Praying represents a fundamental activity of daily living in Muslim community. Muslims need to adopt several postures that require deep flexion of the knee and hip to perform this daily obligation. This is a preliminary report of the study on hip and knee range of motion conducted to obtain normative passive and functional range of flexion data during Muslim prayers in both weight-bearing joints of normal Muslim adults. Methods: A cohort of Malay men aged between 20 to 30 years was recruited in this cross-sectional study. Passive range of motion and flexion angles of the joints in various postures during prayer were measured using a standard goniometer. The difference against existing normative range of motion database available and the influence of various factors were analysed. Factors analysed include body mass index and other anthropometric measurements. Results: Sixty participants recruited for the preliminary phase of this study. The mean (SD) of passive hip and knee flexions were higher compared to other existing normative range of motion database. A unit increase in body mass index will have 0.782 units lower of knee range of motion. The hip and knee flexion arc were from 74.1° to 119.0° and from 3.3° to 119.7° respectively. Conclusion: The range of motion involved for prayers was more for the knee but less for the hip as compared to the measured passive range of motion. Body mass index has a significant linear negative relationship with the passive range of motion of the knee, but not the hip.

Malaria is a disease that causes enormous human morbidity and mortality. One feature of mature Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes leading to the development of severe malaria is thought to be cytoadherence and blockage of the microvasculature. Therefore, an understanding of mechanisms that mediate parasite adhesion leading to malaria pathology is needed to yield new treatments for malaria. However, to date, cytoadherence-associated pathology is still under debate. Is cytoadherence needed to develop severe malaria? This review will discuss the available information on associations of cytoadherence with the development of severe malaria.

This is a case of an adult patient with hypertensive intraventricular haemorrhages complicated by hydrocephalus that failed to respond to endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV). High-resolution 3D Fast Imaging Employing Steady State Acquisition (FIESTA) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed underlying multiloculated hydrocephalus. This case report highlights the appropriate sequence and its attributes that offer adequate preoperative information detailing the ventricular system.

This is a review of research done in the area of substance abuse in Malaysia. There were 109 articles related to substance abuse found in a search through a database dedicated to indexing all original data relevant to medicine published in Malaysia between the years 2000-2013. Only 39 articles were reviewed, and case series, case report, reviews and reports were excluded. Research reviewed include the epidemiology of substance abuse, genetics, treatment and its relation to health behaviour, and health management. Studies have shown that more males than females use drugs. There was also a high prevalence of blood-bourne virus diseases and sexually transmitted diseases among drug users. Two studies showed some genetic polymorphism (Cyp 3a4 gene and FAAH Pro129Thr) among heroin and amphetamine users respectively that may contribute to drug dependence. Study on pharmacological treatment for substance abuse were limited to methadone and it was shown to improve the quality of life of heroin dependant patients. Alternative treatments such as acupunture and spiritual approach play a role in the management of substance abuse. Data also showed that treatment centres for substance abuse are lacking facilities for screening, assessment and treatment for medical illness related to substance use, e.g. Hepatitis C and tuberculosis. Studies on the effectiveness of current drug rehabilitation centres were inconclusive.

Objectives: To investigate the accuracy of multidetector computed tomography venography (MDCTV) and magnetic resonance venography (MRV) of differing fi eld strength in diagnosing cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). To assess the visualization rate of the cerebral veins and dural sinuses between these imaging modalities. Methods: A retrospective review of 27 patients with clinical suspicion of CVST who underwent both MDCTV and corresponding MRI/MRV brain scans at 0.35T, 1.5T or 3.0T fi eld-strength were performed. Results were compared with the defi nitive fi nal diagnosis. In the nonthrombotic group of patients, a descriptive study of the anatomical visualization of cerebral veins and dural sinuses was also undertaken. Results: Ten of the 27 patients had a fi nal diagnosis of CVST. The Neuroradiologists’ consensus reading identifi ed these 10 cases of CVST in both the MDCTV and MRV scans with a sensitivity rate of 100%. There was one false positive in MDCTV and three false-positives in the MRV group (1.5T) with positive predictive values of 90.9% and 76.9%, respectively. MDCTV and MRV demonstrated a specifi city of 94.1% and 82.4%, respectively in diagnosing CVST. No false negative images were seen demonstrating a negative predictive value of 100% in both modalities. There was no statistical difference in the anatomical visualization rate of the cerebral veins or the dural sinuses among the various strengths of MRI. However, statistically signifi cant (p<0.05) fewer visualised vessels in MRV compared to MDCTV, for the SSS, ISS, straight sinus, ICV and VOG. Conclusion: MDCTV is equal to MRV of various strength in its sensitivity for CVST diagnosis. MDCTV also provides better anatomical visualization of the dural sinuses and cerebral veins.

