Browse publications by year: 2012

Fulltext Burkholderia pseudomallei kills Caenorhabditis elegans through virulence mechanisms distinct from intestinal lumen colonization

Ooi SK, Lim TY, Lee SH, Nathan S

Virulence, 2012 Oct 01;3(6):485-96.
PMID: 23076282 DOI: 10.4161/viru.21808

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is hypersusceptible to Burkholderia pseudomallei infection. However, the virulence mechanisms underlying rapid lethality of C. elegans upon B. pseudomallei infection remain poorly defined. To probe the host-pathogen interaction, we constructed GFP-tagged B. pseudomallei and followed bacterial accumulation within the C. elegans intestinal lumen. Contrary to slow-killing by most bacterial pathogens, B. pseudomallei caused fairly limited intestinal lumen colonization throughout the period of observation. Using grinder-defective mutant worms that allow the entry of intact bacteria also did not result in full intestinal lumen colonization. In addition, we observed a significant decline in C. elegans defecation and pharyngeal pumping rates upon B. pseudomallei infection. The decline in defecation rates ruled out the contribution of defecation to the limited B. pseudomallei colonization. We also demonstrated that the limited intestinal lumen colonization was not attributed to slowed host feeding as bacterial loads did not change significantly when feeding was stimulated by exogenous serotonin. Both these observations confirm that B. pseudomallei is a poor colonizer of the C. elegans intestine. To explore the possibility of toxin-mediated killing, we examined the transcription of the C. elegans ABC transporter gene, pgp-5, upon B. pseudomallei infection of the ppgp-5::gfp reporter strain. Expression of pgp-5 was highly induced, notably in the pharynx and intestine, compared with Escherichia coli-fed worms, suggesting that the host actively thwarted the pathogenic assaults during infection. Collectively, our findings propose that B. pseudomallei specifically and continuously secretes toxins to overcome C. elegans immune responses.

MeSH terms: Animals; Bacterial Toxins/immunology; Bacterial Toxins/metabolism*; Escherichia coli/pathogenicity; Intestines/microbiology; Virulence; Protozoan Proteins/biosynthesis; Protozoan Proteins/genetics; Burkholderia pseudomallei/pathogenicity*; Caenorhabditis elegans/immunology*; Caenorhabditis elegans/microbiology; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters/biosynthesis; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters/genetics*; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters/metabolism; Burkholderia Infections/immunology*; Burkholderia Infections/pathology; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/biosynthesis; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/genetics*; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/metabolism; RNA Interference; RNA, Small Interfering; Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics; Host-Pathogen Interactions
Long-term nasogastric tube feeding in elderly stroke patients--an assessment of nutritional adequacy and attitudes to gastrostomy feeding in Asians

Zaherah Mohamed Shah F, Suraiya HS, Poi PJ, Tan KS, Lai PS, Ramakrishnan K, et al.

J Nutr Health Aging, 2012 Aug;16(8):701-6.
PMID: 23076512 DOI: 10.1007/s12603-012-0027-y

BACKGROUND: Gastrostomy feeding is superior to long-term nasogastric (NG) feeding in patients with dysphagic stroke, but this practice remains uncommon in Asia. We sought to examine the nutritional adequacy of patients on long term NG feeding and identify barriers to gastrostomy feeding in these patients.
METHODOLOGY: A prospective comparison of subjective global assessment (SGA), and anthropometry (mid-arm muscle circumference, MAMC; triceps skinfold thickness, TST) between elderly stroke patients on long-term NG feeding and matched controls was performed. Selected clinicians and carers of patients were interviewed to assess their knowledge and attitudes to gastrostomy feeding.
RESULTS: 140 patients (70 NG, 70 oral) were recruited between September 2010 and February 2011. Nutritional status was poorer in the NG compared to the oral group (SGA grade C 38.6% NG vs 0% oral, p<0.001; TST males 10.7 + 3.7 mm NG vs 15.4 + 4.6 mm oral, p<0.001; MAMCmales 187.9 + 40.4 mm NG vs 228.7 + 31.8 mm oral, p<0.001). 45 (64.3%) patients on long-term NG feeding reported complications, mainly consisting of dislodgement (50.5%), aspiration of feed content (8.6%) and trauma from insertion (4.3%). Among 20 clinicians from relevant speciliaties who were interviewed, only 11 (55%) clinicians would routinely recommend a PEG. All neurologists (100%) would recommend a PEG, whilst the response was mixed among non-neurologists. Among carers, lack of information (47.1%) was the commonest reason stated for not choosing a PEG.
CONCLUSION: Elderly patients with stroke on long term NG feeding have a poor nutritional status. Lack of recommendation by clinicians appears to be a major barrier to PEG feeding in these patients.

