Novel outbreaks with COVID-19 can cause multiple systemic manifestations, including autoimmune di... more Novel outbreaks with COVID-19 can cause multiple systemic manifestations, including autoimmune disease. Among all the infections, respiratory complications are the most apparent symptoms. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy often related to previous infectious exposure. GBS emerged as a potentially severe complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since its declaration as a global pandemic. We report the first case of COVID-19-induced acute motor axonal neuropathy variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) from New York, USA. Our patient was a 66-year-old woman who had recently tested positive for COVID-19 and presented with bilateral upper and lower extremity weakness. Electromyogram studies showed acute demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. She was diagnosed with an acute motor axonal neuropathy variant of GBS. She was successfully treated with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) with marked improvement. In six months, she regained her strength back to normal. Whether GBS incidence in COVID-positive patients is based on molecular mimicry or antiganglioside antibodies is unclear. Physicians should be aware of GBS as a potentially serious complication associated with COVID-19. Further investigations and trials should be conducted better to understand the mechanism of GBS in patients of COVID-19.
Objective: To examine the relationship between asthmatic pregnancies and selected maternal and ne... more Objective: To examine the relationship between asthmatic pregnancies and selected maternal and neonatal outcomes in a representative cohort. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital during the year 2004. A random selection was made of 65 asthmatic and 63 non-asthmatic singleton births. The neonatal outcomes studied were birth weight, premature birth and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes. The maternal outcomes studied were number of hospital admissions, and number of documented UTI during the studied pregnancy and past history of abortions and stillbirths. Results: The mean age of asthmatics and nonasthmatics were 28.0±4.9 years and 27.7±3.6 years respectively. The average parity among asthmatic women was 2.97 while that in controls was 2.57 (p< 0.137). Neonates born to asthmatic mothers had shorter mean gestational age with increased risk of premature birth and lower Apgar scores. Asthmatic mothers had a greater risk of abortions and low birth weight babies. They also had higher rates of UTI's and hospital admissions. Conclusion: Asthmatic pregnancies are more likely to result in abortion, premature delivery and low birth weight babies. The asthmatic pregnancies were also linked with higher rates of maternal UTI. Therefore a more vigilant monitoring is required in asthmatic pregnancies.
Novel outbreaks with COVID-19 can cause multiple systemic manifestations, including autoimmune di... more Novel outbreaks with COVID-19 can cause multiple systemic manifestations, including autoimmune disease. Among all the infections, respiratory complications are the most apparent symptoms. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy often related to previous infectious exposure. GBS emerged as a potentially severe complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since its declaration as a global pandemic. We report the first case of COVID-19-induced acute motor axonal neuropathy variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) from New York, USA. Our patient was a 66-year-old woman who had recently tested positive for COVID-19 and presented with bilateral upper and lower extremity weakness. Electromyogram studies showed acute demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. She was diagnosed with an acute motor axonal neuropathy variant of GBS. She was successfully treated with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) with marked improvement. In six months, she regained her strength back to normal. Whether GBS incidence in COVID-positive patients is based on molecular mimicry or antiganglioside antibodies is unclear. Physicians should be aware of GBS as a potentially serious complication associated with COVID-19. Further investigations and trials should be conducted better to understand the mechanism of GBS in patients of COVID-19.
Objective: To examine the relationship between asthmatic pregnancies and selected maternal and ne... more Objective: To examine the relationship between asthmatic pregnancies and selected maternal and neonatal outcomes in a representative cohort. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital during the year 2004. A random selection was made of 65 asthmatic and 63 non-asthmatic singleton births. The neonatal outcomes studied were birth weight, premature birth and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes. The maternal outcomes studied were number of hospital admissions, and number of documented UTI during the studied pregnancy and past history of abortions and stillbirths. Results: The mean age of asthmatics and nonasthmatics were 28.0±4.9 years and 27.7±3.6 years respectively. The average parity among asthmatic women was 2.97 while that in controls was 2.57 (p< 0.137). Neonates born to asthmatic mothers had shorter mean gestational age with increased risk of premature birth and lower Apgar scores. Asthmatic mothers had a greater risk of abortions and low birth weight babies. They also had higher rates of UTI's and hospital admissions. Conclusion: Asthmatic pregnancies are more likely to result in abortion, premature delivery and low birth weight babies. The asthmatic pregnancies were also linked with higher rates of maternal UTI. Therefore a more vigilant monitoring is required in asthmatic pregnancies.
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Papers by Zaheer Qureshi