Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the role of serum lipid profile as an indicator of early changes in head and neck cancer cells and to assess the potential value of these changes in detecting neoplastic cell alterations at an early stage. Methodology: The Hospital-based case-control study was carried out on 48 patients with newly diagnosed Head & Neck malignancies, attending the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad between July 2020 and December 2020. Forty-eight Age and sex-matched who did not have any renal, hepatic or cardiac dysfunction were taken as controls. Fasting blood samples were drawn and analyzed for lipid profile as recommended in the literature. Results: A significant change in plasma lipid profile with P values of Total Cholesterol (0.000), Triglyceride (0.004), and HDL (0.009) of <0.05 indicates that there is a statistically significant reduction of mean serum Total Cholesterol, Triglyceride, and HDL in subjects with head and neck cancer compared to the control group. Conclusion: The altered plasma lipid status observed in this study suggests its potential as a valuable signal for early alterations in neoplastic cells associated with head and neck malignancies. Furthermore, a comprehensive review focusing on cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein transportation and the efficacy of receptor systems may contribute to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms controlling plasma cholesterol concentration in the context of cancer.

For almost one and a half year the world is facing the pandemic called COVID-19, which is an acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). This disease has already engulfed many lives and has not been tamed so far. Physicians all over the world still, trying to get a hold of this global health issue, are faced with another life-threatening challenge associated with COVID-19, called black fungus-Mucormycosis.  Within a span of few weeks, we have encountered three cases of black fungus in our institute which has stirred a serious concern among physicians in Pakistan. Keywords: Mucormycosis, Black fungus, COVID-19, Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION HIV is a global pandemic with estimation of 38 million active cases around the world according to WHO HIV data and statistics 2019. Despite of advancement in medical field the disease has not been tamed uptil now. In this modern era HIV is still considered a taboo in Pakistan, people are reluctant about disclosure of disease, screening of their partners and its treatment which is due to lack of awareness and socio-economic constraints. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to see the incidence of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) manifestations in HIV infected people presented in tertiary care hospital of Islamabad. MATERIAL AND METHOD A one-year observational cross-sectional study conducted in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad between January 2019 to December 2019. All the HIV infected patients who presented with ear, nose and throat manifestations were recruited in the study. Detailed history and examination were conducted after taking written consent. Analysis included calculations of mean values of quantitative association between ENT symptoms and demographic characteristics. Statistical analysis was estimated using either Chi-square test or t-test.   RESULTS Majority of the patients presented with Otological manifestation of which the most common was chronic suppurative otitis media (14.28%). Most common Rhinological/Oropharyngeal manifestation included epistaxis (12.24%) and oral candidiasis (8.16%) respectively. Among neck manifestations cervical lymph adenopathy (18.16%) showed the highest percentage. CONCLUSION The study shows a local trend of ENT manifestation in which the patient presented in later stage (WHO III) which resembled to the studies carried out in other developing countries showing ineffectiveness of current national HIV/AIDS programme.