Pak J Med Sci
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To investigate the comparative diagnostic accuracy of cardiac computed tomography (CT) and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for detecting infective endocarditis. ⋯ CT performs statistically significantly better than TEE for detecting abscesses while TEE provides statistically significant superior results for detecting vegetation. There is a need for well-designed prospective studies to further corroborate these findings.
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The objective was to provide synthesized evidence on the efficacy of local anaesthetics and steroid injections for prevention and management of PHN, compared to the standard treatment using anti-viral and analgesic medications. The primary outcomes of interest were incidence of PHN and duration of neuralgic pain. ⋯ The meta-analysis provides some evidence to support the use of combined local anaesthetic and steroids in reducing risk of post-herpetic neuralgia and duration of neuralgic pain in patients with herpes zoster rash.
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Non-contrast MRI is used for identifying patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially among high-risk patients with cirrhosis or chronic viral hepatitis. The accuracy of non-contrast MRI has been investigated with varying results. We performed this meta-analysis to consolidate the evidence on the accuracy of non-contrast MRI for the detection of HCC. ⋯ Deek's test showed the absence of publication bias. We found that non-contrast MRI has high sensitivity and specificity as a tool for detecting HCC. Studies exploring its accuracy in different ethnic populations are required to strengthen the evidence.
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The aim of this article is to report the recent surge in use of additive manufacturing (AM) or three-dimensional printing (3DP) services in healthcare, especially the field of orthopaedics. Pakistan's healthcare infrastructure has been slow in adapting and implementing this new technology which is an integral part of the industry 4.0. Various sources including Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and Google were utilised from June to august 2021 to extract articles and information on advantages of AM in orthopaedics. Furthermore, its possible acquisition by a hospital, educational or an industrial setup is also highlighted in this review.
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To investigate the indications of obstetric emergency hysterectomy and analyze the clinical effects of subtotal hysterectomy and total hysterectomy. ⋯ The treatment effect of subtotal hysterectomies for the cases without placenta accreta and placenta previa was similar in the two hospitals. There is no statistically significant difference in therapeutic effect between total hysterectomy and subtotal hysterectomy.