Medical therapy is effective in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Selective alpha-1 blockers (e.g. terazosin) and 5 alpha reductase inhibitors (e.g. finasteride) are the main drugs used. Alpha blockers reduce the dynamic component of obstruction while the later reduces the size of the prostate.
A full-year study of sickness absence was done on 148 workers in a bus company. 58.8% of the workers took one or more than one day of absence while 42.2% took no absence at all. Sickness absence rates were 1.64 spells per person, 2.26 days per person and mean length of spell was 1.38 days per spell. The figures were low compared with Western countries or Singapore. Indian had higher absence rates and bus drivers and conductors had less days and spells of absence than office staff and mechanics in the same company.
985 medical certificates issued by primary care doctors at the Klinik Perubatan Masyarakat and the staff health clinic at Universiti Sains Malaysia were analysed. Most common diagnoses were URTls, conjunctivitis, and gastro-enteritis. Mean duration of absence ranged from 1.3 to 3.4 days. HUSM staff with skin infections were given certificates nearly twice more often than the public. Backache earned more time off for the staff compared to the public. There is a need to formulate guidelines for medical certificates.
Study site: Klinik Perubatan Masyarakat and the staff health clinic at Universiti Sains Malaysia
Asthma is a chronic reversible respiratory problem commonly seen by Family Physicians. Pregnancy can produce physiological and physical changes that can affect the severity of asthma and its management. Conversely poorly controlled asthmatic attacks can result in adverse obstetric outcome: prematurity, low birth weight babies, foetal hypoxia and increased maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality. It is important that Family Physicians should be able to manage competently and provide appropriate counseling for women with asthma in pregnancy, labour and lactation. Assessment of asthma control using a peak flow meter is recommended. The use of the usual inhaled and oral corticosteroids, beta 2 agonists, cromones and anticholinergics are generally safe in pregnancy, labour and lactation. But methylxanthines should be used with caution. Women should be advised that asthma medication would not adversely affect their unborn babies and the birth outcome of well-controlled asthmatic women approaches that of the normal population but uncontrolled asthma would be detrimental to the health of mother and child.