In light of the fact that chronic diseases were becoming more prevalent recently, the primary objective of the study was to examine the socio-demographic, health, and lifestyle determinants of the use of preventive medical care in Penang, Malaysia.
β-thalassaemia is one of the most common single-gene disorders worldwide. Each ethnic population has its own common mutations, accounting for the majority of cases, with a small number of mutations for the rarer alleles. Due to the heterogeneity of β-thalassaemia and the multi-ethnicity of Malaysians, molecular diagnostics may be expensive and time consuming.
Acquired subglottic cyst in infancy is almost always associated with episodes of early life intubation. Most cases typically presented late, usually days to months after extubation. We report a case of a subglottic cyst with different presentation than the norm. This case highlights that subglottic cyst can present acutely, and rapidly enlarging soon after the airway extubation. As the management of a large subglottic cyst can be challenging, a close observation for early diagnosis and intervention are recommended post extubation in the high-risk cases, such as in the premature infant.
Throughout history, a proportion of men appear to correlate penis size and dimensions directly with physical fitness and sexual prowess. Foreign materials, such as paraffin oil, paraffin balm, mineral oils, and silicone, have been used to promise an improvement in penile shaft contour and dimensions. These materials are injected directly into the penis; inducing granuloma formation to achieve increased penis length and girth. However, the result is a severely disfigured and swollen penis, which cannot achieve erection. Local complications of penile lipogranuloma include infection, ulceration, local migration, and cavernosal invasion; leading to functional impairment. Meanwhile, systemic complications include foreign body embolization, organ infarct, and death. Penile lipogranuloma is best treated surgically. Granulomatous skin needs to be completely excised; wound closure with a scrotal skin flap, Cecil's inlay operation and split thickness skin graft commonly used options. Our case series has shown that penile lipogranuloma, induced by subcutaneous foreign body injections into the penile shaft, and its subsequent adverse outcomes to patients and their partners.
BACKGROUND: Work-family conflict has received increasing attention in recent decades in the area of workplace stressors, which can affect employees' health. However, the dimensionality of the work-family conflict construct among the Malay-speaking population has not been clarified. In order to do so, it is crucial to use an instrument that is appropriate and valid for the Malay-speaking population. As such, the goal of this study was to validate and test the dimensionality of the Malay version of the Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire.
METHODS: The present study conducted exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, discriminant validity, convergent validity, and internal consistency, using Cronbach's alpha, of the work-family conflict construct among 332 working women in Malaysia.
RESULTS: The results supported the existence of four dimensions in the Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire that distinguish between time based and strain-based work-family conflict and family-work conflict. The discriminant validity, convergent validity, and internal consistency of this construct are adequately supported.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study supported the existence of discriminant and convergent validity, as well as adequate reliability, for the construct. Thus, the Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument among Malay-speaking working women.
KEYWORDS: factor analysis; professional-family relation; validity and reliability; working women
Cerebral tuberculosis is the most severe type of extrapulmonary disease that is in developing countries highly predominant in children. Meningeal tuberculosis is the most common form and usually begins with respiratory infection followed by early haematogenous dissemination to extrapulmonary sites involving the brain. In comparison with the lung, Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces a very different immune response when infect the central nervous system. Herein, we review several aspects of the pathogenesis and immune response in pulmonary and cerebral tuberculosis in humans and experimental models and discuss the implications of this response in the cerebral infection outcome.
Paratesticular liposarcoma is a rare entity. Compared to other genitourinary sarcoma, it is usually detected earlier and is easily resectable, resulting in an excellent prognosis. The recurrence of well-differentiated paratesticular liposarcoma after complete resection is extremely rare. Optimal management of the tumour recurrence includes complete re-excision and radiotherapy to the area of recurrence. Here, we describe a 48-year-old man with a recurrent left paratesticular well-differentiated liposarcoma, six years after its complete excision. Our discussion focused on the therapeutic strategy to prevent tumour recurrence. It is hoped that this case discussion can increase the awareness of this condition and assist in its management.
Chordoid meningioma, classified as atypical meningioma according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) classification, is a rare subtype, which represents only 0.5% of all meningiomas and is associated with a high incidence of recurrence. Multiple intracranial meningiomas are rare in non-neurofibromatosis patients. We present a female patient with both of these rare types of meningioma. The patient presented with two concurrent intracranial meningiomas, with one a meningotheliomatous subtype and the other a chordoid meningioma. Given the wide array of histological differential diagnoses in chordoid meningioma, immunohistochemistry has a significant role to play in differentiating them. Recurrence in chordoid meningioma can be generally predicted based on the extent of resection, the percentage of chordoid element, and proliferation indices.
Adipose tissue provides an abundant source of multipotent cells, which represent a source of cell-based regeneration strategies for urinary bladder smooth muscle repair. Our objective was to confirm that adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) can be differentiated into smooth muscle cells.
