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The major causative factor of hepatic cirrhosis and its complications in chronic hepatitis C is due to presence of liver fibrosis. To assess prognosis and management related decisions, the exact staging of liver fibrosis is of greatest importance. Now, liver biopsy is the inexact gold standard for this purpose. APRI or AST to platelet ratio Index is the best noninvasive marker which can predict presence of fibrosis in majority of chronic hepatitis C patients without the need of biopsy. It is also cost effective and only depends on routine testing (Platelet count and serum AST). Objectives: To determine the positive predictive value of APRI Score for the prediction of fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis C patients. Study design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Medical wards and Out Patient Medicine Department of Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad / Jamshoro. Period: 6 months. Methodology: A total of 51 patients of either gender, age >14 years presenting to Medical wards and OPD for the evaluation of chronic hepatitis were enrolled in this research study after giving preference and avoiding criteria. Clinical data was collected at the time of liver biopsy and blood samples for liver function tests, blood glucose and complete blood picture with platelet count were collected before the biopsy (only AST and platelet count are needed for APRI score) a core biopsy needle of 14 gauge was used and the procedure was conducted under ultrasound guidance. Fibrosis stage was determined according to the METAVIR group scoring system. The patients were examined in a very comfortable manner and all the information collected from the patients was kept confidential and entered in the predesigned proforma. Results: A total of 51 patients were selected for this study. Out of these 31 (60.78%) were male and 20(39.22%) were female. The mean age was 42.53 years (±11.2 SD). The positive predictive value for APRI score between 0.5 to 1.0 was 58.82% whereas the positive predictive values for APRI score 1.1-1.5 was 70.58%. Conclusion: The positive predictive values of APRI score in the ranges of 0.5 to 1.5 were not indicative of the presence of significant liver fibrosis in this research study. However, additional data are required to authenticate or disprove the usefulness of APRI score for the prediction of significant hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between educational attainment and dentition status. A cross sectional survey was conducted. The total number of participants in this study was 408. The subjects of age 15 years to 65 years were included in this survey. To record subjects own educational attainment, education level was divided into levels which are Primary school (1-5 grade), Middle (6-8 Grade), Secondary or High school (9-10 Grade), Higher Secondary and highly educated which include Tertiary School (Bachelors). To record dentition status, DMFT index was used. The DMFT score of 0 indicates minimum risk of caries, DMFT score between 1-4 indicates moderate risk of decay and DMFT score greater than 4 indicates high risk of dental decay. The data was collected through intra oral examination of subjects. The test indicates that association exists between level of education and DMFT scores. However, the strength of association is not very strong. The correlation value for spearman's rho was (.116) and (P= .01). The impact of poor oral health in low educated people can be reduced by the developing policies related to building healthy public policy, strengthening community actions, and developing personal skills. To improve the knowledge, attitudes and oral health of people with low educational status, it is necessary to increase the oral health promotion activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the presence of delayed PTSD symptoms after a period of twenty months in individuals who had an exposure to a traumatic event and to distinguish them from individuals who had no direct exposure but were affected indirectly. A purposive sample of fifty one individuals comprising Group 1 (Female N=30) and Group 2 (Male N=21) examined in this study. Two standardised psychological tests known as Clinician- Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and PTSD Checklist - Civilian Version (PCL-C) were used for this purpose. Our results indicated a significant difference (P<.001) between Group 1 and Group 2 and distinguished Group 1 (Individuals with direct exposure to trauma) from Group 2 (Individuals with indirect exposure to trauma) on the basis of PTSD symptomatology. This suggests the presence of delayed PTSD symptoms in individuals who were exposed to a traumatic event than the individuals with no direct exposure to a traumatic event after a long period of a recovery phase. Our results were found consistent with the previous studies and add the findings of this study to the scientific literature in the context of developing delayed PTSD symptoms in response to a traumatic event [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is designed to investigate the impact of three different types of short term memory models on serial recall. It also aims to see the impact of these different memory models on different levels of neurological functioning. Fifty four demented patients were selected from Khyber Teaching Hospital, Lady Reading Hospital and Mental hospital Peshawar, Pakistan. Mini Mental State Examination was used for screening as well as for measuring the intensity of dementia. On the basis of these scores, patients were bifurcated into two experimental groups of an equal number portraying severe dementia and moderate dementia. The control group (n=27) was selected from the normal population having no neurological dysfunction, and was matched on the basis of age, education and socioeconomic status. In order to explore the difference among the groups t-test was used. Results indicated a significant difference among the groups, which subsequently supports the hypothesis framed for this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]