Muhammad Haris

Bio: Muhammad Haris is an academic researcher from Shifa College of Medicine. The author has contributed to research in topics: Spermatogenesis & Heart failure. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 4 publications receiving 34 citations.

Correlation of IVC Diameter and Collapsibility Index With Central Venous Pressure in the Assessment of Intravascular Volume in Critically Ill Patients.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE The objective of our study is to assess the correlation between inferior vena cava (IVC) diameters, central venous pressure (CVP) and the IVC collapsibility index for estimating the volume status in critically ill patients. METHODS This cross-sectional study used the convenient sampling of 100 adult medical intensive care unit (ICU) patients for a period of three months. Patients ≥ 18 years of age with an intrathoracic central venous catheter terminating in the distal superior vena cava connected to the transducer to produce a CVP waveform were included in the study. A Mindray diagnostic ultrasound system model Z6 ultrasound machine (Mindray, NJ, USA) was used for all examinations. An Ultrasonic Transducer model 3C5P (Mindray, NJ, USA) for IVC imaging was utilized. A paired sampled t-test was used to compute the p-values. RESULTS A total of 32/100 (32%) females and 68/100 (68%) males were included in the study with a mean age of 50.4 ± 19.3 years. The mean central venous pressure maintained was 10.38 ± 4.14 cmH2O with an inferior vena cava collapsibility index of 30.68 ± 10.93. There was a statistically significant relation among the mean CVP pressure, the IVC collapsibility index, the mean maximum and minimum IVC between groups as determined by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (p < 0.001). There was a strong negative correlation between CVP and IVC collapsibility index (%), which was statistically significant (r = -0.827, n = 100, p < 0.0005). A strong positive correlation between CVP and maximum IVC diameter (r = 0.371, n = 100, p < 0.0005) and minimum IVC diameter (r = 0.572, n = 100, p < 0.0005) was found. CONCLUSION There is a positive relationship of CVP with minimum and maximum IVC diameters but an inverse relationship with the IVC collapsibility index.

Core Measures for Congestive Heart Failure in a Tertiary Care Setting in Pakistan.

Abstract: Purpose: Heart failure presents a huge burden for individual patients and the healthcare system as a whole. This study aims to assess the adherence to these core measures as identified by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)/ American Heart Association (AHA) by physicians of Pakistan. Materials and Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan from the period of April 2013 to April 2016. Patients with a primary diagnosis of heart failure were drawn from a coding section of hospital’s record department. Data was evaluated to assess how strictly doctors were following core measures identified by JCAHO/AHA for the given diagnosis. Inclusion criteria for this study were patients ≥ 17 years of age and patients with a primary diagnosis of heart failure according to New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification. Patients with congenital anomalies and structural heart wall problems, like sarcoidosis, hemochromatosis, and amyloidosis, were excluded from the study. Results: Mean ejection fraction (EF) was found to be 27.23 ± 11.72 percent. Symptoms assessment of heart failure was done in 16/421 (3.8%) patients according to NYHA classification and in 405/421 (96.2%) patients according to outpatient-based heart failure assessment based on physician's experience other than NYHA classification. Left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) was assessed in 411/421 (97%) patients. Out of these, 336/411 (81.7%) patients had EF < 40%. Mean EF was found to be significantly higher in females as compared to males (p < 0.001). Three hundred and thirty-six out of 411 (81.7%) patients with EF < 40% needed angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and beta-blocker (BB) prescriptions. ACEi were prescribed only to 230/336 (68.7%) patients and 248/336 (73.8%) patients were given BB with documented contraindication to ACEi and BB in 7.36% and 17% patients, respectively. There was no significant association between gender and mean duration of hospitalization (p = 0.411). No significant association was found between EF ≤ 40% and mean duration of hospitalization (p = 0.426). Conclusion: We found that symptom assessment of congestive heart failure (CHF) patients, according to NYHA guidelines, are strikingly low. Also, a significant percentage of patients who need ACEi and BB are not prescribed the required medications despite echocardiography showing low left ventricular function.

Effect of Salicylidene Salicylhydrazide on Testes of Albino Mice: A Histomorphological Study

Abstract: There is recently an increasing reports of reduction in sperm counts along with other reproductive disorders that is ascribe to the use of drugs and environmental chemicals. In this regard conducting toxicological studies on male reproductive is of paramount importance. This study evaluates salicylidene salicylhydrazide (SCS) for any possible toxicological effects on male reproductive system. Male BALB/c mice were daily administered withSCSat 5, 25, and 50 mg/kg for 7 and 14 days. The body and testes weights were measuredand the testes were subjected to histological tissue processing techniques. The extent of testicular toxicity was evaluated by using modified Johnsen scoring system for assessing the level of spermatogenesis, and morphometric analysis by measuring the diameter of the seminiferous tubules, thickness of germinal epithelium, and area of interstitial cells of Leydig. The body and testes weights showed that the various doses of SCS have no substantial effects after 7 and 14 days. The tested doses of SCS did not produce any distinguishable change in the normal histological features of seminiferous tubules and interstitium after 7 days. However, after 14 days, the 50 mg/kg dose of SCS was associated with vacuolization and loosening of germinal epithelium. These mild-to-moderate histopathological aberrations was confirmed from morphometric analysis in this dose group in which a decrease in the seminiferous tubules diameter and reduction in the thickness of germinal epithelium along with an increase in the interstitial area were observed. These findings concluded that SCS is considered to be relatively safe.

