INTRODUCTION: This study focuses on sexual harassment, a form of psycological hazard that female registered nurses face throughout their day to day routine. The objective of this study is to find the prevalence of sexual harassment among female registered nurses working in government hospitals in Melaka, Malaysia and factors affecting them.
METHODS: This is a cross sectional study conducted on 455 female registered nurses who have worked more than one year in the present 3 government hospitals in Melaka, Malaysia. A validated and pre tested questionnaires were given for the respondents to answer. Before respondents answer the questionaires, they are required to read the definition and the forms of sexual harassment provided. This is to help them to understand the correct definition and forms of sexual harassment that they could have experienced. The researcher is available during the distribution of the questionnaires and the respondents are free to ask the researcher anything that they do not understand about it.
RESULTS: The results of this study show that the prevalence of sexual harassment among these nurses was 51.2% with the past one year incidence recorded at 22.8%. The most common forms of sexual harassment were verbal (46.6% ), visual (24.8% ), psycological (20.9%), physical (20.7%) and non -verbal (16.7% ). The study showed that 74.7% of the victims suffered from psychological effects brought upon by their encounter with various types of sexual harrasement at work. The study also found that the victims' self-perception of their physicality was a contributing factor to the prevalance of this situation. Those who were pretty, with attractive body figure, a friendly character and easy going had a higher prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace. Meanwhile, those who were strict, and those who had a fierce character were not prone to sexual harassment.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of sexual harassment among registered nurses in the workplace found in this study was high and self-perception profile of the victims of sexual harassment was the main contributing factor to the problem. Sexual harassment in the workplace should not be taken lightly because the resulting effects was not only felt by the victims, but also by their family members, colleagues and patients under their care. Hence, steps should be taken by the hospital managements to manage and prevent this problem from occuring again in the future.
MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies; Government; Humans; Malaysia; Surveys and Questionnaires*; Prevalence; Sexual Harassment*
All around the world, there is growing evidence of the association between psoriasis and comorbidities which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. This study aims to determine the prevalence of various comorbidities among adult psoriasis patients in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients in the Malaysian Psoriasis Registry from January 2007 to December 2008. A total of 2,267 adult patients with psoriasis from 13 dermatology centers were included. Prevalence of various comorbidities were: hypertension 25.9%, diabetes mellitus 17.7 %, dyslipidaemia 17.8%, overweight 33.2%, obesity 20.7%, ischaemic heart disease 5.8% and cerebrovascular disease 1.4%. These comorbidities were more prevalent in patients with psoriasis of late-onset and longer duration. Active screening of these comorbidities in all adult psoriasis patients is recommended.
Dysphagia is considered a warning symptom that requires exclusion of significant pathology such as oesophageal cancer, especially in elderly patients. Benign neoplasms of the oesophagus are rare. We report the case of a 69-year-old lady who presented with a five years history of infrequent intermittent dysphagia that had rapidly progressed over one month. This was associated with globus sensation, weight loss, intermittent episodes of stridor and aspiration pneumonia. Investigations revealed a large oesophageal lipoma in the proximal oesophagus extending down to the lower oesophagus. This was successfully resected via a left cervical approach. She remained well two years after the surgery.
Amebic liver abscess is the most common extraintestinal manifestation of infection with Entamoeba histolytica. It is a common disease, especially in endemic areas, but it is a rare cause of inferior vena cava (IVC) obstruction, with only a few cases appearing in the literature. The authors describe a case of amebic liver abscess in a patient who developed a rare vascular complication of inferior vena cava thrombosis. The case responded to conservative treatment and radiological intervention.
We report a case of an inflammatory pseudotumour (IP) involving the floor of the skull base, which demonstrated aggressive behavior both clinically and radiologically. In this case, the diagnosis was established by clinical presentation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), histopathological examination (HPE) and the dramatic response towards high dose steroid therapy. The clinical features improved with oral cyclophosphamide in combination with oral steroid, which were given for a period of three months.
Varicella-zoster (chickenpox) infection is a common infectious disease and generally considered to be selflimiting. However, severe bacterial complications associated with the disease have been reported. We describe a case of varicella-zoster infection with secondary Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, preseptal orbital cellulitis and extensive facial abscesses. She was aggressively treated with intravenous antibiotics and repeated surgical drainage, and eventually made good recovery.
Teratomas arising from the palate or pharynx may cause immediate life-threatening airway obstruction to the newborn. Early diagnosis via antenatal ultrasound enables the treating team to perform an ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedure to secure an airway and perform subsequent tumour resection. We present the first EXIT procedure done in Malaysia. A 34 year old , gravida 4, para 3, her unborn child diagnosed at 24 weeks of gestation to have a large oropharyngeal mass. Upper airway obstruction was anticipated. Orchestration of multiple specialities was executed to properly plan and perform the EXIT procedure. The fetus was delivered at 33 weeks of gestation and managed to be intubated. The extraoral portion of the multilobular mass originating from the palate was resected. Complete resection of the intraoral teratoma was successfully done at day 22 of life.
Adult onset still's disease usually presents with high grade intermittent fever, polyarthritis, salmon pink evanescent rash and hepatosplenomegaly. Pulmonary involvement in the form of pneumonitis, as a presenting feature is very rare. We report a case of a young lady who presented with fever, cough and respiratory distress. Chest X-ray revealed patchy infiltration in left upper lung zone. She was subsequently diagnosed as Adult onset Still's disease. There was no improvement in clinical condition despite five days of antibiotics. On trans-bronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) proved she had interstitial pneumonitis and responded dramatically to steroid treatment.
