Postpartum depression (PPD) is defined as the onset of depressive symptoms within six weeks of childbirth. PPD is more common in resource-constrained countries as compared to developed countries. The study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with PPD among women in Sindh, Pakistan. A multi-centre, cross-sectional study was conducted at three major tertiary care setups in Sindh, Pakistan. All women presenting to the outpatient department within six weeks of giving live birth were eligible to participate. All women who had stillbirths, abortions, or were treated for a past psychiatric illness or neurological disease were excluded from the study. The Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS) was used as a screening tool. All socio-demographic factors were documented in a predefined pro forma. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, Version 26, IBM, Chicago, IL). According to the Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS), the incidence of postpartum depression in the current study population was 19.3%. Of these, 12 (3.3%) women had persistently thought about self-harming. Over 100 women did not receive any formal education, constituting the majority of the study population. Formula milk feeding of the newborn was significantly associated with an increased frequency of postpartum depression (p= 0.0001). The current study highlights the significant burden of postpartum depression in Pakistan. However, the present study failed to find any significant risk factors associated with postpartum depression. Only formula milk feeding was significantly associated with a higher frequency of PPD among study patients.

Diabetes mellitus with its increasing prevalence is one of the four major non-communicable diseases. It is characterized by hyperglycemia, which may progress to chronic complications such as peripheral vascular disease and neuropathy. This paper highlights the pathophysiology associated with diabetes, which is restricted to not only hyperglycemia but also other comorbidities including chronic lower back pain. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder associated with hypercholesteremia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension. This chain of events leads to free plasma fatty acids and a pro-inflammatory state, therefore promoting calcification of blood vessels, which may block the blood supply to vertebral discs and thereby increase vulnerability in the patients with ongoing inflammatory disease such as osteoarthritis and also causing costochondritis. Functional limitation due to increased load on the weight-bearing joints is a common mechanical complication of diabetes. Obesity in diabetes is more prevalent due to a disturbed metabolism, which is aggravated with a persistent inflammatory state. Moreover, the aim of this review is to encourage further conduction of clinical studies to explore the definite cause and potential therapy for chronic lower back pain in diabetes, thereby investigating the association of lipid metabolism and skeletal muscle atrophy leading to chronic back pain, the role of diabetic medications, and vulnerability in the female gender. Diminished physical activity and depression in diabetic patients disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), which further contributes to lower back pain. Further clinical investigation and research in this regard will establish substantial data for the linkage between depression in diabetes and back pain. However, despite all the advancements of medical literature, the exact cause of lower back pain in diabetes is arguable. Pain impedes the health status and life quality; therefore, it is essential to maintain the quality of health in patients with diabetes by treating not only hyperglycemia but also other multifactorial causes leading to lower back pain.

Introduction: Awake prone positioning (APP) has been widely applied in non-intubated patients with COVID-19-related acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. However, the results from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are inconsistent. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of APP and to identify the subpopulations that may benefit the most from it. Methods: We searched five electronic databases from inception to August 2022 (PROSPERO registration: CRD42022342426). We included only RCTs comparing APP with supine positioning or standard of care with no prone positioning. Our primary outcomes were the risk of intubation and all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included the need for escalating respiratory support, length of ICU and hospital stay, ventilation-free days, and adverse events. Results: We included 11 RCTs and showed that APP reduced the risk of requiring intubation in the overall population (RR 0.84, 95% CI: 0.74–0.95; moderate certainty). Following the subgroup analyses, a greater benefit was observed in two patient cohorts: those receiving a higher level of respiratory support (compared with those receiving conventional oxygen therapy) and those in intensive care unit (ICU) settings (compared to patients in non-ICU settings). APP did not decrease the risk of mortality (RR 0.93, 95% CI: 0.77–1.11; moderate certainty) and did not increase the risk of adverse events. Conclusions: In patients with COVID-19-related acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, APP likely reduced the risk of requiring intubation, but failed to demonstrate a reduction in overall mortality risk. The benefits of APP are most noticeable in those requiring a higher level of respiratory support in an ICU environment.

In May 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved tafamidis as the first conservative management of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). Our aim in conducting this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of tafamidis on patients with ATTR-CM. For that purpose, we thoroughly searched PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Clinical trails.gov by using the appropriate search strategy and following predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, which retrieved 235 articles initially. Of which two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and one observational study matched our inclusion criteria. A total of 876 patients are included in this analysis. Based on results, tafamidis significantly reduced cardiovascular (CV) mortality in the ATTR-ACT trial and Ochi et al. (OR 0.58; 95% CI: [0.41–0.83], P=0.003, I ²=87%). A subgroup analysis was conducted for CV mortality due to heart failure (OR 0.89; 95% CI: [0.63–1.25], P=0.50, I ²=93%). The results exhibit that tafamidis reduced all causes of mortality (OR 0.45; 95% CI: [0.32–0.64], P≤0.00001, I ²=22%). Furthermore, mortality remained statistically insignificant in patients with heart transplants (OR 1.18; 95% CI: [0.52–2.70], P=0.70, I ²=0%) and patients with cardiac mechanical assist devices (OR 4.15; 95% CI: [0.48–35.66], P=0.20, I ²=0%). This meta-analysis suggests that tafamidis is a safe and efficient drug to use in patients with ATTR-CM and can possess the potential to be a milestone in enhancing the conservative management of the patients.

Zika virus remains endemic and opportunistic of high transmission in the tropical region of Africa, and the repeated cases of the Zika virus in Africa made it public health emergency in 2016. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the catastrophic cases of unknown and unreported deaths overwhelming the region of Africa could not give health attention to respond to other endemic diseases. Here, we present the possible complication and challenges associated with the Zika virus in Africa and COVID-19 predominance, shifting the attention from the Zika virus surveillance. This paper determines to enlighten the reader about the situation, the efforts to curb the transmission of both the Zika virus and the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the report recommends sustainable solutions that can lessen the threat to public health.

Bevacizumab is a monoclonal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody that binds to and makes all of the VEGF isoforms inactive, and thus prevents angiogenesis, development, and the spread of the tumor. The most reported side effects after administering bevacizumab include bleeding, high blood pressure, heart failure, proteinuria, thrombosis, and gastrointestinal perforation. Pneumothorax has rarely been reported as a complication of bevacizumab, but with an unclear mechanism. This article aims to explore the occurrence of pneumothorax as a side effect after using bevacizumab through a systematic review of current case reports published on the topic. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Directory of Open Access through the utilization of appropriate keywords, and case reports were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Our results encompass five case reports that were further evaluated for demographic, clinical, and treatment parameters. This systematic review concludes that pneumothorax can occur after bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy although this side effect is relatively rare. Awareness regarding this possible side effect can assist clinicians during their practice in considering pneumothorax as a possible differential diagnosis when encountering patients presenting with pulmonary symptoms after starting bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy; hence, timely diagnosis and treatment can save a life.