Methods: Brugian and bancroftian filariasis among 484 migrant workers from six countries were investigated using rapid tests based on detection of specific IgG4 antibodies against BmR1 (Brugia Rapid) and BmSXP recombinant antigens.
Results: The seroprevalence of brugian filariasis was very low; however, bancroftian filariasis was notable among workers from India, Nepal and Myanmar.
Conclusion: Malaysia is not endemic for Wuchereria bancrofti, but harbors the vectors for the parasite, thus the results showed that migrant workers should be monitored for this infection.
RESULTS: The floatation of spike balls created a turbulent flow, thereby inhibiting further biofilm formation. The parameters such as, specific growth rate and doubling time of the algae before introducing the balls were 0.451 day-1 and 1.5 days respectively. Visible biofilm impeding light transmission was formed by 15-20 days. The removal of the biofilm commenced immediately after the introduction of the spike balls with visibly reduced deposits in 3 days. This was also validated by enhance cell count (6.95 × 106 cells mL-1) in the medium. The employment of spike balls in PBR is an environmental friendly and economical method for the removal of biofilm.
METHODS: Seventy-three consecutive patients who required antenatal corticosteroids for either preterm labour or prelabour caesarean section were recruited and given a standard course of 12mg dexamethasone phosphate, twelve hours apart. Venous blood samples were taken before administration, at six hours and 36 hours after the first dose of dexamethasone.
RESULTS: The total white count trend was 10.31±2.62 at baseline, 11.44±3.05 at six hours and 12.20±3.49 at 36 hours. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was 3.60±1.31, 8.73±3.63 and 3.24±1.49 respectively, reflecting relative neutrophilia and lymphopenia which normalised by 36 hours.
CONCLUSION: In contrast to previous studies, we found only a slight increment in total white cell count of about 10%. The marginal changes described in our study would not normally raise any clinical concern, although vigilance should be exercised if higher levels were observed.
OBJECTIVE: To validate the Malay version of the DASS-21 (Malay-DASS-21) among male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor.
METHODS: A validation study with a random sample of 402 male respondents attending the outpatient clinic of a major public outpatient clinic in Johor Bahru and Segamat was carried out from January to March 2016. Construct validity of the Malay-DASS-21 was examined using Exploratory Factor Analysis (KMO = 0.947; Bartlett's test of sphericity is significant, p<0.001) through Principal Component Analysis and orthogonal (varimax) rotation with Kaiser Normalization to confirm the psychometric properties of the Malay-DASS- 21 and the internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha.
RESULTS: Construct validity of the Malay-DASS-21 based on eigenvalues and factor loadings to confirm the three factor structure (depression, anxiety, and stress) was acceptable. The internal consistency reliability of the factor construct was very impressive with Cronbach's alpha values in the range of 0.837 to 0.863.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that the Malay- DASS-21 has acceptable psychometric construct and high internal consistency reliability to measure self-perceived depression, anxiety and stress over the past week in male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor. Further studies are necessary to revalidate the Malay-DASS-21 across different populations and cultures, and using confirmatory factor analyses.
METHODS: A series of searches were conducted of Medline databases published in English between January 2000 and January 2017 with the following keywords: medical ethics, syllabus, Islam, jurisprudence.
RESULTS: Islamic medical jurisprudence is gaining more attention in some medical schools. However, there is still lack of an organised syllabus in many medical colleges.
CONCLUSION: The outlines of a syllabus in Islamic medical jurisprudence including Islamic values and moral principles related to both the practice and research of medicine are explored.
METHOD: Between November 2009 and July 2010, outpatients from 45 countries who met the criteria for stable CAD were recruited into the registry. Baseline characteristics were documented at enrolment, and patients were reassessed during their annual visits over a five-year follow-up period. Key outcomes measured were sudden death and cardiovascular (CV) death, non-CV death and CV morbidity.
