Background With the advent of modern imaging technologies, non-invasive assessment of the coronary system is not only possible but its complexity and plaque burden can be quantified. This study aims to determine whether calcium score on computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) can be associated with the complexity of coronary artery disease (CAD), which is determined by the SYNTAX score on coronary angiography, as well as to determine which cut-off value of coronary artery calcium (CAC) score can predict severe CAD in our population. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, Pakistan from January 2019 to March 2020. The calcium score of all patients with low-to-intermediate pretest probability of CAD was calculated on CTCA. All patients who had significant disease on CTCA were subjected to conventional coronary angiography and SYNTAX score was calculated, which was later used to determine the association between calcium and SYNTAX score. Results A total of 90 patients were included in the study. CAC and SYNTAX score were found to be positively correlated (Pearson coefficient [r] = 0.354; p = 0.001). The total CAC score with a cut-off value of 212 recognized patients with the SYNTAX score of >27. The sensitivity was 66.7% and specificity was 70.5% with an area under the curve of 0.743. The mean calcium score of patients in our study group was 223, with the maximum score of 1,216 and the minimum score of zero. Conclusion A CAC score greater than 212 is associated with a high SYNTAX score indicating complex disease. Only age is an independent predictor of calcium score.

Background The medical community's understanding of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was limited initially, and many laboratory investigations were performed to observe effects of the virus on the body, its complications, and outcomes. We observed that some laboratory investigations provided redundant information regarding outcomes, and, therefore, were not necessary. Therefore, the extent of laboratory investigations may need to be pared down to not only avoid issues related to repeated blood sampling but also to minimize the financial burdens in poor socioeconomic countries. Objective This study aimed to observe trends of clinical and laboratory values in COVID-19 patients and their relationship to outcomes, including disease severity, length of hospital stay, and mortality. Methods We conducted an observational cohort study of COVID-19 patients treated as inpatients at the Shifa International Hospital (SIH) in Islamabad in April 2020. Patients were included if they were nonsurgical, adult inpatients of SIH diagnosed with COVID-19 via positive polymerase chain reaction test. We monitored study participants' clinical and laboratory values (including hypoxia) on admission and throughout the study period. We used IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) for data entry and analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated for qualitative and quantitative data. We determined the effect of all variables on outcomes through chi-squared or Fisher's exact test, and p-values <0.05 with 95% confidence interval were considered statistically significant. Results A total of 51 patients with COVID-19 were enrolled. Most of the study participants were men older than age 50 with multiple comorbidities and resided in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Length of hospital stay ranged from eight to 14 days, and most patients had severe disease and survived. Factors such as patient age, gender, comorbid conditions, residence, and medication did not significantly affect outcomes. Hypotension during the height of symptoms and oxygen saturations <80% on admission was associated with prolonged hospital stays. Two complete blood count (CBC) parameters (platelet counts and mean corpuscular volume, MCV) were strongly associated with mortality and severity in our patients. Four non-CBC parameters (alanine transaminase, ALT; D-dimer; C-reactive protein, CRP; and lactate dehydrogenase, LDH) had strong statistical impact on disease severity, length of hospital stay, and mortality in our patients. Conclusion In a resource-limited country, laboratory testing must be chosen wisely and used appropriately. Patient age, gender, comorbid conditions, drugs, residence, and ferritin levels did not affect COVID-19 outcomes. Hemoglobin, platelet count, MCV, CRP, D-dimer, ALT, LDH, hypoxia, and hypotension were all correlated to disease outcomes. Therefore, these factors are useful laboratory examinations for COVID-19 patients, especially in poor countries. Categories: Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Keywords: covid-19, tren...

No abstract

Objective: To determine a score that best predicts the mortality of admitted patients within six weeks of Acute Variceal Hemorrhage (AVH).Study Design: Cross sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Inpatient Department of Gastroenterology Unit at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad for six months.Materials and Methods: The number of patients with AVH enrolled in this study were 223. A pretested questionnaire was used to gather the required information; Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) scores of each patient were recorded at the time of admission in the inpatient facility. The outcome was documented via a telephonic call at the end of six weeks. The primary outcome of the study was “mortality” at end of six weeks.Results: The total number of participants were 223, including 61% (n=136) males and 39% (n=87) females. The mean age was 52.4±13.96. The overall mean value of CTP score was 9.6±2.8 and mean value of MELD score was 19.3±6.7, while the mean values of CTP and MELD among non-survivors were 12.9±2.1 and 26.6±5.6, respectively. After six weeks, the number of deaths were 27% (n=60). The MELD had positive predictive value (PPV) of 83.3%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 96.8%, sensitivity: 91.7%, specificity: 93.3%, diagnostic accuracy: 92.82%, and positive likelihood ratio of 13.68. Similarly, CTP had PPV: 77.4%, NPV: 92.5%, sensitivity: 80%, specificity: 91.4%, diagnostic accuracy: 88.34% and positive likelihood ratio of 9.3. The area under the curve (AUC)for MELD was 0.91, while CTP was 0.90.Conclusion: The MELD score is better in its discriminative ability and more accurate in predicting six weeks mortality in patients with AVH than CTP score.