The present study was conducted to determine the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from sputum samples of lower respiratory tract infection patients admitted to different hospitals of Karachi. Most of the hospitals are hampered with high frequency of nosocomial infections generally caused by multiresistant nosocomial pathogen. Among Gram-negative pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa considered as most challenging pathogen. The objective of the study was to determine frequency of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from sputum samples and to find out susceptibility pattern against four antibiotics widely used for treatment. The sputum samples from 498 patients were collected consecutively between January 2010 and March 2011 and were cultured and identified. According to CLSI (Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute) guidelines antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion method. Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from 24% (120/498) of the lower respiratory tract patient. A higher resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate was observed with piperacillin/tazobactam and cefipime i.e. 42% and 40% respectively. Imipenem was found to be most effective antibiotic against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (76% sensitivity) but amikacin resistance was continuously increasing. In conclusion the frequency of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was also higher among lower respiratory tract infection patients with alarmingly high rate of resistance among widely used antibiotics. These findings focused on careful consideration for monitoring and optimization of antimicrobial use in order to reduce occurrence and spread of antimicrobial resistant pathogen.

Retrospective study of Cancer types in different ethnic groups & genders determines the pattern of cancers in different ethnic groups & genders during the last eight years reported in Oncology wards of hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan. Every single one male & female case with histologically and cytologically established cancer was enrolled from January 2003 to December 2010. Data for all patients were collected retrospectively by patient’s file & charts, which represents the population of Karachi, Interior Sindh & Balochistan. 5134 patients (Male = 2432 / Female = 2702) investigated for their diagnosis of cancer type, ethnicity, age & gender. Classification of malignancy was done according to the International Classification of Disease coding system by W.H.O (ICD-10). The statistical analysis was performed for mean, standard error & proportions for ethnic groups & genders. Proportionately 47.37% males and among which major ethnic groups 17% Sindhi, 17% Immigrant, 4% Baloch, 3% Pukhtoon, ≈ 4% Punjabi, 1% Siraiki, 2% Minorities and 52.62% females, in which 16% Sindhi, 21% Immigrant, 4% Baloch 3% Pukhtoon, 5% Punjabi, 1% Siraiki, 3% Minorities. Mean age of males = 45.75 years, SE ± 0.227 and for females = 44.07, SE ± 0.183. The three most occurring tumors in all cancers of male were found Head & Neck, Adenoma/Carcinoma of Glands & Body cavity membranes, GIT, and females Breast, Head & Neck, Adenoma/Carcinoma of Glands & Body cavity membranes, GIT. The analysis of data indicates Head & Neck is most common cancer among male, in the similar way Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among female.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-118) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background and Objective. Several treatments are used to attain good control of symptoms and to reduce asthmatic exacerbations. The survey was designed to compare different systems of treatments for asthma and to explore the most preferred treatment in terms of efficacy, side effects, long-term use, and satisfaction. Materials and Methods. The cross-sectional survey was conducted; primary data were collected from asthmatic patients in different hospitals and clinics of allopathic, homeopathic, and herbal practitioners in Karachi, Pakistan. The study duration was from January 2020 to December 2020. Asthmatic patients aged over 13 years were selected for the study. A written informed consent was taken from the patients before the interview. Collected data were analyzed by the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) 22. Result. Among 255 asthmatic patients; 51.4% (n = 131) were male and 48.6% (n = 124) were female. For control of acute attacks of asthma 88.2% ( p = 0.0001 ) of patients significantly preferred allopathic treatment while 6.3% ( p = 0.008 ) used homeopathic treatment and 5.5% chose herbal treatment. For maintenance of asthma, 78.8% ( p = 0.0001 ) patients used allopathic treatment while 12.4% ( p = 0.0001 ) homeopathic and 8.8% ( p = 0.0001 ) patients used herbal treatment. About 63.4% ( p = 0.0001 ) of the asthmatic patients used short-acting β-2 agonists for managing acute asthmatic episodes while long-acting β-2 agonists ( p = 0.0001 ) and inhaled corticosteroids ( p = 0.0001 ) were found to be the preferred medicines for maintenance therapy. Effectiveness of treatment ( p = 0.004 ) and cost effectiveness ( p = 0.0001 ) significantly act as contributing factors for the selection of the treatment. The majority of the patients were satisfied with their chosen treatments for control of asthmatic symptoms. Conclusion. Most asthmatic patients preferred allopathic treatment for the management of acute episodes and control of asthmatic symptoms. It was found that the major factors for selecting a specific treatment include effectiveness, cost, and minimal side effects.

The clavulanic acid derived by fermentation of Streptomyces clavuligerus and possessed the capability to inactivate a broad range of β-lactamase enzymes. A complex physicochemical process involves the binding of clavulanic acid to β-lactamases in which clavulanic acid itself deplete irreversibly along with β-lactamase enzyme rendering amoxicillin spared which otherwise would hydrolyze by an enzyme. It is therefore termed as 'suicide 'inhibitor for β-lactamases. We discussed here pharmacokinetic parameters and identified factors responsible for the variability of absorption of clavulanic acid. The results based on individual plasma concentration-time curve of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid in an open, randomized, two-way crossover study involving 10 healthy male subjects administered with two amoxiclav formulations.

No abstract