Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 78 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Ab Rahman N, Teng CL, Sivasampu S
    BMC Infect Dis, 2016 05 17;16:208.
    PMID: 27188538 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-016-1530-2
    BACKGROUND: Antibiotic overuse is driving the emergence of antibiotic resistance worldwide. Good data on prescribing behaviours of healthcare providers are needed to support antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. This study examined the differences in antibiotic prescribing rates of public and private primary care clinics in Malaysia.

    METHODS: We used data from the National Medical Care Survey (NMCS), a nationwide cluster sample of Malaysian public and private primary care clinics in 2014. NMCS contained demographic, diagnoses and prescribing from 129 public clinics and 416 private clinics. We identified all encounters who were prescribed antibiotic and analyse the prescribing rate, types of antibiotics, and diagnoses that resulted in antibiotic.

    RESULTS: Five thousand eight hundred ten encounters were prescribed antibiotics; antibiotic prescribing rate was 21.1 % (public clinics 6.8 %, private clinics 30.8 %). Antibiotic prescribing was higher in private clinics where they contributed almost 87 % of antibiotics prescribed in primary care. Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) was the most frequent diagnosis in patients receiving antibiotic therapy and accounted for 49.2 % of prescriptions. Of the patients diagnosed with URTI, 46.2 % received antibiotic treatment (public 16.8 %, private 57.7 %). Penicillins, cephalosporins and macrolides were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics and accounted for 30.7, 23.6 and 16.0 % of all antibiotics, respectively. More recently available broad-spectrum antibiotics such as azithromycin and quinolones were more frequently prescribed in private clinics.

    CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic prescribing rates are high in both public and private primary care settings in Malaysia, especially in the latter. This study provides evidence of excessive and inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for self-limiting conditions. These data highlights the needs for more concerted interventions targeting both prescribers and public. Improvement strategies should focus on reducing inappropriate prescribing.
  2. Abu Hassan Z, Hanafi NS, Teng CL
    Malays Fam Physician, 2006;1(1):29-31.
    PMID: 26998208
  3. Ariff KM, Teng CL
    Aust J Rural Health, 2002 Apr;10(2):99-103.
    PMID: 12047504 DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1584.2002.00456.x
    Malaysia has a population of 21.2 million of which 44% resides in rural areas. A major priority of healthcare providers has been the enhancement of health of 'disadvantaged' rural communities particularly the rural poor, women, infants, children and the disabled. The Ministry of Health is the main healthcare provider for rural communities with general practitioners playing a complimentary role. With an extensive network of rural health clinics, rural residents today have access to modern healthcare with adequate referral facilities. Mobile teams, the flying doctor service and village health promoters provide healthcare to remote areas. The improvement in health status of the rural population using universal health status indicators has been remarkable. However, differentials in health status continue to exist between urban and rural populations. Malaysia's telemedicine project is seen as a means of achieving health for all rural people.
  4. Chan CW, Wang J, Bouniu JJ, Singh P, Teng CL
    MyJurnal
    Poor adherence to anti-hypertensive agents may be a major contributor for suboptimal blood pressure control among patients with hypertension. This study was conducted to assess the adherence to antihypertensive agents using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) among primary care patients, and to determine whether the blood pressure control is associated with the level of adherence.
  5. Chan GC, Teng CL
    Med J Malaysia, 2005 Jun;60(2):130-3.
    PMID: 16114151
    A cross sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire to determine the perceptions of primary care doctors towards evidence-based medicine (EBM) was conclucted in Melaka state. About 78% of the primary care doctors were aware of EBM and agreed it could improve patient care. Only 6.7% of them had ever conducted a Medline literature search. They had a low level of awareness of review publications and databases relevant to EBM; only about 33% of them were aware of the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews. Over half of the respondents had at least some understanding of the technical terms used in EBM. Ninety percent of the respondents had Internet access and the majority of them used it at home. The main barriers to practicing EBM were lack of personal time and lack of Internet access in the primary care clinics.
  6. Chia YC, Beh HC, Ng CJ, Teng CL, Hanafi NS, Choo WY, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2016 12 01;6(12):e011925.
    PMID: 27909033 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011925
    OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of knee pain among 3 major ethnic groups in Malaysia. By identifying high-risk groups, preventive measures can be targeted at these populations.

    DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in rural and urban areas in a state in Malaysia. Secondary schools were randomly selected and used as sampling units.

    PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged ≥18 years old were invited to answer a self-administered questionnaire on pain experienced over the previous 6 months. Out of 9300 questionnaires distributed, 5206 were returned and 150 participants who did not fall into the 3 ethnic groups were excluded, yielding a total of 5056 questionnaires for analysis. 58.2% (n=2926) were women. 50% (n=2512) were Malays, 41.4% (n=2079) were Chinese and 8.6% (n=434) were Indians.

    RESULTS: 21.1% (n=1069) had knee pain during the previous 6 months. More Indians (31.8%) experienced knee pain compared with Malays (24.3%) and Chinese (15%) (p<0.001). The odds of Indian women reporting knee pain was twofold higher compared with Malay women. There was a rising trend in the prevalence of knee pain with increasing age (p<0.001). The association between age and knee pain appeared to be stronger in women than men. 68.1% of Indians used analgesia for knee pain while 75.4% of Malays and 52.1% of Chinese did so (p<0.001). The most common analgesic used for knee pain across all groups was topical medicated oil (43.7%).

    CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of knee pain in adults was more common in Indian women and older women age groups and Chinese men had the lowest prevalence of knee pain. Further studies should investigate the reasons for these differences.

  7. Das Gupta E, Zailinawati AH, Lim AW, Chan JB, Yap SH, Hla YY, et al.
    Med J Malaysia, 2009 Jun;64(2):111-3.
    PMID: 20058568 MyJurnal
    In Malaysia, it is a common belief among health care workers that females and Indians have lower pain threshold. This experience, although based on anecdotal experience in the healthcare setting, does not allow differentiation between pain tolerance, and pain expression. To determine whether there is a difference in the tolerance to pain between the three main ethnic groups, namely the Malays, Chinese and Indians as well as between males and females. This was a prospective study, using a laboratory pain model (ischaemic pain tolerance) to determine the pain tolerance of 152 IMU medical students. The mean age of the students was 21.8 years (range 18-29 years). All of them were unmarried. The median of ischaemic pain tolerance for Malays, Chinese and Indians were 639s, 695s and 613s respectively (p = 0.779). However, statistically significant difference in ischaemic pain tolerance for males and females Indian students were observed. Possible ethnic difference in pain tolerance in casual observation is not verified by this laboratory pain model. Difference in pain tolerance between genders is shown only for Indians.
  8. Ding CH, Teng CL, Koh CN
    Med J Malaysia, 2006 Oct;61(4):399-404.
    PMID: 17243515 MyJurnal
    The Malaysian Ministry of Health has undertaken various campaigns on healthy lifestyle and health promotion over the years. The impact of these campaigns has been mixed and not well documented. This cross-sectional study evaluated the knowledge level of patients with and without diabetes in a large urban polyclinic using a 41-item questionnaire. One hundred and forty-nine adults (83 with diabetes, 66 without diabetes) participated in this study. Patients with diabetes had higher overall knowledge scores than those without diabetes (81.8% vs 64.0%, p < 0.001). While the overall knowledge of patients without diabetes appeared to be acceptable, several areas of knowledge deficiency were identified in this group--areas that should be filled by the on-going health promotion activities.
    Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Seremban, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
  9. Fozi K, Teng CL, Krishnan R, Shajahan Y
    Med J Malaysia, 2000 Dec;55(4):486-92.
    PMID: 11221162
    This is a prospective study of clinical questions generated in primary care consultations and a comparison of two approaches to answering those clinical questions. Twenty-one doctors in a university-based primary care clinic submitted 78 clinical questions arising from patient consultations during 24 clinic days (0.01 question per patient encounter). These doctors subsequently found answers to 40% of their questions but were satisfied with only 67% of these answers. The investigators were able to provide answers for 95% of the questions asked and the doctors rated these answers as satisfactory in 86% of instances. Answers obtained by investigators had significantly higher satisfaction score than those obtained by doctors' search (p = 0.002). The two main findings of this study are (1) almost all questions arising in clinic setting could be answered by intensive search; (2) answers found by intensive searches were judged to be more satisfactory than those found routinely by doctors. Provision of an information retrieval service in addition to training in the searching and appraisal of medical literature are possible solutions to the information needs of busy clinicians.

