A 49-year-old gentleman presented with epigastric pain for one day associated with one episode of vomiting and dyspnoea. Respiratory examination showed reduced breath sound over his left lower zone. He was treated as left spontaneous pneumothorax and left lung empyema requiring left chest tube insertion and intravenous antibiotics. His left pleural fluid biochemistry result was exudative while its centrifuge showed empyema. In ward, we noticed food material draining from his left chest tube during feeding. An urgent contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) thorax showed a left oesophageal-pleural fistula with possible broncho-oesophageal fistula. During oesoph- agogastroduodenoscopy (OGDS), air bubbles were seen in his left under-water chest drainage during air-insufflation of the oesophagus. The revised diagnosis was Boerhaave syndrome. He was treated with an esophageal stent to cover the perforation and a left lung decortication via video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for his left empyema. He improved and was discharged well.
Acute necrotizing encephalopathy of childhood (ANEC) is a rare condition which is important for clinicians to recognize as it has a high mortality rate and can result in significant neurological morbidities. It presents as acute encephalopathy with radiological findings of symmetrical brain lesions in bilateral thalami, putamen, brain stem teg- mentum, internal capsule, periventricular white matter and cerebellar medulla. Intravenous methylprednisolone is the mainstay of treatment. Immunoglobulin therapy and therapeutic hypothermia may be used as adjunctive therapy in cases with severe clinical and neuroradiological presentation. We present a case of severe ANEC and discuss the clinical manifestations, neuroimaging and management options.
Interpretation of thyroid function test (TFT) is often straightforward but in certain scenarios, discordance between the clinical impression and the laboratory results exists. A 50-year-old woman with a ten years history of hypothyroidism on levothyroxine presented with a recent notable change in TFT [elevated free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid-stimulat- ing hormone (TSH)], in an otherwise clinically euthyroid and previously stable TFT, leading to levothyroxine being withheld. This case report highlights the possibility of assay interference as a cause of discordant TFT. It also draws the importance of close collaboration between clinicians and the laboratory to avoid unnecessary investigations and inappropriate management of such a case.
MeSH terms: Drug Hypersensitivity; Female; Humans; Hypothyroidism; Laboratories; Middle Aged; Thyroid Function Tests; Thyroid Hormones; Thyrotropin; Thyroxine
The present study aims to determine the limitations of traditional Jones criteria during the first episode of acute rheu- matic fever (ARF) at the initial referral hospital, in a cohort of patients below 18 years old who had undergone mitral valve repair in National Heart Institute (IJN) from 2011 to 2016. Carditis followed by fever and joint involvement were the most frequent manifestations at first diagnosis. Of the 50 patients, only seven (14%) fulfilled the traditional Jones criteria for the diagnosis of the first episode of ARF. When compulsory evidence of a previous group A Beta he- molytic streptococcus (GABHS) was disregarded, this figure rose to 54%. Therefore, strict adherence to Jones criteria with absolute documentation of GABHS will lead to underdiagnoses of ARF. The application of echocardiographic diagnostic criteria of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) needs to be emphasized to allow early diagnosis and adminis- tration of secondary prophylaxis to prevent progression to severe valvular disease.
The aim of this narrative review is to discuss on different approaches of the flapless corticotomy techniques to ac- celerate orthodontic tooth movement. There was limited understanding about the effect of the surgical procedures because of the great variations in the procedures between the flapless corticotomy techniques. Hence, no specific technique can be claimed to be superior to another. Eleven clinical trials have been reviewed from PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar using the keywords such as accelerated, orthodontic tooth movement (OTM), minimally invasive corticotomy, RAP, corticision, piezocision, lasercision/laser assisted flapless corticotomy (LAFC), micro-os- teoperforations (MOPs), discision and their combinations in the last 10 years. Early reports showed that Piezocision, MOPs and LAFC procedures are comparatively less aggressive flapless corticotomy procedure to accelerate OTM and more comfortable to the patient.
Ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries associated with physical activities. Complications including pain and ankle instability are associated with decreased physical activity, reduced sport performance, and increased risk of recurrent ankle injury leading to detrimental effect on activities of daily living. Current management of ankle sprain can be conservative or surgical for serious cases. However, long healing period is required for conservative management in addition to its side effects and the risk of post-operative complications for surgical management. Due to the current challenges and setbacks faced by existing intervention, this paper aims to generate ideas in incorporat- ing regenerative medicine as an intervention for ankle sprain. This review will provide a brief review on the existing management for ankle sprain along with some history, application and the potential of regenerative medicine in speeding up the healing process of ankle sprains.
