Faterna Jawad  ( 7/6 Rimpa Plaza, M.A. Jinnah Road, Karachi. )

The Prevalence of Hirsutism in Pakistani Females. Kazmi, A.H., Bajwa, U.M., Mahmood, K. J. Pak. Inst. Med. Sci., 1993;4:195-197
A study was conducted on 650 females for assessment of hirsutism. The mean age was 27.4 years and the subjects were randomly selected from the Dermatology Department of the Services Hospital, Lahore. A complete personal and drug history was noted and a detailed physical and dennatological examination conducted. Distribution of body hair was ob­served. The assessment of hirsutism was done by the McKnights and Ferriman Galiway methods and presence of terminal hair of atleast 0.5 cm length at the sites described was considered as hirsutism. The females studied showed hirsutism in 79.53% subjects of whom 59.38% were married. The chest was the commonest site involved in 54.55% women followed by face 51.83%, abdomen 25.92% and limbs 20.89%. The incidence of hirsutism was found to be higher in the presented study when compared to the Indian and oriental females. The hair distribution was similar as in other studies. Young unmarried girls were found to be more affected than older married females and those with a family history of hirsutism had coarser hair and involvement of more than one body site.
Antenatal Significance of Glycosylated Haemoglobin (HbAIc) in High Risk Pregnancy. Munawar, F., Khan, S.J., Haider, Z.,Janjua, M.I. PakJ.Med.Res., 1993;32:22-24.
A study was conducted at the antenatal clinic of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore to evaluate the antenatal significance of carbohydrate intolerance in high risk preg­nancy in selected women from each trimester, by estimating glycosylated haemoglobin (HbAlc). The study group com­prised of 30 women fulfilling the Oats and Beisher criteria for high risk pregnancy and 24 women with previous normal pregnancies and outcome acted as controls. HbA1c measurements were made by ion exchange chromatography and results tabulated by calculating the mean and standard deviation. A significant difference was noted in the HbAIc values of the two groups. The levels of HbAlc in the three trimesters of the high risk group showed insignificant variations. Three women were diagnosed to have diabetes after being subject to this screening
The results of the study suggested that HbAIc is a valuable detection tool for high risk pregnancy and gestational diabetes.
In-Hospital Mortality after Acute Myocardial In­farction.Haq, I., Sharif, M.A. Pak.J.Med.Sci., 1993;9:249-251.
Eighty-five consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction (AtvH) were studied in Medical Unit III, Allied Hospital Faisalabad, between June, 1990 and July, 1991, for assessment of in-hospital mortality. There were 67 males and 18 females with a mean age of 54 years. A detailed history was recorded and a complete clinical examination carried out. The diagnosis of AMI was based on the history, ECG findings and raised cardiac enzymes. Two of the three criteria had to be fulfilled. Cardiac monitoring, serial enzymes and ECGs were performed. Eighty-four patients had an electrocardiographic evidence of infarction, one had enzymatic infarction, 65 had Q wave infarction whereas 19 had non-Q wave infarction. The overall in- hospital mortality after AMI was in 14 cases (2 females and 12 males) of which 13 had aQ wave and 1 a non-Q wave infarction which was again more common in females. The mortality rate was higher in patients with cardiogenic shock, inferior wall infarction, arrythmias and patients not receiving streptokinase. The results of this study compare well with other published work.
Current Spectrum of Generalized Peritonitis.Afridi, S., Sultan, S., Ahmad, R. J. Ayub Med.Coll., 1992;5:8-10.
The records of 11 consecutive patients with generalised peritonitis, treated at the surgical units of the District Headquarter Hospital, Abbottabad, were reviewed. Diagnos­tic criteria included free purulent fluid or gastro-intestinal contents in the peritoneal cavity at operation. Broad spectrum antibiotics were used in all cases with the most frequent combination being gentacyn and lincomycin. Chioromycetin was prescribed in typhoid perforations, which were 35 cases from the total of 121. Appendicitis perforations were found in 28 cases, gangrene of the small gut in 18 patients, duodenal ulcer perforation in 16 individuals. There were 73 males and 48 females and the overall mortality was 18 percent with highest figure of 6 being due to typhoid perforations. This was followed by 2 deaths in the appendicitis group and 5 in the gut gangrene cases. A similar pattern was found in a series by Khanna and Misra from Varanasi, India. The studies from developed countries show a high figure of peritonitis in appendicitis perforations followed by peptic ulcers with an overall mortal­ity of 8 percent. The studies from the third world portrayed the impor­tance of infection and infestation whereas the developed world had penetrating trauma, appendicitis and peptic ulcer perfora­tions as the leading causes of peritonitis.