Knowledge of and willingness to perform Hands-Only cardiopulmonary resuscitation among college students in Malaysia.

Worldwide, millions of people die of sudden cardiac arrest every year. This is partly due to limited and sometimes ineffective bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The need for mouth-to-mouth contact, fear of causing harm, litigation, and the complexity of delivering CPR are the main deterrents. In view of this, the basic life support algorithm has been simplified and lay rescuers are encouraged to perform Hands-Only CPR.The objective of this study is to assess knowledge on and willingness to perform Hands-Only CPR among Malaysian college students and to determine the relationship between the two.In an online self-administered survey, college students responded to a questionnaire on demographics, exposure to CPR, knowledge on Hands-Only CPR, and their willingness to perform Hands-Only CPR in 5 different scenarios (family members or relatives, strangers, trauma victims, children, and elderly people).Data for 393 participants were analyzed. For knowledge, the mean score was 8.6 ±â€Š3.2 and the median score was 9. In the sample, 27% of the respondents did not attend any CPR training before, citing that they were unsure where to attend the course. The knowledge score among those who attended CPR training (M = 3.6, S = 2.9) was significantly higher compared to those who did not (M = 6.7, S = 3.0). Out of the 393 participants, 67.7%, 55%, 37.4%, 45%, and 49.1% were willing to perform Hands-Only CPR on family members or relatives, strangers, trauma victims, children, and elderly people, respectively. There were significant associations (P < .001) between knowledge and willing to perform Hands-Only CPR on family members or relatives (OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.43, 1.43), strangers (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.21, 1.42), trauma victims (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.12, 1.31), children (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.19, 1.39), and elderly people (OR = 1.36 95% CI 1.25, 1.48).Based on this study, knowledge on Hands-Only CPR among local college students is not encouraging. Not many know where to attend such courses. There was significant association between knowledge and willingness to perform Hands-Only CPR.

Oxymatrine attenuates CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis via modulation of TLR4-dependent inflammatory and TGF-ß1 signaling pathways.

Oxymatrine (OMT) is able to effectively protect against hepatic fibrosis because of its anti-inflammatory property, while the underlying mechanism remains incompletely understood. In this study, forty rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group, model group (carbon tetrachloride, CCl4) and three OMT treatment groups (30, 60, 120mg/kg). After CCl4 alone, the fibrosis score was 20.2±0.8, and the level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), hydroxyproline content, and collagen I expression was elevated, but OMT blunted these parameters. Treatment with OMT prevented CCl4-induced increases in expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, meanwhile OMT promoted the expression of anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic factors such as interleukin (IL)-10 and bone morphogenetic protein and activin membrane-bound inhibitor (Bambi). Moreover, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), which activates Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and modulate hepatic fibrogenesis through hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) or Kupffer cells, were significantly decreased by OMT treatment. These results were further supported by in vitro data. First, OMT suppressed the expression of TLR4 and its downstream pro-inflammatory cytokines, lowered the level of HMGB1, TGF-ß1 in macrophages. Then, OMT promoted Bambi expression and thereby inhibited activation of HSCs mediated by transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1. In conclusion, this study showed that OMT could effectively attenuate the CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis, and this effect may be due to modulation of TLR4-dependent inflammatory and TGF-ß1 signaling pathways.