Displaying publications 81 - 100 of 218 in total

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  1. Khairani O, Majmin SH, Saharuddin A, Loh SF, Noor Azimah M, Hizlinda T
    Malays Fam Physician, 2011;6(2):79-81.
    PMID: 25606230 MyJurnal
    This case report illustrates an adolescent with clinical presentation of moderate anorexia nervosa with no significant co-morbidities. It highlights the management of anorexia nervosa in the outpatient setting by a multi-disciplinary health care team which includes a family physician, a dietician, a psychologist and a child psychiatrist.
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  2. Roslinah, A., Azman, A.B., Roslan Johari, M.G., Noriah, B., Rohani, I., Faisal, S.
    MyJurnal
    Contact time was defined as the time spent by health personnel with a patient. The study was conducted for four months in 2007 to assess the contact time and to determine the appropriate contact time as perceived by patients attending clinics of various clinical disciplines as well as Out-Patient Departments and Emergency Departments at Ministry of Health Hospitals. This study was a cross-sectional study carried out on out-patients who came to the hospitals’ clinics for treatment. Information was gathered through self-administered questionnaires, distributed at twenty-one hospitals. The respondents were selected using stratified random sampling method. Out of 21,750 questionnaires distributed, 13,463 patients responded, a response rate of 61.9%. This study shows that the average contact time increases from small hospitals (8 minutes) to bigger hospitals (15 minutes). The contact time also varies between the clinics of various disciplines. Obstetrics and Gynecology (O&G) clinics and Pediatric clinics had the longest average contact time of 20 minutes and 15 minutes respectively. The percentage of patients who were satisfied with the contact time corresponded with the type of clinics and hospitals which had the longest contact time. Thus, it is suggested that clinics and hospitals, whenever possible try their best to follow the duration of contact time as perceived appropriate by the patients.

