METHODS: Methodological approaches were used to translate, validate, and modify the questionnaire. The subjects were older adults aged ≥ 60 years in primary care settings in Penang, Malaysia. Two forward translations (English to Malay) were developed, reviewed, and back translated to English. The reconciliation phase was conducted to compare the translated and original questionnaires. Five older adults were then interviewed for the cognitive debriefing of the reconciled questionnaire to assess the linguistic and cultural equivalence. Two experts assessed content validity, and the translated questionnaire was proofread and finalized. After that, pilot test was done to examine the internal consistency among 20 older adults.
RESULTS: Translation of the questionnaire was done with no major disagreements. The main issues identified in cognitive debriefing and content validity were terms, number of questions, and phrases used in the questionnaire. Most participants reported that the questionnaires were not difficult to complete during the cognitive debriefing phase. The issues were then judged and revised accordingly. Further pilot testing on 20 older adults demonstrated good internal consistency reliability, Cronbach α (0.902).
CONCLUSIONS: This study findings suggest promising data supporting the use of translated version of the Medication Use Questionnaire that can be used to identify medication use problems among older adults in Malaysia.
METHODS: Lignosus rhinocerotis, Pleurotus giganteus, Hericium erinaceus, Schizophyllum commune and Ganoderma lucidium were selected for evaluation of their in-vitro anti-dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) activities. Hot aqueous extracts (HAEs), ethanol extracts (EEs), hexane soluble extracts (HSEs), ethyl acetate soluble extracts (ESEs) and aqueous soluble extracts (ASEs) were prepared from the selected mushrooms. The cytotoxic effects of the extracts were evaluated by the MTT assay. The anti-DENV-2 activities of the extracts were evaluated in three different assays: simultaneous, attachment and penetration assays were perfomed using plaque reduction assays and RT-qPCR assays. The effect of the addition time on viral replication was assessed by the time of addition assay, and a virucidal assay was carried out to evaluate the direct effect of each mushroom extract on DENV-2. The chemical composition of glucans, and the protein and phenolic acid contents in the extracts were estimated.
RESULTS: We found that the HAEs and ASEs of L. rhinocerotis, P. giganteus, H. erinaceus and S. commune were the least toxic to Vero cells and showed very prominent anti-DENV2 activity. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of the ASEs ranged between 399.2-637.9 μg/ml, while for the HAEs the range was 312.9-680.6 μg/ml during simultaneous treatment. Significant anti-dengue activity was also detected in the penetration assay of ASEs (IC50: 226.3-315.4 μg/ml) and HAEs (IC50: 943.1-2080.2 μg/ml). Similarly, we observed a marked reduction in the expression levels of the ENV and NS5 genes in the simultaneous and penetration assays of the ASEs and HAEs. Time-of-addition experiments showed that the highest percent of anti-DENV2 activity was observed when the mushroom extracts were added immediately after virus adsorption. None of the extracts exhibited virucidal effect. Chemical composition analysis showed that the major components in the mushroom HAEs and ASEs were glucan (beta D-glucan) and proteins, however, there was no significant correlation between the anti-dengue activity and the concentration of glucans and proteins.
CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrated the potential of mushroom extracts as anti-dengue therapeutic agents with less toxic effects.
METHODS: The study used a qualitative methodology comprising 30 in-depth interviews among general practitioners and pharmacists in Penang, Malaysia, in public and private primary care settings. Participants were recruited based on purposive sampling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data were coded based on the principles of thematic analysis in NVivo.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to understand primary care providers' perspectives and challenges regarding medication use problems experienced by older adults.
RESULTS: Six themes emerged from the study. Theme one highlighted the pharmaceutical care needs of older adults with sensory impairments and accessibility issues. The second and third themes explored medicines management support and potentially inappropriate medication use. Theme four supported collaborative practice, prescribing, and deprescribing among primary health care providers. Theme five discussed health service delivery aligned to older adults' health care needs. The final theme emphasised social and welfare support.
CONCLUSION: This study identified various challenges professional primary care providers face in providing aligned healthcare services for older adults and proposed recommendations for further strengthening healthcare quality. Inputs from the primary healthcare system frontier are essential to reduce the challenges and uplift the quality of ageing populations' healthcare in Malaysia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The development of the prognostic model utilized prospectively collected longitudinal data of adult TB patients who smoked in the state of Selangor between 2013 until 2017, which were obtained from the Malaysian Tuberculosis Information System (MyTB) database. Data were randomly split into development and internal validation cohorts. A simple prognostic score (T-BACCO SCORE) was constructed based on the regression coefficients of predictors in the final logistic model of the development cohort. Estimated missing data was 2.8% from the development cohort and was completely at random. Model discrimination was determined using c-statistics (AUCs), and calibration was based on the Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness of fit test and calibration plot.
