Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies in Non-Interferon Treated Hepatitis C Patients in Pakistan

Objective. Interferon therapy of HCV infected patients is associated with development of thyroid dysfunctions. Patients with pretreatment presence of antithyroid peroxidase (TPO-Ab) are at greater risk. This study, probably the first in Pakistan, was planned to determine TPO-Ab in sera of treatment-naive local HCV patients. Setting. Centre for Nuclear Medicine (CENUM), Mayo Hospital, Lahore. Patients and Methods. During July to December 2012, 190 patients (140 females, 50 males) newly diagnosed for HCV infection were selected for this study. Their age range was 15–55 years (mean: 35.3 ± 9.1 years). 262 age matched healthy subjects (211 females and 50 males) were recruited as control. Serum-free thyroxin (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were detected by radioimmunoassay techniques. Serum TPO-Ab titer was determined by ELISA method using commercial kits. Results. Serum FT4 and TSH levels in HCV patients and controls were within normal range. Between two groups there was no significant difference in mean value of FT4 (16.0 ± 3.0 versus 16.2 ± 3.9; P=0.619) but mean TSH value was significantly lower in HCV patients (1.5 ± 0.8 versus 1.8 ± 0.9; P=0.003). Among HCV patients 51 (26.8%) were TPO-Ab positive and among control subjects 18 (6.9%) were TPO-Ab positive. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Further analysis showed that among HCV patients 39 (27.8%) females and 12 (24.0%) males were TPO-Ab positive, respectively, and difference was not statistically significant (P=0.873). Moreover, TPO-Ab positive patients were older and had significantly higher serum TSH as compared to TPO-Ab negative HCV patients. Conclusion. Independent of patient’s gender and increasing with advancing age, about one-fourth of local untreated HCV patients are TPO-Ab positive and are at greater risk of developing thyroid disorders during and after interferon treatment

Assessment of quality of life in children with epilepsy in Oman

Abstract Purpose The study aims to describe the quality of life (QoL) in Omani children with epilepsy at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman. Methods One hundred and one Omani children, with an age range from 5 to 18 years, diagnosed with epilepsy were enrolled in the study over 3 months. Descriptive epidemiology was used to characterize QoL in these children. QoL was measured using the PedsQL (4.0) questionnaire, a 23-item child and parent report questionnaire. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare mean QoL scores, and agreement between the QoL reports of children and parents was evaluated using Spearman’s rho; while, Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to determine differences in subscale ratings. Results Factors affecting QoL included family status, income level, social security coverage, type of treatment, seizure frequency, age of onset, and seizure-free duration in years. Children between 5 and 7 years and females, in general, were most affected, as reflected by the overall QoL subscale. Consistency between the children's self-reports and parent proxy reports on the PedsQL™ was moderate to low. Conclusion Omani children with epilepsy have poor QoL, and their psychosocial function is severely affected. Therefore, QoL should be an important outcome measure in managing children with epilepsy rather than just seizure control