This case study of medical schools in Malaysia addresses their role in meeting the demands of a young nation. Throughout the growth and development of these medical schools, there have been efforts to coordinate and cooperate with providers of health care. The treatment of illness must mesh with the changing paradigm of health and wellness as an achievable and indeed desirable goal, not only for the individual but also for society. The scientific basis of medicine is being emphasized with the advent of evidence-based medicine and outcome measures. Innovations have been made to bring the schools in closer contact with the service providers. Malaysia has prepared farsighted plans to become a developed nation by the year 2020. Accordingly, its health services will use advances in information technology and will introduce telemedicine in various strategic applications to extend the reach of the health care team. It is incumbent on the medical schools to move in concert with the Ministry of Health to realize goals of the nation and the society.
The people of Malaysia generally enjoy a high standard of health. This is largely attributed to the comprehensive range of health services provided by the Government and the private sector at affordable costs. However, there are changing trends that now seriously challenge this status quo. The changing population structure, lifestyle, disease patterns and globalization are causing healthcare costs to rise. New and innovative ways will have to be devised to further improve the health status and at the same time contain costs. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) presents unprecedented opportunities to help the health sector in Malaysia reinvent itself and transform the way health and healthcare is managed and delivered in the future. Malaysia's Telehealth initiative under the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project is designed to realize Malaysia's health vision and goals and meet future health challenges. Multimedia and Internet technology will be fully harnessed to deploy services that will shift the emphasis from episodic management of illness to proactive promotion of lifelong wellness and disease prevention. Health information content and interactive applications will engage the people to work as partners of health with healthcare professionals in maintaining their own health or managing their illnesses.
Haematuria is always a significant finding that requires proper evaluation, and investigations may need to be initiated based on an adequate history. A careful urine microscopy of the urine using phase contrast microscopy is essential, and may predict the source of the haematuria based on red cell morphology, and point the direction that appropriate investigation should take. Infection tumours, obstruction; and calculi account for most cases of gross haematuria in adults. In paediatric patients, the causes of gross haematuria are readily apparent in half of the cases, but further investigations are necessary in the other half. All cases of haematuria require prompt evaluation and appropriate investigations to ensure correct and early treatment.
Over a five year period, 184 patients were treated for acute renal failure. Uraemia was usually treated by peritoneal dialysis, and haemodialysis was reserved for post surgical and hypercatabolic patients. The overall mortality was 33.2% and was highest among surgical patients. These results were similar to previous reports. Peritoneal dialysis was usually effective in controlling uraemia. Uncontrolled sepsis remains a major problem, and septicaemia and gastrointestinal bleeding were adverse factors affecting the outcome. The combination of septicaemia and gastrointestinal bleeding commonly led to a fatal outcome.
A possible anti-anesthetic effect of idazoxan using the depth versus latency of cortical cellular response and somatosensory evoked potentials as indices of anesthesia was studied. With the administration of 10 mg/kg (i.p.) idazoxan, a potent and selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, to an anesthetized rat with 1.25-1.5 g/kg (i.p.) urethane, the modal latency of somatosensory cortical responses to electrical stimulation of the forepaw (0-90 V, 1 Hz) was shortened to 87 +/- 3.6% (mean +/- S.D.; n = 3) of the baseline value. The number of units firing increased by 259 +/- 98.5% (n = 3). The combined parameter (1/L x Pi; L, latency; Pi, initial positive wave) of the somatosensory evoked potentials was enhanced to 125.0 +/- 16.2% (n = 19) versus saline (98.9 +/- 25.6%; n = 18) during the desynchronized electroencephalogram (EEG). The initial negative component (Ni) of the somatosensory cortical response was increased to 192.0 +/- 83.1% (n = 19) and 134.8 +/- 36.9% (n = 19) during the synchronized and desynchronized EEG, respectively. Thus idazoxan appears to produce effects resembling a "lightening of anesthesia." This may provide the impetus for further studies on the possibility of using alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonists in the recovery from certain types of anesthetic agents.
The use of automated teller machine (ATM) services by bank customers in Sokoto State,
Nigeria depends on the level of trust they have towards its operating nature. The positive or negative
perception that bank customers’ develop towards trust tends to determine their level of ATM usage.
Therefore, this article adopted the following factors (attitude towards behaviour, intention behaviour,
actual usage, perceived ease of use and usefulness) from technology acceptance model (TAM) to assess
their influence on customers’ trust in the use of ATM services in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Correlation
analysis was conducted on 300 customers of some selected banks (Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank,
First Bank, Eco Bank and Mainstreet Bank) in Sokoto State, Nigeria. The result shows that attitude
towards behaviour, intention behaviour, actual usage, perceived ease of use and usefulness has a
significant and positive relationship with customers’ trust in the use of ATM services in Sokoto State,
Nigeria.
A 13-year old Malay girl presented with multiple parasuicide attempts. She made multiple attempts at suicide and at the last attempt she developed liver damage. This article discusses the etiology and different methods used to prevent future suicidal attempts in this patient.