    Study site: Out-Patient Departments and Emergency Departments at Ministry of Health Hospitals (21)
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  3. Hasyimah, R., Aniza, I., Ahmad Taufik, J., Jamsiah, M., Azimatun Noor, A.
    MyJurnal
    The level of patient satisfaction is important for service quality in hospitals. This study aims to measure the level of patient satisfaction at University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) and the factors affecting it. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 520 respondents at the outpatient department in four clinics in UKMMC by using self-administered questionnaires. Respondents were selected using a systematic sampling method based on the list of patient appointments. The level of patient satisfaction was measured using the PSQIII domain. Less than half of the respondents were satisfied with the overall service provided (41.0%), while the others (59.0%) were not satisfied. Based on the domain studied, the level of satisfaction varies widely: the highest satisfaction were interpersonal relationships (75.8%) followed by the registration process (73.8%), technical quality (71.3%), communication (66.7%), physical facilities (64.6%), accessibility (60.2%), and financial (47.3%). The level of patient satisfaction was low and financial domain should be given more attention to in order to ensure an increase in patient satisfaction levels.
    Study site: Surgery, Orthopaedic, Obstetric and Gynaecology, and Medical clinics, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  4. Aniza I, Suhaila A
    MyJurnal
    Background: All healthcare services are moving towards quality management system including ISO 9000 due to pressure from various stakeholders involves and also to improve healthcare quality. The objective of this study was to measure the satisfaction level among the outpatients in ISO Certified Klinik Kesihatan Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor. Also to identify the relations of patient’s satisfaction with the sociodemographic factors and service dimensions such as general satisfactions, technical quality of clinic staffs, interpersonal aspect of clinic staffs, time with doctors, communications with clinic staffs and availability/accessibility of clinic.
    Methodology: A cross sectional study was carried out from February 2008 to Jun 2008 and a total of 240 respondents in the clinic were selected using universal sampling. Only those who are Malaysians aged 18 and above and complied with the inclusions criteria’s were selected as the respondents to fill up the Patient’s Satisfaction Questionnaire III.
    Results: The study found that the satisfaction level of the respondents in Klinik Kesihatan Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor were remarkable with 78.8%.It has been shown that the predictor factors of total patient’s satisfaction were general satisfaction (AOR=5.06, CI= 1.51-16.96), technical quality of clinic staff (AOR = 3.09, CI= 1.13-8.43), interpersonal aspect of clinic staff (AOR = 2.96,CI= 1.04-8.42), availability/accessibility of clinic (AOR = 9.38, CI= 9.37-87.95) and communication of clinic staff ( AOR=17.90, CI=3.74-85.73) with the R2 = 67.7%.
    Conclusion: The satisfaction level among the respondents in Klinik Kesihatan Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor were remarkable with percentages of 78.8%. The study has shown that service dimensions factor influenced the patient’s satisfaction such as general satisfaction, interpersonal aspect of staff, communication of staff, technical quality of clinic staff and availability/accessibility of clinic. It could have also been contributed by the implementation of ISO and it can only be confirmed by carrying out a comparison study of patient’s satisfaction in clinics with and without ISO certification.
    Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  5. Shahid Hassan
    MyJurnal
    Background: Competence-based curriculum has become the need of medical education to meet the objectives of institutions aiming to produce skilled physicians. To achieve the optimal competence and performance of graduates a number of traditional evaluation exercises have been practiced. Some of these e.g. OSCE although meet the acceptable standard of reliability and validity is the assessment done in a controlled environment. This leaves the room for performance-based assessment in real clinical situation such as mini clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX). To practice and meet the challenges of Mini-CEX it is vital to undertake faculty development program with a comprehensively chalked down Mini-CEX protocol and its objectives to achieve the intended outcome. Objective: To undertake faculty development on Mini-CEX for its feasibility and acceptability as a method of formative assessment to evaluate the clinical competence of trainees in postgraduate program of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery. Method: 25 trainees from the four classes of master of surgery program of 2009 in Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) undertook Mini-CEX encounters and assessed by 9 supervisors in a 12-week period of study. Faculty development program was carried out through prior lectures deliberating on background, concept and procedure of Mini-CEX followed by demonstrations using video clip of Mini-CEX encounter recorded in own clinical environment. Students were also exposed to similar settings to take up the Mini-CEX encounter without any hesitation. Trainees were assessed in outpatient clinical setting. Program was evaluated for its feasibility and acceptability with respect to patient’s factors, clinical attributes, supervisor and trainee’s performance and their reported level of satisfaction.
