METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, data of patients presented with ocular trauma injury to the Ampang Hospital during the COVID-19 era from 18 March 2020 to 17 September 2020 were retrieved and compared with the similar period of the previous non-COVID-19 era year.
RESULTS: Among the total number of 453 patients, 76.82% (n = 348) were predominantly males. The commonest age group was between 21 years old-40 years old (49.45%, n = 224), and the commonest location of ocular trauma injury occurred at the workplace (38.19%, n = 173); welding was the commonest work-related injury (13.83% in 2019; 12.50% in 2020). Injury-to-treatment time was significantly longer during the COVID-19 era, where patients who sought treatment within a day of injury were 27.27% (n = 69) in 2019 and 18.50% (n = 37) in 2020 (P = 0.030). During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with vision worse than 6/60 on presentation were higher at 8% compared with 3.56% before the COVID-19 pandemic (OR = 2.35; 95% CI: 1.01, 5.48; P = 0.047). Similarly, patients with a vision worse than 6/60 post-treatment during the COVID-19 period were significantly higher at 7.00% compared with 1.58% before the COVID-19 pandemic (OR = 4.72; 95% CI: 1.53, 14.62; P = 0.007).
CONCLUSION: The majority of ocular trauma cases in this study population were male adults between 21 years old and 40 years old, and welding was the commonest work-related injury. COVID-19 era has a higher percentage of patients presented with severe visual impairment, longer injury-to-treatment time and poorer post-treatment visual outcomes.
METHODS: A convenience sampling method was used in a cross-sectional study of 290 undergraduate Health Sciences students in public universities. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was used to measure the perception of stress, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to measure perceived social support from three sources, including family, friends and significant others.
RESULTS: A statistically significant correlation was found between the stress level and the total score of the MSPSS (r = -0.432), perceived social support from family (r = -0.429), significant others (r = -0.328), and friends (r = -0.219, P < 0.001). Over three-quarters (73.4%) of the students have a moderate stress level (mean = 21.17, SD = 5.75). The highest social support perceived was from a family (mean = 5.21, SD = 1.48).
CONCLUSION: The study suggested that social support from family is the strongest for students to go through the stress of tough times. It also highlighted the need for attention to stress management among undergraduate students for healthy well-being. Future studies that involve other academic fields of study and qualitative research would give useful information on perceived social support among students.
Methods: Clinical data of 143 adult patients diagnosed with TBM over a 6-year period in two tertiary hospitals in Malaysia were retrospectively reviewed. Relevant clinical and radiological data were studied. Patients with TBMH were further analysed based on their clinical grade and rendered treatment to identify associated factors and outcome of this subgroup of patients. The functional outcome of patients was assessed at 12 months from treatment.
Results: The mean age of patients was 35.6 (12.4) years old, with a male gender predominance of 67.1%. Forty-four percent had TBMH, of which 42.9% had surgical intervention. In the good modified Vellore grade, 76.5% was managed medically with concurrent anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT), steroids and osmotic agents. Four patients had surgery early in the disease as they did not respond to medical therapy and reported a good outcome subsequently. Poor outcome (65.2%) was seen in the poor modified Vellore grade despite medical and surgical intervention. Multivariate model multiple Cox regression showed significant results for seizure (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 15.05; 95% CI: 3.73, 60.78), Glasgow coma scale (GCS) (aHR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.89) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cell count (aHR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.17).
Conclusion: Hydrocephalus was seen in 44% of patients in this study. GCS score, seizure and high CSF cell count were factors associated with a poor prognosis in TBM. Patients with TBMH treated medically (TBMHM) had better survival function compared to TBMH patients undergoing surgical intervention (TBMHS) (P-value < 0.001). This retrospective study emphasises that TBMH is still a serious illness as 47.6% of the patients had poor outcome despite adequate treatment.
METHODS: This two-arm cluster-randomised controlled trial was implemented between January 2018 and November 2018. Six schools were selected using stratified random sampling, whereby students were purposively selected and invited. The criteria of inclusion to the programme were secondary school students (aged 13 years old-17 years old) who smoked conventional cigarettes (CC) and electronic cigarettes (EC).
