METHODS: A total of 141 patients (77 HD and 64 CAPD) from 1 federal and four state hospitals participated in this cross-sectional study. Patients were randomly selected from the National Renal Registry (NRR) using a stratified random sampling. The EQ-5D-3 L questionnaire was used to measure HRQOL. Variables investigated include dialysis modalities, sociodemographic characteristics, co-morbidities and biochemical markers. Utilities are measured on an ordinal scale of 0-1, where 1 indicates full health and 0 indicates death.
RESULTS: The mean utility scores were 0.854 ± 0.181 and 0.905 ± 0.124 (p > 0.05) and the mean Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores were 76.2 ± 12.90 and 77.1 ± 10.26 (p > 0.05) for HD and CAPD patients respectively. There was a significant difference in problems reported between HD (35.1%) and CAPD (15.6%) on usual activities dimension (p = 0.009). The proportion of patients having problems in the pain/discomfort domain in both modalities was high (34.0%). Haemoglobin (
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This two-phase sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, incorporating a quantitative design (phase I) and a qualitative study (phase II), is to be conducted in 4 government hospitals and 10 other non-governmental organisations or private dialysis centres within Klang Valley, Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey (phase I) will include 236 patient-caregiver dyads, while focus group discussions (phase II) will include 30 participants. The participants for both phases will be recruited purposively. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests and multiple regression analysis will be used for analyses in phase I, and thematic analysis will be used in phase II.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Approval for the study has been obtained from the National Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC) (NMRR-21-1012-59714) and the Research Ethics Committee of Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM (UKM PPI/111/8/JEP-2021-078) and University of Malaya Medical Centre (MREC ID NO: 2 02 178-10346). Informed consent of the participants will be obtained beforehand, and no personal identifiers will be obtained from the participants to protect their anonymity. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at national or international conferences with minimal anonymised data.
METHODS: This was a cross sectional study design. A total of 347 respondents from low household income groups, including persons with disability and Orang Asli were recruited from E-kasih. A semi-guided self-administered questionnaire was used. QOL measured by EQ. 5D utility value and health status measured by visual analogue score (VAS). Descriptive statistic, bivariate Chi-square analysis and binary logistic regression were conducted to determine factors influencing low QOL and poor health status.
RESULTS: Majority of the respondents were Malay, female (61%), 63% were married, 60% were employed and 46% with total household income of less than 1 thousand Ringgit Malaysia. 70% of them were not having any chronic medical problems. Factors that associated with low QOL were male, single, low household income, and present chronic medical illness, while poor health status associated with female, lower education level and present chronic medical illness. Logistic regression analysis has showed that determinants of low QOL was present chronic illness [AOR 4.15 95%CI (2.42, 7.13)], while determinants for poor health status were; female [AOR 1.94 95%CI (1.09,3.44)], lower education [AOR 3.07 95%CI (1.28,7.34)] and present chronic illness [AOR 2.53 95%CI (1.39,4.61)].
CONCLUSION: Low socioeconomic population defined as low total household income in this study. Low QOL of this population determined by present chronic illness, while poor health status determined by gender, education level and chronic medical illness.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Post-COVID-19 clinic attendees, consisting of post-COVID-19 patients discharged from major hospitals in the state of Selangor during the third pandemic wave of COVID-19 in Malaysia, were enrolled in this retrospective study for 6 months. Physician-scored Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), patient self-reported quality of life (EQ-VAS) score and follow-up CT scan were evaluated.
RESULTS: Our cohort comprised 131 patients, with a median age of 52 (IQR 39-60) years and median BMI of 29.40 (IQR 25.59-34.72). Majority (72.5%) had co-morbidities, and 97.7% had severe disease requiring supplementary oxygen support during the acute COVID-19 episode. 56.5% required intensive care; among which one-third were invasively ventilated. Median equivalent dose of methylprednisolone prescribed was 2.60 (IQR 1.29-5.18) mg/kg during admission, while the median prednisolone dose upon discharge was 0.64 (IQR 0.51-0.78) mg/kg. It was tapered over a median of 8.0 (IQR 5.8-9.0) weeks. Upon follow-up at 11 (IQR 8-15) weeks, one-third of patients remained symptomatic, with cough, fatigue and dyspnoea being the most reported symptoms. mMRC and EQ-VAS scores improved significantly (p<0.001) during follow-up. Repeat CT scans were done in 59.5% of patients, with 94.8% of them demonstrating improvement. In fact, 51.7% had complete radiological resolution. Intensive care admission and mechanical ventilation are among the factors which were associated with poorer radiological outcomes, p<0.05.
