Abbasher Hussien Mohamed Ahmed, Khabab

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in females. In low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan, reported incidence and prevalence remain unreliable. The aim was to evaluate Pakistani women’s knowledge, attitude, and perception of breast cancer. This cross-sectional study was conducted among Pakistani women from Punjab, Pakistan. A self-administered online questionnaire was formulated to collect data from the participants from September 24, 2022, to October 24, 2022. The questionnaire included sociodemographic data, knowledge questions regarding breast cancer risk factors, knowledge questions about symptoms of breast cancer, and questions assessing the participants’ attitudes toward mammography screening. For knowledge questions, a score of more than 7 out of 13 was considered good knowledge. For attitude questions, regression analysis was done and a score of more than 5 out of 11 was considered a positive attitude. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 (Chicago). 796 women participated in this study. Out of 796 participants, 543 (68.2%) were between 20 and 30 years of age, and 43 (5.4%) were more than 40 years old. The level of knowledge regarding breast cancer risk factors was suboptimal. 523 (65.7%) of the participants thought that breast cancer risk increases with advancing age and 218 (27.4%) thought that early menarche increases the risk of developing breast cancer. 471 (59.2%) mentioned that mammography is an effective tool for detecting breast cancer, and 30 (3.8%) thought that there is a cure for breast cancer. According to regression analysis, higher education, higher monthly household income, and married marital status were significantly associated with good knowledge related to breast cancer. Although most of the population is aware of breast cancer’s risk factors and symptoms, they avoid screening such as mammography. Public awareness projects could help increase women’s knowledge of breast cancer signs, symptoms, and screening.

Background and aims: Increased use of digital devices in the modern era has led to the development of digital eye strain (DES) or computer vision syndrome in their users. This can result in the development of various ocular and visual symptoms among them. In this study, the authors aimed to view the prevalence of digital eye strain among radiology physicians in Pakistan and their associated risk factors. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate occupational DES among radiology physicians in Pakistan. The data collection was done using the convenience sampling technique, and the data were analyzed using IBM SPSS for Windows, Version 25.0. Results: Out of the 247 respondents, 33.6% were males and 66.4% were females. 41.7% of them were between 30 and 40 years of age and 51.8% of them were radiology residents. 52.2% of the participants had a refractive error and were using a corrective lens. The majority of the radiologists in our study (84.2%) preferred picture archiving and communication system (PACS) over films and 82.2% of them reported having breaks of less than 15 min. Major symptoms reported by the participants were tired or heavy eyes (69.6%) and headache (69.3%). The proportion of developing DES was higher in females [P=0.001, adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=2.94], radiology residents (P=0.031, aOR=3.29), and working hours of more than 4 h per day (P<0.001, aOR=0.04). Conclusion: With recent advances in the field of radiology in Pakistan, the frequency of developing DES among radiologists is increasing. Being a female, having long working hours, and having noticeable flickers on the digital screens were among the significant factors in developing DES among radiologists.

Introduction D-dimer levels, which originate from the lysis of cross-linked fibrin, are serially measured during coronavirus disease 2019 illness to rule out hypercoagulability as well as a septic marker. Methods This multicenter retrospective study was carried out in two tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. The study included adult patients admitted with a laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 infection, with at least one measured d-dimer within 24 h following admission. Discharged patients were compared with the mortality group for survival analysis. Results The study population of 813 patients had 68.5% males, with a median age of 57.0 years and 14.0 days of illness. The largest d-dimer elevation was between 0.51–2.00 mcg/ml (tertile 2) observed in 332 patients (40.8%), followed by 236 patients (29.2%) having values greater than 5.00 mcg/ml (tertile 4). Within 45 days of hospital stay, 230 patients (28.3%) died, with the majority in the ICU (53.9%). On multivariable logistic regression between d-dimer and mortality, the unadjusted (Model 1) had a higher d-dimer category (tertile 3 and tertile 4) associated with a higher risk of death (OR: 2.15; 95% CI: 1.02–4.54, P=0.044) and (OR: 4.74; 95% CI: 2.38–9.46, P<0.001). Adjustment for age, sex, and BMI (Model 2) yields only tertile 4 being significant (OR: 4.27; 95% CI: 2.06–8.86, P<0.001). Conclusion: Higher d-dimer levels were independently associated with a high risk of mortality. The added value of d-dimer in risk stratifying patients for mortality was not affected by invasive ventilation, ICU stays, length of hospital stays, or comorbidities.