Primary cardiac tumours (PCT) are rare in the paediatric population. They can present in a variety of ways – from being asymptomatic, obstructive with heart failure, strokes, arrhythmias or sudden death. We present a 2-month-old child who was admitted because of heart failure from varying types of arrhythmias and was found on echocardiography to have a large left ventricular tumour. A high clinical suspicion in any infant or child who presents with an unexplained heart murmur, arrhythmias or congestive heart failure should prompt relevant investigations ruling out this entity.
Cellulitis in human following leech bite is rae, many of the case reports were associated with the use of medical leech. We report the first documented case of cellulitis following the bite of land leech (Haemodipsa species), known locally as 'pacat', in a 2 month-old-baby. The baby developed fever but subsided following an antibiotic cover. The baby had uneventful stay in the hospital and the cellulitis was successfully treated following a week cource of Cloxacillin.
Congenital pneumonia is one of the common causes of respiratory distress at birth with significant morbidity and mortality in infants. Estimates show that neonatal pneumonia including congenital pneumonia contributes to between 750 000 and 1.2 million neonatal deaths every year which accounts for 10% global child mortality. Etiological agents are many and vary but atypical bacterial causes are few. The commonest cause for atypical bacteria is Ureaplasma urealyticum. Congenital pneumonia is often clinically difficult to diagnose owing to poor specificity of clinical signs, with similarities in radiologic presentation with other respiratory conditions of the newborn. Isolation of causative organism (s) by culture from nasopharyngeal aspirates or tracheal aspirates obtained within 8 hours of life is the gold standard of its diagnosis. However, this technique is elaborate and time consuming in identifying atypical bacteria. Development of a more sensitive modality such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has dramatically altered the microbiological diagnosis of congenital pneumonia.
Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the proportion of tuberculosis patients among children and adolescents, to describe the socio-demography and clinical factors for tuberculosis infection among children and adolescents in Kelantan from 2012 until 2015. Methods: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study between tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis cases among children and adolescents using Tuberculosis Information System as a source population. All notified cases that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. Descriptive statistics, simple and multiple logistic regressions were used for data analysis. Results: Out of 5412 tuberculosis cases, 8.4% were children and adolescents group with mean age of 15. Among 322 children and adolescents with tuberculosis, majority of them were Malay (91.2%), 7.5% illiterate and 79.6% resided in non-urban area. By clinical factors, 2.8% were Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive and 14.6% were cigarettes smokers. Older age, cigarettes smoking, female gender, Malay ethnicity, good education level and non-urban residence were the significant associated factors for tuberculosis infection among children and adolescents with AOR 1.41 (95%CI: 1.29,1.54; p
Malaysian is one of the highest sugar consumers in the Asia Pacific region. There has been no available report quantifying sugar intake among Malaysian until Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey
(MANS) 2003 study was done. However, data concerning sugar consumption among university students is scarce. This study was conducted to assess sugar sweetened beverages intake among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan students. A total of 42 of IIUM Kuantan students was recruited by convenience sampling method. A questionnaire consisting of 3 days
food record was distributed to all participants as a tool for data collection. Food record was analyzed using the Nutritionist Pro software prior to statistical analysis with SPSS version 12.0. P value was set as p
There are several methods available for assessment of sodium intake, including dietary and urinary excretion, which are fraught with methodological difficulties. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate dietary and urinary excretion methods against 24-hour urinary excretion method in estimating sodium intake in Malaysian adults. A cross-sectional study has been carried out between November to December 2015. About 1568 adults aged 18 to 59 years old have participated from 16 study sites located in the 13 states and two federal territories of Malaysia. The study collected basic socio-demographic data and habitual dietary intake by Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Respondents were also asked to complete a two-day food intake diary (2FD) and collect their 24-hours urine and spot urine using standard protocols. A total of 1116 adults successfully completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 71%. Sodium intake from 24-hour urine excretion was estimated at 2585.9mg/day which is above the recommendation by World Health Organization (WHO). The 2FD showed the nearest mean estimate to the reference method but the spot urine with Tanaka’s predictive equation showed the least bias. The estimation of sodium from spot urine alone or with Kawasaki’s predictive equation and FFQ method showed poor mean estimates and a large bias compared to the reference method. The 2FD and spot urine with Tanaka’s prediction equation can be good alternatives for estimating daily sodium intake at the population level but not at the individual level.
MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demography; Diet; Eating; Humans; Malaysia; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Sodium; Sodium, Dietary; World Health Organization; Diet Records; Young Adult
Head and neck cancer (HNC) is among the common cancer in Malaysia. Depending on the location of the cancer in head and neck region, each type of HNC has its own characteristics and prevalence to specific gender and ethnicity. The remote and inaccessible location of the cancer also cause the difficulty to detect the cancer. This make the cancer usually diagnosed at late stage and make the treatment very challenges and ended with low survival rate of post-treatment among HNC patients. In fact, the detection of HNC at early stage could promise high successful recovery rate. This situation demand lots of studies to explore the carcinogenesis of HNC and searching for robust diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of non-coding RNA that regulate cellular physiology at post-transcriptional level. miRNAs expression has
been found to deregulate in various disease state, including cancer. A few studies revealed that miRNAs can behave as oncogenic and tumour suppressor in HNC. Even HNC is common in Malaysia, the studies of miRNA in HNC are still scarce. In this review article, we highlight the studies of miRNA in HNC that have been published by Malaysian researchers with aim to call more Malaysian researchers to focus on miRNA researches in HNC.
This study was designed to examine the relationship between attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control towards parents’ intention in sending their child to the audiologist. A sample of 76 parents with hearing impaired child all over the Peninsular of Malaysia was involved in this research. A set of questionnaires was used for data collection. The theory of planned behavioral (TPB) was able to explain the link between human intention and their behavior. In this study, the researcher looked at parents’ behavior in bringing their child to Audiologist. In order to achieve this a set of questionnaires was adapted from Jusoh (2011) and was administered to a group of parents with hearing loss (HL) children. The result showed that there were correlations between attitude, subjective norms as well as perceived behavioral control and parents’ intention in sending their child to the audiologist. However, there was no correlation between intentions and behavior towards the same intention.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different inter-stimulus intervals to the Cortical Auditory Evoked Potential (CAEP) findings in adult participants. Nineteen normal hearing individuals aged between 20 and 24 years old participated in this study. CAEP were measured by presenting 1000 Hz tone burst stimulus at 70dBnHL at three different inter-stimulus intervals (ISI)s of 2000, 909 and 555 ms in randomized order. Results revealed significant changes in the CAEP’s amplitude as a function of ISI with a reduction of P1-N1 amplitude of up to 50%. N2 peak was absent in some subjects using short ISI (555 ms). This study concluded that the use of very short ISI (e.g. 555 ms) may not be appropriate clinically because it can reduce the CAEP wave amplitude
and can cause an absence of peak N2. In contrast, the use of short ISI may be useful for other clinical applications that may benefit from neural habituation and refractoriness, for example to predict the potential future outcome of speech and mental disorders.
This paper aims to synthesize available literature on occupational noise in Malaysia and to relate this to the current noise management practices and control. The review focuses on several main
scopes; i) history of occupational noise management in Malaysia; ii) legislative developments and legal precedents of occupational noise in Malaysia ; and iii) the hearing conservation programs (HCP) and hearing loss prevention programs (HLPP). Narrative review and synthesis. Related publications and references were identified through several ways: i) by structured searches in PubMed, Google scholar, Web of Knowledge and Science Direct using the combinations of ‘occupational noise’, ‘noise induced hearing loss; ‘hearing’, ‘knowledge’, awareness’, ‘hearing conservation program’, ‘hearing protection devices’ as key words ii) by inspecting the reference lists of relevant articles. The number of publications within the audiology which address this topic, is rather limited. All the above mentioned scopes were discussed and synthesis of literature from other related fields such as medical, health and occupational safety and health were also referred to facilitate the discussion. This paper concludes that there are an emerging trend for the studies of occupational noise Malaysia in the literature. However, the effectiveness of HCP in Malaysia, and to what extent it is accepted and being implemented is yet to be investigated.