CONCLUSION: Approximately one-third of patients with SARSCoV- 2-related OP remained symptomatic at 3 months of follow-up. Majority demonstrated favourable radiological outcomes at 5-month reassessment, except those who required intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilation.
METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a convenience sample technique. The translation procedure included five stages: forward translation, revision of translation, backward translation, refinement of translation, and a final test of the pre-final version. The final sets of questionnaires were constructed using an online JotForm platform. The online platform was chosen to automatically calculate the questionnaire's final overall score. Overall, 260 participants were instructed to fill out the English and the Arab-OSDI version twice to conduct the reliability of the translated version and repeatability evaluation.
RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 33.45 ± 11.74 years old. Cronbach's alpha for all items was greater than 0.80, except for the "blurred vision" and "deteriorating vision" items (0.77 and 0.74, respectively). The mean overall score difference between the English-OSDI and Arab-OSDI was 0.86 based on the Bland-Altman chart. For repeatability, no significant difference in the overall scores between the two repeats of the Arab-OSDI (p = 0.632). The Arab-OSDI overall score (sessions 1 and 2) has a clinical difference (bias) of 0.21. Using the varimax rotation method, only three factors (ocular symptoms, vision-related function, and environmental triggers) had eigenvalues greater than one in the structure of the Arab-OSDI.
CONCLUSION: The Arab-OSDI is an appropriate, reliable, and repeatable tool for the determination of dry eye symptoms, ocular discomfort, and quality of life in the Gazan population. This version could remove the language barrier in answering OSDI items more easily.
METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in CENTRAL, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, Google Scholars, World Health Organization Trials Portal, ClinicalTrials.gov, Clinical Trial Registry of India, and AYUSH Research Portal for all appropriate trials. Randomized controlled trials that examined the effect of Ashwagandha extract versus placebo on sleep in human participants 18 years old and above were considered. Two authors independently read all trials and independently extracted all relevant data. The primary outcomes were sleep quantity and sleep quality. The secondary outcomes were mental alertness on rising, anxiety level, and quality of life.
RESULTS: A total of five randomized controlled trials containing 400 participants were analyzed. Ashwagandha extract exhibited a small but significant effect on overall sleep (Standardized Mean Difference -0.59; 95% Confidence Interval -0.75 to -0.42; I2 = 62%). The effects on sleep were more prominent in the subgroup of adults diagnosed with insomnia, treatment dosage ≥600 mg/day, and treatment duration ≥8 weeks. Ashwagandha extract was also found to improve mental alertness on rising and anxiety level, but no significant effect on quality of life. No serious side effects were reported.
CONCLUSION: Ashwagandha extract appears to has a beneficial effect in improving sleep in adults. However, data on the serious adverse effects of Ashwagandha extract are limited, and more safety data would be needed to assess whether it would be safe for long-term use.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze xerostomia, ageusia and the oral health impact in coronavirus disease-19 patients utilizing the Xerostomia Inventory scale-(XI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey-based study, data was collected from 301 patients who suffered and recovered from COVID-19. Using Google Forms, a questionnaire was developed and circulated amongst those who were infected and recovered from coronavirus infection. The Xerostomia Inventory (XI) and Oral Health Impact Profile-14 were used to assess the degree and quality of life. A paired T-test and Chi-square test were used to analyze the effect on xerostomia inventory scale-(XI) and OHIP-14 scale scores. A p-value of 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
RESULTS: Among 301 participants, 54.8% were females. The prevalence of xerostomia in participants with active COVID-19 disease was 39.53% and after recovery 34.88%. The total OHIP-14 scores for patients in the active phase of infection was 12.09, while 12.68 in recovered patients. A significant difference was found between the mean scores of the xerostomia inventory scale-11 and OHIP-14 in active and recovered COVID patients.
