghers polyp (PJP), which is a rare disorder.

Prevalence of recognised and unrecognised depression among medical and surgical patients in a tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the prevalence of recognised and unrecognised depression among in-patients. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2012 to May 2013 at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, and comprised patients admitted in the Medicine and Surgical departments at the time. Patients with known history of depression or on anti-depressants or on anti-psychotics, or with suicidal attempt were excluded. The prevalence of unrecognised depression was then perceived using Patient Health Qurstionnaire-9. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Of the 1180 patients, 432(36.6%) either had history of depression or on were on anti-depressants. The study sample, as such, comprised 748(65%), and of them 399(53%) were from the Medicine and 349(47%) patients were from Surgery department. Prevalence of recognised depression was 36.6%; 48% in Medical and 14% in Surgical patients. Unrecognised depression was 51.2%; 45.3% in Medical and 53.6 in Surgical patients. Overall prevalence was 87.9%; 93.4% in Medical and 53% in Surgical patients. Gender was not found to be significantly associated with depression in Medical (p= 0.367) and Surgical (p=0.606) patients. No depression was found in 48(12%) Medical patients and 131(37.5%) Surgical patients. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-third of in-patients had co-morbid depression diagnoses, mostly unrecognised by their clinicians.