Objective: This case report highlights the abuse and dependence potential of Zolpidem and the risk of life-threatening withdrawal symptoms upon abrupt discontinuation. Method: We report a case of Zolpidem dependence which presented with withdrawal symptoms upon abrupt discontinuation. Results: A 32 year old male, who had abused non-benzodiazepine Zolpidem for 6 years presented to the accident and emergency unit with generalized seizures upon stopping Zolpidem ‘cold turkey’. He required admission to the neurology high dependency unit for stabilization of the seizures and was later managed by the addiction team where a tapering dose of benzodiazepine was prescribed. Conclusion: This case demonstrates that non-benzodiazepine agents can cause tolerance and dependence, and thus produce withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation.

Objective: Smart phones have become an important part of human’s life, including the healthcare population and medical students. However, pathological use of smart phones could lead to smart phones addiction. The aim of this study is to observe a pattern of usage of smart phones among the medical students and staffs in the Faculty of Medicine Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and screen for smart phone addiction among the respondents. Methods: A cross sectional, quasi-experimental study design involving medical students and staffs in the Faculty of Medicine Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) was employed. A total of 598 respondents was approached to participate, and all consented to this study. Measurements used in the study include a self-developed questionnaire to measure pattern of smart phone usage and Smart phone addiction scale (Malay version). Result: We found that 65.9% of the respondents were heavy users of the smart phone (more than 3 hours daily) and majority of them were using it for social networking. More than half of the respondents (52.2%) were at risk of developing smart phone addiction based on Smart phone Addiction Scale (Malay Version). Conclusion: This study revealed that medical students, and the faculty staffs were heavy users of smart phones, and they were at risk to develop smart phone addiction.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of parental stress in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and the contributing factors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 115 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder who were attending an outpatient psychiatric clinic, recruited through universal sampling. Those who fulfilled the selection criteria and gave informed consent were selected. Socio-demographic data, perceived parenting capacity, children’s data, and illness data were obtained from the patient during interview as well as from the clinical notes. Presence of parental stress and severity of psychiatric symptoms were measured using Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) respectively. Descriptive analysis was performed, followed by univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis, using International Business Machines (IBM®) Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24. Results: 60 out of 115 participants (52.2%) had parental stress. Factors associated with parental stress include ethnicity (p=0.032), total household income (p=0.004), parenting children with mental or learning disability (p=0.022), perceived financial inadequacy (p=0.049), perceived food inadequacy (p=0.049), and presence of psychiatric symptoms (p=0.001). Ethnicity, total household income, parenting children with mental or learning disability, and presence of psychiatric illness were the predictors for parental stress among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Conclusion Parental stress is prevalent in this group. Hence, health care professionals should be able to identify the risk factors and to provide them with necessary support

In Malaysia, academic personnel are under pressure to build international reputation, increase funding and are expected to perform in the key performance indicators to bring education to an international standard. A cross sectional study was conducted among the academicians in Science and Technology faculties in UiTM. The participants were emailed the questionnaires and asked to complete questionnaires on their socio-demographic, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Job Satisfaction Survey and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. A total of 129 academicians participated in the study with the mean age of 39 years old (SD=7.8). Majority were female, Malays and married. The average teaching hours per week was 13 hours (SD=5.3). The prevalence of stress was 6.2%, depression 11.7% and anxiety 18.7%. Majority has mild to moderate work, personal and client-related burnout. There is inverse correlation between job satisfaction and burnout. Academicians from science and technology faculties have high prevalence of anxiety and moderate prevalence of depression compared to general population. There is low job satisfaction level due to high work-related burnout. It needs to be addressed to ensure academicians have good mental wellbeing to execute their roles.