Background: Hyperimmune anti-COVID-19 Intravenous Immunoglobulin (C-IVIG) is an unexplored therapy amidst the rapidly evolving spectrum of medical therapies for COVID-19 and is expected to counter the three most lifethreatening consequences of COVID-19 including lung injury by the virus, cytokine storm and sepsis. Methods: A single center, phase I/II, randomized controlled, single-blinded trial was conducted at Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. Participants were COVID-19 infected individuals, classified as either severely or critically ill with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Participants were randomized through parallel-group design with sequential assignment in a 4:1 allocation to either intervention group with four C-IVIG dosage arms (0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30 g/kg), or control group receiving standard of care only (n = 10). Primary outcomes were 28-day mortality, patient's clinical status on ordinal scale and Horowitz index (HI), and were analysed in all randomized participants that completed the follow-up period (intentionto-treat population). The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04521309). Findings: Fifty participants were enrolled in the study from June 19, 2020 to February 3, 2021 with a mean age of 56.54 §13.2 years of which 22 patients (44%) had severe and 28 patients (56%) had critical COVID-19. Mortality occurred in ten of 40 participants (25%) in intervention group compared to six of ten (60%) in control group, with relative risk reduction in intervention arm I (RR, 0.333; 95% CI, 0.087À1.272), arm II (RR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.171À1.463), arm III (RR, 0.167; 95% CI, 0.024À1.145), and arm IV (RR, 0.667; 95% CI, 0.268À1.660). In intervention group, median HI significantly improved to 359 mmHg [interquartile range (IQR) 127À400, P = 0.009)] by outcome day, while the clinical status of intervention group also improved as compared to control group, with around 15 patients (37.5%) being discharged by 7th day with complete recovery. Additionally, resolution of chest X-rays and restoration of biomarkers to normal levels were also seen in intervention groups. No drug-related adverse events were reported during the study. Interpretation: Administration of C-IVIG in severe and critical COVID-19 patients was safe, increased the chance of survival and reduced the risk of disease progression. Funding: Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan (Ref no. 20-RRG-134/RGM/R&D/HEC/2020).

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Background: The abrupt rise of colorectal cancer in developing countries is raising concern in healthcare settings. Studies on assessing relationships with modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors in the Pakistani population have been limited. The present investigation was designed to examine associations of dietary practices, addictive behavior and bowel habits in developing colorectal cancer (CRC) among patients in a low-resource setup. Materials and Methods: An age-gender matched case control study was conducted from October 2011 to July 2015 in Karachi, Pakistan. Cases were from the surgical oncology department of a public sector tertiary care hospital, while their two pair-matched controls were recruited from the general population. A structured questionnaire was used which included questions related to demographic characteristics, family history, dietary patterns, addictive behavior and bowel habits. Results: A family history of cancer was associated with a 2.2 fold higher chance of developing CRC. Weight loss reduced the likelihood 7.6 times. Refraining from a high fat diet and consuming more vegetables showed protective effects for CRC. The risk of CRC was more than twice among smokers and those who consumed Asian specific addictive products as compared to those who avoid using these addictions (ORsmoking: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.08 -4.17, ORpan: 2.92, 95% CI: 1.6 -5.33, ORgutka: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.14 -3.97). Use of NSAID attenuated risk of CRC up to 86% (OR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.07 -0.31). Conclusions: Most of the findings showed concordance with the literature elucidating protective effects of consuming vegetables and low fat diet while documenting adverse associations with family history, weight loss, constipation and hematochezia. Moreover, this study highlighted Asian specific indigenous addictive products as important factors. Further studies are needed to validate the findings produced by this research.