    Study site: Primary Care Clinic,
    University Hospital Kuala Lumpur i
  10. Hanafi NS, Teng CL, Yasin S
    Asia Pac Fam Med, 2003;2(1):10-15.
    Aim: To assess the importance of continuity of care among diabetic patients attending a primary care clinic and to correlate degree of continuity of care with diabetic control. Methods: A cross sectional survey was carried out among diabetic patients (n = 166) attending follow-up consultations in a family practice clinic of a teaching hospital. Face-to-face interviews were carried out on patients' perception of continuity of care and various aspects related to diabetes. Diabetic control was assessed by glycosylated hemoglobin. Retrospective chart audits of each patient over the previous 28 months were done to assess the degree of continuity of care, measured with the Usual Provider Continuity Index (UPCI). Results: The UPCI ranged from 0.18 to 1.00 with a mean value of 0.60. The average number of visits per patient over the 28-month period was 11.7 visits. The majority of patients saw five different doctors for all their visits. There were no statistically significant associations between the degree of provider continuity with diabetic control (r = 0.054) and diabetic self-care behavior (r = 0.065). The majority of patients (89%) felt that it was important to have a regular doctor. The main reason given was that a regular doctor would know the patient's problems. Conclusions: Continuity of care was highly valued by diabetic patients attending a hospital-based family practice clinic. Even though the degree of continuity was not associated with the degree of diabetic control, patients felt that it was important to have doctors who are aware of their problems.
  11. Hawa A, Teng CL, Devaraj NK, Saadatun A, Rawaida AL, Chong FY, et al.
    PMID: 37449277 DOI: 10.51866/oa.100
    INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of lipohypertrophy in insulin-injecting patients with diabetes at selected primary care clinics in Malaysia.

    METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged ≥18 years with type 1 or 2 diabetes treated with insulin for at least 6 months at six selected public primary care clinics in Malaysia. The Injection Technique Questionnaire was used, and physical examination was conducted to detect the presence of lipohypertrophy. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS version 26.

    RESULTS: A total of 506 patients with type 2 diabetes were included in this study; of them, 60.47% were women, and 48.42% were Malays. The prevalence of lipohypertrophy was 39.6% (95% Confidence Interval, CI =35%-44%). The univariate analysis revealed that a larger number of injections per day, longer needle length, repeated use of needles, incorrect rotation of the injection site, longer insulin use duration, higher total insulin dose and higher HbA1c level were significantly associated with lipohypertrophy. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, incorrect rotation of the injection site was the only independent associated factor of lipohypertrophy.

    CONCLUSION: The prevalence of lipohypertrophy in this study is comparable with that in other studies. The identified associated factors of lipohypertrophy must be addressed in ongoing health education for insulin-injecting patients at Malaysian primary care clinics. Educating healthcare professionals and increasing awareness among patients with diabetes are important steps in preventing this complication.

  12. Ismail M, Teng CL, Teng CL, Omar M, Ho BK, Kusiar Z, et al.
    Singapore Med J, 2013 Jul;54(7):391-5.
    PMID: 23900469
    INTRODUCTION: Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has been underutilised. We conducted an open-label, randomised controlled trial to assess the feasibility of introducing SMBG in primary care clinics in Malaysia.

    METHODS: This was an open-label, randomised controlled trial conducted in five public primary care clinics in Malaysia. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (age range 35-65 years) not performing SMBG at the time of the study were randomised to receive either a glucometer for SMBG or usual care. Both groups of patients received similar diabetes care from the clinics.

    RESULTS: A total of 105 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled. Of these, 58 and 47 were randomised to intervention and control groups, respectively. After six months, the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level in the intervention group showed a statistically significant improvement of 1.3% (p = 0.001; 95% confidence interval 0.6-2.0), relative to the control group that underwent usual care. The percentages of patients that reached the HbA1c treatment target of ≤ 7% were 14.0% and 32.1% in the control and intervention groups (p = 0.036), respectively.

    CONCLUSION: The usage of a glucometer improved glycaemic control, possibly due to the encouragement of greater self-care in the intervention group.
  13. Jahanfar S, Ng CJ, Teng CL
    PMID: 19160255 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005458.pub2
    BACKGROUND: Mastitis can be caused by ineffective positioning of the baby at the breast or restricted feeding. Infective mastitis is commonly caused by Staphylococcus Aureus. Incidence of mastitis in breastfeeding women may reach 33%. Effective milk removal, pain medication and antibiotic therapy have been the mainstays of treatment.