In order to accomplish a wide range of duties and responsibilities that may be done under unpleasant working con- ditions, prolonged standing posture is common with school teachers. Nevertheless, standing upright for a long time or otherwise regarded as prolonged standing frequently contributes to body pain and discomfort, muscle fatigue and even health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The aim of this paper is to review MSDs arising from prolonged standing and spread information on existing ergonomic and non-ergonomic interventions to alleviate prolonged standing discomfort. Systematic review on prolonged standing school teachers with specific keywords were recognized to discover the appropriate studies and information in a systematic search. The informations in this review may be helpful to guide teacher, school management and researchers to implement the suitable interventions in order to minimise the health issue due to MSDs among school teachers.
MeSH terms: Humans; Muscle Fatigue; Musculoskeletal Pain; School Teachers
Informed consent has been recognised as an essential part of clinical practice, giving ethical and legal legitimacy to medical intervention. There is no universal standard on the amount and type of information that a patient is entitled to and needs to be adequately disclosed. This article proposes nine information that will assist the doctor in providing adequate information for a patient to evaluate whether to authorise medical intervention. The recommended infor- mation are: (i) diagnosis, prognosis and its uncertainties; (ii) nature of proposed medical intervention; (iii) the expect- ed benefit of proposed medical intervention; (iv) the potential risk of proposed medical intervention; (v) alternative to proposed medical intervention; (vi) progress of proposed medical intervention; (vii) opportunity for a second medical opinion and to seek further details; (viii) costs of proposed and alternative medical intervention; and (ix) the person responsible for implementing medical intervention.
Human cartilage contains multipotent stem cells, namely mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which are progenitors of connective tissue that play homeostatic and reparative roles. Although the major constituent cells in the cartilage are chondrocytes, they possess a limited regenerative ability, and as a result, spontaneous cartilage repair by chondro- cytes leads to the synthesis of fibrocartilage. Similarly, MSCs derived from articular cartilage of osteoarthritis patients have demonstrated inadequacy in cartilage repair. The role of MSCs in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis (OA) is not entirely understood, whether the inflammatory milieu associated with OA joints affects the reparative properties of MSCs or the inherent defects of OA cartilage-derived MSCs impair the proper execution of the required immu- nosuppressive and reparative functions. Therefore, the current review explores the biological characteristics and features of MSCs derived from physiological state and OA condition with the aim of identifying how OA affects MSC functions as well as the role of MSCs in the pathophysiology of OA.
Using pulmonary tuberculosis (pTB) as an example of a vaccine-preventable disease (VPD), we aimed to gather evidence on the economic impact of treating a case or managing an outbreak of a VPD. A scoping review was con- ducted. Online databases (MEDLINE and Google Scholar) were used to collate published studies from the year 2015 to 2019 on the management cost of one case or an outbreak of pTB. Keywords used were cost, treatment, outbreak, pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculosis, economic, economic evaluation. A total of 29 studies were analysed. The costs of pTB treatment for individual patient were higher in high-income countries compared to middle-income and low-income countries. A case of pTB can result in household catastrophic health expenditure; while an outbreak can overwhelm the health system’s capacity, and disrupts the economy of a country. Therefore, accessibility of vaccines especially in low-income countries must be ensured. Also, vaccine-hesitant individuals must reconsider their stance on vaccination.
MeSH terms: Cost-Benefit Analysis; Disease Outbreaks; Health Expenditures; Humans; Income; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary; Vaccination; Vaccines; MEDLINE; Health Care Costs; Developed Countries
This review provides an overview of the evidence which concerns the parental stress of children with type 1 diabe- tes mellitus. Articles for this review were collected using the Science Direct, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Medline, Scopus, EBSCO, Springer, Ovid, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library. In total, 38 articles were relevant to this review. The findings of the reviewed studies provide an exciting opportunity to advance our knowledge for a differ- ent aspect of parental stress which is related to the disease and predictor’s factor contributes to parental stress. This review sheds new light on developing the educational programs to reduce the level of parental stress and to help them to cope positively with this disease.
