Awareness and Knowledge on Epilepsy Among Undergraduate Medical Students in Pakistan

Background:  Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder which affects millions of people throughout the world. However, it has been discovered that there is a great degree of ignorance regarding the science of epilepsy among the general masses as well as the populace of medical students.  Studies have been conducted whose results have shown that, there has been fabrication regarding the clinical presentation & treatment of epilepsy among the common man. Numerous appear to link epilepsy to evil spirits and possession that can be healed by spiritual treatments by certain specialists given the designations of ‘demonologists’,’ paranormal investigators’ or ‘mystics’. In such circumstances, medical students can prove to be a major source to educate the society at large. Therefore, it is crucial that their knowledge & attitude towards epilepsy is accurate and thus, must be evaluated at an early stage in their medical career, so that these future physicians may play a pivotal role in the public awareness of epilepsy.  Method:  This study was conducted in Pakistan, at a Government sector medical college, namely, Karachi Medical and Dental College. This is a cross-sectional study. Data was collected between October to December of the year 2014. 270 medical students were given the KAP (knowledge, attitude & practice) form of epilepsy to fill out. The software used to interpret and tabulate the results was SPSS v.16 for Windows. The chi-square test was employed to determine the proportion of knowledge of epilepsy among medical students. The p-value calculated was equal to 0.05.   Findings:  In this study, 270 medical students were recruited, of which 90 were males (33.3%) where as 180 were females (66.6%). The ages of the student participants were within the range of 18 to 24 years. The analysis of our study demonstrates that: 85.1% of the medical students consider epilepsy to be a neurological disorder; 6.66% believe epilepsy is an infectious disease; 4.44% believe it to be a hereditary disease, whereas, 3.7% of the students reckon it is a psychiatric illness. Generalized tonic clonic seizures was deemed to be the most common form of epilepsy (25.5%) with complex partial seizures being the least common form(1.85%) , as well as relatively unknown by the students.             It was discovered through this study that, students were much less acquainted with the knowledge regarding the treatment of the disorder: multiple drug therapy was considered as the treatment by 56.66% of the students, spiritual treatment by 3.7%, spiritual treatment with medication by 20%, surgical treatment by 17.4% & 2.22% deemed epilepsy as a self limiting disease.  Conclusion:  It has been observed with this survey that the medical students of Pakistan are well aware of the knowledge of epilepsy and it being a medical condition. However, the students need to be educated early on in their training to be physicians, about certain aspects and details of the neurological disorder, for instance, the appropriate treatment of epilepsy, where their knowledge is lacking

Variation of Peak Expiratory Flow Rate with Body Mass Index in Medical Students of Karachi, Pakistan

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of our study was to assess the variation of PEFR with BMI in normal medical students of Karachi, PakistanDESIGN: Cross-sectional studySetting: Medical students of Karachi Medical and Dental CollegeParticipants: 138 non-smoker healthy medical students composed of 111 females and 27 males. VARIABLE PARAMETERS: They include mean age, body height and body weight and PEFR. They were marked separately for each genderRESULTS: The mean BMI in females was found out to be 18.54±2.10 corresponding with that of mean PEFR value 431.62±56.62 whereas in males the mean BMI was 25.07±2.96 corresponding with that of mean PEFR value 533.70±23.22. Also there is a statistically significant variation in PEFR with an increase in BMI.CONCLUSION: The study concludes that PEFR is affected positively by variation in BMI. Also young males have more BMI and PEFR values than their young female counterparts. A large sample size with accurate peak flow meter is required along with ethnic consideration of the study population for better and accurate result

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Falls in elderly people: frequency, risk factors and risk assessment (FAR Study)

Background: The number of people over the age of 60 is growing all over the world. With increasing age there is increased prevalence of visual, auditory and locomotive disability in the elderly. This may result in falls with injuries that may have serious consequences. The purpose of this study was to assess prevalence, risk assessment and risk factors associated with falls in elderly. Methods: We conducted a research in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Civil hospital, Jinnah Hospital and Karachi Institute of heart diseases. It was a cross sectional study with people living in Karachi as targeted population. Sample size was 150 individuals with age 60 years or above. An interviewer based questionnaire was administered. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16 was used for data entry and analysis and Morse fall scale was used as a tool for risk assessment. Results: From150 subjects, 96 (64%) gave a history of fall. Of these 42 (43.75%) were men and 54 (56.25%) were women while 33 (34.38%) of men and 44 (45.83%) of women had suffered injuries. Out of 96 participants, 38 (25%) subjects had fallen once and the rest 58 (60.4%) have fallen more than once. Risk factors associated with falls were medications, visual problems, gait abnormality, decrease physical activity, poor memory along with such intrinsic factors as slippery uneven surfaces in addition to age and gender. Conclusions: It was identified that in sample of elderly individuals living in Karachi, prevalence of fall was 64%. The risk of fall tended to increase with age both in men and women. The findings of this study also stressed on various potential risk factors that were reversible. Early identification and management of these factors can help us in forming a fall prevention strategy. Key words: Fall, elderly, prevalence, risk factors

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study (Intensive Care Medicine, (2021), 47, 2, (160-169), 10.1007/s00134-020-06234-9)

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The members of the ESICM Trials Group Collaborators were not shown in the article but only in the ESM. The full list of collaborators is shown below. The original article has been corrected