Search

Background: Previous studies have reported race-based health disparities in North America. It is unknown if emergency medical service (EMS) treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) varies based on race. We sought to compare markers of resuscitation intensity among different racial groups. Methods: Using data of adult EMS-treated OHCAs from the Trial of Continuous or Interrupted Chest Compressions During CPR, we analyzed data from participants for whom on-scene return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was not achieved. We fit multivariate regression models using a generalized estimating equation, to estimate the association between patient race (White vs. Black vs. “Other”) and the following markers for resuscitation intensity: (1) resuscitation attempt duration; (2) intra-arrest transport; (3) number of epinephrine doses; (4) EMS arrival-to-CPR interval, and (5) 9–1–1 to first shock. Results: From our study cohort of 5370 cases, the median age was 65 years old (IQR: 53–78), 2077 (39 %) were women, 2121 (39 %) were Black, 596 (11 %) were “Other race”, 2653 (49 %) were White, and 4715 (88 %) occurred in a private location. With reference to White race, Black race was associated with a longer resuscitation attempt duration and a lower number of epinephrine doses; Black and “Other” race were both associated with a lower odds of intra-arrest transport. Conclusion: We identified race-based differences in EMS resuscitation intensity for OHCA within a North American cohort, although 40% of race data was missing from this dataset. Future research investigating race-based differences in OHCA management may be warranted.

Historically, intellectual disability has been de- fined by significant cognitive deficits and adaptive behaviors along with deficits in functional and adaptive skills. Such individuals struggle to perform their day-to-day daily tasks without help and support. Similarly, these individuals are seen struggling to practice routine oral hygiene and face serious oral health issues. To counter that they seek help from dentists. Even for a dentist it is a real challenge when dealing with patients who suffer from intellectual disabilities, and there has been little discussion on how to overcome these.

Background: Acne vulgaris is described as a chronic skin disease involving blockage and inflammation of pilosebaceous units. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of acne and its association with stress in female students. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out at Rawalpindi Medical University. The study included female medical students of all five years of MBBS excluding lactating and pregnant females and the ones who were diagnosed with skin disorders other than acne. The sample size was 271. A questionnaire consisting of PSS (Perceived Stress Scale) and GAGS (Global Acne Grading System) was used. Data was analyzed by using SPSS and basic statistics and Spearman correlation were applied. Results: In this study, it was found that out of a total of 271 students, 138(50.9%) students didn’t have acne, and 133(49%) did have Acne. Out of a total of 271 students, 19 (7%) students had low stress, 204 students (75.3%) had moderate stress, and 48 students (17.7%) had high perceived stress. Out of 133 who were found to have acne, 87(32.1%) of the participants had mild acne, 36(13.3%) had moderate acne, 9(3.3%) had severe acne, and 1(0.4%) had very severe acne. An increase in stress severity was moderately correlated (r=0.393) with an increase in acne severity which was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: Almost half of the study population was found to have Acne. A positive correlation has been found between stress and acne indicating stress as one of the causative factors of acne.

Background: The impact of extreme heat on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) incidence and outcomes is under-studied. We investigated OHCA incidence and outcomes over increasing temperatures. Methods: We included non-traumatic EMS (Emergency Medical Services)-assessed OHCAs in British Columbia during the warm seasons of 2020–2021. We fit a time-series quasi-Poisson generalized linear model to estimate the association between temperature and incidence of both EMS-assessed, EMS-treated, and EMS-untreated OHCAs. Second, we employed a logistic regression model to estimate the association between “heatwave” periods (defined as a daily mean temperature > 99th percentile for ≥ 2 consecutive days, plus 3 lag days) with survival and favourable neurological outcomes (cerebral performance category ≤ 2) at hospital discharge. Results: Of 5478 EMS-assessed OHCAs, 2833 were EMS-treated. OHCA incidence increased with increasing temperatures, especially exceeding a daily mean temperature of 25 °C Compared to the median daily mean temperature (16.9 °C), the risk of EMS-assessed (relative risk [RR] 3.7; 95%CI 3.0–4.6), EMS-treated (RR 2.9; 95%CI 2.2–3.9), and EMS-untreated (RR 4.3; 95%CI 3.2–5.7) OHCA incidence were higher during days with a temperature over the 99th percentile. Of EMS-treated OHCAs, during the heatwave (n = 179) and non-heatwave (n = 2654) periods, 4 (2.2%) and 270 (10%) survived and 4 (2.2%) and 241 (9.2%) had favourable neurological outcomes, respectively. Heatwave period OHCAs had decreased odds of survival (adjusted OR 0.28; 95%CI 0.10–0.79) and favourable neurological outcome (adjusted OR 0.31; 95%CI 0.11–0.89) at hospital discharge, compared to other periods. Conclusion: Extreme heat was associated with a higher incidence of OHCA, and lower odds of survival and favourable neurological status at hospital discharge.

Objective This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers towards basic life support (BLS) in Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, and to investigate the factors affecting them.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting This study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan.Participants 201 healthcare professionals were recruited for this study through simple convenience sampling which included house officers (HOs), trained medical officers, postgraduate residents, professors, specialty registrars and nurses. Healthcare professionals who were reluctant to give consent were excluded from the study.Results Among the chosen participants, only 16.4% had good knowledge whereas 63% had a good attitude towards BLS. Knowledge of participants was found to be positively associated with less time elapsed between the training sessions (p=0.041). On the other hand, factors such as age(p=0.004), designation (p=0.05), number of BLS sessions attended (p=0.012) and the time elapsed since the last BLS session attended (p=0.015), were positively associated with the attitude of healthcare professionals.Conclusion The level of knowledge and attitude towards BLS by healthcare professionals was suboptimal. Those individuals who had attended BLS training sessions frequently had better knowledge and attitude as compared with their counterparts.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the frequency of internet gaming addiction among undergraduate medical students of Karachi, its effect on their academic performance, and their overall health status. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in selected government and private medical colleges of Karachi from November 2021 to March 2022. Medical students, who were enrolled in year 1 to year 5 of undergraduate's health sciences programs of government and private sector of Karachi and had smartphone and internet connection for past 1 year were included in the study. Internet gaming disorder scale (IGDS-9) was used to determine the proportion of addicted medical undergraduates. Results: Out of 400 medical students, 212 (53%) students were at risk of getting addicted and 13 (3.3%) students were found to be addicted to internet gaming. Male students were found significantly higher at risk of developing internet gaming addiction and were found to be more addicted as compared to female students i.e., 202 (50.5%) vs. 198 (49.5%) (p-value < 0.001) respectively. Students who had a higher-grade point average (GPA) 230 (57.5%) were significantly lesser at risk of developing internet gaming addiction as compared to 170 (42.5%) students who had a lower GPA (p-value 0.003). Conclusion: More than half of the study population with predominant males was at risk of developing gaming addiction and they exhibited more health-related effects. Their academic grades were also affected. It is imperative to counsel this cohort for reducing the effects of internet gaming addiction. Keywords: Academic Performance, Addiction, Internet Gaming Disorder, Medical Students.