    Result: Faculty development and trainees orientation in Min-CEX was achieved as feasible and acceptable. Higher rating of satisfaction was reported by majority assessors and trainees as they found Mini-CEX acceptable for formative assessment. Among clinical skills highest rating was received in physical examination and lowest rating in therapeutic skills. Conclusion: A motivated faculty and organized approach towards a comprehensive knowledge on Mini-CEX for its background communication, demonstration of procedure and method to complete the rating forms is the useful guide to adopt Mini-CEX. The faculty and trainees in department of ORL-HNS found Mini-CEX as feasible and acceptable assessment tool to monitor educational activity of postgraduate program through performance-based evaluation in a real clinical situation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  6. Shahid Hassan
    MyJurnal
    Background: In order to achieve the desired performance of graduates a number of traditional evaluation exercises have been practiced to assess their competence as medical students. Many of these assessments are done in a controlled environment and mostly reflect on tests of competence than performance. Mini-CEX or direct observed procedural skills (DOPS) are the real performance-based assessment of clinical skills. Increased opportunity for observation and just-in-time feedback from the role model superiors produce a positive educational impact on students learning. This also provides trainees with formative assessment to monitor their learning objectives. However, to implement assessment strategies with Mini-CEX or DOPS needs to develop institution’s clear policy for a different teaching and learning culture of workplace based assessment. It also needs to develop user friendly rating form, checklist, elaboration of clinical competence and its attributes and procedural guidelines for practice. A precise role of these tools in the assessment of postgraduate program must be established before practicing them to evaluate and monitor trainee’s progress.
    Objective: To determine DOPS for its acceptability and feasibility as a method of formative assessment of clinical skills in postgraduate program of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery.
    Method: A total of 25 trainees were assessed for DOPS by 8 supervisors in this 12-weeks pilot study. A faculty development program for faculty members and trainees was run for DOPS. Trainees were advised to undertake at least one DOPS encounter out of 42 shortlisted procedures. Assessors were asked to mark trainees by completing a rating form using a checklist developed for each procedure. Trainees and assessors were asked to endorse their opinion on feasibility and acceptance of DOPS for practice of formative assessment in future. Data was analyzed to determine feasibility and acceptability of DOPS in assessment program. Result: Faculty development and trainees orientation in DOPS were found satisfactory for its acceptance and feasible for its practice. Trainees were mostly assessed in outpatient clinical setting. Majority reported higher rating of satisfaction by assessors and trainees. Among clinical skills higher rating was received in procedural skills performed by the senior trainees. Conclusion: DOPS was found feasible for practice of formative assessment of trainees in postgraduate program of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery in School of Medical Sciences (SMS) at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). It was well accepted by the trainees to help monitor their quality of procedural skills as self-directed learning.
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  7. NoorZurani MHR, Mohammad Hussain H
    MyJurnal
    Smoking cessation programmes have been available for almost 2 decades in Malaysia. However the programmes have mainly focussed on outpatient primary care settings. More attention is needed to address and treat smokers presenting to hospitals with acute and chronic medical illness as hospitals provide good settings to implement smoking cessation intervention. For instance, a tobacco related medical illness may boosts a smoker\'s motivation to stop, especially when the smoker perceives smoking as the cause of his illness and understands the gains achieved by smoking cessation. Besides bringing a smoker in contact with health personnel who may offer assistance to a smoker to help him stop smoking, a hospital stay also provide an opportunity for the health carer to initiate and practice the government policy of no smoking in the hospitals. This article addresses the importance of having a hospital-based smoking cessation programme for the Malaysian hospitals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  8. Hasanah Che Ismail, Shamshunnisah Abu Bakar
    ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 2009;10(2):100-114.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: Self-esteem is an important component of psychological health. In Malaysia, Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale remained the single most popular utilized scale for studying global self-esteem. This study aims to design a language, culture and illness specific self-esteem questionnaire. Methods: The study consisted of 2 phases. The first phase was to generate items for the new self-esteem questionnaire (SSES) in Bahasa Malaysia. Literature review on the concept of selfesteem and its’ content was conducted. This was followed by expert opinion from professional care-givers. The items were qualitatively validated by healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia from the same locality, culture and language. The second phase consists of quantitative validation of the items. Items in the new scale were analyzed based on the responses from 165 stable schizophrenia outpatients. The validated Malay version of Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSES) was used concurrently as a comparison. Results: The SSES displayed good internal consistency for its two domains
    (Cronbach’s alpha=0.88, 0.81) and test-retest reliability (ICC), ranged from 0.44 to 0.87. Its construct validity was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. The concurrent validity of SSES and RSES using Pearson correlation was 0.77. The Cronbach’s alpha for the validated Malay version of RSES is 0.67. Conclusion: This study presents a new self-esteem questionnaire (SSES) which has high concurrent validity with the standard RSES and confirms the reliability and validity of SSES in Malay patients with Schizophrenia.

