METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, the neurodevelopmental status of infants (N = 298) born to women with SARS-CoV-2 infections during pregnancy was assessed at 10-12 months post-discharge using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd edition (ASQ-3). The ASQ-3 scores were classified into developmental delays (cutoff scores ≤ 2 standard deviations (SDs) below the population mean) and no delays (scores > 2 SDs above the population mean).
RESULTS: The majority (90%) of the infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infections during pregnancy had favorable outcomes and only 10% showed developmental delays. Two of the 298 infants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and both had normal ASQ-3 scores. The majority of the pregnant women had SARS-CoV-2 infections during their third trimester. The risk of developmental delays among infants was higher in those whose mothers had SARS-CoV-2 infections during the first (P = 0.039) and second trimesters (P = 0.001) than in those whose mothers had SARS-CoV-2 infections during the third trimester.
CONCLUSION: The neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infections seem favorable. However, more studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are required.
METHODS: This study uses a long-term library (MantaMatcher.org) of photo-identification data collected by researchers and citizen scientists to investigate manta ray demographics and habitat use within the park at four sites frequented by tour operators: Cauldron, Karang Makassar, Mawan, and Manta Alley. Residency and movements of manta rays were investigated with maximum likelihood analyses and Markov movement models.
RESULTS: A total of 1,085 individual manta rays were identified from photographs dating from 2013 to 2018. In general, individual manta rays displayed a higher affinity to specific sites than others. The highest re-sighting probabilities came from the remote southern site, Manta Alley. Karang Makassar and Mawan are only ~5 km apart; however, manta rays displayed distinct site affinities. Exchange of individuals between Manta Alley and the two central sites (~35.5 km apart) occurred, particularly seasonally. More manta rays were recorded traveling from the south to the central area than vice versa. Female manta rays were more mobile than males. Similar demographic groups used Karang Makassar, Mawan, and Manta Alley for foraging, cleaning, cruising, or courtship activities. Conversely, a higher proportion of immature manta rays used the northern site, Cauldron, where foraging was commonly observed. Fishing gear-related injuries were noted on 56 individuals (~5%), and predatory injuries were present on 32 individuals (~3%). Tourism within the park increased from 2014 to 2017, with 34% more dive boats per survey at Karang Makassar and Mawan.
DISCUSSION: The Komodo NP contains several distinct critical habitats for manta rays that encompass all demographics and accommodate seasonal manta ray movements. While the present study has not examined population trends, it does provide foundational data for such work. Continued research into manta ray abundance, long-range movements, and identifying and protecting other critical aggregation areas within the region is integral to securing the species' recovery. We provide management recommendations to limit undue pressure on manta rays and their critical habitats from tourism.
METHODS: Data were prospectively collected over 6 months (October 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021) with 1-month follow-up. In October 2020, Delta variant of SARS CoV-2 was isolated for the first time. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed and reported according to the STROBE guidelines. Baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients who had COVID-19 were compared with those who did not.
RESULTS: A total of 2893 patients, from 42 countries, 218 centers, involved, with a median age of 61.3 (SD: 17.39) years were prospectively enrolled in this study; 1481 (51%) patients were males. One hundred and eighty (6.9%) patients were COVID-19 positive, while 2412 (93.1%) were negative. Concomitant preexisting diseases including cardiovascular diseases (p
METHOD: A total of 250 adults (mean age = 29 years; range = 19-60 years) completed the POSHA-S in English. We compared this sample's attitudes toward stuttering to POSHA-S data from other global samples. General linear modeling examined differences in overall stuttering score, beliefs, and self reaction subscores for demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, parenting, education, employment status, prior exposure to a person who stutters, multilingual, race, and religion.
RESULTS: The Malaysian participants' overall stuttering score and the beliefs and self reactions subscores were all considerably lower (i.e., less positive) than the other samples around the world from the POSHA-S database median values. Being male, receiving a higher education, and knowing someone who stutters were linked to having more positive self reactions, but none of those factors was linked to positive or negative beliefs. Those who had previously been exposed to stuttering scored significantly higher than those who had not.
CONCLUSION: Malaysians may have less positive attitudes toward stuttering than Westerners. More needs to be done to make society more accepting of people who stutter. Future research should aim to find ways to educate and to raise public awareness about stuttering.
METHODS: Pubmed, Scopus and the Web of Science databases for literature describing asymptomatic P. knowlesi malaria published between 2010 and 2020 were searched. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify studies reporting the prevalence and incidence of laboratory confirmed asymptomatic P. knowlesi cases in humans, their clinical and demographic characteristics, and methods used to diagnose these cases.
