Heralded by the revelation of the double helical structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, the 21st century is aptly designated the biotechnology century. The 20th century of physics, which saw the transformation of silicon into computing magic, was embraced with enthusiasm by virtually every household. However, unlike her predecessor, the same cannot be said about the advancements in biomedicine.
An outbreak of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Seremban Hospital is reported. The pattern of colonisation and infection with the MRSA was studied for the 1 year period between May 1987 till April 1988. There were few serious MRSA infections. The majority of patients were either colonised or superficially infected. The organism was resistant to all Penicillins, Gentamicin and most Cephalosporins. Netilmicin and Amikacin have shown good activity against MRSA.
An analysis of perinatal statistics in Peninsular Malaysia from 1980 — 1989 was undertaken. The Perinatal Mortality Rate showed a 42% decrease over the 10 year period. The Perinatal Mortality Rate was higher among the Indian and Malay ethnic groups compared to the Chinese. This was largely contributed by the higher Stillbirth rate in the former 2 ethnic groups. The Indians have the highest rate of low birthweight babies. There is a decline in the rate of low birthweight babies born over the studied decade. The major causes of early neonatal mortality included problems asociated with prematurity, asphyxia neonatorum, septicaemia and congenital anomalies. Further epi-demiological research is required to identify other riskfactors which contribute to this ethnic biased perinatal mortality rates. Besides intensifying and upgrading current multifaceted approaches, interventional strategies need to be directed to the identified high risk groups. (Copied from article).
Severe jaundice (serum bilirubin level > 340 gmol/L) occurred in 81 infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maternity Hospital Kuala Lumpur (MHKL) in 1993. Of these 46 (56.8%) underwent 53 exchange transfusions. In-patient case notes were available for study on 41 of them. Two infants had no cause identified while 12 were associated with prematurity, 13 ABO incompatibility, 8 G6PD deficiency, 6 sepsis 2 Rh isoimmunisation and 6 miscellaneous causes. In 14 infants it was felt that exchange transfusions might have been avoided if they were detected earlier and phototherapy instituted promptly. Twenty six (26) infants were deemed to have been given phototherapy at the appropriate time but jaundice increased to exchange transfusion levels, threshold values depending on the unit in charge. Use of higher intensity phototherapy might have been more effective in some of the cases. Available data showed similar outcomes in both groups.