Ovarian teratoma-associated anti-NMDAR encephalitis in a 12-year-old girl

@#The association of ovarian teratoma and anti-N-Methyl-Daspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) is one of the most common autoimmune encephalitis syndromes and it is a serious and potentially fatal pathology that occurs in young women. This case report describes of a pediatric patient with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. A-12-year-old girl presented with abnormal behavior for one week came to Emergency Department of Sarawak General Hospital, Malaysia. She had psychotic spectrum symptoms including suicidal tendency. She was diagnosed with anti-NMDAR encephalitis as positive antibody was seen in her cerebrospinal fluid. She was treated with Injection Immunoglobulin. She turned out to have teratoma which was successfully removed later. Her progress was remarkable after the surgery with the Immunoglobulin. A multi-disciplinary team involving a psychiatrist, neurologist and gynaecologist liaised with intensivist to successfully manage the case and achieve the good outcome.

Uterine artery pseudoaneurysm: A case of late intraabdominal haemorrhage after caesarean section

@#Uterine artery pseudoaneurysm (UAP) is a rare acquired vascular malformation associated with vaginal bleeding or intraabdominal haemorrhage occurring after pelvic surgery. Pseudoaneurysm may present with delayed, severe haemorrhage after a seemingly uncomplicated initial postoperative period. Treatment is therefore necessary to prevent further complications. We describe here a case of a 32-year-old mother, who presented with abdominal pain and intraabdominal bleeding, 20 days after Caesarean Section. Computerised Tomography (CT) scan showed the presence of haemoperitoneum, suggestive of pseudoaneurysm at the right cervical artery which was successfully managed with emergency angiographic embolisation.

Students’ preference of learning tools for gross anatomy in an integrated curriculum

Introduction: It is still a challenge that the dissecting room has a place in learning gross anatomy. Understanding the students’ preference of learning tools is important to devise alternative teaching aids for improvement in learning anatomy. This study was conducted to assess student’s preference of learning tools available in the anatomy laboratory of an integrated curriculum.Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was carried out for 4 weeks among 741 medical and dental students of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), University Sabah Malaysia (UMS) and University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). Pre-tested, semi-structured, self-administrated questionnaires including open-ended questions were distributed. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 17.Results: Most of the participants were Malays (86%) and female (67%). The students from IIUM, UiTM, UMS and UNIMAS preferred the plastic model in terms of handability and application in examination (OSPE). It was statistically significant (p<0.05). In terms of understanding and information, the students of IIUM, UiTM and UMS preferred the plastic model while UNIMAS students preferred the prosected wet specimen over the plastic models. In terms of overall preference, students of IIUM and UiTM preferred the plastic model (85.8% and 44.1% respectively). In UNIMAS, their preference for the prosected wet specimen (90.7%) was slightly higher than for the plastic model (87.8%). UMS students preferred both cadaver (51.9%) and plastic model (50%). Conclusion: Most of the students preferred the plastic model as the best learning tool in studying gross anatomy. This study suggests that plastic model may hold a role in enhancing students’ learning of gross anatomy in an integrated curriculum.