Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among chefs working in restaurants of twins cities of Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: In the recent era, musculoskeletal disorders have affected millions of people worldwide. Chefs and other workers of the catering industry are at high risk of physical stresses, which makes them susceptible to develop various musculoskeletal pains and disorders. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to examine the frequency of musculoskeletal symptoms among chefs working in restaurants of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 307 chef participants from the restaurants of the twin cities. The participants were included via convenient sampling and data was collected through Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) and Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) from February to July 2021. RESULTS: Out of 307 participants, 285 were males and 22 were females with a mean age of 32.87±7.03 years. The working duration of 192 chefs were 9-12 hours while 106 and 9 chefs worked only for 4-8 and more than 12 hours, respectively. A total of 101 chefs reported lower back and knee pain. The chefs presented with pain in the shoulders, upper back and ankle as well as feet areas were 98, 93 and 26 respectively. CONCLUSION: Chefs can develop musculoskeletal symptoms including pain as a result of increased physical stress on their bodies during their work, specifically in the lower back and knee area.

Interstitial Lung Disease and Transverse Myelitis: A Possible Complication of COVID-19 Vaccine.

The clinical impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is growing, and vaccine-associated complications are becoming more evident. Although global vaccination against coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is an outstanding accomplishment, safety concerns and adverse outcomes are also emerging that need to be addressed promptly. The most reported side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine include fever, myalgia, headache, and injection site reactions. Acute transverse myelitis (ATM) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) following the CoronaVac vaccine are rarely reported. We report a case of ILD followed by acute myelopathy in a female who presented with dyspnea, cough, and fever after the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. On the third day of admission, she developed paresthesia and bilateral upper and lower limb weakness. She was diagnosed with ILD and ATM due to the COVID-19 vaccine based on imaging and detailed investigations after ruling out all possible causes. Her neurological and respiratory manifestations improved gradually after starting intravenous methylprednisolone.

Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury With Deranged Lipid Profile.

Introduction Spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to severe disability and neurogenic shock, arrhythmias, autonomic dysfunction, pressure ulcers, etc., of the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, in these patients, cardiovascular problems should be investigated frequently. This study was conducted to evaluate the electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities in patients with spinal cord injury having inappropriate lipid profiles and their relationship with each other. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study was held in the Internal Medicine Department of Mayo Hospital, Lahore, for a one-year duration from May 2020 to May 2021. It included 58 patients with spinal cord injury, 35 of whom had paraplegia, and 23 had tetraplegia. Fasting blood samples were taken for lipid profile analysis. Twelve-lead ECGs three times a day for one month were taken and analyzed in the context of previously available ECGs. Results Out of 58, the lipid profiles were found abnormal in 47 patients, 18 of whom had a normal ECG. The lipid profile was normal in 12, of which only one patient had ECG abnormalities. Cholesterol levels were found normal in 39 patients and deranged in 19 patients; low-density lipoproteins in nine patients, triglycerides in 18 patients, and high-density lipoprotein values in one patient were abnormal. Conclusions Sinus bradycardia was the most common ECG abnormality found in SCI patients with deranged lipid profiles. Further studies are needed in the future to validate the findings of this study.