Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34593053›Full record

ArticleGlobal health research and policy2021

Are doctors protected enough during COVID-19 in South Asia?

Nadia Nazir Jatoi, Saniya Ahmad, Emad Ud-Din Sajid, Farah Yasmin, Muhammad Sohaib Asghar, Syed Ali Farhan, Bushra Zafar Sayeed, Momina Mariam Marufi, Kaneez Fatima, Syed Faisal Mahmood

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Article in Global health research and policy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Nadia Nazir JatoiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Doctor Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74200, Pakistan.
Saniya AhmadDepartment of Internal Medicine, Doctor Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74200, Pakistan.
Emad Ud-Din SajidDepartment of Internal Medicine, Doctor Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74200, Pakistan.
Farah YasminDepartment of Internal Medicine, Doctor Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74200, Pakistan.
Muhammad Sohaib AsgharDepartment of Internal Medicine, Dow Ojha University Hospital, Suparco Road, KDA Scheme 33, Karachi, Sindh, 75300, Pakistan.
Syed Ali FarhanDepartment of Surgery, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74200, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0003-0461-0060
Bushra Zafar SayeedDepartment of Internal Medicine, Doctor Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74200, Pakistan.
Momina Mariam MarufiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Doctor Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74200, Pakistan.
Kaneez FatimaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Doctor Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74200, Pakistan.
Syed Faisal MahmoodDivision of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Agha Khan University Hospital, National Stadium Road, Karachi, Sindh, 74800, Pakistan. faisal.mahmood@aku.edu.
Dow University of Health Sciences · PKAga Khan University Hospital · PK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe highly contagious nature of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) places physicians in South Asia at high risk of contracting the infection. Accordingly, we conducted this study to provide an updated account of physician deaths in South Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyze and compare the different characteristics associated with physician mortality amongst the countries of the region.

methodsWe performed a cross-sectional study by using published news reports on the websites of news agencies from 9 selected countries in South Asia. Our study included only those physicians and doctors who died after contracting COVID-19 from their respective workplaces. All available data about the country of origin, type of, sex, age, medical or surgical specialty, and date of death were included.

resultsThe total number of physician deaths reported due to COVID-19 in our study was 170, with half (87/170, 51%) of the deaths reported from Iran. Male physician deaths were reported to be 145 (145/170 = 85%). Internal Medicine (58.43%) was the most severely affected sub-specialty. The highest physician mortality rate in the general population recorded in Afghanistan (27/1000 deaths). General physicians from India [OR = 11.00(95% CI = 1.06-114.08), p = 0.045] and public sector medical practitioners from Pakistan [aOR = 4.52 (95% CI = 1.18-17.33), p = 0.028] were showing significant mortality when compared with other regions in multivariate logistic regression.

conclusionAn increased number of physician deaths, owing to COVID-19, has been shown in South Asia. This could be due to decreased personal protective equipment and the poor health care management systems of the countries in the region to combat the pandemic. Future studies should provide detailed information of characteristics associated with physician mortalities along with the main complications arising due to the virus.

Indexed as

MortalityAdultAfghanistanAgedBangladeshBhutanCOVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGlobal HealthHumansIndiaIndian Ocean IslandsIranMaleMiddle Aged

Identifiers

PMID34593053
PMCPMC8481110
OpenAlexW3203519032

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.