Descriptive epidemiology of Karachi road traffic crash mortality from 2007 to 2014

Abstract According to World Health Organization\u27s estimate for Pakistan, there were 25,781 (95% CI: 20,979-30582) Road Traffic Collision (RTC) fatalities in year 2013. The Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Center, collects RTC data on injuries and fatalities from five major public and private hospitals\u27 emergency departments in Karachi. For the eight-year period, from 2007-2014, 9129 fatalities were recorded. Males accounted for 8008 (87.7%) all RTC fatalities. Highest number of fatalities were recorded in the 21-25 age group with 1329 (15.3%) fatalities, while fatalities in 16-30 years old, recorded 3446 (39.7%) of all fatalities out of the total 8684 records for which age information was available. Motorbikes as primary vehicles were responsible for 3871 (44.7%) RTC fatalities out of the 8654, for which this information was available. Among women, housewives were the single largest group to have died as a result of RTCs

Epidemiology of Karachi road traffic crash mortality in 2013

Abstract Road Traffic Crash (RTC) is the eighth leading cause of death globally. In a recent World Health Organization report, there were 5,192 RTC deaths reported from Pakistan in 2010. The Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Center (RTIRPC) is a unique public-private public health enterprise in Karachi, and collects data from five major public and private hospitals\u27 emergency departments in the city. Cumulatively, 1130 deaths were recorded in the year 2013. Males accounted for 981 (86.8%) deaths. The most vulnerable decades of life were twenties and thirties; accounting for 307 (27.2%) of all deaths. In terms of involvement of vehicle type in fatalities; over half 577 (51.1%) of all fatalities involved motorbikes, while the second most common type of vehicle involved were buses/coasters which accounted for 108 (9.6%) fatalities. In the burgeoning cities of developing countries, road injury and fatality surveillance can fulfill a vital role in highlighting the human cost of rapid motorization

Road traffic crash related injured and fatal victims in Karachi from 2007 to 2014: A time-series analysis

Injuries and deaths due to road traffic crashes (RTC) are major public health concern. The Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Center, collects RTC data on injuries and fatalities from five emergency departments in Karachi. Data generating process (DGP) for RTC from 2007 to 2014, for monthly number of fatal and injured victims were analyzed using autoregressive integrated moving average and vector auto regression, time series models. Results provide strong evidence that the DGP for the current levels of the number of fatalities and injured owing to RTCs are significantly influenced by the own past history of the two series. The analysis with the impulse-response function also indicated that there is a slight seasonality pattern in the number of injured and fatalities. The similar behaviour and association of the two variables suggest that certain conditions e.g. road conditions, weather, volume of vehicles, and accidents might be persistent in time in Karachi

Descriptive epidemiology of Karachi road traffic crash mortality in 2015

The Karachi city\u27s Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Center (RTIRPC), collects Road Traffic Crash (RTC) data on injuries and fatalities from three major public and private hospitals\u27 emergency departments. In the year 2015, 1021 deaths were recorded; with 871 (85.3%) deaths in males. Cumulatively, 286 (28.0%) deaths were recorded in the 21-30year age group, and for 198 (19.4%) RTC fatal victims, the primary vehicle involved was motorbike. Highest number of fatalities were recorded in the month of January i.e. 153 (15.0%), while the lowest number was recorded for June, with 47 (4.6%) fatalities. RTIRPC is a unique surveillance system in Pakistan providing RTC morbidity and mortality burden and trends in the city that needs to be expanded in Karachi, and extended throughout the country to better choreograph preventive measures including health promotion campaigns

Old disease, new targets--part-I, solid malignancies

Targeted agents are now an integral part of treatment regimens for some cancers. Trastuzumab is established in treatment of human epidermal receptor 2 (Her2) positive breast cancers, with improvements in both, the disease free and over all survival. Monoclonal antibody (MoAB) against vascular growth factor receptor (VEGF), bevacizumab and cetuximab a MoAB against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are establishing their role in a many cancers after making their mark in colorectal cancer. Sorafenib and sunitinib have success stories in renal carcinoma. The Sorafenib Hepatocellular Carcinoma Assessment Randomized Protocol (SHARP) trial has established sorafenib role in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, while in gastrointestinal tumors; imatinib and sunitinib have proven role. At this point in time side effect profile of all these agents appears relatively safe however cost for developing countries remains an issue

Association between circulating adiponectin levels and polycystic ovarian syndrome