CONCLUSION: A higher prevalence of xerostomia was found in COVID-19 infected patients (39.53%) compared to recovered patients (34.88%). In addition, more than 70% reported aguesia. COVID-19 had a significantly higher compromising impact on oral function of active infected patients compared to recovered patients.
METHODS: This is a non-experimental cross-sectional design study, which was conducted using survey questionnaire to examine the incidence of burnout, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and the quality of life (QOL) among the disaster relief volunteers. And the study also examined the socio-demographic variables of the participants. In addition, the association between the sociodemographic variable and the preferred coping strategies was also investigated through self-reporting checklist.
RESULTS: The findings of this study revealed that 90.9% volunteers (n = 312) experienced some levels of recurring stress throughout their lives, which led to burnout. Also, 96.8% (n = 332) of the participants were categorized as having at least some symptoms of PTSD. However, self-reporting QOL measurements indicated that the participants are, in general, satisfied with their lives. Significant associations between the incidence of burnout, incidence of PTSD and QOL were identified. Both positive coping measures and behavioral or avoidant coping measures were also identified. Furthermore, a number of socio-demographic factors were also seen to interact significantly with burnout, PTSD and QOL.
CONCLUSION: This study provides some insights into the psychological challenges of disaster relief volunteers in Malaysia, and this impact can last a long time after the volunteers return to their hometowns. Several recommendations including practice development, policy and research were discussed in the study.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted over 6 months in the two main tertiary centres for CAH patients in Malaysia. Participants including 59 female-raised CAH patients (mean age ± SD = 16.3 ± 4.2 years, range 10-28 years) compared to 57 age-matched female diabetic patients (mean age ± SD = 16.5 ± 3.4 years, range 10-26 years). Socio-demographic and medical profiles was obtained through semi-structured interviews. HRQOL of participants were evaluated utilising validated, Malay translated questionnaires which were age appropriate: Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL v4.0) scales for Child (8-12) and Adolescent (13-18) and Medical Outcome Survey 36-item Short Form version. These were then compared to the diabetic controls.
RESULTS: The CAH participants consisted of children (ages 10-12 years, n = 12), adolescents (ages 13-17 years, n = 29) and adults (≥ 18 years, n = 18). The majority were Malays (64.4%) and had salt-wasting CAH (67.8%). There were no significant differences between the total mean score of the HRQOL of the combined children and adolescents CAH group (total mean score ± SD = 81.6 ± 17.9, 95% CI = 75.6-87.6) when compared to age-matched diabetic patients (total mean score ± SD = 80.8 ± 11.0, 95% CI = 77.0-84.5, P = 0.81, effect size = 0.05); no significant difference between the adult CAH and diabetic controls in the physical [median score (IQR) CAH vs diabetics; 49.3 (11.4) vs. 50.2 (6.1), P = 0.60, effect size = 0.09] and the mental composite scores [median score (IQR) CAH vs. diabetics; 47.8 (14.1) vs. 50.0 (10.8), P = 0.93, effect size = 0.01].
CONCLUSIONS: The HRQOL of the Malaysian CAH cohort were comparable to the diabetic controls.
METHODS: A total of 323 dyads of GI cancer patients and their caregivers completed the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short Form (MOS SF-12) questionnaire to measure their HRQOL during face-to-face interviews. The analyses were performed using SF-12 scoring software to compute PCS and MCS scores (HRQOL parameters). The independent t test, one-way ANOVA, and the Pearson correlation test were conducted to determine the demographic factors related to the HRQOL of the dyads.
RESULTS: The caregivers had higher scores in all domains for the SF-12 than the patients. There were significant differences found in the MCS scores of the patients according to ethnicity, origin of cancer, duration of cancer, and surgery. None of these factors had a significant relationship with the caregivers' HRQOL.
CONCLUSION: Caregivers had better HRQOL than cancer patients. Early intervention for cancer patients in the form of counselling and personalised pain management may enhance the HRQOL of patients.