    OBJECTIVES: This review aims to examine the effectiveness of antibiotic therapies in relieving symptoms for breastfeeding women with mastitis with or without laboratory investigation.

    SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (December 2007), the Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials (The Cochrane Library 2007, Issue 4), MEDLINE (1996 to 2007) and EMBASE (January 1985 to 2007). We contacted investigators and other content experts known to us for unpublished trials and scanned the reference lists of retrieved articles

    SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized and quasi-randomized clinical trials comparing the effectiveness of various types of antibiotic therapies or antibiotic therapy versus alternative therapies for the treatment of mastitis were selected.

    DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. When in dispute, we consulted a third author.

    MAIN RESULTS: Two trials met the inclusion criteria. One small trial (n = 25) compared amoxicillin with cephradine and found no significant difference between the two antibiotics in terms of symptom relief and abscess formation. Another, older study compared breast emptying alone as "supportive therapy" versus antibiotic therapy plus supportive therapy, and no therapy. The findings of the latter study suggested faster clearance of symptoms for women using antibiotics, although the study design was problematic.

    AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence to confirm or refute the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy for the treatment of lactational mastitis. There is an urgent need to conduct high-quality, double-blinded randomized clinical trials to determine whether antibiotics should be used in this common postpartum condition.
  14. Kamil MA, Teng CL, Hassan SA
    Respirology, 2007 May;12(3):375-80.
    PMID: 17539841 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1843.2007.01030.x
    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of snoring and breathing pauses during sleep, and to assess associated factors, including morbidity and the impact on daytime functioning, in an adult Malaysian population.
    METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of community-dwelling adults aged 30-70 years was conducted. Daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Physical examinations were limited to measurements of body habitus and blood pressure.
    RESULTS: The sample consisted of 1611 adults (52.9% male). The prevalence of habitual snoring, breathing pauses and excessive daytime sleepiness were 47.3%, 15.2% and 14.8%, respectively. Seven per cent of respondents (8.8% male, 5.1% female) were clinically suspected to have obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). The independent predictors of habitual snoring were older age, Chinese or Indian ethnicity (compared with Malays), smoking, obesity and use of sedatives. Clinically suspected OSAS and habitual snoring were significantly associated with difficulty in getting up in the morning, morning headache, driving and workplace accidents, hypertension, and ischaemic heart disease.
    CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of habitual snoring is high in the Malaysian population. Sleep-related breathing disorders in Malaysian adults are associated with significant morbidity.
  15. Khoo EM, Teng CL, Ng CJ, Jaafar S
    ISBN: 978-983-100-450-0
    Citation: Khoo EM, Teng CL, Ng CJ, Jaafar S. Bibliography of primary care research in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya; 2008
  16. Lai NM, Teng CL, Nalliah S
    Educ Health (Abingdon), 2012 Jul;25(1):33-9.
    PMID: 23787382
    CONTEXT: The Fresno test and the Berlin Questionnaire are two validated instruments for objectively assessing competence in evidence-based medicine (EBM). Although both instruments purport to assess a comprehensive range of EBM knowledge, they differ in their formats. We undertook a preliminary study using the adapted version of the two instruments to assess their correlations when administered to medical students. The adaptations were made mainly to simplify the presentation for our undergraduate students while preserving the contents that were assessed.
    METHODS: We recruited final-year students from a Malaysian medical school from September 2006 to August 2007. The students received a structured EBM training program within their curriculum. They took the two instruments concurrently, midway through their final six months of training. We determined the correlations using either the Pearson's or Spearman's correlation depending on the data distribution.
    RESULTS: Of the 120 students invited, 72 (60.0%) participated in the study. The adapted Fresno test and the Berlin Questionnaire had a Cronbach's alfa of 0.66 and 0.70, respectively. Inter-rater correlation (r) of the adapted Fresno test was 0.9. The students scored 45.4% on average [standard deviation (SD) 10.1] on the Fresno test and 44.7% (SD 14.9) on the Berlin Questionnaire (P = 0.7). The overall correlation between the two instruments was poor (r = 0.2, 95% confidence interval: -0.07 to 0.42, P = 0.08), and correlations remained poor between items assessing the same EBM domains (r = 0.01-0.2, P = 0.07-0.9).
    DISCUSSION: The adapted versions of the Fresno test and the Berlin Questionnaire correlated poorly when administered to medical students. The two instruments may not be used interchangeably to assess undergraduate competence in EBM.