To investigate the physiological indices such as body weight, food and fluid drinking concern to antidiabetic properties of syringin and its useful outcome on hematological parameters in streptozotocin stimulated diabetic rats. Six normal and 18 diabetic rats totally 24 rats have been used for the present investigation. Streptozotocin was injected in male Wistar rats to induce diabetes through intraperitoneal route. After the confirmation of diabetes, the test animals were treated with distilled water through oral route or syringin 5 mg/kg body weight/ rat /day for 10 days. The diabetic treated groups compared with the controls were evaluated based on their hematological parameters such as red blood cells, white blood cells and its functional indices. The blood glucose levels significantly decreased in syringin injected rats. The intake of water and feed in diabetic rats were significantly decreased, whereas after syringin administration the weight loss was minimized. Congruently, the level of red blood cells, white blood cells and their functional key characters were also considerably enhanced. It can be conjectured that syringin has antihyperglycemic properties. In addition, it can positively amend some hematological parameters.
Introduction: Usage of smartphones have increased rapidly because of its importance in our daily life. This led to an increase in incidence of ocular problems among smartphone users. This research was conducted to determine the effect of smartphone usage on accommodation status. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among young adults aged 19 to 30 years old in Management and Science University, Shah Alam. All subjects were asked to use smartphone for 20 minutes. The symptoms and accommodation status were evaluated before and after the smartphone usage. Results: Total subjects showed the mean age of 23.60 ± 2.77 years, 50% (n = 20) were males and 50% (n = 20) were females. The mean smartphone usage per day was 8.60 ± 2.80) hours. After 20 minutes of smartphone usage, subjects complained of tired eyes (92.50%), dry eyes (90.00%), blurred vision (87.50%), and headache (82.50%). Paired t-test showed significant reduction in amplitude of accommodation, monocularly from 9.9 ± 1.9 D to 8.76 ± 2.50 D (p = 0.00), and binocularly from 12.01 ± 1.95 D to 10.96 ± 2.16 D (p = 0.00); monoc- ular accommodative facility from 13.93 ± 3.13 cpm to 11.10 ± 4.32 cpm (p = 0.00) and binocular accommodative facility from 12.70 ± 3.57 cpm to 9.70 ± 4.21 cpm (p = 0.00); positive relative accommodation from -2.72 ± 0.87 D to -2.13 ± 1.28 D (p = 0.00) and increase in lag of accommodation from 0.4 ± 0.26 D to 0.93 ± 0.48 D (p = 0.00). Conclusion: This study shows that there were significance changes on accommodation status after 20 minutes of smartphone usage which can lead to weakness of accommodation.
Introduction: Delayed diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) increases the risk of presenting late with microvas- cular complications due to untreated long-standing hyperglycaemia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of microvascular complications in newly diagnosed T2D patients in primary healthcare clinics.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out in three government primary healthcare clinics in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Malaysian aged 18 years and above with newly diagnosed T2D (<6 months of diagnosis) were invited to participate in the study. Data collected included the sociodemographic characteristic and the clinical profile (weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, lipid, glycaemic, urine albumin, microalbuminuria and renal profile). The assessment of nephropathy, peripheral neuropathy and retinopathy were performed using standard protocol. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the significant factors that contribute to the presence of microvascular complications.
Results: A total of 162 newly diagnosed patients were recruited. The majority was women (64%). The mean age was 51 (SD 11) years. About one-third of the patients (27.7%) had developed at least one microvascular complication. Nephropathy was the commonest microvascular complication (19.2%), followed by peripheral neuropathy (8.6%) and retinopathy (6.5%). Poor glycaemic control was found to be a significant factor contributing to the presence of microvascular complications (OR 5.8, 95%CI:1.466, 23.288).
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of microvascular complications among the newly diagnosed T2D. There is a need to develop appropriate strategies to increase the awareness and early detection of T2D.
Study site: three Klinik Kesihatan, Selangor, Malaysia
Introduction: Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a common disabling condition among older adults with the major- ity, remain undertreated. This study aimed to determine the uptake of non-pharmacological treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain among older adults and the associated factors. Methods: A stratified sampling proportionate to size with individual clinics as the strata were used to recruit 276 respondents from six public health clinics in Petaling district, one of the most aged districts in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Based on the proportion calculat- ed, eligible older adults were selected by systematic random sampling from the registration list. Data was collected using a pre-tested and validated questionnaire through a face-to-face interview with respondents. The questionnaire comprised of seven sections, namely, socio-demographic, comorbidity, depression, pain severity, treatment options, attitude towards chronic pain and chronic musculoskeletal pain. Inferential analysis was conducted using Chi- Square (X2) and Fisher’s Exact Tests. The P value of < 0.05 regarded as statistically significant. Results: A total of 242 (87.7%) of the respondents had chronic musculoskeletal pain, in which 235 (85.1%) were treated with non-pharma- cological treatments. The commonly used non-pharmacological treatments were exercise (67.8%), biological-based therapies (40.9%) and massage (33.7%). The uptake of non-pharmacological treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain among older adults was significantly associated with the presence of diabetes. Conclusion: The findings re- vealed the remarkably high uptake of non-pharmacological treatment among older adults who experienced chronic musculoskeletal pain which was significantly associated with diabetes and the presence of other diseases like high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, back pain and rheumatic arthritis.