Introduction: The understanding of the skin’s vascular anatomy has improved in the last decade. It has lead to technique modification such as the staged procedure in performing sural flaps and improvement in the flap survival rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute vascular complications (flap necrosis or congestion) of 29 patients who underwent distal base sural flap for coverage of wound around the ankle. Methods: Twenty-four males and five females with a mean age of 37.1 years old underwent sural flap surgery to cover wounds at around the ankle. There were 12 cases of open fracture, five infected fractures, four spoke injuries, four degloving injuries and four diabetic foot ulcers. Twentythree cases were done as a single stage procedure while six as a two-stage procedure. The flaps were tunnelled under the skin in three cases. Results: Twenty one flaps healed uneventfully, seven acute vascular complications occur in a single stage group: five developed partial necrosis, one had congestion with epidermolysis, and one had complete flap necrosis. Complications were treated by dressing or skin grafting and only one required a repeat flap surgery. Conclusions: Acute vascular complications may be minimised when sural flap is done in stages for elderly, diabetic, smokers and/or patients with large wound around the ankle. Even if the flap appears necrotic, the underlying structure may still be covered as the fasciosubcutaneous layer of the flap may still survive.

Influenza outbreaks in tropical countries are rarely reported. This article reports four cases of influenza within a psychiatric ward of a tertiary hospital in Malaysia. These were patients with severe mental illness who were involuntarily admitted and did not show the classical triad of influenza-like-illness (ILI) at the beginning. However, severe respiratory complications developed requiring intubation. Referral and cooperation with the infectious disease team was initiated to help manage the outbreak while continuing psychiatric treatment. Incidences of influenza among hospitalised psychiatric patients should be treated seriously with immediate multidisciplinary approach to prevent severe unwanted complications.

School-based health programs implemented by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) through the National Physical Fitness Standard (SEGAK) assessments provided an important platform in health status monitoring among schoolchildren. However, to date, there is still no reliability study conducted on this method. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the reliability of the anthropometric data collected by physical education (PE) teachers in the SEGAK assessments. Anthropometry measurements of standard six school adolescents involved in the Health of Adolescents in Terengganu study were taken by trained researchers using a standardised protocol. The anthropometrics data were then compared with PE teachers’ measurements from the SEGAK assessments obtained from the specifically developed Health Monitoring System database. Reliability of the anthropometric measurements were analysed using Pearson’s correlation test, Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), Bland-Altman plot and Cohen’s Kappa statistics. Intraclass correlation coefficient between teacher-measured and researcher-measured values shows good correlation in weight (ICC = 0.93), height (ICC = 0.98) and BMI (ICC = 0.91). The Bland-Altman plot showed a relatively small difference in mean of weight, height, and BMI between teacher-measured and researcher-measured value. The mean difference between teacher-measured and researcher-measured value of weight, height, and BMI were 1.8kg, 0.1cm, and 0.8kg/m2 respectively. Overall, Cohen’s Kappa statistics showed substantial agreement (κ = 0.642) in BMI categorisation between the two measurements. Findings from reliability analysis conducted affirmed that anthropometrics assessments conducted by PE teachers in SEGAK assessments are reliable to be used for identification of body weight status among school children and adolescents particularly in Terengganu, Malaysia.