Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 845 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Zurina Z, Rohani A, Neela V, Norlijah O
    PMID: 23413711
    Group B beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GBS) sepsis is a serious bacterial infection in neonates, with significant morbidity and mortality. We report here a neonate with late onset GBS infection manifesting as a urinary tract infection (UTI) in an infant presenting with prolonged neonatal jaundice. The pathogenesis of this late onset is postulated.
  2. Zulkifli A, Khairul Anuar A, Atiya AS
    PMID: 10695800
    A cross-sectional survey of the nutritional status of children aged 1-10 years old from the Kuala Betis resettlement villages was carried out. A total of 620 children were examined, of which 329 were preschool children and 291 were schoolchildren. The age was determined and anthropometric measurements such as weight, height and MUAC were taken. The nutritional status was assessed by looking at the distributions of the z-scores of weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-height (WHZ) in relation to the growth charts of the National Center for Health Statistics reference population. It was found that the nutritional status of the Orang Asli children was poor, with a prevalence of 33.7-65.3% underweight, 55.3-74.4% stunting and 4.4-29.7% wasting based on the NCHS reference values. The prevalence of malnutrition among the Malay children was lower, underweight--7.3-34.1%, stunting--9.8-34.1% and wasting--1.7-17.1%. The nutritional status of the Orang Asli children were poorer compared to the Malay children. More preschool Orang Asli children were stunted compared to the Orang Asli schoolchildren. This may be due to the poor economic base of the Orang Asli community during the transformation period after resettlement. A comprehensive primary health care program is essential, especially targeting the preschool Orang Asli children in these resettlement villages.
  3. Zulkifli A, Anuar AK, Atiya AS, Yano A
    PMID: 11127336
    A cross-sectional study of the nutritional status of schoolchildren aged 7-10 years from the Kuala Betis Resettlement Scheme in Gua Musang, Kelantan was done. A total of 291 schoolchildren were examined but only 183 (62.9%) fecal samples were returned for geo-helminth infection analysis. The prevalence of stunting was 40.4% and underweight was 28.4%. A total of 127 schoolchildren (69.4%) were positive for at least one of the 3 geo-helminth infections. The most common geo-helminth was Ascaris lumbricoides (62.8%), followed by Trichuris trichiura (38.9%), and hookworm infection was relatively low (12.6%). All the anthropometric indices measured were lower in the geo-helminth infected children compared to the uninfected childen, except for the weight-for-height z-score. However the differences were insignificant Geo-helminth infections may not be a significant factor in malnutrition of these schoolchildren. However, with the availability of safe, efficacious and cheap broad spectrum anthelmintics, regular mass treatment should be given in selected areas where the prevalence of geo-helminth infections is still high, so that these schoolchildren will be able to achieve their growth potential during their school years.
  4. Zong Z, Wang X, Deng Y
    PMID: 27244959
    A previously healthy Chinese male working in Malaysia returned to China with high fever. A blood culture showed Burkholderia pseudomallei strain WCBP1. This isolate was sequenced, showing type, ST881, which appears to be present in Malaysia. WCP1 had unusual susceptibility to aminoglycosides and habored the Yersinia-like fimbrial gene cluster for virulence. The patient's condition deteriorated rapidly but he recovered after receiving meropenem and intensive care support. Melioidosis is a potential problem among Chinese imigrant workers with strains new to China being identified.
  5. Zarina AL, Hamidah A, Zulkifli SZ, Jamal R
    PMID: 15916058
    Thalassemia is the commonest hemoglobinopathy in Malaysia. Patients with thalassemia major are transfusion dependent, and a large proportion of them will require splenectomy. As this particular group of patients is immunocompromized, overwhelming sepsis is a recognized complication. We report a series of three patients who all developed intra-abdominal abscesses following splenectomy.
  6. Zakiah I, Ashikin YN, Aisiah SM, Ismail HI
    PMID: 8629092
    The Malaysian level of health care has greatly improved so that many of the infectious diseases are now under control. However, perinatal death or death due to unknown childhood diseases remains high (10.3%) being second on the list of causes of death amongst Malaysians. Could inborn metabolic diseases be the main cause of death among these children? Recently, with our success in the development of confirmatory techniques for amino acid disorders using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we have examined 404 samples received from all over the country in 1993. Each specimen with abnormal findings from screening tests by one-dimensional thin layer chromatography was confirmed using HPLC. 41% had generalized aminoacidurias and 4.2% had maple syrup urine disease (MSUD). Patients were aged between 11 days to 6 years. Most of them were Malay males and presented with a history suggestive of MSUD. With this preliminary finding, further studies will be carried out in order to have an investigation and management protocol for the diseases and more importantly to formulate a strategy of screening for the country.
