MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire (content- and face-validated) survey was undertaken, classroom style, amongst final-year nursing students from selected Malaysian (n = 122, Response rate=97.6%) and Australian (n = 299, Response rate=54.7%) institutions. Quantitative data were analysed via Statistical Package for Social Science software (Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, p ≤ 0.01).
RESULTS: Significantly more Malaysian nursing students, compared to those in Australia, reported having encountered patients with OH issues (98.4% vs. 82.9%), namely halitosis (87.7% vs. 62.2%), oral ulcers (63.1% vs. 41.1%), oral/dental trauma (36.9% vs. 21.1%) and caries in children (28.7% vs. 7.7%). Less than half of Malaysian and Australian nursing students reported that they received adequate OH training (48.4% vs. 36.6%, p ≤ 0.01), especially in detecting oral cancer (18.0.0% vs. 22.6%, p ≤ 0.01) and preventing oral diseases (46.7% vs. 41.7%, p ≤ 0.01). Students in both countries demonstrated positive attitudes and believed in their role in OH care. Most students agreed that they should receive training in OH, especially in smoking cessation and providing OH care for patients with special needs. They also opined that a standardized evidence-based oral hygiene protocol is needed.
CONCLUSION: Support for education and practice in this area of patient care suggested positive implications for further development of nurses' roles in OH promotion and management.
METHOD: A total of one hundred and seven patients from age five to twelve years old with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate were included in the study. These patients have received cheiloplasty and one stage palatoplasty surgery but yet to receive alveolar bone grafting procedure. Five assessors trained in the use of the EUROCRAN index underwent calibration exercise and ranked the dental arch relationships and palatal morphology of the patients' study models. For intra-rater agreement, the examiners scored the models twice, with two weeks interval in between sessions. Variable factors of the patients were collected and they included gender, site, type and, family history of unilateral cleft lip and palate; absence of lateral incisor on cleft side, cheiloplasty and palatoplasty technique used. Associations between various factors and dental arch relationships were assessed using logistic regression analysis.
RESULT: Dental arch relationship among unilateral cleft lip and palate in local population had relatively worse scoring than other parts of the world. Crude logistics regression analysis did not demonstrate any significant associations among the various socio-demographic factors, cheiloplasty and palatoplasty techniques used with the dental arch relationship outcome.
CONCLUSIONS: This study has limitations that might have affected the results, example: having multiple operators performing the surgeries and the inability to access the influence of underlying genetic predisposed cranio-facial variability. These may have substantial influence on the treatment outcome. The factors that can affect unilateral cleft lip and palate treatment outcome is multifactorial in nature and remained controversial in general.
Objectives: The present study aims to evaluate concentrations of TSP and to estimate the health risks of TSP exposure through the inhalation pathway in communities surrounding a private cement industry in Maros regency, Indonesia.
Methods: Total suspended particulates were collected using a high-volume air sampler (HVAS) at five locations. Samples were taken by grab sampling for 24 hours. The SCREEN3 program was used to view the maximum range and distribution of pollutants based on the geographical, stack profiles and meteorological factors in the study area. Hazard quotient (HQ) was used to estimate non-carcinogenic risks of TSP in surrounding communities.
Results: Total suspended particulate concentrations were measured with a maximum value of 133.24 μg/m3 and a minimum value of 18.48 μg/m3. This maximum value exceeds the minimum acceptable level from Canadian National Ambient Air Quality Objectives (C-NAAQOs). The non-carcinogenic risks from the inhalation pathway were low except for location 3 (HQ>1) across all locations.
Conclusions: The cement plant may significantly contribute to total TSP concentrations in air and may potentially have adverse effects on human health. Communities near the cement plant are vulnerable to TSP exposure and measures are needed to reduce TSP in Maros regency, Indonesia.
Participant Consent: Obtained.
Ethics Approval: This study was approved by the Health Research Ethics Committee of Hasanuddin University with protocol number 28920093022.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study to address the lack of epidemiological and microbiological data on orthopaedic SSI in Malaysia. All the 80 patients diagnosed and treated for microbiologically proven orthopaedic SSIs in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia from April 2015 to March 2019 were included in a 1:2 case control study.
RESULTS: The prevalence of SSI in clean and clean-contaminated surgeries was 1.243%, which is consistent with most of the studies worldwide, but is low compared to other studies done in Malaysia. The most common type of orthopaedics SSI were internal fixation infections (46.25%), superficial SSIs (25.2%) and Prosthetic joint infections (18.75%). Obesity and tobacco use were found to be significant risk factors of orthopaedic SSI. The most common perioperative prophylaxis used was IV cefuroxime. Majority of the cases (86.5%) received prolonged prophylactic antibiotics. The most common causative agent was Staphylococcus aureus (31.25%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26.25%) and Enterobacter spp (7.5%). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) accounted for 20% of the S. aureus infections. Up to 19.4% of the Gram-negative organisms are multidrug resistant. The higher rate of isolation of organisms resistant to the prophylactic antibiotics being used may be related to the prolonged use of prophylactic antibiotics, which exerted selective pressure for the acquisition of resistant organisms.
CONCLUSION: Despite its relatively low prevalence in our local institution and worldwide, the prevention of SSI in orthopaedic practice is crucial to avoid morbidity, mortality and high healthcare cost. This may be achieved by control of modifiable risk factors such as obesity and tobacco use, appropriate use of prophylactic antibiotics and implementation of good surgical and infection control practices.