Translation and Validation of Malay Version of the Simplified Diabetes Knowledge Test (DKT)

@#Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease which is highly prevalent in Malaysia. In managing diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) have advocated self-management to be the basic component of diabetes care. However, an ongoing discussion, education and assessment of the patient’s diabetic knowledge should be implemented in the patient’s empowerment process. There are various assessment tools available worldwide but very few are available in the Malay language. This study is aimed to perform the Malay translation of the Simplified Diabetes Knowledge Test (DKT) questionnaire and validate it. Methods: Forward-backward translation procedure was used to translate the simplified version of the DKT questionnaire. A total of 120 respondents with type 2 diabetes mellitus from a selected government health clinic were recruited to answer the questionnaire which consists of socio-demographic, diabetes characteristics and the 20-item Malay version of simplified DKT questionnaire. Reliability and construct validity were tested with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Exploratory Factor Analysis. Results: Factor analysis with Varimax rotation identified five meaningful domains for the final 18 items. The Cronbach’s alpha for the overall scale of the translated questionnaire was 0.573 with values of each five significant domain’s Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.370 to 0.564. Conclusion: The Malay version of simplified DKT is valid and reliable to be used as a brief assessment of knowledge among Malaysian diabetic patients.

Do Our Diabetic Patients Ready for Safe Pregnancy? Attitude Towards Preconception Care and Its Associated Factors Among Women With Diabetes Attending Government Health Clinics in Terengganu

@#Introduction: Women with uncontrolled diabetes may conceive but will result in poor pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge and attitude and determine factors associated with attitude towards preconception care. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in various government health clinics from all districts in Terengganu by using multistage random sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was applied to assess the level of knowledge and attitude towards preconception care. Multiple logistic regressions were applied to determine factors associated with attitude towards preconception care. Results: A total of 422 respondents were involved. The prevalence of respondents with unsatisfactory knowledge and attitude were 41.7% and 84.1%, respectively. Knowledge was not significantly associated with attitude. Respondents who used contraception had a better attitude (Adj. OR: 0.44, 95% CI:0.23,0.84). Low household income was associated (Adj. OR: 2.40, 95% CI:1.10,5.26) with an unsatisfactory attitude towards preconception care. Conclusion: Attitude towards preconception care amongst diabetic women who were attending primary care clinics was unsatisfactory. A structured and focused preconception educational programme care is necessary, especially amongst low-income women.

Managing Pulmonary Tuberculosis In A Patient With Post OP Oropharyngeal Cancer - Challenges For Family Physician

@#Oropharyngeal carcinoma is uncommon cancer compared to other malignancies. It accounts for less than 3% worldwide cancer and classified under the head and neck carcinoma. Patients with locally advanced oropharyngeal malignancy are usually treated with surgery with combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This later required regular follow up especially on supportive care and adaptation to swallowing. Difficulty in swallowing provided burden to the patient and may lead to underlying malnutrition and risk of infection including tuberculosis. This will end up with poor compliance to oral treatment and risk of resistance. Therefore, this case study is illustrating the challenging role of family medicine specialists in managing a case of sputum positive pulmonary tuberculosis with underlying swallowing difficulty from glossectomy and radiotherapy on top of defaulted tongue carcinoma supportive care follow up.

The “POPEYE SIGN” – A Classical but Rare Case

@#Isolated biceps tendon rupture is rarely reported at primary care level. A 78-year-old man presented with deformity over his right mid arm for one week, following a low impact trauma over his right shoulder six weeks prior. Physical examination revealed the classical sign of rupture of the long head of biceps tendon (LHBT) which showed bulging of his right biceps muscle, resembling the famous cartoon character, “Popeye The Sailorman”. Diagnosis of rupture of LHBT was made in the primary care clinic without the need of imaging modality based on the identification of the “Popeye Sign”. Diagnosis and condition have been explained well to patient and caretaker without the need for inappropriate investigation and procedures. Conservative treatment approach was opted. His condition was stable without new active complaints on subsequent follow up. This case proved that stable ruptures of LHBT are still possible to be managed at primary care level.

Mildly Elevated Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) - a Liver Tumour Hint Not to Be Missed

@#Healthcare providers are responsible for performing medical check-ups, analyse and interpret patient's laboratory results. It is common for an initially asymptomatic patient to receive abnormal results including liver enzymes such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The concern in these patients is the cut-off value for mildly elevated levels that requires intervention. This paper reports a case of liver malignancy in a 32-year-old man who presented with a mild elevation of ALP level less than five times the upper limit of normal. The patient had no clinical symptoms. Early ultrasound liver assessment showed dilated common bile duct, which led to an urgent CT scan of the liver that revealed supportive features of fibrolamellar carcinoma. The patient was managed successfully with early partial hepatectomy that has saved him from morbidity and mortality of liver malignancy. Indeed, liver malignancy can be detected early in a health clinic from a further assessment of trivial elevation of ALP.

Concomitant dengue fever in Varicella zoster infection – A rare presentation

@#Varicella zoster infection is one of the self-limiting viral infections during childhood and dengue fever is an endemic infection in Malaysia, which commonly occurs in the form of nonspecific febrile illness at the initial stage. It is rare for the two viral infections to occur simultaneously. A case of dengue fever without warning sign in a five-year old girl was reported, with early symptoms of fever and vesicular rashes. She was clinically diagnosed with varicella zoster infection during the first visit. Surprisingly, she remained febrile even on day six of illness despite no new vesicular lesions on her skin. Due to suspicion of another infection, follow-up investigation was done and revealed isolated thrombocytopenia. This finding was confirmed with positive NS1Ag. A case of rare dengue fever concomitant with varicella zoster infection was reported.

Non-specific skin purpura

@#Essential thrombocythemia is one of the myeloproliferative neoplasms. Palpable purpura is a rare manifestation that may delay diagnosis and treatment. We report a case of essential thrombocythemia in a 50-year-old man, who presented with recurrent thigh pain for the past one year with nonspecific localized purpura. His full blood count revealed isolated thrombocytosis of 880,000/µL with an impression of myeloproliferative disorder from peripheral blood film. He was referred urgently to the hematology team, which proceeded with a venesection. His condition improved with hydroxyurea. This was a rare case of chronic presentation of myeloproliferative neoplasm detected at a primary care clinic