  7. Zainuddin N, Jaafar H, Isa MN, Abdullah JM
    PMID: 16124450
    Frequent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and mutations of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted from chromosome 10) have been found in sporadic gliomas. The most documented regions of allelic losses include 9p21, 10q23-25 and 17p1 3 whereas PTEN aberrations are preferentially found in glioblastoma multiformes. This research aimed to detect the incidence of allelic losses on chromosomes 10q, 9p, 17p and 13q and mutations on exons 5, 6 and 8 of PTEN in malignant gliomas. Malignant glioma specimens obtained were classified histopathologically according to the WHO criteria. Each tumor was then subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-LOH analysis using microsatellite markers and single-stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. Twelve of 23 (52%) malignant glioma cases showed allelic losses whereas 7 of 23 (30%) samples showed aberrant band patterns and mutations of PTEN. Four of these cases showed LOH in 10q23 and mutations of PTEN. The data on LOH indicated the involvement of different genes in the genesis of glioma whereas mutations of PTEN indicated the role of PTEN tumor suppressor gene in the progression of glioma in Malay population.
  8. Zainal D, Baba A
    PMID: 9031425
    It is important to diagnose and treat urinary tract infection in children before renal damage has taken place. Hence a new screening procedure will be of interest. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of urinary nitrite in screening for asymptomatic bacteriuria among school children compared to a more traditional method. Of the 44,816 school children investigated 240 (0.54%) students were judged to have bacteriuria ie 82 (0.19%) in boys and 158 (0.35%) in girls. Escherichia coli was the commonest organism isolated (28.75%). Urine dipstick testing for nitrite was found to have a low sensitivity and positive predictive value. While urinalysis for pyuria was noted to have a sensitivity of 77.9%, a specificity of 95.8% and a negative predictive value of 99.9%.
  9. Zainal D, Monniaty M, Nazmi N
    PMID: 9139394
    The pattern and outcome of patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) in Kelantan, the northeastern state of Malaysia was determined. A total of 60 patients with CRF managed at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia between January 1991 and June 1993 were reviewed retrospectively. The prevalence of CRF was 24.8 patients per year. The ratio of male to female patients was 1.5 : 1.0. Their mean age at presentation was 51.4 +/- 13.7 years. The cause of CRF in majority of our patients was unknown. Their mean blood urea and serum creatinine were 38.9 +/- 9.8 mmol/l and 1,154.9 +/- 458.7 mumol/l respectively. Sixty-five percent of our patients were already in end-stage renal failure (ESRF) at the time of presentation and only 53.8% of them could afford a definitive renal replacement therapy. Their mortality rate was 21.7% and majority of the death occurred in patients who were not receiving definitive renal replacement therapy. This debilitating course will continue unless the cost of renal replacement therapy is subsidised or a renal transplantation program is activated. Hence public education to encourage organ donation in this part of Malysia is necessary.
  10. Zainal D, Baba A, Mustaffa BE
    PMID: 9139395
    Screening for proteinuria and hematuria is important in the prevention of chronic renal disease. In Malaysia to date no such attempt has been made to establish the prevalence of proteinuria and hematuria. A total of 45,149 primary school children from three districts in Kelantan were screened for proteinuria and hematuria. They were 23,289 boys and 21,860 girls. The prevalence of abnormal urinary sediments after third screening was 0.17% ie 0.07% were in boys and 0.10% were in girls. The commonest abnormality was proteinuria (0.12%), followed by hematuria (0.03%) and combination of proteinuria and hematuria (0.02%). Hematuria was more commonly seen in girls compared to boys while proteinuria was seen in almost equal proportion in boys and girls. Despite screening large number of children the prevalence of asymptomatic proteinuria and hematuria was far lower than in an earlier reported study. Furthermore the majority had mild abnormalities.