Quality of Care in U.S. Hospitals as Reflected by Standardized Measures, 2002–2004

Abstract: methods We examined hospitals’ performance on 18 standardized indicators of the quality of care for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia. One measure assessed a clinical outcome (death in the hospital after acute myocardial infarction), and the other 17 measures assessed processes of care. Data were collected over a two-year period in more than 3000 accredited hospitals. All participating hospitals received quarterly feedback in the form of comparative reports throughout the study. results Descriptive analysis revealed a significant improvement (P<0.01) in the performance of U.S. hospitals on 15 of 18 measures, and no measure showed a significant deterioration. The magnitude of improvement ranged from 3 percent to 33 percent during the eight quarters studied. For 16 of the 17 process-of-care measures, hospitals with a low level of performance at baseline had greater improvements over the subsequent two years than hospitals with a high level of performance at baseline. conclusions Over a two-year period, we observed consistent improvement in measures reflecting the process of care for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia. Both quantitative and qualitative research are needed to explore the reasons for these improvements.

Preeclampsia: a gestational cardiorenal syndrome.

Abstract: It is generally accepted today that there are two different types of preeclampsia: an early-onset or placental type and a late-onset or maternal type. In the latent phase, the first one presents with a low output/high resistance circulation eventually leading in the late second or early third trimester to an intense and acutely aggravating systemic disorder with an important impact on maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity; the other type presents initially as a high volume/low resistance circulation, gradually evolving to a state of circulatory decompensation usually in the later stages of pregnancy, with a less severe impact on maternal and neonatal outcome. For both processes, numerous dysfunctions of the heart, kidneys, arteries, veins and interconnecting systems are reported, most of them presenting earlier and more severely in early- than in late-onset preeclampsia; however, some very specific dysfunctions exist for either type. Experimental, clinical and epidemiological observations before, during and after pregnancy are consistent with gestation-induced worsening of subclinical pre-existing chronic cardiovascular dysfunction in early-onset preeclampsia, and thus sharing the pathophysiology of cardiorenal syndrome type II, and with acute volume overload decompensation of the maternal circulation in late-onset preeclampsia, thus sharing the pathophysiology of cardiorenal syndrome type 1. Cardiorenal syndrome type V is consistent with the process of preeclampsia superimposed upon clinical cardiovascular and/or renal disease, alone or as part of a systemic disorder. This review focuses on the specific differences in haemodynamic dysfunctions between the two types of preeclampsia, with special emphasis on the interorgan interactions between heart and kidneys, introducing the theoretical concept that the pathophysiological processes of preeclampsia can be regarded as the gestational manifestations of cardiorenal syndromes.

The utility of point-of-care ultrasound in the assessment of volume status in acute and critically ill patients.

Abstract: Background Volume resuscitation has only been demonstrated to be effective in approximately fifty percent of patients. The remaining patients do not respond to volume resuscitation and may even develop adverse outcomes (such as acute pulmonary edema necessitating endotracheal intubation). We believe that point-of-care ultrasound is an excellent modality by which to adequately predict which patients may benefit from volume resuscitation. Data resources We performed a search using PubMed, Scopus, and MEDLINE. The following search terms were used: fluid responsiveness, ultrasound, non-invasive, hemodynamic, fluid challenge, and passive leg raise. Preference was given to clinical trials and review articles that were most relevant to the topic of assessing a patient's cardiovascular ability to respond to intravenous fluid administration using ultrasound. Results Point-of-care ultrasound can be easily employed to measure the diameter and collapsibility of various large vessels including the inferior vena cava, common carotid artery, subclavian vein, internal jugular vein, and femoral vein. Such parameters are closely related to dynamic measures of fluid responsiveness and can be used by providers to help guide fluid resuscitation in critically ill patients. Conclusion Ultrasound in combination with passive leg raise is a non-invasive, cost- and time-effective modality that can be employed to assess volume status and response to fluid resuscitation. Traditionally sonographic studies have focused on the evaluation of large veins such as the inferior vena cava, and internal jugular vein. A number of recently published studies also demonstrate the usefulness of evaluating large arteries to predict volume status.

Indian National Association for the Study of the Liver Consensus Statement on Acute Liver Failure (Part 1): Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Presentation and Prognosis

Abstract: Acute liver failure (ALF) is an infrequent, unpredictable, potentially fatal complication of acute liver injury (ALI) consequent to varied etiologies. Etiologies of ALF as reported in the literature have regional differences, which affects the clinical presentation and natural course. In this part of the consensus article designed to reflect the clinical practices in India, disease burden, epidemiology, clinical presentation, monitoring, and prognostication have been discussed. In India, viral hepatitis is the most frequent cause of ALF, with drug-induced hepatitis due to antituberculosis drugs being the second most frequent cause. The clinical presentation of ALF is characterized by jaundice, coagulopathy, and encephalopathy. It is important to differentiate ALF from other causes of liver failure, including acute on chronic liver failure, subacute liver failure, as well as certain tropical infections which can mimic this presentation. The disease often has a fulminant clinical course with high short-term mortality. Death is usually attributable to cerebral complications, infections, and resultant multiorgan failure. Timely liver transplantation (LT) can change the outcome, and hence, it is vital to provide intensive care to patients until LT can be arranged. It is equally important to assess prognosis to select patients who are suitable for LT. Several prognostic scores have been proposed, and their comparisons show that indigenously developed dynamic scores have an edge over scores described from the Western world. Management of ALF will be described in part 2 of this document.