INTRODUCTION: Psoriasis is a common, chronic, relapsing, immune-mediated inflammatory disease. Our objective is to review the clinical profile, co-morbidities, and outcome of patients with psoriasis.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of outpatient psoriasis patients attending the dermatology clinic, Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim (HSAH) between January 2012 and June 2014. Data collection was based on Malaysian Psoriasis Registry.
RESULTS: Among 296 patients with psoriasis, Malays were the most common 175 (59.1%), followed by Indians 82 (27.7%), Chinese 37 (12.5%) and others 2 (0.6%). Male to female ratio was 1.2:1. More than half (54.7%) of the patients had early onset disease (age 40 or less). Only 26 patients (8.8%) have positive family history. The most common clinical presentation was chronic plaque psoriasis (89.9%), followed by erythrodermic psoriasis (4.7%), guttate psoriasis (3.0%) and pustular psoriasis (1.7%). Twenty eight percent had nail involvement while arthropathy was seen only in 14.7%. Common triggers were sunlight (46.0%), stress (31.1%), trauma (5.4%), food (4.0%), pregnancy (4.0%), and upper respiratory tract infections (2.7%). Co-morbidities observed include ischaemic heart disease (7.1%), hypertension (26.7%), dyslipidemia (17.6%), and diabetes mellitus (22.0%). All patients were on topical medications. About 6.8% of the patients were treated with phototherapy. One third of patients (35.5%) were given systemic therapy. Out of these, 84 patients (80.0%) were on methotrexate while only 16 (15.2%) on acitretin. None was on cyclosporine or biologic. In term of disease severity, 41.7% of patients had BSA >10% and 31.4% patients had DLQI > 10.
CONCLUSION: Our patients show a similar clinical profile and outcome as our Malaysian psoriasis population. However they tend to have a more severe disease. There is a need for a more effective targeted therapy for a better outcome.
Study site: Dermatology clinic, Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim (HSAH), Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia
Microplastics (MPs), as emerging indoor contaminants, have garnered attention due to their ubiquity and unresolved implications for human health. These tiny particles have permeated indoor air and water, leading to inevitable human exposure. Preliminary evidence suggests MP exposure could be linked to respiratory, gastrointestinal, and potentially other health issues, yet the full scope of their effects remains unclear. To map the overall landscape of this research field, a bibliometric analysis based on research articles retrieved from the Web of Science database was conducted. The study synthesizes the current state of knowledge and spotlights the innovative mitigation strategies proposed to curb indoor MP pollution. These strategies involve minimizing the MP emission from source, advancements in filtration technology, aimed at reducing the MP exposure. Furthermore, this research sheds light on cutting-edge methods for converting MP waste into value-added products. These innovative approaches not only promise to alleviate environmental burdens but also contribute to a more sustainable and circular economy by transforming waste into resources such as biofuels, construction materials, and batteries. Despite these strides, this study acknowledges the ongoing challenges, including the need for more efficient removal technologies and a deeper understanding of MPs' health impacts. Looking forward, the study underscores the necessity for further research to fill these knowledge gaps, particularly in the areas of long-term health outcomes and the development of standardized, reliable methodologies for MP detection and quantification in indoor settings. This comprehensive approach paves the way for future exploration and the development of robust solutions to the complex issue of microplastic pollution.
An indoor environment in a hospital building requires a high indoor air quality (IAQ) to overcome patients' risks of getting wound infections without interrupting the recovery process. However, several problems arose in obtaining a satisfactory IAQ, such as poor ventilation design strategies, insufficient air exchange, improper medical equipment placement and high door opening frequency. This paper presents an overview of various methods used for assessing the IAQ in hospital facilities, especially in an operating room, isolation room, anteroom, postoperative room, inpatient room and dentistry room. This review shows that both experimental and numerical methods demonstrated their advantages in the IAQ assessment. It was revealed that both airflow and particle tracking models could result in different particle dispersion predictions. The model selection should depend on the compatibility of the simulated result with the experimental measurement data. The primary and secondary forces affecting the characteristics of particle dispersion were also discussed in detail. The main contributing forces to the trajectory characteristics of a particle could be attributed to the gravitational force and drag force regardless of particle size. Meanwhile, the additional forces could be considered when there involves temperature gradient, intense light source, submicron particle, etc. The particle size concerned in a healthcare facility should be less than 20 μm as this particle size range showed a closer relationship with the virus load and a higher tendency to remain airborne. Also, further research opportunities that reflect a more realistic approach and improvement in the current assessment approach were proposed.
This paper presents the landscape of research on airborne microplastics and nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) according to the bibliometric analysis of 147 documents issued between 2015 and 2021, extracted from the Web of Science database. The publications on airborne MPs/NPs have increased rapidly from 2015 onwards, which is largely due to the existence of funding support. Science of the Total Environment is one of the prominent journals in publishing related papers. China, England, the USA, and European Countries have produced a significant output of airborne MP/NP research works, which is associated with the availability of funding agencies regionally or nationally. The research hotspot on the topic ranges from the transport of airborne MPs/NPs to their deposition in the terrestrial or aquatic environments, along with the contamination of samples by indoor MPs/NPs. Most of the publications are either research or review papers related to MPs/NPs. It is crucial to share the understanding of global plastic pollution and its unfavorable effects on humankind by promoting awareness of the existence and impact of MPs/NPs. Funding agencies are vital in boosting the research development of airborne MPs/NPs. Some countries that are lacking funding support were able to publish research findings related to the field of interest, however, with lesser research output. Without sufficient fundings, some impactful publications may not be able to carry a substantial impact in sharing the findings and discoveries with the mass public.