Five articles on Health and Research.
3-day antibiotic treatment may be enough to tackle non-severe pneumonia in kids
HEALTH AUTHORITIES INSPECT GORNO BADAKHSHAN
Epilepsy; New epilepsy study findings have been reported from Aga Khan University
Psychiatry; Research in the area of psychiatry reported from Aga Khan University
Epistaxis; Study findings from Aga Khan University provide new insights into epistaxis
3-day antibiotic treatment may be enough to tackle non-severe pneumonia in kids
16 April 2008
Report from Asian News International brought to you by HT Syndication.
Washington, April 16 — A treatment with antibiotics for just three days may be enough to tackle non-severe community acquired pneumonia in children, according to Cochrane Systematic Review of available research.
“This short duration treatment is cheaper to give, is more likely to be taken by the child and is less likely to trigger antimicrobial resistance than longer-duration regimens,” says lead researcher Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta who heads the department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan.
The researchers behind the study say that their findings attain significance particularly for poor societies, where a shorter dose would be much easier for people to afford, acquire and comply with.
Three studies on 5,763 children aged five or below were reviewed during the study.
Some of the children in the three trials were treated with antibiotics for three days, while the rest for five days.
The researchers ensured that any other differences between the children were kept to a minimum.
“Pneumonia accounts for the highest number of deaths in children under five in low income countries, so it is important to find the most efficient way of treating it,” says co-researcher Dr Batool Haider.
The researchers now plant to review more well-controlled randomised studies of different durations, which may make their conclusions stronger.
The team will also allow more severe forms of pneumonia to be studied for optimal treatment strategies.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from Asian News International.
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HEALTH AUTHORITIES INSPECT GORNO BADAKHSHAN
16 April 2008
DUSHANBE, April 16, Asia-Plus /Mavjouda Hasanova/ — A working group led by the Health Minister Nusratullo Salimov went to Gorno Badakhshan yesterday afternoon for a three-day visit. The main purpose of the visit is for the delegation to study the health situation in the province and organize events on propagating healthy lifestyle. The group members include senior representatives from the Ministry of Health (MoH) and heads of a number of republican clinical centers, totaling 30 persons. It is to be noted that the group is making trip to Gorno Badakhshan on vehicles and the Asian Development Bank’s Mission in Tajikistan, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Tajikistan and the Basic and Community Health Project Implementation Unit (PIU) provided them with vehicles for the trip.
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Epilepsy; New epilepsy study findings have been reported from Aga Khan University
23 April 2008
2008 APR 23 – (NewsRx.com) — “Misconceptions about epilepsy may explain the considerable stigma accompanying it. We aimed to identify such fallacies through questionnaire-based interviews of 487 adult residents of a slum area in Karachi, Pakistan,” scientists in Karachi, Pakistan report (see also Epilepsy).
“Of those interviewed, 25% believed that epilepsy was caused by evil spirits, black magic and envy by others those without a school education were more likely to hold these views (P < 0.05). Perceived complications included impotence and cancer. Shoe-sniffing was considered a treatment modality by 13%. It appears that misconceptions abound regarding epilepsy’s causes, complications and methods of treatment,” wrote M. Shafiq and colleagues, Aga Khan University.
The researchers concluded: “However, those who had received a school education were less likely to link epilepsy with supernatural phenomena.”
Shafiq and colleagues published their study in Tropical Doctor (Myths and fallacies about epilepsy among residents of a Karachi slum area. Tropical Doctor, 2008;38(1):32-33).
For additional information, contact M. Shafiq, Aga Khan University, Dept. of Community Health Science, 156 Male Hostel, Stadium Rd., Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
The publisher’s contact information for the journal Tropical Doctor is: Royal Society Medicine Press Ltd., 1 Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE, England.
This article was prepared by Biotech Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Biotech Week via NewsRx.com.
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Psychiatry; Research in the area of psychiatry reported from Aga Khan University
23 April 2008
2008 APR 23 – (NewsRx.com) — According to recent research from Karachi, Pakistan, “Pakistan is facing a shortage of psychiatrists; there are about 350 psychiatrists in a country of 150 million. Medical specialty choice surveys of medical students have approached this issue from various angles.”
“The authors’ objective is to explore the attitudes of Pakistani medical students toward psychiatry as their future career Methods: Third-year medical students from four medical colleges in different regions of Pakistan participated. A questionnaire was hand distributed and collected in each medical college by a contact person who was not affiliated with the department of psychiatry in any of the medical colleges included in the survey. The response rate was 60% out of a sample of 381 students. The mean age was 21 years, and 57% were female. The majority (98.4%) were Muslims. Respondents were similar in all demographic characteristics except household income. Only 76% reported psychiatry to be either their chosen career or a highly likely choice. A Friedman test found a significant difference in mean scores of ratings of the attractiveness of various career aspects of different specialties. Relatively small numbers of students identified psychiatry as their specialty of choice. This trend is similar to many other studies,” wrote E.U. Syed and colleagues, Aga Khan University (see also Psychiatry).
The researchers concluded: “Given the small number of practicing psychiatrists in Pakistan, this finding is not very encouraging.”
Syed and colleagues published their study in Academic Psychiatry (Attitudes of Pakistani medical students towards psychiatry as a prospective career: A survey. Academic Psychiatry, 2008;32(2):160-164).
For additional information, contact E.U. Syed, Aga Khan University, Dept. of Psychiatry, POB 3500, Stadium Rd., Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
Publisher contact information for the journal Academic Psychiatry is: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Ste. 1825, Arlington, VA 22209-3901, USA.
This article was prepared by Biotech Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Biotech Week via NewsRx.com.
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Epistaxis; Study findings from Aga Khan University provide new insights into epistaxis
24 April 2008
2008 APR 24 – (NewsRx.com) — According to a study from Karachi, Pakistan, “Epistaxis is a common emergency in otolaryngology. There is some evidence questioning the use of routine coagulation studies (prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)) in these patients, but this practice continues in most centres.”
“To identify groups of patients likely to present with coagulation abnormalities. Charts of all patients aged >14 years with epistaxis, requiring admission to Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, through the emergency department between January 2002 and December 2005, were retrospectively reviewed for the presence of comorbid conditions and coagulation abnormalities. Deranged coagulation was defined as an APTT of >7 s above control or an international normalised ratio >1.5. Analysis was carried out using SPSS V. 13.0. All 108 patients were included in the study (male patients, 71.3%; female patients, 28.7%; mean age 40.4 years). Only 49 patients had an associated condition that could potentially cause epistaxis. Of these, the coagulation profiles of 10 patients were deranged, which included 6 patients receiving anticoagulant treatment, 2 with chronic active hepatitis, 1 with liver cancer and 1 with haemophilia. Routine coagulation screening of all patients with epistaxis is of little value and only adds to treatment costs and emergency room occupancy times. Comorbid conditions such as hypertension or cases with thrombocytopenia do not merit coagulation screening,” wrote M.S. Awan and colleagues, Aga Khan University (see also Epistaxis).
The researchers concluded: “However, coagulation studies are justified in patients receiving anticoagulant treatment and those with known coagulopathy or chronic liver disease.”
Awan and colleagues published their study in Emergency Medicine Journal (Epistaxis: When are coagulation studies justified? Emergency Medicine Journal, 2008;25(3):156-157).
For more information, contact M.S. Awan, Aga Khan University Hospital, Dept. of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Stadium Rd., POB 3500, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
Publisher contact information for the Emergency Medicine Journal is: B M J Publishing Group, British Med Association House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR, England.
This article was prepared by Blood Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Blood Weekly via NewsRx.com.
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