RESULTS: By analysing over 102 papers, thirteen were eligible for this review. Asymptomatic P. knowlesi infections have been detected in 0.03%-4.0% of the population depending on region, and infections have been described in children as young as 2 years old. Various different diagnostic methods were used to detect P. knowlesi cases and there were differing definitions of asymptomatic cases in these studies. The literature indicates that regionally-differing immune-related mechanisms may play a part on the prevalence of asymptomatic P. knowlesi.
CONCLUSION: Differing epidemiological characteristics of asymptomatic P. knowlesi malaria in different regions reinforces the need to further investigate disease transmission mechanics. Effective public health responses to changes in P. knowlesi epidemiology require proactive intervention and multisectoral collaboration.
PURPOSE: With the rising number of older people in Malaysia, it is envisaged that the number of fragility hip fractures would also increase. The objective of this study was to determine patient characteristics and long-term outcomes of hip fracture in older individuals at a teaching hospital in Malaysia.
METHODS: This was a prospective observational study which included consecutive patients aged ≥ 65 years old admitted to the orthopedic ward with acute hip fractures between March 2016 and August 2018. Patient socio-demographic details, comorbidities, pre-fracture mobility status, fracture type, operation and anesthesia procedure, and length of stay were recorded. Post-fracture mobility status was identified at 6 months. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to assess the risk of death in all patients.
RESULTS: 310 patients (70% women) with the mean age of 79.89 years (SD 7.24) were recruited during the study period. Of these, 284 patients (91.6%) underwent surgical intervention with a median time to surgery of 5 days (IQR 3-8) days. 60.4% of patients who underwent hip fracture surgery did not recover to their pre-fracture mobility status. One year mortality rate was 20.1% post hip fracture surgery. The independent predictor of mortality included advanced age (hazard ratio, HR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01-1.08; p = 0.01), dependency on activities of daily living (HR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.26-3.45; p = 0.01), and longer length of hospitalization (HR = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.01-1.04; p
METHOD: A systematic review and meta-analysis approach was adopted as per the PRISMA guidelines, targeting articles published in PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus from January 2021 to March 30, 2021. The screening resulted in 82 papers.
RESULTS: The overall pooled depression prevalence among 201,953 respondents was 34% (95%CI, 29-38, 99.7%), with no significant differences observed between the cohorts, timelines, and regions (p > 0.05). Dominant risk factors found were fear of COVID-19 infection (13%), gender (i.e., females; 12%) and deterioration of underlying medical conditions (8.3%), regardless of the sub-groups. Specifically, fear of COVID-19 infection was the most reported risk factor among general population (k = 14) and healthcare workers (k = 8). Gender (k = 7) and increased workload (k = 7) were reported among healthcare workers whereas education disruption among students (k = 7).
LIMITATION: The review is limited to articles published in three electronic databases. Conclusion The pandemic has caused depression among the populations across Asia Pacific, specifically among the general population, healthcare workers and students. Immediate attention and interventions from the concerned authorities are needed in addressing this issue.
DESIGN: Hayvaert et al.'s mixed methods research synthesis approach.
DATA SOURCES: The search process in the following databases, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus resulted in eight high-quality studies (5 qualitative and 3 quantitative) published between June 2016 and July 2021.
REVIEW METHODS: Descriptive statistics and instrument scores were provided in summary form. Themes were analysed using Krippendorff's content analysis. A joint display was provided to reveal a complementary relationship between two different data sets.
RESULTS: A total of 348 single mothers participated. Amongst the pooled sample, women identified as: Japanese (n = 174), Israeli (n = 147), Black African (n = 18), African American (n = 9), Native American (n = 5), Burundian-Australian (n = 8), UK British (n = 12), Asian (n = 3), South Korean (n = 7), Indian (n = 2), Malaysian (n = 44), Hispanic/Latina (n = 1) and Eastern European (n = 3). Four themes were identified: (1) Learning to let go of the past, (2) It takes a whole village: Importance of social support, (3) Seeking a self-reliant life: Challenges with balancing career & childcare and (4) Finding strength within: Personal growth. Only one intervention utilizing creative group counselling was found to significantly decrease depression (p = .008), anxiety (p = .005), and stress (p = .012) whilst increasing self-compassion (p = .013).
CONCLUSION: It is important for clinicians who care for single mothers, particularly if they recently immigrated, are multiparous, and an ethnic minority to encourage engagement in peer-initiated counselling and obtain mental health care as necessary.
