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INTRODUCTION: Persistent and prolonged symptoms, termed as long COVID (coronavirus disease), have been reported in several patients who recovered from the acute phase at different intervals. However, there has been largely unclear data regarding the full range of long-term sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of long COVID syndrome. METHODS: A long-term research was conducted in the COVID-19 unit of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan from July 2020 to December 2021 in which 2,000 patients who had recovered from COVID-19 and had been discharged were included in the study. Symptoms were noted at the time of discharge and at follow-up after 12 months. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v. 22.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, New York, United States). RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 43 ± 10 years, 801 (53.8%) males and 688 (46.2%) females. At the time of discharge, the most common symptom was fatigue (26.93%), followed by dyspnea (20.34%) and muscle pain (8.86%). The most common symptom on follow-up was fatigue (6.78%). CONCLUSION: We strongly emphasize discussing and exploring further knowledge on the post-infection syndrome, with an aim to bring healthcare professionals' attention to the importance of handling COVID patients, their counseling, warning for alarming signs, and a long-term follow-up with necessary investigations and treatment.
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Introduction The most common etiology of portal hypertension (PH) in children is obstruction at the presinusoidal or sinusoidal level. In addition, portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and biliary atresia are the most prevalent extrahepatic causes. This study aims to evaluate all the possible etiologies leading to PH in the pediatric population and provide the most common cause associated with this condition along with the age group most frequently affected by it. Material and Methods From January 2018 to December 2020, a cross-sectional study was carried out in tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan. A total of 100 children, both male and female, aged one month to 15 years and diagnosed with PH, were enrolled for the evaluation for the causes of PH. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20, was used to analyze the data. Results The mean age of enrolled participants was 9.01 ± 2.81 years. It was found that PVT (63%) was the most common cause of PH, followed by liver cirrhosis (19%) and biliary atresia (18%). Age of more than eight years was significantly associated with PVT (p-value: 0.007). Conclusion In children, PH may be caused by a wide range of etiologies. It is imperative to understand the underlying etiologies contributing to PH for proper guidance and management, prevention, and overall outcomes.
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Introduction The clinical benefit of famotidine has been observed in the management of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, its use in the management of SARS-CoV-2 is intriguing and not well established yet. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of famotidine as adjuvant therapy in improving the outcome of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Methods This two-arm open-label randomized interventional study was conducted in the COVID-19 unit of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan from December 2020 to September 2021. Patients between the ages of 18 to 65 years, hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, were enrolled in the study. Participants were randomized into two groups. The intervention group received 40 mg oral famotidine daily in addition to the standard care and the control group received standard care as per national guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19 in Pakistan. Results Patients admitted with COVID-19 who received famotidine took comparatively fewer days to become symptom-free (8.5 ± 1.7 vs. 9.4 ± 1.9 days, p-value: <0.001) and spent fewer days in hospital (8.6 ± 1.6 vs. 10.3 ± 2.2 days; p-value: <0.0001). However, the overall difference in the need for mechanical ventilation and mortality between the interventional arm and placebo was not significant. Conclusion In this study, adding famotidine to standard treatment of COVID-19 was associated with faster clinical recovery and shorter stay in the hospital. However, there was no difference in the need for mechanical ventilation, need for intensive care unit, and overall mortality. Further large-scale studies are needed to understand the role of famotidine in COVID-19 and its mechanism of action in patients with COVID-19.
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INTRODUCTION: Plasma omentin-1 is a relatively new biomarker that has anti-diabetogenic and its level is inversely related with insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus, thus, increasing the risk of diabetic complications. In this study, we will determine the association between serum plasma omentin-1 levels and diabetes and its complications. METHODS: This case control study was conducted from July 2020 to August 2021 in the internal medicine unit of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. There was a total of three groups, each comprising 250 patients. One group was type 2 diabetic patients with complications, the second group was type 2 diabetic patients without complications, and the third group was the control group, i.e. participants without type 2 diabetes. Their plasma omentin-1 levels were compared. RESULTS: Patients with diabetic complications had significantly lower serum omentin levels than patients without complications (59.01 ± 9.21 ug/dL vs. 75.72 ± 14.11 ug/L; p-value: <0.0001). Patients with diabetes had significantly lower serum omentin levels in comparison to patients without diabetes (75.72 ± 14.11 ug/dL vs. 90.12 ± 17.89 ug/L; p-value: <0.0001). CONCLUSION: Based on our study, plasma omentin-1 is negatively associated with diabetes and its complications. Therefore, adequate levels of omentin-1 are needed in order to prevent diabetic complications.