MeSH terms: Academic Medical Centers; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Deglutition Disorders/etiology*; Female; Humans; Intubation, Gastrointestinal; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Neurology; Nutritional Status; Practice Patterns, Physicians'; Prospective Studies; Time Factors; Stroke/ethnology; Stroke/physiopathology*; Stroke/psychology
Complications of chronic suppurative otitis media: a left otogenic brain abscess and a right mastoid fistula

Chew YK, Cheong JP, Khir A, Brito-Mutunayagam S, Prepageran N

Ear Nose Throat J, 2012 Oct;91(10):428, 430.
PMID: 23076851

Otogenic brain abscess and postauricular fistula are complications of chronic suppurative otitis media. We describe a rare case of bilateral chronic suppurative otitis media that caused a left temporal lobe abscess and a right mastoid fistula.

MeSH terms: Brain Abscess/diagnosis; Brain Abscess/etiology*; Brain Abscess/therapy; Female; Humans; Mastoid*; Middle Aged; Otitis Media, Suppurative/complications*; Otitis Media, Suppurative/microbiology; Otitis Media, Suppurative/therapy; Proteus Infections/diagnosis; Proteus Infections/etiology*; Proteus Infections/therapy; Proteus mirabilis; Streptococcal Infections/diagnosis; Streptococcal Infections/etiology*; Streptococcal Infections/therapy; Cutaneous Fistula/diagnosis; Cutaneous Fistula/etiology*; Cutaneous Fistula/therapy; Streptococcus milleri Group
Fulltext Stochastic Frontier approach and Data Envelopment Analysis to Total Factor Productivity and efficiency measurement of Bangladeshi rice

Hossain MK, Kamil AA, Baten MA, Mustafa A

PLoS One, 2012;7(10):e46081.
PMID: 23077500 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046081

The objective of this paper is to apply the Translog Stochastic Frontier production model (SFA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate efficiencies over time and the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth rate for Bangladeshi rice crops (Aus, Aman and Boro) throughout the most recent data available comprising the period 1989-2008. Results indicate that technical efficiency was observed as higher for Boro among the three types of rice, but the overall technical efficiency of rice production was found around 50%. Although positive changes exist in TFP for the sample analyzed, the average growth rate of TFP for rice production was estimated at almost the same levels for both Translog SFA with half normal distribution and DEA. Estimated TFP from SFA is forecasted with ARIMA (2, 0, 0) model. ARIMA (1, 0, 0) model is used to forecast TFP of Aman from DEA estimation.

MeSH terms: Bangladesh; Efficiency*; Models, Theoretical; Oryza*; Stochastic Processes*
Fulltext Breast cancer and protein biomarkers

Gam LH

World J Exp Med, 2012 Oct 20;2(5):86-91.
PMID: 24520539 DOI: 10.5493/wjem.v2.i5.86

Breast cancer is a healthcare concern of women worldwide. Despite procedures being available for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of breast cancer, researchers are working intensively on the disease in order to improve the life quality of breast cancer patients. At present, there is no single treatment known to bring a definite cure for breast cancer. One of the possible solutions for combating breast cancer is through identification of reliable protein biomarkers that can be effectively used for early detection, prognosis and treatments of the cancer. Therefore, the task of identification of biomarkers for breast cancer has become the focus of many researchers worldwide.

MeSH terms: Female; Humans; Neoplasms; Prognosis; Quality of Life; Research Personnel; Biomarkers; Early Detection of Cancer
Fulltext Pneumocystis carinii (jirovecii) pneumonia (PCP): the most common opportunistic infection observed in HIV/AIDS cases at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Jamaiah I, Rohela M, Tok EL, Tan CL, Tan WH, Teo WS, et al.

