Resilience and psychological distress among burn survivors.

INTRODUCTION: Burn is one of the highly occurring injuries worldwide. In case of an acid attack, survivors are considered an embarrassing element for the family. In other words, survivors' dignity is judged by the scars on their faces and bodies. Burn survivors experience physical pain of wounds, along with unseen psychological agony. Here, resilience is the most captivating phenomenon that can lead the survivor to normalcy in life after experiencing such traumas. The current study is aimed to explore the role of resilience in the psychological distress of burn survivors. METHOD: 160 burn survivors were selected with an age bracket of 18-78 years from indoor hospital settings. To explore resilience, Urdu translated version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) by Naz (2011) was used and for symptoms of psychological distress, Urdu version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale- 21 (DASS-21) by Aslam and Kamal (2017). was also used. The data were analyzed via SPSS 23. RESULTS: Findings revealed that there is a significant negative relationship between resilience and psychological distress among burn survivors. Moreover, resilience predicted psychological distress. A significant difference was found between types of burn on depression and anxiety. Furthermore, the relationship between resilience to stress and depression is moderated by age of the burn survivor at the time of the incidence. A significant negative relationship between age with psychological distress among burn survivors was observed. The treatment period was associated positively with resilience and negatively with stress among burn survivors. Results also revealed no significant gender difference. However, a significant difference was found between types of burn on depression and anxiety. CONCLUSION: The findings of current study would be helpful for the medical professionals, mental healthcare providers, and policymakers who can help to develop and implement rehabilitation programs and mental health demands for the said population and can initiate and plan resilience promoting programs that would help promote adaptive coping to deal with trauma.

Predictive Value of CT Brain Perfusion Studies in Acute Ischemic Infarct Taking MRI Stroke Protocol As Gold Standard.

Background Acute ischemic stroke is the leading cause of serious chronic disability worldwide. Imaging plays a key role in early diagnosis and intervention, thus reducing mortality and morbidity related to ischemic stroke. Computed tomography (CT) perfusion study is a valuable imaging tool for the assessment of acute infarction. The objective of this study was to determine the predictive value of CT perfusion in diagnosing acute ischemic infarction taking Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) stroke protocol (including Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI)) as a gold standard. Methods The cross-sectional validation study was conducted at a teaching hospital in Islamabad from June 2019 to December 2019. The study comprised a total of 125 patients of either gender with suspected acute ischemic stroke. The patients were scanned for CT perfusion and MRI stroke protocol on the same day. Scans were reported separately for the detection of acute ischemic infarction by the same consultant radiologist. The predictive value of CT perfusion was calculated accordingly. Results Of the 125 patients, 58% were male and 42% were female. The age of selected patients ranged between 38 to 70 years with a mean age of 56.12 ± 9.69 years. Acute ischemic infarction was detected in 86 (69%) patients by CT perfusion study and in 120 (96%) patients by MRI stroke protocol. The positive predicted value of CT perfusion for the detection of acute infarction was calculated as 98.83 and the negative predicted value was 10.25. Conclusion CT perfusion study provides adequate sensitivity and specificity with good predictive value in the detection of acute ischemic infarct in stroke patients. This widely available and time-effective modality aids in the triage of patients for immediate endovascular intervention leading to maximal neurological benefit and improving outcomes.

High-Resolution CT Chest Findings in Suspected COVID-19 Pneumonia Patients With Negative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay.

Objective The study was conducted with the objective of describing High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) chest findings of clinically suspected COVID-19 patients having a negative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay as well as prevalence and distribution of the HRCT chest manifestations consistent with the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted prospectively on a total of 48 patients with high clinical suspicion for COVID-19 and a negative RT-PCR assay that was presented to the Diagnostic Radiology Department of Capital Hospital, Islamabad from July 2020 to December 2020. These patients were included via non-probability consecutive sampling, had a positive history of contact with a known COVID-19 patient and/or any two of the following signs and symptoms; fever, cough, malaise, body aches, arthralgia, new-onset loss of taste and smell, and dyspnea or oxygen saturation less than 85%. A detailed history was sought after informed consent and all these patients underwent non-contrast HRCT chest scans that were reported by an experienced consultant radiologist. The scans showing positive features for COVID-19 pneumonia were assessed for the nature and distribution of the disease. Results Amongst 48 suspects with negative RT-PCR assay, 38 (79.2%) showed ground-glass opacities, a hallmark feature of COVID-19 pneumonia. A total of 22 (57.89%) of these 38 patients had ground-glass opacities with a crazy-paving pattern, nine (23.68%) mixed ground-glass opacities with consolidation, and seven (18.42%) had pure ground-glass opacities. Among these 79.2% suspects, ground-glass opacities were multifocal in 37 (97.37%), bilateral in 35 (92.10%), peripheral in 36 (94.74%), and dorsally located in 32 (81.6%) cases. Subpleural atelectatic bands were seen in 18 (47.36%) of these, bronchovascular markings were prominent in 15 (39.47%), and reverse halo sign was positive in nine (23.68%) cases. Out of the rest of the cases, three were diagnosed as interstitial lung disease, two as chronic lung disease, and one as active pulmonary tuberculosis. Conclusion The majority of clinically suspected cases for COVID-19 showed hallmark findings on non-contrast HRCT chest scans in keeping with coronavirus disease regardless of a negative RT-PCR assay.

Newspaper articles as a tool for cardiovascular prevention programs in a developing country.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in knowledge and attitudes as intermediate measures of community impact of a health education campaign using newspaper articles. The intervention involved prominently placed, illustrated newspaper articles by Heartfile (heartfile.org) with nationwide urban outreach, posted regularly in the largest English newspaper in Pakistan using newspaper donated space for a period of 130 consecutive weeks. The post intervention evaluation involved a cross sectional telephone survey in a major city. In the total sample, 26.5% were readers of the newspaper and majority of them (72%) stated that they were regular readers. These 500 persons were eligible for the interview; of these, 93% remembered having seen the Heartfile articles. In this group, 87% of the respondents stated that the articles significantly supplemented their knowledge about diet, and in 5% they were the sole source of information. With respect to exercise, these articles supplemented the knowledge of 77% of the respondents and were the sole source of information for 9% whereas in the case of smoking, knowledge was supplemented in 85% and the articles were the sole source of information in 4% of the cases. Of those interviewed, 40% reported that they had made some dietary changes, 39% made some changes in their exercise habits and 8% reduced the amount of tobacco consumption as a result of reading these articles. In relation to newspaper articles, the per article production cost was US$ 169 and the articles were read regularly by an estimated 0.66 million and occasionally by 0.79 million individuals all over the country. Newspaper articles are a useful supplement to other health education activities as part of cardiovascular disease prevention programs. Lessons from the Heartfile experience in Pakistan could be useful for other similar initiatives in low resource settings.