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INTRODUCTION: Intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs) comprise 5% to 30% of all strokes with a case fatality rate of 30% to 50%. With an increasing elderly population, nontraumatic ICH is likely to present as a recurring medical emergency in Pakistan. There is scarce documentation in Pakistan regarding the predictors for mortality in patients with ICH that can guide physicians in their management. We conducted a hospital-based study to determine the predictors of in-hospital mortality from ICH in patients admitted to a tertiary care facility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed case records of patients above 17 years admitted to The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, between July 1995 and December 1997, with the primary diagnosis of ICH confirmed on computed tomography scanning. Clinical and risk factors were also evaluated. RESULTS: The data of 221 patients was analyzed. Seventy-one (32%) patients died during hospital stay, half of whom died during the first 2 days of hospitalization. Patients who died during hospital stay were more likely on admission to have intraventricular extension of the primary hemorrhage (odds ratio = 10.6, P < .01), a Glasgow Coma Score less than 12 on admission (odds ratio = 4.8, P < .01), and a systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 180 mm Hg (odds ratio = 2.7, P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that Glasgow Coma Score and intraventricular extension are predictors of acute mortality, consistent with published results. Elevated systolic blood pressure at admission, also found to be a predictor of acute mortality from ICH, may be explained alternatively by internal and external stroke-induced stress factors. The actual mechanisms for high admission systolic blood pressure remain unclear.
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OBJECTIVE: Occupational hearing loss is common in the industrialized world. Road noise is a major contributor to perceived environmental noise. The objective of this study was to assess hearing loss in rickshaw drivers due to rickshaw noise. METHODS: Hearing loss in rickshaw drivers and taxi drivers of Karachi who were 50 years of age or younger was estimated, with a Smith Hearing Screening (SHS) questionnaire that was modified, translated into the national language, Urdu and field tested prior to administration. RESULTS: Interviews for 91 rickshaw drivers and 94 taxi drivers were completed. All subjects were male; mean ages were 34 and 33 years for rickshaw and taxi drivers respectively. None of the rickshaws were fitted with silencers. Rickshaw drivers were about thrice as likely to be screened as hearing impaired by the SHS questionnaire (RR 2.9, 95% confidence interval 1.6, 5.0), twice as likely to report tinnitus (RR 2.2, 95% confidence interval, 1.1, 3.3) and two and a half times as likely to have difficulty in following telephonic conversations (RR 2.4, 95% confidence interval 1.2, 4.8). CONCLUSION: There is loss of hearing and tinnitus among rickshaw drivers that could be attributed to their trade. Use of silencers by rickshaw drivers could result in less hearing loss among rickshaw drivers and less noise in the environment for the other 11 million residents in the city.