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a live attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis that has been used as effective treatment for early-stage transitional carcinoma of the urinary bladder. We present a case of a 68 year old man who had an abdominal aortic aneurysm following BCG therapy for bladder cancer. Contrast enhanced computerized tomogram (CECT) of abdomen and pelvis revealed bilateral hypodense lesions suggestive of psoas abscesses. In addition, a saccular abdominal aortic aneurysm measuring 4x3.6 cm involving infrarenal aorta with surrounding hematoma was seen. At surgery, he was found to have a psoas abscess and hemorrhage. He underwent ligation of the aorta and an axillary-bifemoral bypass. He was given one year of anti-tubercular therapy to which he responded clinically.
Spontaneous intramural oesophageal haematoma is a rare disease and presents with the classic triad of symptoms of chest pain, dysphagia and haematemesis. Flexible oesophagoscopy and contrast enhanced CT scan is helpful in the diagnosis and also to exclude other sinister pathologies. Most are managed conservatively and the patient we report also was managed conservatively with a successful outcome.
A report of a patient with Lazarus phenomenon (the return of spontaneous circulation after cardiopulmonary resuscitation) following cardiac arrest (myocardium ischemia) is presented. A 65 year patient was found unconscious at home. He taken to the emergency department On arrival he was unconscious, his pupils fixed and dilated bilaterally. Resuscitation proceeded for 55 minutes. He was then pronounced dead. Forty minutes later spontaneous breathing was noted and his blood pressure was 110/48 and heart rate 90bpm. He survived a further 13 days in the coronary care unit. The implications for management of cardiac arrest in the emergency and medical department are discussed.
There is increasing consumption of exotic food in Malaysia. Animals such as insects, worms and wild life animals also form part of the staple food of the local population. This practice may lead to more incidence of food allergy and anaphylaxis. We report a non-indigenous man who developed food anaphylaxis after consuming fried sago worms and consequently Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. We postulate that certain food allergy and anaphylaxis could be another causative trigger for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
A 65 year old male smoker was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of upper lobe of the right lung complicated with Horner's syndrome and gradually increasing leucocytosis. Alhough the inflammatory biomarker level in serum was low, there was no definite way to determine the cause of the leucocytosis (whether infection or hematologic paraneoplastic syndrome). After empirical antibiotic therapy, his fever subsided but the leucocytosis persisted. It was difficult for us to take a decision regarding the priority of the treatment of infection or the lung cancer. Only after the first cycle chemotherapy, did the leucocytosis rapidly drop down. Normal serum procalcitonin level and quick response to chemotherapy indicated that leucocytosis was a manifestation of paraneoplastic syndrome. Treating the underlying cancer is the first step.
Epiglottic abscess is rare sequelae of acute epiglottitis. It occurs commonly in adult although acute epiglottitis commonly occur in children. The presentation includes fever with odynophagia. The diagnosis is based on high index of suspicion especially when oral examinations reveal normal findings. We report a case of adult epiglottic abscess which was treated with incision and drainage. The outline of management was discussed.
The escalating problem of opiate dependence in Malaysia and the limitations of regimental approach of forced admission to rehabilitation centres had triggered the government to expand the methadone maintenance therapy to become a national programme. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term outcomes of the Methadone Maintenance Therapy programme in one of the busiest hospital in east coast Malaysia. We also explored the prevalence on non-compliance and factors associated to it. A total of 172 patient case notes at Methadone Clinic Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA) were retrieved for relevant data. A short survey was also conducted to determine the subjects' current employment and marital status. The programme's retention rate was 62% and factors associated with poor compliance were unemployment, low quality of life scores and low dose of methadone. A special attention on the patients with these three risk factors may improve their compliance to MMT. The short-term evaluation of MMT at HTAA revealed favourable findings.
Study site: Psychiatric clinic, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
OBJECTIVES: Alpha thalassaemia is wide spread in Malaysia and is a public health problem. This study aimed to describe the carrier frequencies of α‒thalassaemia and its distribution among major ethnic groups in three states of Malaysia.
METHODS: Educational forums were organised and study was explained to students from three schools. Students were invited to take part in the screening with parent consent. A total of 8420 adolescent students aged 16 years volunteered to participate in the study. Peripheral blood samples were analysed for complete blood counts, haemoglobin quantification and typing, and serum ferritin levels. Genomic DNA was used for screening alpha thalassaemia alleles by PCR based molecular methods.
RESULTS: We identified seven α‒globin gene defects in 341 (4.08%) students: amongst them α(+)‒ and α(0)‒thalassaemias were detected in 232 (2.77%) and 107 (1.28%) students respectively. Genotype ‒α(3.7)/αα was the most prevalent among sub-populations of Malay, indigenous communities of Sahab and Indian, while ‒‒(SEA)/αα deletion is more prevalent in Malaysian Chinese. It is estimated that 63 pregnancies annually are at risk of Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis.
CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated the prevalence and mutation patterns of α‒thalassaemia in the 16 year olds in three states of Malaysia. High α(0)‒thalassaemia deletions amongst the study subjects place these carriers at an increased risk of conceiving fetuses with HbH disease and Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis should they choose another heterozygous partner. It is therefore highly recommended to institute community screening programmes and provide prospective carriers with genetic counselling to help them make informed choices.