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 2012 Jul;43(4):825-31.
PMID: 23077803

This retrospective study was conducted among 59 HIV/AIDS patients with opportunistic infections admitted to the University Malaya Medical Centre between 2000 and 2009. Fifty-five point nine percent of cases were Chinese, 25.4% were Malays, 11.9% were Indians and 6.8% were of unknown ethnic origin. The male:female ratio was 2.9:1 (44 males and 15 females). The highest prevalence (38.9%) occurred in the 30-39 year old age group. Men comprised 47.7% and women 53.3%; the majority of both were married. The majority of cases were Malaysians (89.8%) and the rest (10.2%) were immigrants. Most of the patients (18.6%) were non-laborers, followed by laborers (11.9%), the unemployed (5.1%) and housewives (3.4%). The most common risk factor was unprotected sexual activity (20.3%). The two most common HIV/AIDS related opportunistic infections were Pneumocystis carinii (jirovecii) pneumonia (PCP) (62.7%) and toxoplasmosis (28.8%). Seventy-two point nine percent of patients had a CD4 count <200 cells/microl and 5.1% had a CD4 count >500 cells/microl. Eleven point nine percent of cases died during study period. A low CD4 count had a greater association with opportunistic infections. Most of the patients presented with fever (44.1%), cough (42.4%) and shortness of breath (28.8%). Detection of the etiologic pathogens aids clinicians in choosing appropriate management strategies.

MeSH terms: Academic Medical Centers/statistics & numerical data*; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/epidemiology; Adult; Aged; Female; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis/epidemiology*; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Health Behavior; HIV Infections/epidemiology*; Comorbidity; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/epidemiology*; Age Distribution; Sex Distribution; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Emigrants and Immigrants/statistics & numerical data
Acute labyrinthitis secondary to aural tick infestation

Shibghatullah AH, Abdullah MK, Pein CJ, Mohamad I

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 2012 Jul;43(4):857-9.
PMID: 23077807

Aural tick usually menisfests as intolerable otalgia. The severity of pain makes the patient to seek early treatment. Other uncommon symptoms include inner ear dyfunctions such as vertigo and tinnitus. The diagnosis is established by clinical examinaion either by otoscopic evidence of the tick itself, or its fecal remnant. We report a case of patient with acute labyrinthitis features with concurent otoscopic findings of tick fecal material.

MeSH terms: Acute Disease; Aged; Female; Humans; Labyrinthitis/etiology*; Labyrinthitis/parasitology*; Tick Infestations/complications; Tick Infestations/diagnosis*
Genetic analysis of saffold virus-Penang in relation to other newly discovered saffold viruses

Voon K, Ng QM, Yu M, Wang LF, Chua KB

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 2012 Jul;43(4):917-26.
PMID: 23077814

Viruses in the family Picornaviridae are classified into nine genera. Within the family Picornaviridae, two species: Encephalomyocarditis virus and Theilovirus, are listed under the genus Cardiovirus. A novel Theilovirus, Saffold virus (SAFV), was first reported in 2007. Since then, numerous SAFV isolates have been detected around the world and genetic recombinations have been reported among them. In 2009, SAFV-Penang was isolated from a febrile child with influenza-like illness in Malaysia. SAFV-Penang is a genotype 3 SAFV. In this study we investigated the genome features of SAFV-Penang to exclude the possibility it is a recombinant variant. SAFV-Penang was found not to be a recombinant variant but to have three unique non-synonymous substitutions, alanine [A689], lysine [K708] and isoleucine [I724] in the VP1 protein.

MeSH terms: DNA, Viral; Genes, Viral; Genotype; Humans; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Theilovirus/classification; Theilovirus/genetics*
Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among blood donors in a teaching hospital in northeastern Malaysia

Haslina MN, Khairiah Y, Zainy DZ, Shafini MY, Rosnah B, Marini R

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 2012 May;43(3):668-73.
PMID: 23077846

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HCV infection and the signal/cutoff (S/CO) value for false reactive, false positive, indeterminate and true positive HCV infection among apparently healthy blood donors in our area. This retrospective study was conducted at the Transfusion Medicine Unit, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia from June 2008 to June 2009. Blood samples were screened for anti-HCV using enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Reactive cases were confirmed by recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA). Sixty-one blood donors were found to be reactive after the first screening test. Twenty-nine blood donors had reactive repeat screening, with only 9 samples being true positives. The S/ CO for false reactive, false positive, indeterminate and true positive anti-HCV samples were 1.02 to 1.45, 1.01 to 2.09, 1.07 to 2.43 and 35.95 to 119.89, respectively. The analysis showed the low incidence of HCV infections among blood donors in our area, however, thorough donor screening and stringent selection criteria are still recommended to eliminate high risk donors to improve our blood transfusion service.