  11. Zainal D, Riduan A, Ismail AM, Norhayati O
    PMID: 8525403
    Renal biopsy is essential in the management of renal parenchymal diseases. Thus far there is no publish report on the pattern of glomerulonephritis in Kelantan. We decided to establish the pattern of glomerulonephritis in Kelantan and use this information as our reference in future studies. Records of patients who had proven glomerulonephritis histologically were analysed. Their biological data, clinical presentation, etiology and clinicopathological pattern were studied. Where appropriate mean and standard deviation were calculated. A total of 74 biopsies were performed during the study period (between January 1991 and December 1993), out of which 72 biopsies (97.3%) were considered suitable for analysis. The male to female ratio was 1:1.1. Mean age at presentation was 27.6 +/- 12.2 years. Nephrotic syndrome was the commonest clinical presentation (65.3%). The main underlying cause was systemic lupus erythematosus (50%) followed by primary glomerulonephritis. Histologically, IgA nephropathy and minimal change disease were the main patterns among patients with primary glomerulonephritis while diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis was the commonest pattern among patients with lupus nephritis. Hence the pattern of glomerulonephritis is similar to other reported series. The procedure is considered safe and has a high success rate.
  12. Zain RB
    PMID: 2609215
    The prevalence of clinically observed oral lichenoid reaction in 186 Malay army personnel using Fansidar for 9 weeks was found to be 4.8%. The prevalence was found to be 0.5% in 186 army personnel who had stopped using Fansidar for 2 months and 0% in 143 army personnel (control group) who had not used Fansidar for at least 4 months. The lesion showed a higher prevalence for the gingiva. There was no correlation between cigarette smoking and the occurrence of these lesions in each group.
  13. Zain NM, Low WY, Othman S
    PMID: 26521527
    Pregnancy among unmarried women may have negative social and health implications in Malaysia. The number of pregnancies among unmarried women has increased in Malaysia, but the socio-demographic profile of these women is unclear. This study aims to evaluate the characteristics of unmarried pregnant women and the factors associated with unmarried pregnancies among young women in Malaysia. We conducted a cross sectional study at six hospitals and six women's shelters in Peninsular Malaysia during 2011-2012. Unmarried pregnant women were compared with married pregnant women. Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire asking for socio-demographic data, family background, risky sexual behavior, social support and pregnancy details. A total of 484 women (239 unmarried and 245 married) were included in the study. Most unmarried subjects were adolescents, from urban areas, from a low socioeconomic group, and lived with parents prior to pregnancy. Age (OR=0.67; 95% CI: 0.61-0.74), studying status (OR=17.33; 95% CI: 2.65-113.19), alcohol use (OR=40.46; 95% CI: 2.51-652.38) exposure to pornographic material (OR=13.48; 95% CI: 3.24-56.01), contraceptive use (OR=0.20; 95% CI: 0.08-0.51), and social support (OR=0.90; 95% CI: 0.86-0.94) were all associated with unmarried pregnancy. These factors need to be considered when.designing an intervention program.
  14. Zain MM, Naing NN
    PMID: 12236444
    Diseases spread through food still remain a common and persistent problems resulting in appreciable morbidity and occasional mortality. Food handlers play an important role in ensuring food safety throughout the chain of production, processing, storage and preparation. This study is to explore the pattern of sociodemographic distribution and to determine knowledge, attitude and practice of food handlers towards food-borne diseases and food safety. A total of 430 food handlers were randomly selected from Kota Bharu district and interviewed by using structured questionnaire. Distribution of food handlers was Malays (98.8%), females (69.5%), married (81.4%), working in food stalls (64.2%), involved in operational areas (49.3%), having no license (54.2%) and immunized with Ty2 (60.7%). The mean age was 41 +/- 12 years and the mean income was RM 465 +/- 243/month. The educational level was found as no formal education (10.5%), primary school (31.9%), secondary school (57.0%) and diploma/degree holders (0.7%). A significant number of food handlers (57.2%) had no certificate in food handlers training program and 61.9% had undergone routine medical examinations (RME). Almost half (48.4%) had poor knowledge. Multiple logistic regression showed type of premise [Odd ratio (OR) = 4.0, 95% Confidence interval (CI) =1.8-7.5, p = 0.0004], educational level (OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 1.8-7.4, p = 0.0003) and job status of food handlers (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.3-0.8, p = 0.0031) significantly influenced the level score of knowledge. No significant difference of attitude and practice between trained and untrained food handlers. Findings of this preliminary study may help in planning health education intervention programs for food handlers in order to have improvement in knowledge, attitude and practice towards food-borne diseases and food safety. Furthermore, it will in turn reduce national morbidity and mortality of food-borne diseases.