RESULTS: A total of 422 students from six schools participated in this study. Three schools were designated as intervention (n = 250) and the other three as control schools (n = 172). Formative evaluation of participants in the FSSCP using the logic model showed that participants were satisfied with the overall programme (91.5%), were motivated to stop smoking (90.4%) and were prevented from relapse (89.2%). The quit rate at a 3-month follow-up was 41.8%.
CONCLUSION: The logic model supported the development of the programme, with details on the processes, dissemination activities, identification of barriers, evaluation criteria and outcomes provided.
Methods: The research conducted a systematic review of selected articles from Scopus and PubMed databases, retrieved through three search-process keywords, namely socio-emotional, children and CI. The inclusion criteria only included journal articles published in English with empirical data from the year 2010-2019. The initial search had identified 189 potential abstracts and after removal of duplicates, only 38 eligible studies met the inclusion criteria.
Results: Among 38 studies reviewed, 19 studies showed comparable socio-emotional skills with peers in social interaction, empathy, emotion theory of mind and comprehension skills. Conversely, the other 19 studies presented underprivileged results in socio-emotional functioning mainly in identifying facial expression, regulating emotion and emotional cues in the auditory domain.
Conclusion: This review concluded that the socio-emotional development among children with CI, both at preschool-age and school-age, was not justified due to the heterogeneity in studies across measurement and small sample size. Also, the conclusion recommended extensive cross-referencing, mixed-mode research design, detailed distinguishing of socio-emotional functioning and identification of diverse groups of the population with impaired hearing as an approach to provide empirical evidence on socio-emotional functioning among children with CI in the future.
METHODS: This is a retrospective study from 2007-2011 comparing elderly (≥ 65 years old) and non-elderly (< 65 years old) with PLA. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed. Baseline clinical profile and outcomes were compared.
RESULTS: There were 213 patients (elderly patients = 90 [42.3%], non-elderly patients = 123 [57.7%]). Overall median age is 62 (interquartile range [IQR] = 53-74) years old. PSM resulted in 102 patients (51 per arm). Length of hospitalisation stay (LOS) was significantly longer in elderly patients in both unmatched (16 [IQR = 10-24.5] versus 11 [IQR = 8-19] days; P < 0.001) and matched cohorts (17 [IQR = 13-27] versus 11 [IQR = 7-19] days; P = 0.001). In-hospital mortality was significantly higher in elderly patients in the unmatched cohort (elderly patients = 21.1%, non-elderly patients = 7.3%; P = 0.003) but was insignificant following PSM (elderly patients = 15.7%, non-elderly patients = 9.8%; P = 0.219). Duration of antibiotic therapy and need for percutaneous drainage (PD) were comparable before and after PSM.
CONCLUSION: Age ≥ 65 years old is associated with longer LOS. In-hospital mortality though higher in elderly patients, was not statistically significant.
METHODS: Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA)-treated blood samples were analysed via the Caretium XC-A30 automated ESR analyser and the Westergren method to compare accuracy. Precision was assessed using control samples and patient samples were classified into three groups-low, medium and high-according to their rates of sedimentation. Moreover, a stability test was performed.
RESULTS: The correlation coefficient of the results of the Caretium XC-A30 and Westergren analyses was 0.97. The correlation coefficient of ESR values obtained from the two methods assessed in the low, medium and high groups were r = 0.80, r = 0.68 and r = 0.74, respectively. The coefficient of variation of within-run (%CVw) and between-run (%CVb), with replicates performed with commercial controls samples, were 7.54% and 8.04% for the normal control and 4.68% and 3.50% for abnormal control, respectively. The %CVw obtained with patient samples in the low, medium and high groups were 10.68%, 13.13% and 4.45%, respectively. The Caretium XC-A30 measurements were stable for up to 24 h when samples were stored at 4 °C.
CONCLUSION: The Caretium XC-A30 ESR analyser proved to be a suitable instrument for routine analysis of ESR.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed by recruiting 973 undergraduate students at the health campus of a public university from December 2019 to June 2021. The World Health Organization (WHO) ACE-International Questionnaire and the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System questionnaire were distributed using simple random sampling according to year of study and the selected batch of students. Descriptive statistics were used for demographic findings and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between ACE and HRB.