MeSH terms: Blood Donors/statistics & numerical data*; False Negative Reactions; False Positive Reactions; Hepatitis C/diagnosis*; Hepatitis C/epidemiology*; Hospitals, Teaching/statistics & numerical data*; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Malaysia/epidemiology; Mass Screening; Retrospective Studies; Seroepidemiologic Studies
Fulltext Prevalence and predictors of recent illness and injury among the Malaysian population

Paramesarvathy R, Amal NM, Gurpreet K, Tee GH, Karuthan C

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 2012 May;43(3):773-84.
PMID: 23077858

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that injury will be the second leading cause of morbidity of disease burden worldwide by the year 2020. We conducted a community-based survey to determine the prevalence of recent illness and injury, in Malaysia. The survey was a cross sectional population-based household survey conducted using face to face interviews. The information was on self-reported recent illness and injury (SRRII) over the previous 2 weeks. This study was conducted during April - August 2006 and as a part of the third National Health and Morbidity Survey of Malaysia. A total of 56,710 respondents were interviewed with a response rate of 98.2% (55,660/56,710). The overall prevalence of combined SRRII was 23.6%; for injuries the prevalence was 3.1%. The groups with the highest SRRII were children 0-5 years old (31.2%), males (24.3%), Indians (26.9%), those with secondary education level (22.9%), those earning RM 1,000/ month (25.0%) and rural dwellers (25.5%). Age, sex, ethnicity, and locality were significantly associated with SRRII while monthly household income and educational level were marginally associated. On multivariate analysis, age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, income and locality were significantly associated with SRRII. The most common reported recent illness was related to the respiratory system (42.0%). The information obtained from this survey is useful to policy makers in the Ministry of Health to review and strengthen existing health programs.
Study name: National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS-2006)

MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Status*; Health Surveys; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Residence Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors; Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology*; Prevalence; Age Distribution; Sex Distribution; Young Adult
Fulltext Feasibility and acceptability of mobile epilepsy educational system (MEES) for people with epilepsy in Malaysia

Lua PL, Neni WS

Telemed J E Health, 2012 Dec;18(10):777-84.
PMID: 23078181 DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2012.0047

Telemedicine innovations, including short message service (SMS), have been used to address a range of health concerns in a variety of settings. Practical, safe, and cost-effective, this simple tool can also potentially improve patients' understanding toward their own diseases via knowledge enhancement. This study was designed to develop and assess the feasibility and acceptability of an SMS-based epilepsy educational program for epilepsy patients.

MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Ambulatory Care; Epilepsy*; Feasibility Studies; Female; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Patient Education as Topic/methods*; Surveys and Questionnaires; Patient Satisfaction*; Cell Phones*; Young Adult; Text Messaging
Using digital photography to facilitate learning for medical students

Loh KY, Boo NY, Cheong SK

Med Educ, 2012 Nov;46(11):1120-1.
PMID: 23078710 DOI: 10.1111/medu.12043
MeSH terms: Anatomy/education; Education, Medical/methods*; Humans; Learning; Students, Medical
Discrepancy-agreement grading provides feedback on rater judgements

Yusoff MS

Med Educ, 2012 Nov;46(11):1122.
PMID: 23078712 DOI: 10.1111/medu.12057
MeSH terms: Education, Medical/methods; Education, Medical/standards*; Educational Measurement/methods*; Educational Measurement/standards; Feedback; Humans; Observer Variation*
Fulltext Identification of quantitative trait loci for blast resistance in BC₂F₃ and BC₂F5 advanced backcross families of rice

Rahim HA, Bhuiyan MA, Lim LS, Sabu KK, Saad A, Azhar M, et al.