MeSH terms: Animals; Back Pain; Cattle; Demography; Depression; Diabetes Mellitus; Hypertension; Malaysia; Massage; Osteoarthritis; Public Health; Surveys and Questionnaires; Rheumatic Fever; Comorbidity; Chronic Pain; Musculoskeletal Pain
Introduction: Pesticides may influence the physicochemical properties of soil and the water quality parameters, which is vital in maintaining soil fertility and producing high quality crops. Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship between the concentration of pesticides, the physicochemical properties of the paddy soil samples and the water quality parameters of paddy water samples. Methods: A total of 72 soil and 72 water samples were collected in Tanjung Karang, Malaysia. The paddy soil and water were extracted using Quick, Easy, Cheap, Efficient, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) and solid phase extraction (SPE) techniques respectively. The concentrations of pesti- cides were analysed in ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The relationship of the concentration of target pesticides and the paddy soil and water physicochemical properties were studied using Spearman correlation. Results: In paddy soil, the concentration of propiconazole shows moderate positive correlation with manganese (Mn) (r = 0.587) (p 0.01). Meanwhile buprofezin-total organic carbon (TOC) (r = -0.55) (p 0.01), imidacloprid-cation exchange capacity (CEC) (r = -0.519) (p 0.01), pymetrozine-sodium (Na) (r = -0.588) (p 0.01), and trifloxystrobin-calcium (Ca) (r = 0.566) (p 0.01) showed moderate negative correlation. Whereas in water, trifloxystrobin showed significant positive correlation with turbidity (r = 0.718) (p 0.01) and te- buconazole showed negative correlation to dissolved oxygen (DO) (r = 0.634) (p 0.01). Conclusion: The presence of pesticides in paddy field may influence the soil and water quality, thus regular monitoring of pesticides usage and nutrient management in soil is deemed important.
MeSH terms: Carbon; Cations; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Malaysia; Manganese; Oxygen; Pesticides; Sodium; Soil; Water; Solid Phase Extraction; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Water Quality
Introduction: Expansion of smoke-free areas in public domains is suspected to displace smoking into the home. However, the scarcity of such information in Malaysia warrants an investigation to determine SHS exposure at home among adults in Malaysia.
Methods: This study studied 4,250 and 21,445 adults who participated in the 2011 Global Adult Tobacco Survey-Malaysia (GATS-M) and, the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression modelling was used to compare the odds of SHS exposure at home among adults in 2011 (GATS-M) to odds of SHS exposure at home among adults in 2015 (NHMS 2015).
Results: Approximately one third of respondents were exposed to SHS at home in 2011 (38.4%) and 2015 (37.9%). MLR analysis revealed the odds of SHS exposure at home was not significantly different from 2011 [AOR 1.14, 95 % CI (0.99-1.31). 2015 exposure to SHS as reference]. This study also indicates no significant displacement of smoking into the home by socio-demographic and smoking status between 2011 and 2015.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that smoking has not been displaced into the home in the past four years although the number of smoke-free public areas have increased. More public smoke free areas should be established.