    Study site: Psychiatric clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan and Hospital Kota Bharu, (HKB), Kelantan
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  9. Ng, Paul, Syed Mohamed Aljunid, Rushdan Mohd Nor, Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh
    ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 2009;10(2):115-126.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: This study aims to determine the quality of life (QOL) of Malaysian women based on their physical and mental scores and correlates with age and cervical disease severity. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study from Nov 2006 till Dec 2007 from participating
    Gynecology-Oncology outpatient and in patient’s wards. QOL interviews used the SF-36 questionnaires. Main domains were the Physical Composite Scores (PCS) and the Mental Composite Scores (MCS). Results: A total of 396 participated in the study. Mean respondents age were 53.31 ± 11.21 years, educated till secondary level (39.4%), Malays (44.2%) with mean marriage duration of 27.73 ± 12.12 years. Among pre-invasive diseases, the cervical intra epithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 was the highest in percentage of cases
    (8.1%). Among invasive cancer, stage 1 cancer was highest (31.1%), followed with stage 2 (28.3%), stage 3 (7.3%) and stage 4 cancers (5.8%). PCS scores are highest among the pre-invasive and stage 1 cancer (F=4.357; p

    Study site: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM)
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  10. Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahman, Holifa Saheera Asmara, Hatta Sidi, Azlin Baharudin
    ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 2009;10(2):127-134.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: A study was conducted at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center (UKMMC) adult psychiatric clinic from June 2006 to December 2006. The aim was to assess the rate of the metabolic syndrome in a group of outpatients with mood disorders and schizophrenia and also to determine the relationship of this condition with sociodemographic factors and psychiatric illness characteristics.
    Methods: A total of 51 subjects agree to participate of which 100 were approached. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF)(2005) criteria are used for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome and Diagnostic Statistical Manual Version IV (DSM-IV) criteria are used to made psychiatric diaognosis.
    Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was found to be 37.2% and was significantly higher amongst mood disorders patient. However the metabolic syndrome is not associated with the anti psychotic therapy (p=0.41).
    Conclusion: This study suggests that it is important for the psychiatrist to monitor metabolic syndrome in any of their patients.
    Study site: Psychiatric clinic, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  11. Tong SF, Aziz NA, Chin GL
    Medicine & Health, 2006;1(1):25-30.
    MyJurnal
    A proportion of patients with acute viral fever with thrombocytopaenia does not necessary have dengue infection. Managing them indiscriminately as dengue infection may not be appropriate. The prevalence of this problem is not exactly known. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of acute non-dengue febrile thrombocytopaenia among adult patients presenting with acute non-specific febrile illness in an outpatient setting. This was a clinic-based cross sectional study. Consecutive patients presenting with non-specific febrile illness of less than two weeks were selected from the Primary Care Centre of Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) and the Batu 9 Cheras Health Clinic. Full blood count was done on the day of visit and dengue serology was done on day five of illness for all patients enrolled. Seventy three patients participated in this study from May to November 2003. Among the patients, 35 (47.9%) were noted to have thrombocytopaenia. Fourteen (40%) patients with thrombocytopaenia were serologically negative. The prevalence of non-dengue febrile thrombocytopaenia was 19.2%. A significant number of patients with acute non-specific febrile illness with thrombocytopaenia were negative for dengue serology. These patients should be differentiated from those with acute febrile thrombocytopaenia, as they might differ in their natural history from those with dengue infection, and hence require different management strategies.

