New Horizons: COVID-19 and the Burden of Neuropsychiatric Illness in Pakistan.

This manuscript reviews the current state of knowledge about the burden of mental illness and assesses the impact of COVID-19 illness on mental health in Pakistan. For this we analyzed secondary data obtained from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study draws from a wide range of data sources to quantify global and regional effects of a disease. We also did a literature search on the effects of COVID-19 illness on mental health and the psychosocial effects of COVID-19 and other Corona virus related illnesses such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Data from the studies obtained was utilized to extrapolate the anticipated effects of COVID-19 illness on healthcare workers, COVID-19 patients and the general public in Pakistan. Mental illness poses a significant challenge to Pakistan's under resourced health care system. COVID-19 has the potential to strain Pakistan's healthcare system to the breaking point. So far, the general morbidity from COVID-19 illness in Pakistan has been low compared to other countries but this could change in the coming weeks and months. Hidden within this crisis are also some opportunities for both healthcare and education.

Exploring diet, exercise, chronic illnesses, occupational stressors and mental well-being of healthcare professionals in Punjab, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: This data set was compiled to assess mental well-being, dietary pattern and physical health parameters of health care professionals in Pakistan. DATA DESCRIPTION: The Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale was first evaluated for the Pakistani population then used, along with other measures like body mass index, exercise and dietary habits to assess health and wellbeing of health care providers. The importance of the data lies in the fact that no previous records or data exists in our knowledge that used a subjective index to assess wellbeing in Pakistani population. Furthermore, this data may be used as part of a global analysis to find differences in well-being and health habits of health care providers in developing countries as opposed to developed countries.

Case of undiagnosed pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is an opportunistic fungal infection that is usually seen in immunocompromised patients, especially those with HIV, malignancies, organ transplants and on drug therapies like chemotherapy and steroids. PCP has subacute presentation in patients with AIDS which if left untreated gets worse and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Here we present a case of PCP went undiagnosed, partially due to the patient being unaware of his HIV positive status and partially because no organism could be found under the microscope.