Genet. Mol. Res., 2012;11(3):3277-89.
PMID: 23079822 DOI: 10.4238/2012.September.12.11

Advanced backcross families derived from Oryza sativa cv MR219/O. rufipogon IRGC105491 were utilized for identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for blast resistance using simple sequence repeat markers. Two hundred and sixty-one BC(2)F(3) families were used to construct a linkage map, using 87 markers, which covered 2375.2 cM of 12 rice chromosomes, with a mean density of 27.3 cM. The families were evaluated in a greenhouse for resistance to blast disease caused by pathotypes P7.2 and P5.0 of Magnaporthe oryzae. Five QTLs (qBL5.1, qBL5.2, qBL6.1, qBL8.1, and qBL10.1) for pathotype P5.0 and four QTLs (qBL5.3, qBL5.4, qBL7.1, and qBL8.2) for pathotype P7.2 were identified using the BC(2)F(3) families. Another linkage map was also constructed based on 31 BC(2)F(5) families, using 63 SSR markers, which covered 474.9 cM of 9 rice chromosomes, with a mean density of 8.01 cM. Five suggestive QTLs (qBL11.2, qBL11.3, qBL12.1, qBL12.2, qBL12.3) and one putative QTL (qBL2.1) were identified for pathotype P7.2. Also, seven suggestive QTLs (qBL1.1, qBL2.2, qBL4.1, qBL4.2, qBL5.3, qBL8.3, and qBL11.1) were detected for pathotype P5.0. We conclude that there is a non-race-specific resistance spectrum of O. rufipogon against M. oryzae pathotypes.

MeSH terms: Chromosome Mapping; Crosses, Genetic; Inbreeding*; Genetic Linkage; Plant Diseases/genetics; Plant Diseases/immunology*; Plant Diseases/microbiology; Oryza/genetics*; Oryza/immunology; Oryza/microbiology*; Microsatellite Repeats/genetics; Quantitative Trait, Heritable; Magnaporthe/physiology*; Quantitative Trait Loci/genetics*; Disease Resistance/genetics*
Fulltext Identification of introgressed alien chromosome segments associated with grain quality in Oryza rufipogon x MR219 advanced breeding lines using SSR markers

Fasahat P, Muhammad K, Abdullah A, Wickneswari R

Genet. Mol. Res., 2012;11(3):3534-46.
PMID: 23079848 DOI: 10.4238/2012.September.26.10

A limited backcross procedure was utilized to introgress genes associated with grain quality traits from Oryza rufipogon (Accession No. IRGC 105491), a wild rice from Malaysia, to the cultivated rice O. sativa cv. MR219, a popular high yielding Malaysian rice cultivar. A set of 10 BC(2)F(7) progenies were selected based on the field performance and phenotypic appearance in BC(2)F(5) and BC(2)F(6) generations, which initially started with 266 progenies in the BC(2)F(2) generation. These 10 advanced breeding lines are similar to each other but differ in several important grain quality traits, which can be traced to O. rufipogon introgressions. Phenotyping and genotyping of BC(2)F(7) variants were considered for QTL analysis. The introgressed lines did not show any significant changes compared to the recurrent parent MR219 for the traits grain density and milled rice percentage. All 10 progenies showed significantly higher head rice percentages (70-88%) than the recurrent parent MR219. Variants G13 and G15 had higher amylose contents than MR219. All variants were analyzed using polymorphic SSR markers. Of the 34 SSR markers, only 18 showed introgression from O. rufipogon for chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 11. Graphical genotypes were prepared for each variant, and association between the introgression regions and the traits that increased grain quality was visualized. Based on marker trait association, some of the QTLs are stable across environments and genetic backgrounds and could be used universally.

MeSH terms: Crosses, Genetic*; Genetic Markers; Genotype; Inbreeding*; Polymorphism, Genetic; Oryza/genetics*; Seeds/genetics*; Microsatellite Repeats/genetics*; Chromosomes, Plant/genetics*
Fulltext Modified global and modified linear contrast stretching algorithms: new colour contrast enhancement techniques for microscopic analysis of malaria slide images

Abdul-Nasir AS, Mashor MY, Mohamed Z

Comput Math Methods Med, 2012;2012:637360.
PMID: 23082089 DOI: 10.1155/2012/637360

Malaria is one of the serious global health problem, causing widespread sufferings and deaths in various parts of the world. With the large number of cases diagnosed over the year, early detection and accurate diagnosis which facilitates prompt treatment is an essential requirement to control malaria. For centuries now, manual microscopic examination of blood slide remains the gold standard for malaria diagnosis. However, low contrast of the malaria and variable smears quality are some factors that may influence the accuracy of interpretation by microbiologists. In order to reduce this problem, this paper aims to investigate the performance of the proposed contrast enhancement techniques namely, modified global and modified linear contrast stretching as well as the conventional global and linear contrast stretching that have been applied on malaria images of P. vivax species. The results show that the proposed modified global and modified linear contrast stretching techniques have successfully increased the contrast of the parasites and the infected red blood cells compared to the conventional global and linear contrast stretching. Hence, the resultant images would become useful to microbiologists for identification of various stages and species of malaria.

