Safety, effectiveness and hesitancy of COVID-19 vaccination in children: A cross-sectional study in Pakistan

BackgroundThe elevated risk of serious complications like myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination, especially in adolescent has been reported in some instances that need to be tested in regional populations and different ethnicity groups. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the side effects, hesitancy, and effectiveness outcomes following COVID-19 vaccination among children in Pakistan.MethodsThe study was planned using a cross-sectional design and data from Children and Adolescents (CA) was collected through a convenient sampling method using a validated questionnaire between February to July 2022. A total of 1,108 CA between the age of 12–18 years who received one or two doses of vaccine were selected and data were collected through direct interviews with respondents.ResultsThe results showed that among 99.8% of respondents who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, 72.3% of respondents were partially vaccinated (with one dose) while 27.7% were fully vaccinated (with two doses). COVID vaccination regime had a favorable safety profile in children as compared to adults. Vaccine hesitancy in children was reported to be 52.4% and the most common reasons for hesitance were the assumption that the vaccine is not safe (23.7%), the vaccine is not required (19.6%) and the vaccine is not effective (10.4%). The reported side effects were mainly mild (88.5%) followed by moderate (10.6%) and only 0.8% were of severe intensity. Post-vaccination local side effects of mild intensity were common with an onset of an average of 24 h (68%) and a duration of 2–3 days (60.6%). The reported side effects were significantly associated with gender (p = 0.00) while age had no significant effect on the occurrence of side effects. Overall, the vaccine was well tolerated by children and adolescents and was effective in preventing the reoccurrence of COVID-19 infection in 99.9% of participants.ConclusionCOVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer approved by the FDA for use in CA 12–18 years of age was well tolerated with a good safety profile and no serious adverse drug reactions were reported. The vaccine side effects were mild (88.5%) and lasted for an average of 2–3 days only (60.4%). The vaccine was effective in safeguarding Children against COVID-19 infection

The prevalence of somatic symptom disorders among regular female patients of faith healers

Abstract The study aimed to study the prevalence of Somatic symptom and related disorders among regular female patients of faith healers. The study was exploratory in nature and case studies of ten females were taken. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Somatic symptom and related disorders among those women who regularly visit Faith healers for the cure of all major to minor illnesses and do not trust doctors after nil diagnosis. The cases were taken from Rawalakot and Rawalpindi. Detailed histories and current condition of the patients were obtained. The patients were asked for their symptoms, incidence and onset of symptoms, severity and intensity of symptoms and recurrence. On the basis of which, the patients were diagnosed according to DSM-V (2013) criteria for Somatic symptom and related disorders cluster. The results showed that 7 out 10 women were suffering from some type of somatic symptom and related disorders. The patients needed to seek psychological help but they weren"t aware of this fact. All of the patients turned to faith healers because doctors provided nil diagnosis as their bodily symptoms were purely psychological. Link: http://aeirc-edu.com/ojs14/index.php/app/article/view/220/39

Common uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

Introduction: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most frequent infections encountered by doctors. It can be a significant source of morbidity for some patients. Microbes are growing resistant to commonly prescribed antimicrobials and UTIs are becoming more difficult to treat day by day. The study aimed to investigate the common uropathogens encountered in our geographical region and to study their antibacterial susceptibility patterns.Material and Methods: It was a retrospective descriptive study carried out in the Armed Forces Institute of Urology, in collaboration with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, during the year 2019. Positive reports for urine culture and sensitivity performed during the last two years were studied to document various isolates and their antimicrobial sensitivity.Results: A total of 3191 positive urine cultures in the last two years (2017-2019) were studied. Escherichia coli (66%), followed by Klebsiella Pneumonia (12%) were the most frequently encountered organisms. Overall resistance to Ciprofloxacin was 66%, Cotrimoxazole was 62%, Gentamycin was 40%, Fosfomycin (9.5%) followed by Meropenem (28%) and Nitrofurantoin (35%) were the most sensitive antibiotics.Conclusion: Gram-negative bacilli are the predominant organisms responsible for urinary tract infections. These uropathogens show significant resistance to routinely used antibiotics. Fosfomycin and Nitrofurantoin are suitable oral anti-bacterials for patients with UTI, whereas Meropenem is suitable if an injectable therapy is required. Our study may act as a guide for the choice of empiric antibiotics based on local resistant patterns. &nbsp