  15. Zaidah AR, Chan YY, Asma HS, Abdullah S, Nurhaslindawati AR, Salleh M, et al.
    PMID: 18564692
    This cross-sectional study determined the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in HIV-infected patients using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Stool specimens were collected from HIV infected patients who were admitted to Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bharu, Malaysia, for various indications from December 2004 to December 2005. A modified acid-fast stain was performed on the direct stool smears, then the stool specimens were further tested using nested PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Cryptosporidium parvum, with a built-in internal control (IC). Out of 59 samples, 11 were positives. Nested PCR identified a total of nine samples (16%) compared to microscopy, which identified only three samples. All PCR negative results showed IC amplicons, suggesting that these samples were true negatives and were not due to inhibition of PCR. This study highlights the importance of molecular diagnosis in determining the true prevalence and epidemiology of C. parvum.
  16. Yusoff H, Daud WN, Ahmad Z
    PMID: 23082570
    A higher occurrence of iron deficiency anemia is present in rural Malaysia than urban Malaysia due to a lower socio-economic status of rural residents. This study was conducted in Tanah Merah, a rural district of Kelantan, Malaysia. Our objective was to investigate the impact of nutrition education alone, daily iron, folate and vitamin C supplementation or both on knowledge, attitudes and hemoglobin status of adolescent students. Two hundred eighty fourth year secondary students were each assigned by school to 1 of 4 different treatment groups. Each intervention was carried out for 3 months followed by 3 months without treatment. A validated self-reported knowledge and attitude questionnaire was administered; hemoglobin levels were measured before and after intervention. At baseline, no significant difference in hemoglobin was noted among the 4 groups (p = 0.06). The changes in hemoglobin levels at 3 months were 11, 4.6, 3.9 and -3.7% for the supplementation, nutrition education, combination and control groups, respectively. The changes at 6 months were 1.0, 6.8, 3.7 and -14.8%, respectively. Significant improvements in knowledge and attitude were evidenced in both the nutritional education and combination groups. The supplementation and control groups had no improvement in knowledge or attitudes. This study suggests nutritional education increases knowledge, attitudes and hemoglobin levels among Malaysian secondary school adolescents.
  17. Yusof ZYM, Hassan WNW, Razak IA, Hashim SMN, Tahir MKAM, Keng SB
    PMID: 29641164
    This study aimed to evaluate the association between dental students’
    personality traits and stress levels in relation to dental education programs among
    senior dental students in University Malaya (UM) in Malaysia and National University
    of Singapore (NUS). A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered
    questionnaire was conducted on UM and NUS senior dental students. The questionnaire
    comprised items on demographic background, the Big Five Inventory
    Personality Traits (BFIPT) test and a modified Dental Environment Stress (DES)
    scale. Rasch analysis was used to convert raw data to interval scores. Analyses
    were done by t-test, Pearson correlation, and Hierarchical regression statistics.
    The response rate was 100% (UM=132, NUS=76). Personality trait Agreeableness
    (mean=0.30) was significantly more prevalent among UM than NUS students
    (mean=0.15, p=0.016). In NUS, Neuroticism (mean=0.36) was significantly more
    prevalent than in UM (mean=0.14, p=0.002). The DES mean score was higher
    among NUS (mean=0.23) than UM students (mean=0.07). In UM, Neuroticism
    was significantly correlated with stress levels (r=0.338, p<0.001). In NUS, these
    were Neuroticism (r=0.278, p=0.015), Agreeableness (r=0.250, p=0.029) and Conscientiousness
    (r=-0.242, p=0.035) personality traits. The correlation was strongest
    for personality trait Neuroticism in both schools. Hierarchical regression analysis
    showed that gender and Neuroticism were significant predictors for students’
    stress levels (p<0.05) with the latter exerting a bigger effect size (R2=0.18) than
    gender (R2=004). This study showed that gender and Neuroticism personality
    trait were significant predictors for stress levels among selected groups of dental
    students in Southeast Asia. Information on students’ personality may be useful in
    new students’ intake, stress management counseling and future program reviews.
  18. Yunus R, Ariff AR, Shuaib IL, Jelani AM, Alias NA, Abdullah J, et al.
    PMID: 17121310
    There is very little data regarding the factors related to intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery in normal individuals in those with non-insulin diabetes mellitus and perimenopausal women in Southeast Asian countries. Ultrasound imaging evaluating the carotid artery IMT in those with diabetes and those on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was performed beginning in August 2000 for a period of nearly two years at the Department of Radiology, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia. A total of 153 participants were included. Significant differences between the women on HRT and not on HRT were IMT and systolic blood pressure. When comparing those with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and normal individuals, the significant differences were IMT, total cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. IMT was high in those with NIDDM but not in those on HRT. Both those with NIDDM and those on HRT had associated dyslipidemia and systolic hypertension.
Filters
Contact Us

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

External Links