Contrasting beliefs often make cooperation between folk healers and modern doctors seem impossible. In the field of mental health, where communication is of such central importance, better mutual understanding is especially desirable. After reviewing the complexities involved, the author makes some suggestions on how the two kinds of practitioner could help each other.
The compliance with drug regimens and follow-up visits of 225 known cases of relapsed schizophrenia was assessed. About 27% of the patients met the criteria for good compliance. The compliance was found to be significantly related to the patients' view of usefulness of the medication, treatment duration of less than 5 years, dosage schedule of once or twice per day and the supervision of medication at home. Patients with poor compliance who were prescribed drug dosage of not more than twice per day throughout follow-up and underwent counseling to enhance treatment compliance had a significantly lower relapse rate than the controlled group at the end of 1 year of follow-up. The importance of family support and understanding patients' cultural background in ensuring good compliance was highlighted.
The subjective quality of life (QOL) of diabetic patients on oral hypoglycaemics was compared to schizophrenic patients who were well controlled with their antipsychotic medications. This comparison was made using the generic quality of life questionnaire produced by the World Health Organization QOL (WHOQOL) group, namely the WHOQOL-100. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the psychological well-being and level of independence between the two groups. However, such measures revealed that the most impaired aspect of well-being in the schizophrenic group was the social relationship. Subjective QOL assessment is able to reveal deficits or handicaps that are obscure and probably difficult to appreciate on objective social and clinical evaluation. Such findings are valuable in planning the rehabilitative need of schizophrenic patients in the community.
The aim of this study was to find the dosage and pattern of neuroleptic drug utilisation for the treatment of acute schizophrenia in a general psychiatry ward. This is an uncontrolled study involving 112 schizophrenic inpatients. Patients' socio-demographic variables, the type and peak daily doses of neuroleptics prescribed to them were analysed. Chlorpromazine was the most commonly prescribed drug. The peak mean daily dose required by the patients was equivalent to 537 mg of chlorpromazine; and 400 to 600 mg/ day of chlorpromazine or its equivalent was generally sufficient to treat acute psychosis. The majority of the patients received neuroleptics within this dose range. Low potency drugs were prescribed in lower doses than high potency drugs. Patients treated with depot preparation tended to receive higher doses of medication than those prescribed oral medication alone. The doses of neuroleptics were significantly correlated with duration of admission.
In confronting the advances in the new treatment for incurable illnesses there is an increasing need for doctors to be aware of their patients' cognition and feeling related to their quality of life (QOL). Recognizing this need the authors translated and pilot tested the WHOQOL-100, a genuinely international measure of QOL by the World Health Organization (quality of life group). The WHOQOL-100 Malay version was pilot tested on 50 healthy controls and 250 ill subjects, suffering from hypertension, diabetes mellitus, those suffering from both hypertension and ischaemic heart disease, epilepsy and schizophrenia. The results showed several unique features of the QOL, which were influenced by different types of illnesses. The information obtained is different and probably not observable from clinical consultations. This study will be an impetus for further studies using the WHOQOL-100 assessment tool in the local population.
Bilateral vocal cord palsy is almost always caused by neck surgery, particularly surgery of the thyroid. We report a case of bilateral vocal cord palsy requiring emergency surgery to relieve the airway obstruction as the sole presentation of acquired syphilis. As the incidence of syphilis worldwide is rising, this unusual presentation may give clinicians a different perspective on the disease.
Post-traumatic parotid sialocoele is a subcutaneous extravasation of saliva from the parotid gland secondary to traumatic disruption of its duct or parenchyma. Currently, there is no consensus regarding the best therapy for parotid sialocoele, as it is resistant to conservative management. The present paper puts forward a relatively simple, safe and effective technique for the treatment of parotid sialocoele, specifically a peroral drainage technique. The results justify our recommendation to use this approach for the treatment of sialocoele.
Surgical management of head and neck cancer is undoubtedly challenging, and we would like to see the outcome of managing such cases at one of the tertiary referral center in the East Coast of Malaysia.
Much microbiome research has focused on populations that are predominantly of European descent, and from narrow demographics that do not capture the socio-economic and lifestyle differences which impact human health. Here we examined the airway microbiomes of the Orang Asli, the indigenous peoples of Malaysia. A total of 130 participants were recruited from two sites in the north-eastern state of Terengganu in Peninsular Malaysia. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, the nasal microbiome was significantly more diverse in those aged 5-17 years compared to 50+ years (p = 0.023) and clustered by age (PERMANOVA analysis of the Bray-Curtis distance, p = 0.001). Hierarchical clustering of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity scores revealed six microbiome clusters. The largest cluster (n = 28; 35.4%) had a marked abundance of Corynebacterium. In the oral microbiomes Streptococcus, Neisseria and Haemophilus were dominant. Using conventional microbiology, high levels of Staphylococcus aureus carriage were observed, particularly in the 18-65 age group (n = 17/36; 47.2% 95% CI: 30.9-63.5). The highest carriage of pneumococci was in the <5 and 5 to 17 year olds, with 57.1% (4/7) and 49.2% (30/61), respectively. Sixteen pneumococcal serotypes were identified, the most common being the nonvaccine-type 23A (14.6%) and the vaccine-type 6B (9.8%). The prevalence of pneumococcal serotypes covered by pneumococcal conjugate vaccines support introduction into a Malaysian national immunisation schedule. In addition, the dominance of Corynebacterium in the airway microbiomes is intriguing given their role as a potentially protective commensal with respect to acute infection and respiratory health.