METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted in a paediatric clinic of a tertiary hospital. Parents of the participants in the INS group and control group (comprising children without chronic illness) completed questionnaires using the Child Behavioural Checklist (CBCL). The CBCL measures a range of age-specific emotional and psychological problems, including internalising and externalising domains. Analyses of the CBCL scores between groups were done using Mann-Whitney U test.
RESULTS: A total of 140 children were recruited with an equal number in the INS and control groups. There was a significant difference in the mean total CBCL scores between the INS group and the control group, specifically in the withdrawal, somatic, anxious and aggressiveness subdomains. Similar findings were demonstrated in correlation between total psychological problems and corticosteroid dosage. In the INS group, steroid dose and cushingoid features were found to have a significant positive association with internalising psychological problems.
CONCLUSION: Children with INS on corticosteroid treatment showed an increase in internalising and externalising scores, as compared to healthy children.
METHODS: Thirty-four (N = 34) 11-year-old students were randomly assigned to either intervention (n = 17) or waitlist-control (n = 17) groups. The participants from the intervention group were required to attend a 4-week online GIR session and practice the techniques daily for 5 min-10 min. The Stress in Children (SiC) questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Parent Reported (SDQ-PR) and tracking form were administered pre- and post-intervention.
RESULTS: Eleven (64.7%) participants attended all sessions and eight (47.0%) completed daily practices. Mixed-model ANOVA indicated no significant difference between participants from intervention and waitlist-control groups across pre- and post-intervention time points, with P-values greater than 0.05 for stress and well-being.
CONCLUSION: Issues regarding online intervention, including managing children's activities from a distance, Internet connectivity, and time limitations might have affected their adherence and the research outcome. Nonetheless, the online-delivered GIR technique is a promising intervention modality. However, its implementation should be improvised to be more impactful.
METHODS: The patients (n = 54) were divided into mild and moderate TBI. Both groups were assessed at 3 months and 6 months post-trauma for the same measures. Diagnosis of CI was done using the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) questionnaire while NM screening was performed using the 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) followed by MINI International Neuropsychiatry Interview (MINI).
RESULTS: We found five patients (19.2%) with mild TBI had CI and five patients (19.2%) had NM at 3 months. Only one patient (3.8%) persistently has CI at 6 months while the rest recovered. As for moderate TBI, 11 patients (39.3%) had CI and seven patients (25%) had NM at 3 months but none had persistent CI or NM at 6 months. Age (P < 0.05) and blood pressure were significant risks (P < 0.05) for CI and NM at 3 months.
CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the importance of screening following mild and moderate TBI at 3 months and 6 months. Early recognition facilitates effective rehabilitation programmes planning hence improve prognosis in the future.
AIMS: To evaluate IOL in full-term multiparas with ripe cervixes to achieve delivery at normal working hours and improve maternal satisfaction.
METHODS: A randomised trial was performed in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia. Low-risk multiparas with ripe cervixes (Bishop score ≥6) were recruited at 38+4 -40+0 weeks, then randomised to planned labour induction at 39+0 weeks or expectant care. Primary outcomes were delivery during 'normal working hours' 09:00-17:00 hours, Monday-Friday and patient satisfaction by visual numerical rating scale.
RESULTS: For IOL (n = 80) vs expectant care (n = 80) arms respectively, primary outcomes of delivery at normal working hours was 27/80 (34%) vs 29/78 (37%), relative risk (RR) 0.9, 95% CI 0.5-1.7, P = 0.41, patient satisfaction was 8.0 ± 1.8 vs 7.8 ± 1.6, P = 0.41; presentation for spontaneous labour or rupture of membranes were 27/80 (34%) vs 70/79 (89%), RR 0.4, 95% CI 0.3-0.5, P
METHODS: A multistage sampling was performed across rural primary schools in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, Malaysia. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and the children aged 10-11 years (n=312) were subjected to cognitive tests including digit span, letter-number sequencing, coding, and symbol search. Cognitive performance was tested using subscales derived from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.
RESULTS: The prevalence of SHS exposure at home was 55.8%, where 11.9% of children lived with one smoker, while 43.9% of children lived with ≥2 smokers. There was a significant difference in the mean score of the combined cognitive tests between SHS-exposed and non-exposed children after adjustment for sex, parental educational level, family income and academic performance [Pillai's Trace=0.084, F statistic (df)=6.803 (4302), p<0.001].
CONCLUSIONS: More than half of the primary school children in rural Kuala Krai were exposed to SHS from at least one smoker at home. There was a significant association between SHS exposure at home and cognitive performance.
Methods: A double-blinded randomised control trial involving 200 participants between the ages of 20 to 65 years old breast cancer patients was performed. Apart from those who refused participation, patients with chronic diseases and extreme baseline depression scores were also excluded. The control group received standard care twice a week from the social welfare services team facilitator compared to the intervention group that received additional psycho-education intervention programme (PEIP). The coping strategies were measured using the Brief-COPE inventory consisting of 28 items. It was administered on the second and 12th week of trial. The primary end point was compared between pre- and post-intervention. The effect of the intervention between groups, time, and covariates was measured using the generalised linear mixed model (GLMM) analysis.
Results: The mean (SD) of adaptive coping score among the intervention group increased from 5.63 (1.3) at baseline to 6.42 (1.3) at post-intervention. The mean avoidant coping score was 3.87 (1.1) at baseline but reduced to 3.69 (0.8) post-intervention. GLMM showed that women who received the intervention reported significantly higher usage of the adaptive coping strategies after attending the programme (B=0.921, p <0.001).
Conclusion: PEIP significantly improved knowledge of breast cancer patients. Thus, this programme may be considered as a part of the healthcare services in Jordan towards improving the adaptive coping strategies among breast cancer patients, which may point towards the potential for these services to increase adaptive coping strategies among patients in Jordan.
Implications for Public Health: PEIP may be considered as psychosocial intervention in public health and healthcare setting to address rising concerns on quality of care among breast cancer patients.
METHODS: This is a retrospective study of incidence and pattern of BT admitted to the Neurosurgery Department in HSNZ. Data was collected from the yearly census of BT registered from 2013 to 2018.
RESULTS: A total number of 386 new cases of primary BT were registered. The number of cases of BT was found to be lowest among children (0 to 10 years old) with only 4.4% but at peak among elderly aged between 51 to 60 years old (26.2%). As for gender, males constituted about 44.5% (n=172) whereas females accounted for 55.5% (n= 214) of the cases. In total, meningioma was found to have the highest incidence (27.2%) followed by metastases brain tumour (18.1%) and glioma (17.4%).
CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown that the incidence of BT was led by meningioma which had a high prevalence among the elderly population, followed by metastasis BT and gliomas.