RESULTS: The 973 participants (male [n = 245] and female [n = 728]) had a median age of 22 years old. The prevalence of child maltreatment among the study population was 30.2%, 29.2%, 28.7%, 9.1% and 6.1% for emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse, physical neglect and sexual abuse, respectively, among both sexes. The most commonly reported household dysfunctions were parental divorce/separation (5.5%). Community violence was 39.3% among the surveyed participants. The highest prevalence of HRBs among respondents was 54.5% from physical inactivity. The findings confirmed that those exposed to ACEs were at risk of HRBs and that a higher number of ACEs was associated with a higher number of HRBs.
CONCLUSION: ACEs were highly prevalent among participating university students, ranging from 2.6%-39.3%. Hence, child maltreatment is an important public health problem in Malaysia.
METHODS: Intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) was used to induce diabetes in rats at a single dose (60 mg/kg body weight [BW]). Rats were euthanised at 1 month (DM1 group), 2 months (DM2 group) and 4 months (DM4 group) following diabetes induction with six rats in each group. Immunohistochemistry was performed against SOD1, CD68, p53 and p16 antibodies. Messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of SOD1, SOD2, GPx, CD68, p53, p21 and caspase-3 genes were measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTS: Hepatic p53 mRNA expression was significantly higher in DM1, DM2 and DM4 groups compared to the control group. The p21 and caspase-3 mRNA expressions were significantly upregulated in the DM2 and DM4 groups. The p16-positive cells were obviously increased, particularly in the DM4 group. Bivariate correlation analysis showed mRNA expressions of p21 and caspase-3 genes were positively correlated with the p53 gene.
CONCLUSION: Diabetic rats exhibited increased apoptosis and senescence in the liver following a longer period of hyperglycaemia.
METHODS: A retrospective study involving patients with severe haemophilia was conducted. The patient's self-reported bleeding frequency was retrieved from the patient's treatment folder from January to December 2019.
RESULTS: Fourteen patients received on-demand therapy, while the other 24 patients received prophylaxis treatment. The total number of joint bleeds in the prophylaxis group was significantly lower compared to the on-demand group (2.79 bleeds versus 21.36 bleeds [P < 0.001]). Furthermore, the total annual usage of FVIII was higher in the prophylaxis group compared to the on-demand group (1,506 IU/kg/year [± 905.98] versus 365.26 IU/kg/year [± 223.90], P = 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Prophylaxis FVIII therapy is an effective treatment in reducing the frequency of bleeding joints. However, this treatment approach is associated with high cost due to the high consumption of FVIII.
METHODS: Twenty-six carbapenem-resistant strains and four susceptible strains were selected. The three methods mentioned above were evaluated as per Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). These tests are based on biochemical detection of the hydrolysis of the beta-lactam ring of a carbapenem-imipenem, followed by the colour change of a pH indicator.
RESULTS: Carba NP test was positive in 24 out of 26 isolates; the Modified Carba NP and Rapidec Carba NP tests were positive for all the isolates (26/26). All the carbapenemase non-producers (100%, 04/04) were negative.
CONCLUSION: Modified Carba NP is a more effortless and inexpensive alternative to the Carba NP test, allowing the detection of carbapenemase activity directly from bacterial cultures of Enterobacteriaceae. The test could be used in low-income countries with large reservoirs for carbapenemase producers and can be implemented in any laboratory worldwide.
METHODS: A preliminary, cross-sectional study was conducted on 159 clinical physiotherapy students from various education backgrounds. A three-part questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables, knowledge of COVID-19 and awareness of physiotherapy rehabilitation for COVID-19 patients was distributed among clinical students from major physiotherapy programmes at tertiary institutions. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests and Spearman correlation tests were used for data analysis.
RESULTS: Most of the respondents (95.6%) were categorised as having an above average knowledge on COVID-19. Eighty-seven respondents (54.7%) were categorised as having an above average awareness of physiotherapy rehabilitation for COVID-19 patients. The knowledge of COVID-19 was positively correlated with awareness of physiotherapy rehabilitation (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: This research study showed that the knowledge of COVID-19 and awareness level of physiotherapy rehabilitation in COVID-19 patients was above average among clinical physiotherapy students. The association between knowledge of COVID-19 and awareness of physiotherapy rehabilitation among clinical physiotherapy students had a weak positive correlation.