More than 90% of our patients developed febrile episodes with relatively low culture yield. The majority of infections were treated effectively, however CMV, aspergillosis, and pseudomonas infections remained problematic with high mortality.

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Objectives Complications related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may lead to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), which has been reported to be among the known causes of mortality in such patients. This study aims to analyse the incidence of DIC in COVID-19 non-survivors and to assess the association between DIC and its comorbidities. Methods The medical records of 154 non-survivors of COVID-19, hospitalised between April 2020 and July 2020, were retrospectively analysed. The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) criteria for DIC were applied to identify the occurrence of coagulopathy. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess the association between DIC and its comorbidities. Results Out of 154 non-survivors, non-overt DIC was observed in 94.8% of the patients, whereas only 5.2% fulfilled the overt criteria of DIC with a mean age 64.6 years. The mortality rate was 4.5 times higher among men than women. The D-dimer level was >250 ng/ml in 68.8% of the patients including 88.9% of the non-overt and 100% of the overt DIC patients. Prothrombin time (PT) in non-overt and overt DIC cases was 17.3 s and 24.4 s, respectively. Thrombotic event and chronic kidney disease were found to be the main predictors of DIC ( p < 0.0001 and 0.03, respectively) followed by diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (statistically insignificant). Conclusions Our study concludes that the ISTH DIC score cannot predict mortality as the COVID-19 related DIC differs from the sepsis-induced DIC. Among the seriously ill, older patients with comorbidities, increased levels of D-dimer and prolonged PT are more reliable parameters among COVID-19 non-survivors.

Objective: To determine the genotypic frequency of RHC antigen in females of reproductive age. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion (AFIT) and Pak Emirates Military Hospital, (PEMH) in collaboration with NUMS Pakistan, from Dec 2020 to Dec 2021. Methodology: Females aged 16 to 45 years were recruited in the study. Demographic data, including age, parity, ethnicity etc.,was recorded on a proforma. Venous blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes, and DNA was extracted using 5% Chelex TM. A conventional Polymerase chain reaction and amplified products were subjected to Polyacrylamide Gel electrophoresis. Results: Amongst 200 females, 172(86%) had the expression of RHC antigen, while 28(14%) were negative for the respective antigen. These results were valuable in predicting the risk of hemolytic disease in fetuses and newborns and alloimmunization in our population. Conclusion: Females in the reproductive age group had RHC positivity of 86%. This data will help predict the risk of HDFN in future pregnancies and individuals at risk of alloimmunization in RHC-negative women.