    Study site: Primary Care Centre of Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM)
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  12. Meftahuddin Tarip, Jamsiah Mustafa
    MyJurnal
    The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological features of HFMD outbreak in the Hulu Langat District in 2000. Until November 2000, a total of 60 cases were reported and the worst ever reported to the previous years. The mean age of patients was 3.9; 5.8 years with majority of the cases aged between 1 to 4 years old (53.8 per 100,000 of population), male gender (8.3 per 100,000 of populations), and were of Chinese (12.2 per 11 100,000 of populations) and Malay ethnicity (7.2 per 100.000 of populations). All cases were uncomplicated cases and were diagnosed clinically. Most of the notified cases were front the government facilities, which are 44 cases (73.3%). Thirty-five (35) cases (58.4%) were treated as outpatient and 25 cases (41.6%) as in patients (p>0,05). Only 7 cases (11.7%) have history of contact with HFMD patients. The notified cases were mainly from the densely populated areas which were Cheras, Kajang and Ampang. No differences were noted between HFMD cases which have been breasfed for less than 6 month or more, and twenty nine (29) cases (48.3 %) had completed the immunization schedule. In conclusion, the recent emergence of HFMD brings a new challenge, which have to be faced in the prevention and surveillance activities of public health problems in the district.
    Study site: Notified cases from Klinik Kesihatan, hospital, private clinics, Ulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  13. Keat, John Hon Chong, Ahmad Dzulfikar Samsudin, Mei, Siang Ma
    MyJurnal
    Surgical removal of impacted lower wisdom tooth has become increasingly costly to patient while still remains as the most common dental surgical procedure that is performed on outpatient basis. In the present study, a total of 23 patients with impacted lower wisdom tooth were surgically removed under local anaesthesia by using different irrigating solution namely, normal saline, distilled water and chlorhexidine. The samples underwent standard operating procedures and medication. Post operative complications in terms of pain, swelling, infection and delayed wound healing were assessed and compared on Day 1 and Day 7 after surgery. The result of this study showed that there is no significant difference between the three irrigating solution used in surgical removal of impacted lower wisdom tooth in terms of postoperative complication. A bigger scale of research with more samples is recommended to evaluate the most efficacy irrigating solution during surgical removal of impacted lower wisdom tooth.
    Study site: Oral surgery clinic, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  14. Regional Nutrition Working Group (RNWG), Ng DHL, Albay A, Chew STH, Glencorse C, Inciong JF, et al.
    Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2018 11 30;27(6):1161-1174.
    PMID: 30485913 DOI: 10.6133/apjcn.201811_27(6).0001
    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition is under-recognized and under-treated in Asia due to resource constraints, lack of awareness and knowledge among healthcare professionals and patients, and lack of standardized procedures for malnutrition management. While international guidelines for the management of malnutrition are available, they may not be easily applicable to the patient population and healthcare settings within Southeast Asia. This paper provides consensus recommendations, developed by the Regional Nutrition Working Group, to foster evidence-based nutritional care in Southeast Asia to improve patient outcomes.

    METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: The group convened and discussed evidence-based recommendations and clinical experiences in the management of malnutrition in hospitalized and community-dwelling adults, and the relevance of oral nutritional supplements in clinical practice. Supported by a literature search from January 2007-September 2017, consensus statements on key aspects of malnutrition management were developed.

    RESULTS: Malnutrition management should be considered as an integral part of patient care and managed by a multidisciplinary team. Hospitalized patients and outpatients should be screened for risk of malnutrition with validated tools. Nutrition intervention, including oral, enteral, or parenteral nutrition, should be accessible and individualized to all patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Education on nutrition care is imperative for healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers.

    CONCLUSION: These consensus recommendations provide practical guidance to improve nutrition practice within healthcare in Southeast Asia. With collaborative efforts from the clinical community, professional societies and policy makers, this regional effort may also facilitate change in the nutrition practice at the institutional and national level.

