METHODS: Secondary online data provided by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia and Malaysia's national COVID-19 immunisation programme were used: i) COVID-19 deaths data; ii) vaccination coverage data and iii) population estimate data. Quasi-Poisson regression was performed to determine the risk factors for COVID-19 mortality.
RESULTS: Four risk factors were identified: i) vaccination status (partial versus unvaccinated, incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.64; complete versus unvaccinated, IRR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.56; booster versus unvaccinated, IRR: 0.13; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.26); ii) age group (19 years old-59 years old versus above 60 years old, IRR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.97; 13 years old-18 years old versus above 60 years old, IRR: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.19; 6 years old-12 years old versus above 60 years old, IRR: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.22; below 5 years old versus above 60 years old, IRR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.23); iii) gender (male versus female, IRR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.32) and iv) comorbidity (yes versus no, IRR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.96, 2.32).
CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the risk factors for COVID-19 mortality and the benefit of COVID-19 vaccination, especially of booster vaccination, in reducing the risk of COVID-19 mortality in Malaysia.
METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire in Miri Hospital. The questionnaire was administered via a web survey design (Google Forms). The convenience sampling method was applied to recruit respondents. All healthcare workers in Miri Hospital who could read and understand English were invited to participate in the study. Response process validation, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analyses and descriptive statistics were performed.
RESULTS: A total of 339 respondents participated. All items had satisfactory response process indices. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure. Items of 'perceived benefits-workplace management', 'perceived benefits-family life balance' and 'perceived barriers' have high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.852-0.884) and factor loadings. Flextime is preferred and perceived to be the most feasible work arrangement. Most agreed that FWA helps in improving social distancing among colleagues (mean = 3.65, standard deviation [SD] = 0.99) and reduces their exposure to COVID-19 (mean = 3.60, SD = 1.06). A total of 44.0% of the respondents agreed Miri Hospital is ready to implement FWA.
CONCLUSION: The FWAPB is valid and reliable. Almost half of the respondents were positive towards the implementation of FWA. These findings contribute to the understanding of FWA, and thus increase the readiness and acceptance of such an arrangement.
METHODS: The patients (n = 54) were divided into mild and moderate TBI. Both groups were assessed at 3 months and 6 months post-trauma for the same measures. Diagnosis of CI was done using the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) questionnaire while NM screening was performed using the 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) followed by MINI International Neuropsychiatry Interview (MINI).
RESULTS: We found five patients (19.2%) with mild TBI had CI and five patients (19.2%) had NM at 3 months. Only one patient (3.8%) persistently has CI at 6 months while the rest recovered. As for moderate TBI, 11 patients (39.3%) had CI and seven patients (25%) had NM at 3 months but none had persistent CI or NM at 6 months. Age (P < 0.05) and blood pressure were significant risks (P < 0.05) for CI and NM at 3 months.
CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the importance of screening following mild and moderate TBI at 3 months and 6 months. Early recognition facilitates effective rehabilitation programmes planning hence improve prognosis in the future.
METHODS: The Trypan blue viability assay used to examine cell death. Immunofluorescence assay, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was used to portray the morphology of astrocytes. The hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) staining was performed to confirm hypoxia induced cell death and there was a dramatic expression of HIF-1α displayed in exposed astrocyte cells compared to the control. In molecular level, genes were chosen, such as glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), GFAP, HIF-1α and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and ran the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
RESULTS: Microscope revealed a filamentous and clear nucleus appearance in a control whereas the rupture nuclei with no rigid structure of the cell were found in the 3% oxygen. The control and hypoxia cells were also stained with the annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (annexin V-FITC). Fluorescence microscope reveals astrocyte cells after hypoxia showed higher expression of nuclei but not in control. Merging PI and FITC showed the differences of nuclei expression between the control and hypoxia. In the molecular analysis, there were significant changes of GFAP, HIF-1α and Bcl-2 in hypoxia exposed cells when compared to the control group.
CONCLUSION: Cells that were exposed to hypoxia (3% oxygen for 15 min) clearly showed damage. General view of human hippocampal astrocyte genomic response to hypoxia was obtained.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in five schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, among a representative random sample of female adolescent students aged 13 years old-18 years old. A simple random sampling method was used to select the participants. An online self-administered questionnaire, the Arabic version of eating attitude test (EAT-26) and socio-cultural attitudes toward appearance questionnaire (SATAQ-4), was used.
RESULTS: More than half (53.6%) of adolescent girls scored at or above the cut-off point of EAT-26. Around 45% of the participants had experienced family influence on their appearance and body shape, 36.7% had experienced peer influence on these factors, and 49.4% had experienced media influence. Family influence was significantly associated with EDs (P = 0.013).
CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of EDs among female going-school adolescents in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is of great concern. To mitigate this problem, effective programmes must be designed to change their dietary habits while considering the effects of family, peer and media influence, as well as focusing on the importance of eating breakfast and practising physical activity.