Study name: 2011
Global Adult Tobacco Survey-Malaysia (GATS-M); National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS-2015)
MeSH terms: Adult; Demography; Health Surveys; Humans; Malaysia; Morbidity; Surveys and Questionnaires; Smoking; Tobacco; Tobacco Smoke Pollution; Logistic Models; Public Sector
Introduction: Previous studies reported that a two-week double-dose clopidogrel treatment following percutaneous coronary intervention has no difference in safety compared to standard therapy. This study aimed to determine the all-cause readmission rate and survival after a year of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients who were treated with two-week double-dose clopidogrel regimen. Methods: This was a retrospective study on patients who underwent PCI in a state general hospital in Malaysia in 2014. Patients’ one month and one-year survival status were retrieved using the hospital electronic patient management system. Patients who received a two-week course of 150mg clopidogrel and subsequently a one-year course of standard double antiplatelet therapy were included. Results: A total of 381 out of 563 patients who underwent PCI were included in the analysis, while those who were switched to ticagrelor and transferred to other hospitals post-PCI excluded. Patients had a mean age of 56.9 (SD 10.7), with majority male (331, 86.9%) and Malay (144, 37.8%). The PCI was mainly indicated for ST-elevated myocardial infarction (188, 49.3%), non-STEMI (114, 29.9%) and unstable angina (36, 9.4%). A total of 107 (28.1%) patients were readmitted within the one year post-PCI period. Readmissions were mainly due to ACS (55.5%) and bleeding events (2.4%). The 30-day and 1-year all-cause mortality was 33 cases and 43 cases, respectively. Conclu- sion: The low readmission and bleeding related readmission suggested that the two-week double-dose clopidogrel regimen was safe for the post PCI patients. Future randomised trial to establish the efficacy of this dosing regimen is therefore warranted.
Introduction: The World Health Organization recommends evaluation of maternal satisfaction to improve quality of health care during childbirth. Dissatisfaction may lead to undesired outcomes such as unassisted homebirth and delay in seeking treatment. Determining the maternal satisfaction level and its associated factors may help to improve health care services and prevent negative implications to both mothers and infants. This study aimed to determine the maternal satisfaction towards intrapartum care of designated healthcare facilities and its associated factors among postnatal women. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of postnatal women attended Klinik Kesihatan Salak from December 2017 to February 2018. Systematic random sampling with the ratio of 1:3 was applied to the eligible respondents. A self-administered questionnaire that include respondent’s socio-demographic characteristics and a validated 14-items Maternal Satisfaction with Hospital-based Intrapartum Care Scale was used. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23. Results: 274 respondents were recruited in this study. Overall, only 21.2% of respondents were sat- isfied with the intrapartum care given. The level of satisfaction was highest in interpersonal care domain (36.1%), followed by physical birth environment (34.3%) and the least satisfied was information and decision making domain (27.7%). Binary logistic regression showed that maternal satisfaction was significantly associated with place of birth (AOR (95% CI): 0.046 (0.183, 0.984)) and labour complications (AOR (95% CI): 3.387 (1.345, 8.528)). Conclusion: The overall maternal satisfaction towards intrapartum care was low and the information and decision-making do- main appeared to be the least satisfied. Maternal satisfaction was associated with place of birth and labour compli- cations. Therefore, health care providers should emphasize and improve the quality of services especially for this domain and to consider factor that contribute to dissatisfaction towards the intrapartum care.
MeSH terms: Cations; Cross-Sectional Studies; Decision Making; Delivery of Health Care; Demography; Female; Health Personnel; Hospitals; Humans; Infant; Labor, Obstetric; Obstetric Labor Complications; Mothers; Personal Satisfaction; Pregnancy; Surveys and Questionnaires; World Health Organization; Logistic Models; Parturition; Delivery, Obstetric
A retrospective study was carried out at one selected dairy farm located in Keningau, Sabah in order to evaluate the effect of age at first calving (AFC) on the productive performance of the
primiparous Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows. The retrospective data was collected from 123 Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows. AFC was classified into 7 groups such as:
≤22; 23-24; 25-26; 27-28 months old; 29-30; 31-32 and >32 months old, respectively. The productive performance parameters that were evaluated consisted of the first-lactation milk
yield, lactation length, average daily milk yield and dry period. Cows with AFC of 23-24 and 25-26 months of age showed the highest first-lactation milk yield, 7210.14± 384.84 litres and
7053.80± 342.98 litres, respectively. Cows with AFC of 23-24 months old have also showed the longest lactation length of 410.25± 19.51 days. However, cows with AFC of 23-24 months
of age produced the least average daily milk yield, that was about 17.62± 0.60 litres/day and cows that were calved at 29-30 months of age and >32 months of age produced the highest
average daily milk yield, that was about 24.10± 0.94 litres/day and 24.16± 0.79 litres/day, respectively. The study showed that AFC had a significant effect on the first-lactation milk
yield, lactation length and average daily milk yield of the Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows (p0.05). Overall, cows with the AFC of 23-24 months old have showed the best productive performance