MeSH terms: Algorithms; Animals; Color; Erythrocytes/parasitology; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Malaria/blood*; Malaria/diagnosis*; Malaria/parasitology; Microbiology; Microscopy/methods; Plasmodium vivax/parasitology; Linear Models; Trophozoites/metabolism
Fulltext Stroke registry--relevance and contributions

Tharakan J

Med J Malaysia, 2012 Jun;67(3):251-2.
PMID: 23082411
MeSH terms: Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Registries*; Stroke/epidemiology*; Stroke/therapy
Fulltext Contemporary surgical management of advanced end stage emphysema: an evidence based review

Sachithanandan A, Badmanaban B

Med J Malaysia, 2012 Jun;67(3):253-8.
PMID: 23082412 MyJurnal

Emphysema is a progressive unrelenting component of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a major source of mortality and morbidity globally. The prevalence of moderate to severe emphysema is approximately 5% in Malaysia and likely to increase in the future. Hence advanced emphysema will emerge as a leading cause of hospital admission and a major consumer of healthcare resources in this country in the future. Patients with advanced disease have a poor quality of life and reduced survival. Medical therapy has been largely ineffective for many patients however certain subgroups have disease amenable to surgical palliation. Effective surgical therapies include lung volume reduction surgery, lung transplantation and bullectomy. This article is a comprehensive evidence based review of the literature evaluating the rationale, efficacy, safety and limitations of surgery for advanced emphysema highlighting the importance of meticulous patient selection and local factors relevant to Malaysia.

MeSH terms: Humans; Pneumonectomy; Pulmonary Emphysema/surgery*; Lung Transplantation; Patient Selection; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive*
Fulltext The use of laboratory and physiological parameters in predicting mortality in sepsis induced hypotension and septic shock patients attending the emergency department

Nik Hisamuddin NAR, Azlan K

Med J Malaysia, 2012 Jun;67(3):259-64.
PMID: 23082413 MyJurnal

In this study, we sought to determine whether laboratory and physiological parameters can be useful in predicting mortality in patients with sepsis-induced hypotension and septic shock.

MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Emergency Service, Hospital; Humans; Hypotension/blood*; Hypotension/etiology; Hypotension/physiopathology; Leukocyte Count; Predictive Value of Tests; Shock, Septic/blood*; Shock, Septic/physiopathology; Biomarkers/blood; Proportional Hazards Models; Sepsis/blood*; Sepsis/complications; Sepsis/physiopathology; Lactic Acid/blood*; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Young Adult
Fulltext Short term outcome of therapeutic hypothermia in term infants with moderate to severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy; the Sungai Buloh experience

See KC, Jamal SJS, Chiam ML

Med J Malaysia, 2012 Jun;67(3):265-8.
PMID: 23082414 MyJurnal

This analysis is a case-series to document the outcome of term newborns with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), enrolled into total body hypothermia therapy, in a tertiary neonatal unit in Malaysia. The method used to achieve total body hypothermia is a novel method using just environmental temperature, without the need of expensive equipment. A total of 17 babies were eligible to be included in this study, from the 1st of January 2010 to the 31st of December 2010. 14 out of 15 babies who had Stage 2 HIE had no neurological deficit at follow-up. All Stage 3 HIE babies passed away. Allowing for the small sample size, we can conclude that total body hypothermia therapy is feasible and is a safe treatment modality for HIE Stage 2 babies in a Malaysian setting, by manipulating environmental temperature to achieve therapeutic hypothermia. Further work is needed to determine the long-term outcome of passive cooling total body hypothermia in Stage 2 HIE babies in Malaysia.

MeSH terms: Female; Humans; Hypothermia, Induced*; Infant, Newborn; Malaysia; Male; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain/therapy*

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