METHODS: The study included 141 post-menopausal Malaysian women and 118 young Malaysian women between 18 years old and 32 years old of age. Body composition, bone density, handgrip strength and physical performance were assessed using bio-electrical impedance analyser, calcaneal quantitative ultrasound, hand dynamometer and modified short physical performance battery test, respectively.
RESULTS: There was a higher prevalence of 'low muscle mass' among the younger age group compared to their older counterparts (48 young women [40.0%] versus 44 post-menopausal women [31.2%]). Conversely, there was a higher prevalence of 'obesity' and 'low bone density' among the older age group compared to their younger counterparts. Mean broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) for both age groups was ≥ 70.0 dB/MHz. The majority of post-menopausal women had a 'minor functional decline' (40.6%), followed by moderate (28.1%), major (22.7%), severe (6.3%) and the lowest percentage for 'no decline' (2.3%).
CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of obesity with poor musculoskeletal health in older Malaysian women, which may lead to frailty and higher incidences of falls and fractures at an advanced age. The screening of musculoskeletal conditions among Malaysian women may aid in early detection of abnormalities and timely intervention.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 26 April 2021 to 9 May 2021 (17 weeks). All health personnel from various departments managing patients with acute stroke in our centre were invited to participate. An online questionnaire was disseminated to assess their knowledge, attitude, perception, and current practices concerning delirium. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the association between the independent and dependent variables. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05.
RESULTS: The response rate was 22.49% (47 of 209 participants). More than half (61.7%, n = 29) had good current practices towards delirium in acute stroke patients. A significant association was found between knowledge and current practices related to delirium (P = 0.024). However, there was no significant association between current practices and sociodemographic factors (age, ethnicity, gender and job position), attitude, perceptions, screening barriers, or health service organisation.
CONCLUSION: Most respondents had good current practices and knowledge in managing post-stroke delirium. Therefore, upskilling health personnel for managing this illness is essential to ensure good post-stroke care and improve prognosis related to delirium.
METHODS: One hundred and ninety medical doctors and nurses, who were registered with the Saudi Commission for Health Specialities, were selected to participate in this cross-sectional study using a simple sampling technique. Their KAP of hand hygiene was assessed using a self-structured questionnaire and the collected data was analysed using IBM® SPSS® version 26.0.
RESULTS: Of the 190 healthcare workers, 74.7% were nurses and 25.3% were medical doctors. Among the participants, 53.7% (102) had good knowledge of hand hygiene, 51.6% (98) had positive attitudes towards hand hygiene and 55.8% (106) practised satisfactory hand hygiene. Bachelor education level (adjusted OR = 2.736; 95% CI = 1.101, 6.799; P = 0.030), postgraduate education level (adjusted OR = 6.256; 95% CI = 2.171, 18.028; P = 0.001), poor knowledge (adjusted OR =2.575; 95% CI = 1.263, 5.246; P = 0.009) and negative attitude (adjusted OR = 4.702; 95% CI = 1.263, 5.246; P < 0.001) were the significant predictor variables of unsatisfactory hand hygiene practice among healthcare workers.
CONCLUSION: The performance of hand hygiene among healthcare workers is still far less than optimal, particularly in settings like oncology units. Effective programmes are needed to increase their awareness of hand hygiene KAP, while strict guidelines are needed to reduce nosocomial infections.
METHODS: In this research study, the participants were three groups of Malay adolescents aged 13 years old-15 years old: i) adolescents with S-SLI with music training, ii) adolescents with S-SLI without music training and iii) typically developing adolescents. Before and after music training, the participants were given a sentence-picture matching task. Accuracy measures and reaction times were captured using E-Prime 2.0.
RESULTS: The results indicated that with music training, the accuracy and reaction time associated with which object questions among the two SLI groups were significantly higher and lower, respectively.
CONCLUSION: The implications of using rhythmic music training in enhancing syntactic structure processing are also discussed.
METHODS: A total of 166 non-duplicate ICU samples (80 environmental and 86 clinical) were collected between January 2019 and January 2020. Antimicrobial susceptibility detection was determined using the disc diffusion method, and the strains were evaluated for the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of imipenem (IMP) using broth microdilution or metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) detection according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. The isolates' capacity to produce biofilms was evaluated using the tube method and the crystal violet microtitre plate-based method.
RESULTS: A. baumannii was identified in 25 (31.25%) environmental and 30 (34.88%) clinical samples, and beds were the most infected (60%). Both types of isolate demonstrated a rate surpassing 80% resistance to the tested antibiotics. Phenotypically, the environmental and clinical strains were found to be MBL producers. Fourteen environmental (56%) and 15 clinical (50%) strains were found to be moderate biofilm producers, indicating that each isolate has a high biofilm-forming capacity.
CONCLUSION: These results show that the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) A. baumannii in an ICU setting emphasises the necessity of disinfecting and cleaning medical devices and surfaces to prevent and restrict cross-transmission. Intensive surveillance and infection control methods are also of paramount importance.