The concentrated potassium chloride injection is a high-alert medication and replacing it with a pre-mixed formulation can reduce the risks associated with its use. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics of patients receiving different potassium chloride formulations available at a private institution. The study also assessed the effectiveness and safety of pre-mixed formulations in the correction of hypokalaemia.
Diabetes mellitus is associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain oral mucosal disorders. This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions (OMLs) in patients with type 2 diabetes (DM2) and to investigate the association of such lesions with metabolic control of the disease.
Hippocampal volume is affected by several psychiatric illnesses of old age, as well as by normal aging. It is important to have a normal data in a population to assist in diagnosis. The aim of this study is to determine hippocampal volume in normal Malay people aged 50 years old and older.
Uterine arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a rare condition, with fewer than 100 cases reported in the literature. Despite it being rare, it is a potentially life-threatening condition. This case report describes a 33-year-old woman who presented with secondary post-partum hemorrhage. Transabdominal ultrasound (US) of the pelvis showed increased vascularity with multidirectional flow of the uterus and a prominent vessel, located on the left lateral wall. She also had retained product of conception, which complicated the diagnosis. A uterine artery angiogram confirmed an AVM in the fundal region with an early draining vein. Embolisation of the AVM was performed successfully.
Pulmonary thromboembolism is a life-threatening cardiovascular condition. The mortality rate is high in its current management. Besides supportive treatments, systemic thrombolysis and surgical thrombectomy play important roles in the comprehensive management of pulmonary embolism (PE). The percutaneous catheter-based rheolytic thrombectomy is a promising alternative for management of massive pulmonary emboli, particularly, when patients have contraindication with systemic thrombolysis or are not suitable for surgery. We present the case of a 36-year-old Somalian man who came to our center for a total knee replacement (TKR). Three days after TKR, he developed sudden shortness of breath and decreased oxygen saturation. Computed tomography of pulmonary arteriogram showed extensive thrombi within the main pulmonary trunk, right and left pulmonary arteries, bilateral ascending and bilateral descending pulmonary arteries in keeping with massive PE. Because the patient was contraindicated for systemic thrombolysis, percutaneous, catheter-based rheolytic thrombectomy was chosen as the alternative treatment. His clinical symptoms improved immediately post-treatment. In conclusion, catheter-based rheolytic thrombectomy can serve as an alternative treatment for massive PE with a good clinical outcome.
The study aimed to determine current status of knowledge, practices, and attitudes towards adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting among private practitioners in Klang region of Malaysia.
Depression is one of the common post-menopausal symptoms. In addition to estrogen deficiency, social instability stress may contribute as an additional underlying factor in the development of depressive behaviour in females. Therefore, this study was aimed at examining the influence of social instability stress on depressive behaviour in ovariectomized rats.
This was a preliminary study to test for the presence of multiple antibiotic-resistant extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing bacteria in Malaysian urban surface waters. Although the literature review revealed several published papers on clinical ESBL isolates in Malaysia, none were found on ESBL isolates obtained from local surface waters.
Tualang honey (TH) is a Malaysian multifloral jungle honey. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of studies published in medical databases regarding its potential health benefits. The honey is produced by the rock bee (Apis dorsata), which builds hives on branches of tall Tualang trees located mainly in the north-western region of Peninsular Malaysia. This review collates the results of the various studies of TH that range from research on tissue culture to randomised control clinical trials. Findings thus far show that, TH has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimutagenic, antitumor, and antidiabetic properties, in addition to wound-healing attributes. Some of its properties are similar to the well-researched Manuka honey (New Zealand and/or Australian monofloral honey). Distinct differences include higher phenolics, flavonoids, and 5-(hydroxymethyl) furfural (HMF). Compared with Manuka honey, TH is also more effective against some gram-negative bacterial strains in burn wounds.
President Obama of the United States of America announced this April the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN for short) investment, while Professor Henry Markram's team based in the European Union will spend over a billion euros on the Human Brain Project, breaking through the unknowns in the fifth science of the decade: Neuroscience. Malaysia's growth in the same field needs to be augmented, and thus the Universiti Sains Malaysia's vision is to excel in the field of clinical brain sciences, mind sciences and neurosciences. This will naturally bring up the level of research in the country simultaneously. Thus, a center was recently established to coordinate this venture. The four-year Integrated Neuroscience Program established recently will be a sustainable source of neuroscientists for the country. We hope to establish ourselves by 2020 as a global university with neurosciences research as an important flagship.
A 42-year-old man from Ghana presented with bilateral painful corneal perforations following ingestion of a sulphur-based antibiotic. Emergency bilateral penetrating keratoplasty was performed, with restoration of globe integrity. However, surgical complications arose such as non-healing epithelial defect, secondary infection, graft dehiscence, and mounting intraocular pressure. This case illustrates the challenges faced in managing corneal grafts in patients with already compromised ocular surfaces.