Disease Spectrum in COVID-19 Cohort with Travel History from Iran

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), declared as a pandemic in March 2020, is an acute respiratory tract illness caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) with clinical manifestations ranging from mild upper respiratory tract symptoms to severe pneumonia. Objectives: To determine the disease spectrum of Covid-19 in a cohort with a travel history from Iran. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study with a retrospective collection of data was conducted at Agha Khan University, Karachi from 15th March to 19th April 2020. One hundred and fifty-five laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19 were recruited from a government quarantine facility. Data were obtained from the Punjab Emergency Services (Rescue 1122) database where a record of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases and quarantined persons is maintained. Study subjects with a travel history to Iran were contacted by telephone to obtain information about demographics, symptoms, and co-morbid conditions.  SPSS version 24 was used to analyze the data. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: Among the returning travelers, 213 had laboratory-confirmed Covid-19, out of which 155 were included in this study. 56.1% were males with a mean age of 40 years. Among the study participants, 91.6% remained asymptomatic throughout the stay, while 8.4 % became symptomatic. 77.5% of the participants had received BCG vaccination in childhood. Among symptomatic cases 15.4% had asthma and 7.7% had hypertension. The most common clinical manifestation was cough which was present in 38.5% of the study participants. None died among the study participants. Conclusion: A mild presentation of COVID-19 was seen in our study participants with 91.6% among them being asymptomatic, while 8.4% were symptomatic. There was a high positivity rate in males as compared to females.  

Validation of the Higher Education Commission Quality Assurance Indicators Used for Self-Assessment Mechanism at Universities in Punjab Province

The basic objective of the study was to determine the content validation of Higher Education Commission’s quality assurance indicators used for self-assessment of academic programs at universities in Pakistan. The recommendations of the study are helpful for HEC, university authorities, teachers, students and policy-making institutions to assure quality of higher education. University teachers of various levels were considered as experts for content validation of quality assurance indicators. One hundred sixty university teachers from eight public sector universities from Punjab province were randomly selected for content validation of quality assurance indicators. The rating scales concerning HEC quality assurance indicators; Employers’ input on quality of education, Faculty members’ satisfaction level, Graduating students’ input on quality of education and Alumni input on quality of education were administered to the experts for its content validation. Quantitative data were analyzed by calculating percentage, mean value, and standard deviation. Qualitative data were analyzed by identifying themes. Demographic variations were measured by applying ANOVA. Resultantly the present study determined HEC quality assurance indicators. It was noted that majority of the experts restated and gave comments on stated indicators. The results confirmed that the procedure of content validation of indicators is indispensable for the development of self-assessment scales for effective quality determination. It is recommended that quality of education may be enhanced through effective self-assessment mechanism which stays alive based on validated quality assurance indicators. Further it is recommended that content validation on remaining Higher Education Commission’s quality assurance indicators may be determined.