ABO AND RHESUS BLOOD GROUP DISTRIBUTION IN RESIDENTS OF KARACHI.

BACKGROUND: Blood transfusion till recently was a life threatening procedure until the discovery of ABO blood groups. Today committee of League of Nations has recommended A, B, AB & O classification for general use. This study was aimed to determine the frequency of ABO and Rh blood groups in residents of Karachi, so that necessary measures should be taken to maintain the blood product inventory. METHODS: A study was conducted at Dr. Ziauddin Hospital Clifton laboratory Karachi, Pakistan over a period of 07 months from 1st June- 31st Dec 2016. Healthy blood donors and patients requiring blood products of different age groups were included. After an informed consent, blood grouping was performed by taking blood samples under aseptic measures in EDTA and Gel separating serum tubes for ABO & Rh blood grouping by tube method. RESULTS: A total of 1583 individuals presented during the study period with 868 (54.8%) males and 715(45.2%) females. Blood group O+ve was found to be more common (31.9%) followed by B+ve (31.2%). In Rh system, Rh+ve (97.2%) were more common than Rh negative (2.8%) blood groups. CONCLUSION: This study was carried out to maintain the blood product inventory concerning the management of blood bank and transfusion services for the patient

Leptin to Adiponectin ratio as Atherogenic Index in Ischemic Heart Disease Patients

Objective: To determine plasma adiponectin and leptin levels in subjects with and without ischemic heart disease (IHD) and to find the correlation between leptin, adiponectin to the number of coronary vessels disease-using angiography.Patients and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted Ziauddin University. 80 subjects were recruited who were undergoing angiography. Height, weight, Waist and hip circumference were measured. BMI and WHR were calculated accordingly. Venous blood was drawn to measure adiponectin and leptin using ELISA.Results: Leptin to adiponectin ratio (LA ratio) was significantly increased in three and two vessel disease compared with single vessel and non-significant groups.Conclusion: The study shows that adiponectin decreases and leptin increases in multivessel disease. LA ratio has been found to correlate well in two and more than two vessel disease

Acceptance of Internet Banking Services with Respect to Security and Privacy Perceptions: An Application of TAM

The internet is playing a major role in providing financial services in Banking, leading to competitive edge in gaining banking customers, who would like essential banking services to be availed anywhere and at any time. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) on internet banking in Pakistan, Perceived Security Concern and Perceived Privacy Concern on Intention to Use fulfilling the academic gap identified as there is a lack of organized and comprehensive studies analyzing practical implications of Technology Acceptance Model in Internet Banking in Pakistan. This cross-sectional study is based on the deductive approach and the explanatory strategy. Upon doing a correlation analysis between the variables, findings suggest a strong positive correlation between TAM, Perceived Security Concern, Perceived Privacy Concern and Perceived Trust on Intention to Use

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with paediatric cancer in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Paediatric cancer is a leading cause of death for children. Children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) were four times more likely to die than children in high-income countries (HICs). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the delivery of healthcare services worldwide, and exacerbated the disparity in paediatric cancer outcomes between LMICs and HICs. DESIGN: A multicentre, international, collaborative cohort study. SETTING: 91 hospitals and cancer centres in 39 countries providing cancer treatment to paediatric patients between March and December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were included if they were under the age of 18 years, and newly diagnosed with or undergoing active cancer treatment for Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms' tumour, sarcoma, retinoblastoma, gliomas, medulloblastomas or neuroblastomas, in keeping with the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All-cause mortality at 30 days and 90 days. RESULTS: 1660 patients were recruited. 219 children had changes to their treatment due to the pandemic. Patients in LMICs were primarily affected (n=182/219, 83.1%). Relative to patients with paediatric cancer in HICs, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 12.1 (95% CI 2.93 to 50.3) and 7.9 (95% CI 3.2 to 19.7) times the odds of death at 30 days and 90 days, respectively, after presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 15.6 (95% CI 3.7 to 65.8) times the odds of death at 30 days (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected paediatric oncology service provision. It has disproportionately affected patients in LMICs, highlighting and compounding existing disparities in healthcare systems globally that need addressing urgently. However, many patients with paediatric cancer continued to receive their normal standard of care. This speaks to the adaptability and resilience of healthcare systems and healthcare workers globally

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality