Objective: Infection prevention and control (IPC) measures are easily adoptable activities to prevent the spread of infection to patients as well as among health-care workers (HCWs). Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the adherence to IPC measures among HCWs working at coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment centers in Punjab, Pakistan. HCWs were recruited by means of convenient sampling through Google Form® using the World Health Organization risk assessment tool. All data were analyzed using SPSS 20. Results: A total of 414 HCWs completed the survey (response rate = 67.8%), and majority of them were males (56.3%). Most of the HCWs were nurses (39.6%) followed by medical doctors (27.3%). Approximately 53% reported insufficiency of personal protective equipment (PPE), 58.2% did not receive IPC training and 40.8% did not have functional IPC team at their health facilities. The majority of HCWs (90%) used disposable gloves and N95 facemasks while interacting with COVID-19 patients. Nearly 45% used protective face shields and gowns before providing care to their patients. Hand hygiene practices while touching, and performing any aseptic procedure was adopted by 70.5% and 74.1% of HCWs, respectively. Conclusions: In conclusion, the adherence to IPC measures among Pakistani HCWs working in COVID-19 treatment centers is good despite the limited availability of PPEs. Their practices can be optimized by establishing institutional IPC teams, periodic provision of IPC training, and necessary PPE.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder associated with several complications, such as cardiovascular disease and retinopathy. Objective: The main objective is to find the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and lipid peroxidation biomarkers in T2DM patients with and without complications. This cross-sectional study involves 50 T2DM patients, with 25 patients having complications and 25 without complications. The study was conducted at Nishtar Medical University and Hospital from August 2022 to February 2023. BMI and lipid peroxidation biomarkers were measured, including malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE). T2DM patients with complications had a significantly higher BMI and higher levels of MDA and 4-HNE compared to those without complications. A positive correlation was observed between BMI and lipid peroxidation biomarkers in both groups of T2DM patients. Furthermore, T2DM patients with complications had significantly higher levels of fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and serum creatinine, and lower levels of HDL cholesterol compared to those without complications. Our study highlights the importance of managing BMI and oxidative stress in preventing and managing T2DM complications. More studies are required to find the mechanisms underlying the association between BMI and lipid peroxidation in T2DM patients and to investigate the potential therapeutic implications of managing BMI and oxidative stress in T2DM patients.
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