IMPACT: This study identified and addressed the mental health issues that single mothers face worldwide. This is also the first mixed methods research synthesis to report single mothers' ethnicity in nursing and midwifery literature. Thus, findings from this mixed methods research synthesis can help nurses worldwide build culturally-concordant programs in their respective community organizations and partners (e.g. community health centres, mother-child enrichment clubs), inform health policies, and promote safer spaces for many single mothers, particularly for those who will immigrate to the Global North (i.e. UK, US, Canada) and become an ethnic minority.
METHODS: This is a systematic review and a meta-analysis evaluating the evidence from clinical trials on the effect of colchicine and corticosteroids against COVID-19. In this review, we have systematically searched five databases [(PubMed, Embase, clinicaltrials.gov, ICTRP, CINAHL (EBSCO)]. Cochrane's data extraction sheet was used to collect the required information, and RevMan-5.4.1 was used to conduct the meta-analysis and to assess the risk of bias. The review was registered in Prospero (CRD42022299718).
RESULTS: The total number of included studies was 17, with 18,956 participants; the majority were male 12,001. Out of which, 8772 participants were on colchicine, 569 took methylprednisolone, and 64 patients received prednisolone. The meta-analysis has shown that colchicine had no significant effect on reducing the mortality rate among COVID-19 patients [OR 0.98(95% CI 0.90-1.08), p = .70), I2:1%)], corticosteroids have significantly reduced the mortality rates [OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.33-0.91), p = .02, I2:40]. Colchicine did not reduce the incidence of ICU admissions [OR 0.74 (95% CI 0.39-1.40), p = .35, I2:0%], while steroidal drugs significantly reduced the ICU admissions [OR 0.42 (95% CI 0.23-0.78), p = .005, I2:0%]. Unlike steroidal drugs [OR 0.53 (95% CI 0.30-0.95), p = .03, I2:61%], colchicine failed to reduce the need for mechanical ventilation [OR 0.73 (95% CI 0.48-1.10), p = .13, I2:76%]. Steroidal drugs significantly reduced the duration of hospitalization among COVID-19 patients [OR -0.50 (95% CI -0.79-0.21), p = .0007, I2:36%].
CONCLUSIONS: The use of colchicine did not significantly reduce the mortality rate, ICU admissions, and mechanical ventilation among COVID-19 patients. Conversely, corticosteroids significantly reduced the mortality rate, ICU admissions, mechanical ventilation, and hospitalization duration among COVID-19 patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients admitted to the five geriatric medicine wards in a geriatric department over a 5- month period who developed acute retention of urine were included in the project. Patients who had hydronephrosis or were already on catheter for more than a week were excluded. Patients included were randomised to PVRU of 200 ml or 300ml. The male and female participants were randomised into separate groups. The primary outcome measures were success in weaning off IMC and the development of urinary tract infection (UTI). The secondary outcomes were the frequency of IMC required and the days needed to wean off IMC successfully.
RESULTS: Both the 200 ml and 300 ml groups had equal success in weaning off IMC and were equally likely to be associated with UTI. However, the 200-ml group had more IMC done within the first 3 days (3.3, SD 2.4 vs 2.4, SD 1.6, p = 0.030), but was weaned off IMC earlier (3.5, SD 1.7, vs 4.8, SD 2.3 days, p = 0.049).
CONCLUSION: We conclude that PVRU of 200 ml or 300 ml are both reasonable cut-off values prior to performing IMC.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed involving 331 subjects between 45-90 years recruited at a health screening programme. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. Biochemical analyses on fasting blood samples and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scan to determine bone mineral density (BMD) were performed.
RESULTS: Increased waist circumference (WC) was protective for abnormal BMD status (osteopenia and OP). Males with increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) were more likely to be osteoporotic. WC, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and triglyceride (TG) were positively associated with BMD at all sites but was gender specific. In contrast, WC was negatively associated with trabecular bone score (TBS) for females but this association became attenuated when adjusted for fat percentage. HDL and MetS were negatively and positively associated with BMD, respectively in males.
CONCLUSION: The cardiovascular risk factors of raised WC, FBG, TG and low HDL were significantly associated with increased BMD with skeletal site and gender specific differences after adjusting for confounders. However, a higher WC was associated with a weaker skeletal microstructure reflected by lower TBS in females driven by fat percentage. A higher BMD was demonstrated among MetS individuals. These findings suggest that adiposity may have a protective effect on BMD.