ABSTRACT
Ranking as the most communicable disease killer worldwide, tuberculosis, has accounted with a total of 9.6 million new tuberculosis cases with 1.5 million tuberculosis-related deaths reported globally in 2014. Tuberculosis has remain as an occupational hazard for healthcare workers since 1920s and due to several tuberculosis outbreaks in healthcare settings in the early 1990s, the concern about the transmission to both patients and healthcare workers has been raised. Healthcare workers have two to three folds greater the risk of active tuberculosis than the general population. Several studies on knowledge, attitude and practices on tuberculosis among healthcare workers worldwide have revealed that majority of the participated healthcare workers had good knowledge on tuberculosis. Most of the healthcare workers from South India and South Africa also reported to have positive attitude whereas a study in Thailand reported that most of the healthcare providers have negative attitude towards tuberculosis patients. Nevertheless, majority of the healthcare workers have low level of practice on tuberculosis prevention. An improved communication between healthcare workers and the patients as well as their families is the key to better therapeutic outcomes with good knowledge, attitude and preventive practice towards tuberculosis.
ABSTRACT
Background: Aspirin resistance has posed a major dilemma in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and stroke. There have been many factors that have been associated with aspirin resistance. Among these factors, the inflammatory processes of diabetes and glycaemic control have been significantly associated with aspirin resistance. Our study evaluated the prevalence of aspirin resistance and its associated factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, interventional study, which was implemented from October to November 2012 at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM). Sixty-nine patients with diabetes who were taking aspirin were enrolled. The glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured in these patients. The thromboelastography (TEG) level was measured using a TEG machine by a trained technician employing standard methods. The variables obtained were analysed for prevalence of aspirin resistance, HbA1c, CRP, and TEG level. The Chi-square test (and Fisher exact test where applicable) were used to evaluate the associations between aspirin resistance with glycaemic control (HbA1c) and inflammatory markers (CRP). Results: The prevalence of aspirin resistance was 17.4% (95%; CI 9.3, 28.4). Glycaemic control (HbA1c) and inflammatory markers (CRP) were not associated with aspirin resistance. Aspirin resistance was prevalent in our study population and was comparable to other studies. The mean HbA1c in the aspirin-resistant group was 8.9%, whereas the mean HbA1c in the aspirin-sensitive group was 8.6%. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in HbA1c between the two groups. There was no significant association between CRP levels and aspirin resistance.
ABSTRACT
To look for any possible coexistence of CACNA1A, ATP1A2, and KCNN3 gene mutations in migraine patients who had human platelet HPA-1a/1b polymorphism, which is also known as PlA1/A2 polymorphism. The study was carried out at the Neurology Clinic, Hospital University Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia between April 2004 and March 2005. The DNA from 4 patients who had migraine with the HPA1a/1b polymorphism were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction using the allele specific oligonucleotide technique to detect the presence of CACNA1A, ATP1A2, and KCNN3 genotypes. We found that the CACNA1A gene mutation alone was present in only one patient who presented with classical migraine with aura. The gene mutations on ATP1A2 and KCNN3 were seen in none of our 4 cases with migraine. There is no coexistence between the platelet HPA-1a/1b polymorphism and the ATP1A2 and KCNN3 gene mutations, though one classical migraine patient with HPA-1a/1b polymorphism had the CACNA1A gene mutation. Larger studies are warranted to confirm these findings