Perceived stress and monetary burden among thalassemia patients and their caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: To find the perceived stress level and monetary burden in the thalassemia patients and their caregivers related to thalassemia treatment sessions. METHODS: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at Rawalpindi Thalassemia Centre and Military Hospital Rawalpindi of six months' duration from November 2016 to April 2017. A total of 87 sample size was calculated by using WHO sample size calculator. Participants were inducted through purposive sampling technique from thalassemia centers. A validated standardized Cohen's Perceived Stress score was used. Data were entered and analyzed in SPSS 22. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 30.42 ± 14.53 years. There were 30 (34.2%) males and 57 (65.8%) females. There were 39 (51.3%) patients and 48 (48.7%) caregivers. The mean income per month of the participants was 48706.9 ± 39492.68 PKR. The mean total expenditure per treatment session was 48706 ± 4037.12 PKR. Among the patients, there were 15 (38.5%) who were having average stress, while 4 (10.3%) were having moderate stress while 45 (51.7%0 were having severe stress. Among the caregivers, 10 (20.8%) were having mild stress, 13 (27.1%) were having moderate stress while 25 (52.1%) were having severe stress. The stress among the two groups was not statistically significant (p=0.066). CONCLUSION: More than half of the patients and caregivers were having a high perceived stress levels and there was a significant association between the two groups. The monetary burden was a lot to bear by the patients and the cost of treatment session most expensive.

Knowledge, Attitude And Practice Of Common Cold And Its Management Among Doctors Of Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic misuse for upper respiratory tract infections such as the common cold is widespread in clinical practice. Excessive prescription of antibiotics by doctors has resulted in increased antimicrobial resistance. This led to our objective of determining the percentage of doctors in Pakistan prescribing antibiotics for the treatment of common cold and to know about their knowledge in preventing the spread of this disease. METHODS: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in 9 cities of Pakistan including Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Multan and D.G. Khan over a period of 03 months -from October to December, 2013. Questionnaire regarding the disease spread and its treatment was distributed among 300 randomly selected doctors in nine cities of Pakistan from both public and private sector. RESULTS: Eighteen percent of the doctors prescribe antibiotics for common cold. Only 113 (37.7%) doctors correctly responded that mean incubation period for common cold was 1-2 days. Two hundred and nine (69.7%) answered correctly that cold weather increases susceptibility to common cold. Only 84 (28%) responded correctly by choosing that regular and frequent hand-washing with good quality soaps was the most effective way to prevent spread of this disease in day-to-day life. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics are being prescribed for treatment of common cold by a large proportion of doctors. There is insufficient knowledge among our doctors regarding the factors which aggravate or alleviate common cold symptoms as well as the methods by which these infections can be prevented.

Microbiological contamination in water filtration plants in Islamabad.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of microbiological contamination of water in different water filtration plants in Islamabad. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Water Filtration Plants (WFP) in different sectors of Islamabad, from April to September 2012. METHODOLOGY: Water samples were collected in sterilized bottles according to the standard water sampling protocol from site and transported to Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) for analysis. Microbiological quality of water was determined in terms of total coliforms (< 2.0 MPN/100 ml) and Escherichia coli (< 2.0 MPN/100 ml). Microbiological contaminated water was defined the sample which had more than 2.0 MPN per 100 ml of either total coliforms or Escherichia (E.) coli. RESULTS: Thirty two WFP were analyzed for microbiological contamination. E. coli was present in 8 (25.0%) water samples, while 24 (75.0%) water samples were free from it. Total coliforms were present in 13 (40.6%) of the samples of WFP, while 19 (59.3%) samples were free from total coliform. Faecal coliforms were present in 8 (25.0%) and absent in 24 (75.0%) samples. Both E. coli and total coliform were present in 8 (25.0%) samples. Nine (59.3) WFP were free from E. coli, total coliform and faecal coliform. Statistically, no significant association was found (p > 0.05) between microbiological contamination and the sectors. CONCLUSION: Less than half of the water samples of the WFP were contaminated while certain sectors showed more frequent contamination than others.