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Uncontrolled prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infections is known to be a global health problem. Many cases are undiagnosed yet. So, this study focusses on the undiagnosed existence of viral infection of hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C infection (HCV) in hospitalized patients and outdoor attendees to draw a more accurate picture of the prevalence of HBV and HCV. A cross-sectional observational study at Benazir Bhutto hospital Rawalpindi Pakistan continued for seven months and included hospitalized patients and outdoor attendees. Venous blood collected from 2003 subjects and processed to investigate infection by ELISA. We observed the overall prevalence of HBV was 2.6% and HCV was 10.98%. Further 4.2% was the highest infection rate of HBV in patients of Surgery and Medicine and the lowest in Orthopedics, Urology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Intensive Care Unit, Ear Throat and Nose, Eye>0.001%. We found the highest rate of HCV infection was in Medicine 22.90% and the lowest was in Pediatrics>0.001%. For the age, the HBV infection was found to be 4.55% the most prevalent in the age range of 61-75 and the lowest>0.001% in 76-90 years. Age group 46-60 years showed the highest 19.07% and 16-30 years the lowest 6.44% prevalence of HCV infection. Observed HBV-positive participants were 60.78% males and 39.22% females. While among the participants, males contributed 50.90% H C Virus infections and females contributed 49.10% infections. Although undiagnosed but prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infection is very high. Therefore, some effective strategies should be implemented.

Background: To identify and address the potential overuse of antibiotics, it is important to ascertain the prescribing practices of physicians. We, therefore, conducted this prescription analysis to document URTI-specific antibiotic prescription frequency in a public primary healthcare setting of Quetta city, Pakistan.Methods: A retrospective record review was conducted of all prescriptions for URTIs in Combined Military Hospital, Quetta from 1 March to 31st May 2021. The Mann-Whitney U and Jonckheere–Terpstra test was used to evaluate the association between the tendencies of a different group of prescribers. p-value of <0.05 was of statistical significance.Results: Over the 3 months, 50,705 prescriptions were screened and analyzed according to the established inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 4,126 (8.13%) URTI prescriptions met the inclusion criteria, of which 2,880 (69.80%) prescriptions contained antibiotics. Among all antibiotics, penicillins (Amoxicillin + Clavulanate) were the most prescribed antibiotic, constituting 1,323 (45.9%) of total antibiotics prescribed for all cases, followed by the Macrolide group 527 (18.2%). The Jonckheere–Terpstra test revealed a statistically significant association between the status of the prescriber and the diagnosis (p = 0.002). Furthermore, a moderate positive trend was reported with specialists being more competent in antibiotic prescribing based on their diagnosis, followed by postgraduates and house officers (τ = 0.322).Conclusion: The prescribing patterns for the management of URTIs in the hospital were inconsistent with current guidelines. Strict adherence to guidelines must be ensured and antibiotic prescribing for URTIs should be discouraged.

BackgroundQuality of Life (QoL) and its determinants are significant in all stages of life, including pregnancy. The physical and emotional changes during pregnancy affect the QoL of pregnant women, affecting both maternal and infant health. Hence, assessing the QoL of pregnant women is gaining interest in literature. We, therefore, aimed to describe the QoL of pregnant women during physiological pregnancy and to identify its associated predictors in women attending a public healthcare institute of Quetta city, Pakistan.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Sandeman Provincial Hospital Quetta city, Pakistan. The respondents were asked to answer the Urdu (lingua franca of Pakistan) version of the Quality of Life Questionnaire for Physiological Pregnancy. Data were coded and analyzed by SPPS v 21. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was used to establish normality of the data and non-parametric tests were used accordingly. Quality of Life was assessed as proposed by the developers. The Chi-square test was used to identify significant associations and linear regression was used to identify the predictors of QoL. For all analyses, p < 0.05 was taken significantly.ResultsFour hundred and three pregnant women participated in the study with a response rate of 98%. The mean QoL score was 19.85 ± 4.89 indicating very good QoL in the current cohort. The Chi-Square analysis reported a significant association between age, education, occupation, income, marital status, and trimester. Education was reported as a positive predictor for QoL (p = 0.006, β = 2.157). On the other hand, trimester was reported as a negative predictor of QoL (p = 0.013, β = −1.123).ConclusionImproving the QoL among pregnant women requires better identification of their difficulties and guidance. The current study highlighted educational status and trimester as the predictors of QoL in pregnant women. Health care professionals and policymakers should consider the identified factors while designing therapeutic plans and interventions for pregnant women.