Methods: This was a prospective observational study of women who delivered vaginally in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre from March 2017 to September 2017. Those who were able to void within 6 hours after delivery, the voided volume measurements were taken at their second void followed by measurement of residual urine using a transabdominal ultrasound scan. For those unable to void at 6 hours postpartum, the bladder volume was measured. If the bladder volume was 500 ml or more, an indwelling catheter would be inserted and kept for 24 hours.
Results: A total of 155 patients who fulfilled the inclusion were recruited. There were 143 (92.3%) patients who had residual urine volume of less than 150 ml at second void. Out of these 143 patients, 138 (96.5%) had residual urine volume of less than 100 ml, and among the 138 patients, 119 (86.2%) had residual urine volume of less than 50 ml. The median residual urine volume was 10 ml (2, 42). The overall rate of postpartum urinary retention (PPUR) was 7.7%; 6 (3.85%) had overt retention and 6 (3.85%) had covert retention. Primiparity, duration of active phase of labour, duration of second stage of labour, epidural analgesia, episiotomy, instrumental delivery, and perineal pain score were independent risk factors associated with postpartum urinary retention.
Conclusion: Postpartum urinary retention complicates approximately 7.7% of vaginal deliveries. Majority (86.2%) of them had residual urine volume less than 50 ml. Obstetrics factors independently associated with PPUR include primiparity, duration of active phase of labour, duration of second stage of labour, epidural analgesia, episiotomy, instrumental delivery, and degree of perineal pain.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Lactic acid bacteria strains were isolated and examined for acid tolerance, bile salt resistance and hypocholesterolemic properties. Among the isolates, Lactobacillus plantarum TAR4 showed the highest cholesterol reduction ability (48·01%). The focus in the in vivo trial was to elucidate the cholesterol balance from findings pertaining to serum cholesterol reduction in rat model fed with high fat diet via oral administration. Rats fed with high-cholesterol diet supplemented with Lact. plantarum TAR4 showed significant reduction in serum total cholesterol (29·55%), serum triglyceride (45·31%) and liver triglyceride (23·44%) as compared to high-cholesterol diet (HCD) group. There was a significant increment in faecal triglyceride (45·83%) and faecal total bile acid (384·95%) as compared to HCD group.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed that probiotic Lact. plantarum TAR4 supplementation reduced the absorption of bile acids for enterohepatic recycling and increased the catabolism of cholesterol to bile acids and not by suppressing the rate of cholesterol synthesis.
SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: Probiotic supplements could provide a new nonpharmacological alternative to reduce cardiovascular risk factors.
DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July-September 2018.
SETTING: This study was conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: We recruited community-dwelling adults (ambulatory care patients or their accompanying persons) who were ≥21 years old and able to understand English or Malay. A 1:10 systematic sampling procedure was used. Excluded were community-dwelling adults with intellectual disabilities or non-Malaysian accompanying persons. A trained researcher administered the validated English or Malay Advance Care Planning Questionnaire at baseline and 2 weeks later.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the KAP regarding ACP. The secondary outcomes were factors associated with KAP.
RESULTS: A total of 385/393 community-dwelling adults agreed to participate (response rate 98%). Only 3.1% of the community-dwelling adults have heard about ACP and 85.7% of them felt that discussion on ACP was necessary after explanation of the term. The desire to maintain their decision-making ability when seriously ill (94.9%) and reducing family burden (91.6%) were the main motivating factors for ACP. In contrast, resorting to fate (86.5%) and perceived healthy condition (77.0%) were the main reasons against ACP. Overall, 84.4% would consider discussing ACP in the future. Community-dwelling adults who were employed were less likely to know about ACP (OR=0.167, 95% CI 0.050 to 0.559, p=0.004) whereas those with comorbidities were more likely to favour ACP (OR=2.460, 95% CI 1.161 to 5.213, p=0.019). No factor was found to be associated with the practice of ACP.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite the lack of awareness regarding ACP, majority of community-dwelling adults in Malaysia had a positive attitude towards ACP and were willing to engage in a discussion regarding ACP after the term 'ACP' has been explained to them.
METHODS: The P-QOL questionnaire was translated into the Malay language and subsequently back-translated to English. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were tested. All patients who visited the gynecology outpatient clinic of UKMMC, UMMC and IIUM between January 2016 and May 2017 completed the P-QOL questionnaires and were assessed for POP-Q staging.
RESULTS: One hundred twenty patients with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse and 180 asymptomatic patients were included. The Cronbach's alpha for each domain was > 0.70, which confirmed that there was a highly acceptable internal consistency. The value varied between 0.88 (role limitation) and 0.912 (sleep/energy). Test-retest reliability showed a significant correlation between the total scores for each domain (p