    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  15. AlQarni K, AlQarni EA, Naqvi AA, AlShayban DM, Ghori SA, Haseeb A, et al.
    Front Pharmacol, 2019;10:1306.
    PMID: 31787894 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2019.01306
    Objective: Medication adherence is defined as taking medications as advised and prescribed by health care professionals for stated duration. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common chronic illnesses in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to document medication adherence in Saudi patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi out-patients with type 2 DM in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The study used the General Medication Adherence Scale (GMAS) to document medication adherence in this population. Data was analyzed through SPSS version 23. Study was ethically approved. Results: Data was collected from 212 patients. Few patients (35.8%) had high adherence to anti diabetic medications. The correlation between HbA1c level and adherence score was negative and significantly strong (ρ = -0.413, p < 0.0001). Most patients (N = 126, 59.4%) modified their medication therapy during month of Ramadan and on Eid occassion. Education level was not a determinant of adherence in this population. Conclusion: This study highlighted that medication adherence is influenced by religious and social factors. Patient counseling is required to improve patient beliefs and increase awareness of adhering to prescribed anti diabetic pharmacotherapy. A pharmacist can play constructive role of a disease educator and patient counselor.
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  16. Shukri M, Min RM, Abdullah SS, Yusof RAM, Husain Z
    Med J Malaysia, 2019 Oct;74(5):377-384.
    PMID: 31649212
    INTRODUCTION: In recognition of the role of motivation in drug use treatment, patient motivational screening instruments are needed for strategic planning and treatment. The aims of this study were to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Malay version of the Treatment Motivation Scale, and to compare the motivational levels of patients receiving substance abuse treatment with different modalities (inpatient vs. outpatient). The motivational scale consists of three scales: problem recognition, desire for help and treatment readiness.

    METHOD: A convenience sample of 102 patients was recruited from four Cure and Care Service Centres in Malaysia.

    RESULTS: Principal component analysis with varimax rotation supported two-factor solutions for each subscale: problem recognition, desire for help and treatment readiness, which accounted for 63.5%, 62.7% and 49.1% of the variances, respectively. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients were acceptable for the overall measures (24 items: ∝ = 0.89), the problem recognition scale (10 items; ∝ = 0.89), desire for help (6 items; ∝ = 0.64) and treatment readiness scale (8 items; ∝ = 0.60). The results also indicated significant motivational differences for different modalities, with inpatients having significantly higher motivational scores in each scale compared to outpatients.

    CONCLUSION: The present study pointed towards the favourable psychometric properties of a motivation for treatment scale, which can be a useful instrument for clinical applications of drug use changes and treatment.

    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  17. Othman S, Chia YC, Ng CJ
    Asia Pac Fam Med, 2003;2(4):206-212.
    Aim: To determine the accuracy of urinalysis in the detection of urinary tract infection (UTI) in symptomatic patients at primary care level. Methods: A cross sectional study was undertaken on 100 patients with symptoms of UTI presenting at the Primary Care Clinic of University Malaya Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during the months of August to November 1999. Their urine samples were tested simultaneously using urine dipstick, urine microscopy and urine culture. Urine culture was used as the gold standard and UTI was diagnosed when the urine culture showed a bacteria count of >= 105 organisms per mL. The sensitivity and specificity of each test was calculated. Results: The prevalence of UTI was 25% in symptomatic patients. The urine dipstick for leukocyte esterase, nitrite and red blood cell had sensitivities of 76, 56 and 76%, respectively. Their specificities were 60, 81 and 61%, respectively. Urine microscopy for leukocytes, red blood cells and bacterial count had sensitivities of 80, 52 and 84%, while their specificities were 76, 80 and 54%, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of UTI in the present study was low despite reported symptoms of UTI. Urinalysis is needed to support the diagnosis of UTI. In the present study, while there is accuracy in the urinalysis (as the sensitivities and specificities of various tests are comparable with other studies); lack of precision in each test because of the wide range of 95% confidence interval make it less reliable. Caution should be made in interpreting each test.
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  18. Hanafi NS, Teng CL, Yasin S
    Asia Pac Fam Med, 2003;2(1):10-15.
    Aim: To assess the importance of continuity of care among diabetic patients attending a primary care clinic and to correlate degree of continuity of care with diabetic control. Methods: A cross sectional survey was carried out among diabetic patients (n = 166) attending follow-up consultations in a family practice clinic of a teaching hospital. Face-to-face interviews were carried out on patients' perception of continuity of care and various aspects related to diabetes. Diabetic control was assessed by glycosylated hemoglobin. Retrospective chart audits of each patient over the previous 28 months were done to assess the degree of continuity of care, measured with the Usual Provider Continuity Index (UPCI). Results: The UPCI ranged from 0.18 to 1.00 with a mean value of 0.60. The average number of visits per patient over the 28-month period was 11.7 visits. The majority of patients saw five different doctors for all their visits. There were no statistically significant associations between the degree of provider continuity with diabetic control (r = 0.054) and diabetic self-care behavior (r = 0.065). The majority of patients (89%) felt that it was important to have a regular doctor. The main reason given was that a regular doctor would know the patient's problems. Conclusions: Continuity of care was highly valued by diabetic patients attending a hospital-based family practice clinic. Even though the degree of continuity was not associated with the degree of diabetic control, patients felt that it was important to have doctors who are aware of their problems.
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  19. Hamilton RD, Clemens A, Minnella AM, Lai TYY, Dai H, Sakamoto T, et al.
    PLoS One, 2020;15(1):e0227557.
    PMID: 31961888 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227557
    PURPOSE: To assess the 1-year effectiveness, safety, and treatment patterns of ranibizumab in patients with myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV) enrolled in the LUMINOUS study.