Background: Low adiponectin levels in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) have been largely attributed to obesity which is common among these patients. In addition, evidence also suggests that low adiponectin in PCOS may be related to insulin resistance (IR) in these women. However, studies on the role of adiponectin in younger and lean patients are limited. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the association of adiponectin levels in young and lean women with PCOS.<p></p> Methods: A case–control study was conducted at the Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. Cases were 75 patients of PCOS with Body Mass Index (BMI) &23 aged 16–35 years and 75 healthy age and BMI matched controls were selected from family and friends of the cases. Demographic details, family history and past medical history were obtained through interview by a physician. Anthropometric measurements included weight and height of the participants. Fasting glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), insulin, adiponectin, and androgen levels were determined. IR was calculated using homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between adiponectin and PCOS after adjusting for co-variates.<p></p> Results: On multivariable analysis, PCOS cases were 3.2 times more likely to have low adiponectin level (OR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.49-6.90, p-value 0.003) compared to the controls after adjustment for age, BMI, family history, marital status, total cholesterol, HDL level and IR. Females with a family history of PCOS were significantly more likely to have lower adiponectin (OR = 3.32, 95% CI 1.27-8.67, p-value 0.014) compared to those who did not have a family history of PCOS. The associations of IR and family history with low adiponectin level also remained statistically significant after adjustments for covariates.<p></p> Conclusion: Serum adiponectin levels are independently associated with PCOS and are only partly explained by IR. Adiponectin level may serve as a potential independent biomarker for diagnosis of PCOS in young and lean women with fewer symptoms, or women with a family history of PCOS

Spatial distribution of road traffic crash fatalities in Karachi: Perspective from 2008-2012

Road Traffic Crash (RTC) mortality and morbidity is one of the major public health problems in Karachi. In this study we used geographic information systems (GIS) to visualize and quantify the spatial distribution of RTC mortality and yearly trend from 2008 to 2012, for all 24 administrative subdivisions of Karachi, using Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Center\u27s (RTIRPC) data. Cumulatively, 6040 deaths were recorded by RTIRPC, out of which we were able to map 4657 (77.1%) deaths based on location information available in the database. During the 5-year period, highest number of cumulative RTC fatalities were recorded for Kemari, Bin Qasim, and Gushan-e-Iqbal; while lowest were recorded in Malir, Orangi, Korangi Cantonment, and Karachi Cantonment. Use of GIS for studying spatial distribution of RTC would help craft better response to RTC in the city and design public policy

Thirty years of Alma Ata pledges: is devolution in Pakistan an opportunity for rekindling primary health care?

The 1978 Alma Ata Conference presented the manifesto to attain global health for the next century by providing basic health care aimed at the urban and rural poor of the developing world. While the goals of Alma Ata were noble, they were untenable. Today, developing countries face serious issues of equity in health care delivery and fairness in health care management with even a greater need to transform the management systems and practice. Primary health care remains a cornerstone of building the capacity of health systems. Devolution in health sector in Pakistan seems like a chance to re-exert Alma Ata agenda. To achieve the millennium development goals by 2015, revitalization and effective implementation of primary health care will be a vital reform

Primary cutaneous B cell lymphoma--leg type (NEW EORTC--WHO classification), with nasal sinuses involvement

Primary Cutaneous lymphomas of B cell origin are rare, there remains a controversy in truly classifying these lymphomas and an updated EORTC classification divides them on the basis of their distinct histopthological grounds rather than on the basis of their anatomic location as in WHO classification, while the new WHO- EORTC joint classification maintains some characteristics of both systems, We report an elderly gentleman who primarily had a typical Leg dominant Cutaneous lymphoma of B cell origin uniquely with involvement of nasal Sinusues, bearing the Immunohistochemical staining features of Cutaneous lymphoma - Leg Type befitting the new joint WHO-EORTC classification of Cutaneous B cell Lymphoma

Using the community informant based (Made-In and Made-For) methodology for estimating MMR in Punjab

Pakistan is one of the six countries that account for more than 50 percent of the world’s maternal deaths. Each year, there are nearly 14,000 pregnancy-related deaths. Although maternal mortality has fallen from 533 per 100,000 live births in 1990–91 to 276 in 2006–07, Pakistan has not been able to achieve its Millennium Development Goal target of reducing maternal mortality to 140 per 100,000 live births by 2015. Planners require a method that can provide reliable subnational estimates easily, cost effectively. and with greater regularity. The Research and Advocacy Fund offered support to the Government of Pakistan to assess the feasibility of testing a new community informant-based approach, “Made-In Made-For,” for estimating the maternal mortality rate at the community level. A pilot study was conducted by the Population Council to test the approach in Chakwal, a district of Punjab, with promising results. Subsequently, government officials indicated their interest in seeing the approach scaled up in at least one province, Punjab, to provide reliable provincial-level estimates. This study has identified specific areas that need strong policy and programmatic interventions to improve maternal health outcomes