RESULTS: The model highlights several variables with different T-BACCO SCORE values as predictors for LTFU among TB patients who smoke (e.g., age group, ethnicity, locality, nationality, educational level, monthly income level, employment status, TB case category, TB detection methods, X-ray categories, HIV status, and sputum status). The prognostic scores were categorized into three groups that predict the risk for LTFU: low-risk (<15 points), medium-risk (15 to 25 points) and high-risk (> 25 points). The model exhibited fair discrimination with a c-statistic of 0.681 (95% CI 0.627-0.710) and good calibration with a nonsignificant chi-square Hosmer‒Lemeshow's goodness of fit test χ2 = 4.893 and accompanying p value of 0.769.
CONCLUSION: Predicting LTFU among TB patients who smoke in the early phase of TB treatment is achievable using this simple T-BACCO SCORE. The applicability of the tool in clinical settings helps health care professionals manage TB smokers based on their risk scores. Further external validation should be carried out prior to use.
OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out to determine the comparison between carapace width and growth band count of S. olivacea in Malaysia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples were collected from Setiu Wetlands, Terengganu, Malaysia from February until August, 2016. Samples were categorized based on their morphological measurements. The mesocardiac and zygocardiac ossicles in the gastric mill of S. olivacea was dissected out and preserved in solutions and underwent a cross sectioning process. A total of 76 of wild S. olivacea ranging from 6.56 to 12.84 cm in carapace width were analysed. The growth band counts were examined for each individual and ranging from 1 to 3 band counts.
RESULTS: A positive linear relation was observed between CW and GBC with r2 = 0.5178, p<0.01. Overall, there was a strong, positive correlation between CW and GBC. Increase in CW were correlated with increases in GBC respectively for this species.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, the carapace width, growth band counts and body weight can be used to improve data on growth, recruitment, maturation and mortality. Thus, this study would able to improve new ageing technique and contribute greatly to improve the conservation and management of S. olivacea in Setiu Wetlands, Terengganu, Malaysia.
DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.
SETTING: Routinely collected primary care data from all government TB clinics in Selangor.
PARTICIPANTS: Data of 24 570 eligible adult PTB patients from 2013 to 2019 were obtained from Selangor's State Health Department surveillance records. We included PTB patients aged at least 15 years old at the time of diagnosis with complete documentation of the dates of diagnosis, treatment initiation, end of treatment/follow-up and treatment outcomes. We excluded patients whose diagnoses were changed to non-TB, post-mortem TB diagnosis and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) patients.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: TB-related death, determined from the recorded physicians' consensus during the TB mortality meeting.
RESULTS: TB-related death was significantly associated with far (adjusted HR (aHR) 9.98, 95% CI 4.28 to 23.28) and moderately advanced (aHR 3.23, 95% CI 1.43 to 7.31) radiological findings at diagnosis; concurrent TB meningitis (aHR 7.67, 95% CI 4.53 to 12.98) and miliary TB (aHR 6.32, 95% CI 4.10 to 9.74) involvement; HIV positive at diagnosis (aHR 2.81, 95% CI 2.21 to 3.57); Hulu Selangor (aHR 1.95, 95% CI 1.29 to 2.93), Klang (aHR 1.53, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.98) and Hulu Langat (aHR 1.31, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.68) residing districts; no formal education (aHR 1.70, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.35); unemployment (aHR 1.54, 95% CI 1.29 to 1.84), positive sputum smear acid-fast bacilli (AFB) at diagnosis (aHR 1.51, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.85); rural residency (aHR 1.39, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.72) and advancing age (aHR 1.03, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.03).
CONCLUSIONS: Far and moderately advanced radiological findings, concurrent TB meningitis and miliary TB involvement, HIV positive, Hulu Selangor, Klang and Hulu Langat residing districts, no formal education, unemployment, positive sputum smear AFB, rural residency and advancing age are risk factors of TB-related death. Our findings should assist in identifying high-risk patients requiring interventions against TB-related death.