Introduction. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019–2020 corona virus pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to the original SARS-CoV. It is thought to have a zoonotic origin. The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact, often via small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing or talking. People may also become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face. COVID-19 patients currently remain the primary source of infection. An epidemiological survey indicated that the general population is susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. The spectrum of this disease ranges from mild to life-threatening. Fever is the most common symptom, although older people and those with comorbidities may experience fever later in the disease. Other common symptoms include cough, loss of appetite, fatigue, shortness of breath, sputum production, and muscle and joint pains. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea have been observed in varying percentages. Some cases might progress promptly to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and/or multiple organ function failure. Asymptomatic carriers and those in the incubation period may also be infectious. Aim. To determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients presenting with COVID-19 at the screening clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. Methodology. In this descriptive study, we analysed data of patients presenting to a newly established Covid-19 screening clinic in Rehman Medical Institute. Anyone who reported with new onset fever and/or cough was tested for SARS-CoV-2 in the screening clinic. We documented and analysed demographic, epidemiological and clinical characteristics, which included age, sex, travel history, clinical features, comorbidities and laboratory data of patients confirmed by real-time reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR at Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar, Pakistan from 15 March till 21 April 2020. Paired specimens of throat swabs and nasal swabs were obtained from 845 patients, ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted and tested for SARS-CoV-2 by the RT-PCR assay. Results. A total of 845 specimens were taken as described above. The positive rate for SARS-CoV-2 was about 14.3%. Male and older population had a significantly higher positive rate. Of the 121 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, the mean age was 43.19 years (sd, 17.57) and the infections were more frequent among male gender accounting for 85 (70.25 %) patients. Common symptoms included fever (88 patients, 72 %), cough (72 patients, 59.5 %) and shortness of breath (69 patients, 57 %). Twenty-two (18 %) patients had recent travel history outside Pakistan in the previous 14 days, the majority of whom had returned back from Saudi Arabia. Conclusion. In this single-centre, prospective, descriptive study, fever, cough and shortness of breath were the most common symptoms. Old age (>50 years), chronic underlying comorbidities and travel history may be risk factors. Therefore, we concluded that viral nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) played an important role in identifying SARS-CoV-2 infection in a screening clinic, which helped with isolation and cohorting of these patients.

This study was done to evaluate the appropriateness, diagnostic yield, and quality of paediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy in a large DGH with tertiary paediatric gastroenterology services. It was a retrospective cohort study of children who had at least one gastrointestinal endoscopy during 31 months (May 2018-Dec 2020) in a district general hospital in Southeast England. The participants were children (2–17 years). Two hundred ninety-three procedures were performed in total, 80% were diagnostic and 20% for surveillance. The median age was 12 years and 52.5% were males. Oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (OGD) corresponded to 79.5% of procedures, ileo-colonoscopy (IC) to 7.2% and the remaining had both procedures. The main diagnostic indication was persistent abdominal pain in 33.5% of cases, followed by suspected GORD (14.8%), recurrent vomiting (14.3%), dysphagia (9.1%) and blood loss per rectum (8.6%). A total of 64.7% showed abnormal macroscopic findings, and 69.2% showed histopathological signs of disease. The most common histological diagnosis was gastritis in 23% followed by coeliac disease in 13%, reflux oesophagitis in 12.2% and inflammatory bowel disease in 9.6%. Procedures were performed with utmost safety with two reported cases of complications, which were appropriately managed. The completion rate of diagnostic IC was 87%. A waiting time of 6 weeks was achieved in 50.4% of cases. Conclusion : Paediatric endoscopy can be safely performed in a district general hospital with the right setup and can aid in the management of gastrointestinal disease in the paediatric patient. It is important to monitor and regularly audit such practices to improve the quality of specialist services. What is Known: • Paediatric endoscopy is predominantly performed in large tertiary centres and included in the diagnostic algorithm for many paediatric gastrointestinal conditions. • There are recommendations on clinical indication endorsed by ESPGHAN and key quality indicators published jointly by JAG and BSPGHAN . What is New: • Paediatric endoscopy can be appropriately and safely performed in district general hospital by trained professionals, decreasing the workload in larger tertiary paediatric centres. • Adoption of regular audit practices is essential to ensure and improve quality and appropriateness of this specialist service.