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Attempts to highlight quantitatively the growth and development of world literature in the field of pulsed laser deposition in terms of publication output as per Science Citation Index (1982-2006). During 1982-2006 a total of 8534 papers were published by the scientists in the field pulsed laser deposition. The average number of publications published per year was 341.36. The highest number of papers 1074 were published in 2005. There were 84 countries involved in the research in this field. USA is the top producing country with 2014 publications (19.35%) followed by Japan with 1553 publications (14.92%), Peoples-R-China with 1106 publications (10.63%), Germany with 763 publications (7.33%) South Korea with 694 publications (6.67%) and France with 615 publications (5.91%). India ranked 9th among other countries with 291 publications during 1985-2006. Authorship and collaboration trend was towards multi-authored papers. There were 8338 (97.70%) multi-authored publications and 196 (2.30 %) single authored publications. Chinese Academy of Sciences (Peoples-R-China) topped the list with 304 publications followed by Nanjing University (Peoples-R-China) with 244 publications, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan) with 233 publications and CNRS (France) with 217 publications. The most productive Indian institutions were: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai with 52 publications and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with 49 publications. The most prolific Indian authors were: R. Pinto (Indian-Inst-Technol-Bomaby, Mumbai) with 38 publications, M.S. Hegde (Indian-Inst-Sci, Bangalore) with 31 publications, S.B. Ogale (Univ Pune, Pune) with 29 publications, L.M. Kukreja (Raja Ramanna Ctr-Adv-Technol, Indore) with 21 publications, P. Misra (Raja Ramanna Ctr-Adv-Technol, Indore) with 16 publications, R.K. Thareja (Indian-Inst-Technol-Kanpur) with 15 publications. The most preferred journals by the scientists were: Applied Physics Letters with 962 publications, Journal of Applied Physics with 714 publications, Applied Surface Science with 614 publications and Thin Solid Films with 541 publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Back ground & Objective: Tetanus is a preventable disease that is still prevalent in the developing countries due to inadequate vaccination practices. It has a prolonged disease course and requires an extended intensive care unit (ICU) stay, as supportive care is the mainstay for a better outcome. This study examines the clinical profile of adult tetanus patients and the impact of early tracheostomy on the final outcome in patients admitted to our ICU. Methodology: In this retrospective observational study, patients with age of 18 y or above, diagnosed as a case of tetanus on the basis of the presence of at least two of the clinical features; trismus with or without risus sardonicus, and the rigidity of the abdominal wall and reflex spasm, were included. Neonates, pregnant and epileptic patients were excluded. The study was conducted at the ICU of our institute after approval from the Ethical Review Committee (ERC No.000003/SMBBIT/Approval/2019-2020). Medical records from August 2017 to February 2021 were collected in a pre-defined questionnaire. The primary outcome was the impact of early tracheostomy on survival and secondary outcomes were the risk factors of mortality. Results: 48 patients were included in the study with 44 (91.7%) males and 4 (8.3%) females. The median age of patients was 25.5 (22-35) y. Lower limb was the primary site in 32 (66.7%) of the patients. Neck rigidity (39.6%) and trismus (35.4%) were the main presenting symptoms. The median incubation period was 14 (10-16) days. The median length of stay in the ICU was 28 (25-30) days. The most common complication was ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) acquired by 16 (33.3%) patients. Almost all patients showed a significantly higher level of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) 3908.85 ± 2974.91 IU/L, which gradually decreased on discharge to 430.48 ± 360.7 IU/L. 43 patients underwent tracheostomy. Early tracheostomy (within 7 days) was associated with a lower incidence of VAP (p = 0.000) and lesser need of mechanical ventilation (MV) (p = 0.000) with better survival rate (p = 0.000). The overall survival rate was 81.3%. Conclusion: We conclude that the patients who underwent early tracheostomy, had better survival and lower risk of being mechanically ventilated and development of ventilator associated pneumonia. Periodic estimation of CPK level can be used as a valuable prognostic tool and predictor of mortality in tetanus patients. Age, any comorbid, mechanical ventilation and complications were the probable risk factors. Over all we had a good rate of survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In Pakistan, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in February of 2020, cases peaked in June, and by January 2021, approximately 500,000 confirmed cases and over 10,000 deaths have been reported. There is a lack of data in Pakistan of the demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcome of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, particularly those with severe illness, which we aim to assess., Methods: This is a single-centered, observational study conducted at the COVID unit of the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma in Karachi, Pakistan. A manual medical record review of patients admitted from April 24, 2020 to August 24, 2020 was conducted, and all patients with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) with moderate, severe, and critical COVID-19 pneumonia were included., Results: Of 299 patients, the median age was 60 years (50-65). Males accounted for 221 (73.9%). Most common symptoms were shortness of breath seen in 270 (90.3%) and fever in 225 (75.3%) patients. Diabetes mellitus (51.2%) and hypertension (50.3%) were the predominant co-morbidities. COVID disease was categorized on admission as moderate in 68 (22.7%), severe in 151 (50.5%), and critical in 80 (26.8%) patients. Survival analysis was done in 252 patients, all of whom received steroids, while tocilizumab was administered to 111 (44%) patients. Hundred (39.7%) patients received non-invasive ventilation (NIV), while 57 (22.6%) were placed on mechanical ventilation. Overall, 95 (37.7%) patients died. Factors associated with mortality included older age with those above 60 years more likely to die (odds ratio [OR]: 1.925; 95% CI: 1.148-3.228; pvalue: 0.009), presence of co-morbidities (OR 1.843; 95% CI: 0.983-3.456; p value: 0.070), development of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (73 [56.2%] vs 57 [43.8%], p value: <0.001), acute kidney injury (31 [81.6%] vs 7 [18.4%], p value: <0.001), cardiac complications (12 [75%] vs 4 [25%], p value: 0.002), and sepsis (29 [87.9%] vs 4 [12.1%], p value: <0.001). Non-survivors were more likely to develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), having been placed on NIV and mechanical ventilation. Laboratory parameters at final outcome found that in non-survivors, median total leukocyte count, C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were higher, while absolute lymphocyte count and platelet counts were lower which were found to be statistically significant compared to survivors., Conclusion: In this study of patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia at a public sector hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, most were males, and the average age was 60 years. Mortality was high, and associated factors included older age, presence of comorbid conditions, and the development of ARDS, CRS, and sepsis., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2021, Baqi et al.)