Foot problems are very common in diabetic patients but may go unnoticed by the patients and
undiagnosed by the healthcare providers leading to substantial morbidity and amputations. The aims of this study were to assess patient’s foot care practices, awareness on their foot condition as well as to determine the prevalence of diabetic foot problem and its associated factors. Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted among diabetic patients in a primary care clinic in Kuala Lumpur. Patients with diabetes, aged more than 18 years were selected using systematic random sampling technique. Patients were requested to answer a set of self-administered pre-tested questionnaire that obtain information on their socio-demographic profiles, diabetic clinical data, awareness on their feet condition and foot care practice. A trained clinician examined patients’ feet using a standard foot examination protocol. Results: A total of 166 patients with diabetes participated in this study. Nearly half of the patients (70, 42.2%) had diabetic foot problem but only 31 (18.7%) of them were aware of their foot condition. The three common problem were trophic changes of the skin (92.8%), followed with hair loss (71.1%) and callosity (65.7%). The independent associated factors for foot problem were increasing age (AOR=1.05, 95% CI 1.015-1.095; p
MeSH terms: Adolescent; Alopecia; Amputation; Callosities; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes Mellitus; Foot; Foot Diseases; Health Personnel; Humans; Morbidity; Primary Health Care; Surveys and Questionnaires; Prevalence; Diabetic Foot
Al Quran and Al Hadith are not book of sciences, but books of Divine guidance which can be referred to inspire in understanding things including the scientific nature of creation. This study was performed to compile the Quranic verses (Juz 16-30) and Hadith of Sahih Muslim which are related to visual function with scientifically proven facts. Five keywords were chosen based on the process of seeing which were “light”, “eye/eyes” and “sight” and the synonyms of sight which were “vision” and “see”. Search engine, Search Truth was used to help gather the verses and hadiths comprising the keywords. Cross reference with the original copy of the Holy Quran and book of Sahih Muslim was done to ensure the authenticity of the Quranic verses and hadiths. Existing scientific facts regarding the revelation were then gathered to support the findings.There were 377 Quranic verses (Juz 16-30) containing the words “light”, “eye/eyes” and “sight” (and its synonyms). Out of this, only 6 Quranic verses have relation to visual function and have been scientifically proven. For hadith of Sahih Muslim, there were 1285 hadiths containing the words “light”, “eye/eyes” and “sight” (and its synonyms). Out of 1285 hadiths only 8 hadiths of Sahih Muslim found to have relation to visual function and has scientifically proven facts.
University students tend to be more concerned on their body image and body shape concerns because of the surrounding The present study was conducted among undergraduate students at
the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan with the aim to identify the body image
perceptions, body shape concerns and weight loss behaviors. Methods: A total of 135 participants
comprising of 50 male and 85 female undergraduate students were recruited from six Kulliyyah in IIUM Kuantan. The Contour Drawing Rating Scale, Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-16) and Weight Loss Behavior Scales (WLBS) were used as assessment tools. Results: The result showed 73.3% of students had normal BMI status, 6.7% were underweight and the remaining were overweight or obese. More than 50% of the participants were somewhat concern about their body shape. In addition, more than half of the participants (54.8%) were dissatisfied with their body image and had desired to be thinner. The most preferred weight loss behavior among the participants was exercise compared to other weight loss approaches. The result shows that concerns to dieting and weight have a significant association with BMI status. Meanwhile, body shape concerns are found to be significantly associated with concern to dieting and weight, as well as avoidance of fatty and sweet foods. However, there was no association between body shape concerns and exercise. Conclusion: Based on the findings, more tailored intervention programs that lead to healthy body image and weight loss behavior are needed among young adults.
MeSH terms: Body Image; Body Weight; Female; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Obesity; Surveys and Questionnaires; Students; Thinness; Universities; Weight Loss; Exercise; Body Mass Index; Overweight; Young Adult
Honey dressing has been used to treat wounds since thousand years ago, however, it has been vanished of it usage on wounds management. Lately, it resurfaces again and has been used widely by clinicians in managing hard-to-heal ulcers. With the extensive study and research been carried out by scientists, a better understanding on the usage in managing non-healing ulcers has been widely accepted nowadays.
The theory-practice gap is arguably the most important issue in nursing today, given that it challenges the concept of research-based practice, which is the basis of nursing as a profession. Majority of the student nurses shared their views that some of the practical procedures that they learned during their theory sessions were different from what was practised in the wards which caused some worries among the students that it may affect their performance during their Obstructive Structured Clinical Examination.
