Pak J Med Sci
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Although non-traumatic Small Bowel Perforations (SBPs) are rare, they have high rates of morbidity and mortality in case of late presentation. Aetiological factors vary across different geographical regions. In this paper, SBPs caused by anything other than trauma and other well-known causes are presented and the current literature is reviewed. ⋯ Post-operative consequences of SBPs due to unusual causes are similar with those related to common, known causes. Factors affecting the clinical course are presentation time and patients' clinical status in admission, not aetiology.
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To investigate the effect of epidural anesthesia combined with inhalation or intravenous anesthesia on intrapulmonary shunt and oxygenation in patients undergoing long term single lung ventilation. ⋯ One lung ventilation may predispose to increase of intrapulmonary shunt and decrease in arterial partial pressure of oxygen; isoflurane inhalation anesthesia is more likely to cause intrapulmonary shunt, but no changes in arterial partial pressure of oxygen.
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Medical schools are to develop integrated medical curricula because the term 'integrated curriculum' has grown up and flourished globally and it has become mandatory to align the medical education with the global concept in Pakistan. This paper aims to present a guideline to design an undergraduate integrated medical curriculum. ⋯ The blueprint introduced in this paper would help medical educators to draft integrated medical curricula for those institutions which intend to switch their medical programs from traditional to integrated one.
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Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) as other chronic medical conditions is commonly complicated by psychiatric symptoms. Saudi SCD patients are usually originally from Eastern and Southwestern Provinces. The main objective of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of depression among adults with SCD in southern region of Saudi Arabia. We also studied the sociodemographic profiles for these individuals. ⋯ This study confirms that depression is common in adult patients with SCD as confirmed by previous studies. On the other hand, socio-demographic factors were not significant predictors of depression in SCD patients. Further research is needed to explore the magnitude and impact of this problem at the national level.
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To investigate the effects of levels of D-dimer and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) on the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction. ⋯ The levels of plasma NT-pro BNP and D-dimer can reflect the disease condition and prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction. Higher levels of NT-pro BNP and D-dimer indicates poorer prognosis. This work can provide a guidance for the clinical treatment of acute cerebral infarction.