Objectives: To measure acetabular parameters and to compare parameters of acetabulum between men and women, and right and left sides. Methods: The study was conducted in PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi from January to June 2021. Anteroposterior radiographs of both hips of 70 adults aged 20-70 years were included. The study consisted of 35 men and an equal number of women. We measured acetabular depth, femoral head coverage, acetabular inclination and acetabular depth and width. The acetabular depth was measured using Wiberg’s central edge (CE) angle and Sharp angle techniques. Femoral head coverage was determined using measurements between medial edge of hip joint space, lateral edge of acetabulum and femoral head. To determine acetabular inclination, Tönnis angle was measured. Acetabular depth & width ratio (ADR) was evaluated by dividing acetabular width by depth, and multiplying by 100. Results: There was significant increase in Sharp angle and Tonnis angle in females on the left side as compared to males. Wiberg’s central edge angle and acetabular width to depth ratio showed insignificant increase in males as compared to females, whereas values of femoral head coverage were insignificantly more in women. Conclusion: The acetabular parameters were insignificantly different in gender and between right and left sides, although mean values were within normal range. The larger ADR ratio in men was most likely due to increased body weight in them as compared to women. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.8.5915 How to cite this:Khaliq S, Qamar A, Khokhar SK, Naseer H. Morphometric study of acetabular depth and coverage and their clinical importance. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(8):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.8.5915 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Objective: To compare anatomy of sacral hiatus between the genders of case and control groups. To determine significance of hiatal variations between the genders of cases and controls. Study Design: Case-control study. Setting: PNS Shifa Hospital Karachi. Period: January 2020 to June 2020. Material & Methods: Total of 178 participants aged 18-65 years were enrolled in the study. Approval was taken from Ethical Review Committee of Bahria University Medical and Dental College (BUMDC). Participants were arranged into case and control groups. The hiatus and its dimensions were identified on lumbosacral spine radiographs inferior to the sacral spine using spinous and alar processes. Data was recorded in subject evaluation proforma and analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Results: The V shaped hiatus was more prevalent in males, whereas in females it was U. The most common variant was the irregular shape. The hiatal apex in males was at S3. In females it was at S2. The base was seen at S5 in both genders. The mean length, anteroposterior diameter and transverse width of the hiatus was more in males as compared to females. The mean values of all parameters were less in cases as compared to controls. Conclusion: The V shaped sacral hiatus were most prevalent in males, whereas U shape in females. The hiatal apex was at a lower level in males, whereas the level of base was similar in both genders. The hiatus was shorter in cases of backache in both genders as compared to controls. The anteroposterior diameter and width were also less in cases as compared to the healthy controls.

The sacral hiatus is a gap on the dorsal surface of the sacrum formed by the non-fusion of the lamina of the fourth and fifth sacral vertebrae. A multitude of anatomical alternations of hiatus have been reported involving metric and non-metric parameters. These have been identified during radiological investigations, surgical procedures or discovered in anatomical and anthropological research studies. For successful outcomes in the clinical setting, it is vital that awareness of identified and newly discovered anatomical variations is achieved through review of literature. Objective of this article is to provide a systematic review of the reported anatomical variations of sacral hiatus with its clinical significance.

Low back pain is a condition of prime concern by World Health Organization. It affects the quality of life and execution of work at jobs worldwide. Among these 90% cases are categorized as non-specific low back pain. Objectives: To evaluate demographic characteristics of cases of low back pain (LBP). To compare the BMI between cases and control groups in relation to low back pain. Methods: This case control study was undertaken on 178 subjects, comprising of equal number of cases of LBP and healthy controls with age ranging from 18-65 year, enrolled by non-probability convenience sampling at PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi after obtaining ethical approval from ERC of BUHSC. Demographic parameters like gender, age, marital status, and occupation were noted on pre-designed proforma and compared between cases and controls. Body mass index (BMI) was also compared between the groups. Results: The study showed LBP as more common in women, with significant association with marital status, occupation and BMI. The participants were divided into 5 groups according to age, maximum 29.8%, participants were in age group 36-45 years followed by 24.7% in 26 -30 years, 20.2% in 46 -55 years, 16.95 in 18 -25 years and only 8.4% in 56-65 years. Most of the cases were housewives followed by office workers. A highly significant result was seen when BMI was compared between cases and control as most of the cases (41.6%) were overweight as compared to controls. Conclusion: The incidence of LBP was more among women, married, housewives and overweight subjects

The world has been suffering for the past two and half years since the emergence of the plague Covid-19, which has caused more than 5.57 million deaths globally. The new coronavirus Omicron variants following alpha, beta, gamma, and delta continue to spread. The virus, which was first detected in Botswana and South Africa in November, has since surged globally in the past few weeks, faster than any previously known variant of the coronavirus. Omicron has proven to be highly contagious and less receptive to vaccines compared with other variants. The aim of this study was to provide a brief outline of what we already know about the Omicron virus and what needs to be learned about the different variants of this kind.