    METHODS: This 5-year, prospective, multicenter, observational, study enrolled 30,138 patients across all approved ranibizumab indications from outpatient ophthalmology clinics. 297 consenting patients (≥18 years) with mCNV who were treatment-naïve or prior-treated with ranibizumab or other ocular treatments were enrolled, and treated with ranibizumab according to the local product label. The main outcomes are visual acuity (VA; Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters or equivalent), adverse events during the study, and treatment exposure over 1 year. Results are presented by prior treatment status of the study eye and injection frequency.

    RESULTS: Of the 297 mCNV patients recruited in the study, 108 were treatment-naïve and 175 were prior ranibizumab-treated. At baseline, the mean age of patients was 57.6 years, and 59.0 years and 80.6% and 65.7% were female in the treatment-naïve and prior ranibizumab-treated groups, respectively. Most were Caucasian (treatment-naïve, 88.9%; prior ranibizumab-treated, 86.9%). The mean (±standard deviation [SD]) VA letter changes to 1 year were +9.7 (±17.99) from 49.5 (±20.51) and +1.5 (±13.15) from 58.5 (±19.79) and these were achieved with a mean (SD) of 3.0 (±1.58) and 2.6 (±2.33) injections in the treatment-naïve and prior ranibizumab-treated groups, respectively. Presented by injection frequencies 1-2, 3-4 and ≥5 injections in Year 1, the mean (SD) VA changes were +15.0 (±14.70), +7.7 (±19.91) and -0.7 (±16.05) in treatment-naïve patients and +1.5 (±14.57), +3.1 (±11.53) and -3.6 (±11.97) in prior ranibizumab-treated patients, respectively. The safety profile was comparable with previous ranibizumab studies.

    CONCLUSIONS: Ranibizumab treatment for mCNV showed robust VA gains in treatment-naïve patients and VA maintenance in prior ranibizumab-treated patients in a clinical practice setting, consisting mainly of Caucasians. No new safety signals were observed during the study.

    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
  20. Chow SK, Yew KC, Yeap SS
    Family Physician, 2003;12(1):33-34.
    Musculoskeletal complaints are one of the most common presenting symptoms to primary care physicians. However, in Malaysia, there has been no prospective survey to look at this problem. This was a descriptive study to look at the prevalence of non-traumatic musculoskeletal complaints presenting to the primary care clinic at University Malaya Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur. Over a 3-week period, there were 408/4201 patients (9.7%) with non-traumatic musculoskeletal disorders. The most common regional problem was backache and the most commonly made diagnosis was non-specific musculoskeletal pain. In conclusion, musculoskeletal disorders form a significant proportion of primary care consultations and thus should be included in the curriculum for the primary care physician training. Keywords: musculoskeletal disorders, arthritis, primary care
    Study site: Primary care clinic, University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Outpatients
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