  17. Lai NM, Teng CL
    BMC Med Educ, 2011;11:25.
    PMID: 21619672 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6920-11-25
    BACKGROUND: Previous studies report various degrees of agreement between self-perceived competence and objectively measured competence in medical students. There is still a paucity of evidence on how the two correlate in the field of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM). We undertook a cross-sectional study to evaluate the self-perceived competence in EBM of senior medical students in Malaysia, and assessed its correlation to their objectively measured competence in EBM.
    METHODS: We recruited a group of medical students in their final six months of training between March and August 2006. The students were receiving a clinically-integrated EBM training program within their curriculum. We evaluated the students' self-perceived competence in two EBM domains ("searching for evidence" and "appraising the evidence") by piloting a questionnaire containing 16 relevant items, and objectively assessed their competence in EBM using an adapted version of the Fresno test, a validated tool. We correlated the matching components between our questionnaire and the Fresno test using Pearson's product-moment correlation.
    RESULTS: Forty-five out of 72 students in the cohort (62.5%) participated by completing the questionnaire and the adapted Fresno test concurrently. In general, our students perceived themselves as moderately competent in most items of the questionnaire. They rated themselves on average 6.34 out of 10 (63.4%) in "searching" and 44.41 out of 57 (77.9%) in "appraising". They scored on average 26.15 out of 60 (43.6%) in the "searching" domain and 57.02 out of 116 (49.2%) in the "appraising" domain in the Fresno test. The correlations between the students' self-rating and their performance in the Fresno test were poor in both the "searching" domain (r = 0.13, p = 0.4) and the "appraising" domain (r = 0.24, p = 0.1).
    CONCLUSIONS: This study provides supporting evidence that at the undergraduate level, self-perceived competence in EBM, as measured using our questionnaire, does not correlate well with objectively assessed EBM competence measured using the adapted Fresno test.
    STUDY REGISTRATION: International Medical University, Malaysia, research ID: IMU 110/06.
  18. Lai NM, Teng CL, Lee ML
    BMC Med, 2011;9:30.
    PMID: 21450083 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-9-30
    BACKGROUND: Independent evaluation of clinical evidence is advocated in evidence-based medicine (EBM). However, authors' conclusions are often appealing for readers who look for quick messages. We assessed how well a group of Malaysian hospital practitioners and medical students derived their own conclusions from systematic reviews (SRs) and to what extent these were influenced by their prior beliefs and the direction of the study results.
    METHODS: We conducted two cross-sectional studies: one with hospital practitioners (n = 150) attending an EBM course in June 2008 in a tertiary hospital and one with final-year medical students (n = 35) in November 2008. We showed our participants four Cochrane SR abstracts without the authors' conclusions. For each article, the participants chose a conclusion from among six options comprising different combinations of the direction of effect and the strength of the evidence. We predetermined the single option that best reflected the actual authors' conclusions and labelled this as our best conclusion. We compared the participants' choices with our predetermined best conclusions. Two chosen reviews demonstrated that the intervention was beneficial ("positive"), and two others did not ("negative"). We also asked the participants their prior beliefs about the intervention.
    RESULTS: Overall, 60.3% correctly identified the direction of effect, and 30.1% chose the best conclusions, having identified both the direction of effect and the strength of evidence. More students (48.2%) than practitioners (22.2%) chose the best conclusions (P < 0.001). Fewer than one-half (47%) correctly identified the direction of effect against their prior beliefs. "Positive" SRs were more likely than "negative" SRs to change the participants' beliefs about the effect of the intervention (relative risk (RR) 1.8, 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 2.6) and "convert" those who were previously unsure by making them choose the appropriate direction of effect (RR 1.9, 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 2.8).
    CONCLUSIONS: The majority of our participants could not generate appropriate conclusions from SRs independently. Judicious direction from the authors' conclusions still appears crucial to guiding our health care practitioners in identifying appropriate messages from research. Authors, editors and reviewers should ensure that the conclusions of a paper accurately reflect the results. Similar studies should be conducted in other settings where awareness and application of EBM are different.
  19. Lai NM, Teng CL, Lee ML
    BMC Res Notes, 2010;3:279.
    PMID: 21050429 DOI: 10.1186/1756-0500-3-279
    Despite a recent increase in activities to promote evidence-based practice (EBP), it was unclear how Malaysian hospital practitioners received this new approach in medicine. This study examines their confidence and perceptions on EBP.
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links