RESULTS: At baseline, 33,283 patients were available for analysis within the registry; 380 and 27 were Malaysians and Bruneians, respectively. The mean ages of Malaysian/Bruneian patients and the rest of the world (RoW) were 57.83 ±9.98 years and 64.23 ± 10.46 years, respectively (p<0.001). The median body mass index values were 26.6 (24.4-29.6) kg/m2 and 27.3 (24.8-30.3) kg/m2, respectively (p=0.014). Malaysian/Bruneian patients had lower rates of myocardial infarction (54.55% versus 59.76%, p=0.033) and higher rates of diabetes (43.24% versus 28.99%, p<0.001) and dyslipidaemia (90.42% versus 74.66%, p<0.001) compared with the RoW. Measured clinical outcomes in Malaysian and Bruneian patients at 2-years follow-up were low and generally comparable to the RoW.
CONCLUSION: Malaysian/Bruneian patients with stable CAD tend to be younger with poorer diabetic control compared with the RoW. However, they had similar outcomes as the main registry following two years of treatment.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis, Malaysia from August 2015 to April 2016. FEV1/FEV6 and FEV1/FVC results of 117 subjects were analysed. Demographic data and spirometric variables were tabulated. A scatter plot graph with Spearman's correlation was constructed for the correlation between FEV1/FEV6 and FEV1/FVC. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of FEV1/FEV6 were determined with reference to the gold standard of FEV1/FVC ratio <0.70. Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and Kappa statistics were used to determine the FEV1/FEV6 ratio in predicting an FEV1/FVC ratio <0.70.
RESULTS: Spearman's correlation with r = 0.636 (P<0.001) was demonstrated. The area under the ROC curve was 0.862 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.779 - 0.944, P<0.001). The FEV1/FEV6 cut-off with the greatest sum of sensitivity and specificity was 0.75. FEV1/FEV6 sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 93.02%, 67.74%, 88.89% and 77.78% respectively. There was substantial agreement between the two diagnostic cut-offs (κ = 0.634; 95% CI: 0.471 - 0.797, P<0.001) CONCLUSIONS: The FEV1/FEV6 ratio can be considered to be a good alternative to the FEV1/FVC ratio for screening of COPD. Larger multicentre study and better education on spirometric techniques can validate similar study outcome and establish reference values appropriate to the population being studied.
METHOD: This research was carried out on a sample of 263 participants (age range 12-24 years old), from Klang Valley, Selangor. The survey package comprises demographic information, a measure of reasons for living, social support, depression, anxiety and stress. To analyse the data, correlation analysis and a series of linear multiple regression analysis were carried out.
RESULTS: Findings showed that there were low negative relationships between all subdomains and the total score of reasons for living and depression. There were also low negative relationships between domain-specific of social support (family and friends) and total social support and depression. In terms of the family alliance, self-acceptance and total score of reasons for living, they were negatively associated with anxiety, whereas family social support was negatively associated with stress. The linear regression analysis showed that only future optimism and family social support found to be the significant predictors for depression. Family alliance and total reasons for living were significant in predicting anxiety, whereas family social support was significant in predicting stress.
CONCLUSION: These findings have the potential to promote awareness related to depression, anxiety, and stress among youth in Malaysia.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out from April 2012 till September 2012 among 16-year-old school adolescents from two different schools. They were selected through simple random sampling and these adolescents answered a self-administered questionnaire consisting of three sections i.e. socio-demography, risk-taking behaviours and family-adolescents relationship. Data were analysed using Pearson Chi-Square test while Simple Logistic Regression and Multiple Logistic Regression were applied to determine the predictive factors.
RESULTS: The prevalence of sexual practices among the adolescents was 30.1% in which they were either involved in pornography (26.8%), pre-sexual activities (8.5%) or premarital sex (2.9%). Six predictive factors associated with sexual practices among this age group were identified which were male (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 2.7, 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) 1.4 to 2.5), truancy (aOR 2.3, 95%CI 1.3 to 4.2), bully (aOR 3.5, 95%CI 1.7 to 7.3), hanging out (aOR 2.8, 95% 1.4 to 5.6), staying out late (aOR 3.2, 95%CI 1.5 to 6.8) and conflict with family (aOR 4.1, 95%CI 1.9 to 8.9).
DISCUSSION: Asian background differs from the western countries and findings of this study may suggest suitable intervention programmes that can prevent high-risk sexual practices among Asian school-going adolescents.