MeSH terms: Humans; Learning; Students, Nursing; Dissent and Disputes; Professional Practice Gaps
As in other parts of the world, the practice of traditional healing has been part of the local healthcare system for most of the indigenous ethnic groups, since time immemorial. Using descriptive research format, this study looked into the practice of a traditional medicine practitioner in one of the villages of Kota Marudu in Sabah, Malaysia. The practitioner comes from the Dusun Tagahas subethnic group which is one of the numerous ethnic groups in Sabah. The large number of ethnic group in Sabah has made the research of ethnomedicine rather challenging. The practitioner acquired knowledge of traditional healing and treatment which is mainly herbal medicines alluded with some spiritual aspects. He used many herbal preparations in various forms and applications. Similar to the other traditional medicine practitioners, his knowledge and skill regarding his practice are impressive but the practitioner is unable to explain on the mechanism of how the therapy works. Generally their philosophy rests on the notion that disease responds to right medicine but not explanation. There is an urgent need to capture all the knowledge and skill possessed by traditional medicine practitioners, who generally belong to an ageing and fading population, especially those live in remote and hard to reach areas. Scientific research should be conducted to help traditional medicine healers and herbalists to understand their practices before they suffer the consequences of inexorable extinction.
New techniques based on digital analysis and more precise visualisation in monitoring of individual health status can improve the accessibility and reliability of healthcare services. An innovation in capturing human biofield energy level using Electrophotonic Imaging (EPI) is seen as a breakthrough approach to healthcare service. This non-invasive imaging approach produces an image, i.e. the Kirlian image in digital form to aid visualization and probe for disease identification. The diagnosis and treatment process are fast, reproducible and cost-effective. EPI technique works using computational models of human health state, commonly before and after a course of treatment or meditation. The reliability and efficacy of EPI are validated by the physician’s perceptions using biomedical measurements. At the same time, the algorithms developed by engineers embedded in the imaging system have advanced gradually with the help of clinical data from physicians. To close the gap between engineering and medicine, the field of research known as ‘Biomedical Engineering’ (BME) has been established to merge engineering principles with medicine in order to advance = diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring, which will in turn improves quality of life of mankind. Engineering approach is used to study on how the captured image indicates the energy level of human biofield. This elementary analysis introduces a pre-processing procedure to extract the effects texture. The image indicates the radiation energy level based on its most significant glow (digitallyimaged isolines) and is used for medical biometrics and health analysis.
MeSH terms: Algorithms; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Health Status; Humans; Medicine; Physicians; Plant Extracts; Quality of Life; Reproducibility of Results; Meditation
Tobacco products can be classified into combustible and smokeless types. It kills up to half of the users and globally around 5 million deaths every year. There are strong associations between smoking and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures.
MeSH terms: Lobeline; Quality of Life; Smoking; Tobacco; Tobacco Products
Organ transplant has become a main stream important medical procedure commonly used in hospitals. However, for organ transplant programme to be successful, it heavily relies on the public to voluntarily register for organ procurement. Effort to promote awareness and register public as organ donors has been ongoing, but public response to commit and register as donors has been lukewarm. Arguably, healthcare personnel and nurses are in a key position to educate and advocate for organ donation but often, ironically healthcare personal themselves are reluctant or unwilling to commit as organ donors. Thus, in the context of student nurses in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), the question arises, what is their stance and views regarding organ donation.
MeSH terms: Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Malaysia; Tissue and Organ Procurement; Students, Nursing; Tissue Donors; Organ Transplantation
Disposal of shrimp shell waste is gradually increasing throughout the years due to the constant growing of cultured shrimp production at the local area which in turn increases the bio-waste of shrimp shell. Shrimp shell waste contains valuable components such as protein and chitin. Chitin can be found at the outer surface of shrimp shell, while chitosan can be derived from chitin. Chitosan is a valuable natural polymer as it holds major potentials for industrial applications. However, the poor quality of chitosan has restricted its potential in applications and this is due to the difficulties in maintaining its degree of deacetylation, solubility, and ash content. Hence, several factors such as the temperature for deacetylation treatment, concentration of alkaline solution, ratio of chitin to alkaline solution, and few other factors are important to produce a good quality of chitosan.