ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in December 2019 called for a rapid solution, leading to repurposing of existing drugs. Due to its immunomodulatory effect and antiviral properties, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been used in early 2020 for treatment of COVID-19 patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the treatment outcome of HCQ monotherapy in Malaysia. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in COVID-19 ward in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), from March to April 2020. A total of 446 COVID-19 patients were recruited, only 325 patients were finally included for analysis. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS, with a significant value set at p<0.05. Results: The mean age of the patients were 38.5 ±15.5. They were majority male, (n=210, 64.6%) Malaysian (n=239, 73.5%) and Malay ethnicity (n=204, 62.8%). Ninety-one (28%) patients received HCQ monotherapy. HCQ monotherapy was associated with worse outcome (OR: 10.29, 95% CI 1.17-90.80). There was a significant difference in mean length of stay between those with and without HCQ treatment (t323=5.868, p<0.001, 95% CI, 2.56-5.31). The average length of stay for HCQ treated group was 3.84 days longer than those without treatment. 6.6% of the patient receiving HCQ monotherapy encountered adverse drug effects. Conclusion: Similar to study reported worldwide, our study demonstrated that HCQ did not improve length of stay and the outcome of COVID-19 patients.
ABSTRACT
Background@#Anogenital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most frequent reported sexually transmitted infection in the world. We aim to describe the local demographic data and the clinical characteristics of anogenital warts (AGWs).@*Methods@#This is a retrospective study on all patients with AGWs who attended the GUM clinic between 2015 and 2020. Data was obtained from case notes and further analysed.@*Results@#A total of 935 patients with AGWs attended the GUM clinic between 2015 and 2020. The mean age was 30.4 years (range 12-84). The male to female ratio was 2.35:1. Majority were Malaysian (97%). Majority of the Malaysian were Malays (61.5%) followed by Chinese (27.7%) and Indian (8.9%). About 5.6% had a history of substance abuse. While the majority (57.9%) were heterosexual, 34.8% were homosexual and 6.4% were bisexual. About 59.8% had more than one sexual partner. A quarter (25.6%) was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. The most frequent site of AGWs in males was the perianal area (52.6%), followed by the penis (45.7%), and with a fifth of them having lesions at multiple sites. For female patients, the most frequent site of AGWs was the posterior fourchette (45.2%) followed by the labia minora (33%) with 46.6% had involvement at multiple sites. Approximately 17.6% had other concomitant sexually transmitted infections. Local treatment application used included cryotherapy (86.4%), podophyllin (35.3%), tri-chloroacetic acid (26.8%) and imiquimod (2.6%). About 41.5% required combination of these modalities. Nearly 6.2% experienced recurrence. About 2% required surgical intervention.@*Conclusions@#AGWs was more commonly observed in male. The most frequent site of involvement was perianal for male (52.6%) and posterior fourchette in female (45.2%).