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Objectives: To compare the efficacy of natural Honey (10%) and chlorhexidine mouthwash (0.12%) on the dental plaque levels. Moreover, to evaluate the efficacy of natural Honey and chlorhexidine mouthwash on the level of dental plaque. Methodology: This study was a single-centered randomized controlled trial conducted on participants attending the Dental OPD of Dar-ul-Sehat hospital in Karachi. A total of 60 participants were included in the trial from June 2020 to December 2020. The sample size was calculated using openepi after entering the mean and SD of the honey and chlorhexidine groups. The study included sixty male and female participants ranging in age from 18 to 25 years, and those with medical illness, missing teeth, and antimicrobial history were excluded from the study. The subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: Natural Honey or Chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash. The data was collected at the baseline and 14th day; the plaque was revealed using a disclosing solution. Their scores were recorded at four sites per tooth using the Silness-Loe plaque index criteria. Later, statistical analysis was performed to compare the effects of the two groups. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Our findings revealed that both groups effectively lowered the plaque score. However, it showed a more significant reduction in plaque indices in the honey group on Day 14 when compared to chlorhexidine mouthwash. Conclusion: Honey has been identified as a potent antibacterial agent with therapeutic properties. Based on the findings of this study, it is possible to conclude that gargling with the original honey 10% solution is effective in lowering dental plaque score. Honey can be used in relation to conventional treatments to protect dental plaque and gingivitis. More research will be needed to back up these preliminary findings. Moreover, the synergistic effect of Chlorhexidine with natural Honey must be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backg Ground: The non-medical use of dependence-producing drugs is not a new phenomenon and is strongly related with the global health burden. The worldwide increasing trend of consumption of mood stimulating and enhancing substances constitutes as among the leading causes of addiction and deteriorating health especially among the youth population. This study was conducted to ascertain the usage of different types along with risk assessment and the need for intervention of substance/ drug use among the medical students across Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: This cross -- sectional study was performedat four medical colleges (two public and two private) across Karachi, Pakistan from July 2018 to January 2019. A total of 445 participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were inducted in present chosen for this study. A self administered self-administered screening questionnaire designed by World Health Organization ASSIST (i.e. (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test) for assessing various levels of substance abuse was used to collect the information, which was then noted and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Out of 445 respondents, 273 (61.3%) had never used any psychoactive substance, 97 (21.8%) had tried at least one, 34(7.6%) had used at least two, 23(5.2%) had tried three, while 18 (4%) had tried four or more psychoactive drugs in their life time. Nearly 26.3% respondents reported Tobacco consummation, was reportedly consumed by approximately 26.3% respondents, where in which 82% were found withat low risk/no intervention, 17.1% having moderate risk/brief intervention and 0.9% had high risk/intensive treatment category. Use of psychoactive drug was significantly higher among private medical college male students (Chi square p ? 0.05) Conclusion: As illustrated by this study, the wideliestwieldiestmost commonly abused substance was tobacco containing tobacco-containing compounds followed by sedatives. The aforementioned trend occurrence was largeliestlarcenist noted in private colleges where male students were remained as major contributors. mostly seen among male medical student belonging to the private sectors as compared to females and public sector colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To find out the frequency of thrombocytopenia and prolonged bleeding time in dengue fever and its effect on clinical outcome of patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted, from August 2016 to February 2017 in the Haematology department, at Pakistan Naval Ship (PNS) Shifa, Karachi. Methodology: The study was conducted on serologically proven positive dengue IgM cases fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria. Platelet count was done on Beckman Coulter and Sysmex analyzers and then rechecked manually by peripheral blood smear. Bleeding time measured by the Duke method. The clinical outcome was evaluated on the day of discharge (based on survival of the patient and their lab values) or the patient expired and their lab values. Results: A total of 135 patients were evaluated in the study. The mean age of the patients was 29.12 ± 13 yrs (range: 2-63 years). The thrombocytopenia was observed in one hundred and eleven (82.2%) patients. Severe thrombocytopenia was observed in nine (6.7%) cases, moderate thrombocytopenia was found in thirty (22.2%) cases and mild thrombocytopenia was observed in seventy-two (53.3%) cases. Bleeding time more than nine minutes was observed only in one case. Out of 135 patients, two (1.48%) expired and one hundred and thirtythree (98.52%) survived and were discharged. Conclusion: We observed that platelet count can be a predictor of disease and its progression, but the absence of either cannot be used to exclude the progression of the disease. Dengue continues to be a significant health problem in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is commonly encountered in patients with hypothyroidism. Many studies demonstrate valuable association between the two therefore further investigation was required to understand the frequency and association in order to ensure better disease outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of IDA in patients with hypothyroidism in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi. Study Design: Single center, cross sectional study. Setting: Department of General Medicine, Liaquat National Hospital Karachi. Period: Feb 2018 to July 2018. Material and Methods: Two hundred seventy four patients with hypothyroidism were selected. Serum iron profile was sent to the institutional laboratory to assess the outcome variable i.e iron deficiency anemia. All the collected information was entered in the prescribed performa. Results: Out of 274 hypothyroid patients 106 (38.7%) were male and 168 (61.3%) were female with the mean age of 38.82 + 4.009. Anemia was present in 40(14.4 %) patients and amongst them, IDA was observed in 20 (7.2%) patients. Conclusion: From the findings in the study, it was noted that free T4 had an influence on erythrocyte indices, namely hemoglobin levels, mean corpuscular volume and packed cell volume. This outcome therefore demonstrates some association of IDA with hypothyroidism. It is thus prudent to assess individuals with chronic IDA who have already been found negative for common causes of IDA (like chronic blood loss menorrhagia in females nutritional deficiencies and worm infestations) for hypothyroidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes is a very prevalent problem in Pakistan. Depression along with diabetes affects not only quality of life but compliance and management of patient. Various studies have found high prevalence of depression among T2DM depression. In our study we shall determine the prevalence of depression among T2DM patients in Pakistan. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of depression in Type2 diabetes mellitus patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre Karachi. Period: May 2017 to December 2017. Materials and Methods: The patients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes above age 30 years (Male= 50 (30.1%) Female=116 (69.9%) Total=66 Patients), were recruited after informed consent. Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients both male and female above age 30 were included in the study. Results: Mean PHQ- Score is 10.83±5.6. 81.9% had PHQ Score > 4. According to PHQ-9 scale, 18.1% (n=30) had no depression, 26.5% (n=44) had moderately severe depression and 3.6% (n=6) had severe depression. In our study females had more severe depression in comparison with male (5.2% vs. 0%). Conclusion: Depression is very common in Pakistan among Type 2 Diabetic patients. Antidepressant has key role to break the vicious cycle of depression and type2 diabetes mellitus diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nematicidal activities of different plants viz., Amaranthus viridis, Chenopodium album, Solanum nigrum, Carica papaya and Euphorbia hirta have been evaluated against root-knot nematodes. Plants were collected from different areas of Karachi. Aqueous extracts (2, 6 and 10%) of these five plant species were made for the experiment. All selected plant species inhibited egg hatching and caused larval mortality. Maximum reduction (24.3%) in egg hatching was recorded in C. album stem extract at 2% concentration. The minimum reduction (0.33%) was observed in the leaf extract of A. viridis at 10% concentration after 48 hours of exposure time. In larval mortality test, maximum larval mortality (33%) was recorded in C. album leaf extract at 10% concentration while minimum larval mortality (0.66%) was noted in Solanum nigrum at 2% concentration in leaves and stem extracts after 72 hours of exposure time as compared to control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]