1.The Beck Anxiety Inventory for Malays (BAI-Malay): A Preliminary Study on Psychometric Properties
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2011;7(1):75-82
Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to investigate exploratory factor analysis of the
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and reports its reliability and validity in Malaysia. Method: One thousand
and ninety participants from four different samples (namely students, general population, medical and
psychiatric patients) completed the Malay version of Beck Anxiety Inventory, as well as additional
questionnaires such as Fear Questionnaire, Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale,
and Catastrophic Cognition Questionnaire. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three factor
solution and accounted for 48.01% of the total variance. The three-factor structure appeared to be;
subjective anxiety, autonomic, and neurophysiology. The Cronbach alpha coefficients (α) ranged from
0.66 to 0.89 with satisfactory overall alpha value (.91). Evidence was also found acceptable concurrent
validity of the BAI-Malay (range between r=.22 to r=.67). Conclusion: This study shows that the BAIMalay
is a reliable and valid instrument to measure symptoms of anxiety in the Malay population
and can be used in research and clinical service in Malaysia. However, replication of study by using
confirmatory factor analysis and application of the instrument among anxiety patients worth of further
investigation.
2.Morphological descriptions of second and third instar larvae of Hypopygiopsis violacea Macquart (Diptera:Calliphoridae), a forensically important fly in Malaysia.
Ahmad Firdaus, M S ; Marwi, M A ; Syamsa, R A ; Zuha, R M ; Ikhwan, Z ; Omar, B
Tropical Biomedicine 2010;27(1):134-7
Hypopygiopsis violacea, a species of fly of forensic importance, was recovered from a corpse and described for the first time. The morphological structures of the second and third instar larvae of four specimens were examined using light microscope. Observations were focused on three main morphological characters: cephalopharyngeal skeleton, anterior and posterior spiracles. Cephalopharyngeal skeleton of second instar larva is darkly pigmented and without accessory sclerite below the mouth hook. The anterior spiracles of second and third instar larvae have 8-9 papillae each, arranged in a single row. The posterior spiracle of second instar larva has two spiracular slits with no thickening of peritreme. This differentiates it from the third instar, whereby the latter has three slits for each posterior spiracle. Cephalopharyngeal skeleton of third instar larva is heavily pigmented. An accessory sclerite is found below the hook part of third instar larva but is absent in second instar. Peritreme of the posterior spiracle of third instar larva is thick almost complete encircling a button. The intersegmental spines of the cuticular surface are dome-shaped and unicuspid. Third instar larva of this species is large with size approximately 15 mm long. These findings provide important identification features of immature stages of Hy. violacea which could be useful in forensic entomology.
3.A Study Of Psychophysical Factor (Heart Rate) For Driver Fatigue Using Regression Model
Mohammad Firdaus A ; Seri Rahayu K ; Mohamad M ; RuzyHaryati H ; Kalthom Husain
Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2018;18(Special Volume (2)):1-9
Driving activity has become more important as this medium being practical, it is also cheaper and faster in connecting human from one to another place. However, in some occurrence, it can cause accidents as they become fatigued while driving. Driver fatigue is one of the top contributors to the road accidents and can be dangerous as other road safety issues such as drink driving. Worst is, there are no laws regulating driver fatigue. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to develop the regression model of apsychophysical factor for drivers’ fatigue which can predict the relationship between the process input parameters and output responses. The study was participated by ten subjects. The heart rate was taken and recorded using heart rate monitor. Design Expert 8.0.6 software was used for the regression analysis. The modeling validation runs werewithin the 90% prediction intervals of the developed model and the residual errors were less than 10%. The R 2 value is 0.9400 whichmeans that the linear regression line passed exactly through all points. The significant parameters that influenced the heart rate were also identified.The parameters are time exposure, type of road, and gender.
Psychophysical
;
fatigue
;
regression modeling
;
heart rate
4.Descriptions of the Larval Instars of Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a Species of Forensic Importance in Malaysia
Raja M. Zuha Raja Kamal ; Mohamed Abdullah Marwi ; John Jeffery ; Ahmad Firdaus Mohd. Salleh ; Wan Omar Abdullah ; Baharuddin Omar
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2008;6(2):35-41
The anatomical structures of the first, second and third instars of Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) were examined by light microscopy. Observations were
documented on the three main characteristics; the cephalopharyngeal skeleton, anterior spiracle and posterior spiracle. The first instar larva bore cornuae of
fairly pigmented delineation with slim hypostomal sclerite and distinct dental sclerite. First instar did not have obscured anterior spiracle but posterior
spiracles were obscured with thin lining of opened peritreme. Intersegmental spines were evident. The second instar larva displayed a prominent anterodorsal
process approaching closer to hypostomal sclerite while upper margin of the dorsal cornua was slightly pigmented. Each anterior spiracle consisted of
nine to ten papillae, arranged in a single row. Peritreme of the posterior spiracle thick, opening at the end of peritreme was not wide and confined to
two spiracular slits. The third instar larva showed a prominent arch of the ventral cornua with broad and bold appearance. It approached the dorsal
cornua and became narrow at the incision median. The anterior spiracle consisted of a single row of nine to ten papillae while intersegmental spine
could be identified with one to three dark pigmented tips. A dark pigmented and wide periterime was observed confining three short and thick spiracular
slits while button was poorly pigmented. The most distinctive feature of this second and third instar larva was the slender, thorn-like tubercle with numerous
spined tips on the middle line segment of the body. These findings provide identification features of C. rufifacies larvae instars.
5.The Impact of Dry Needling on Patients with Neck Pain in a Tertiary Hospital
Ho SE ; Loong S ; Fatin Nur Laily R ; Wan Nur Aizzati M ; Muhamad Firdaus IZ ; Christopher Ho CK ; Katijah Bee MA ; Henry LJ ; Ismail MS
Journal of Surgical Academia 2015;5(1):44-50
Neck pain presents as a symptom of dull pain or discomfort mainly along the trapezius muscle. Dry needling is an
invasive procedure which uses acupuncture needle directed at myofascial trigger points. The aim of the study was to
evaluate the effectiveness of dry needling in managing patients with neck pain. A pre-test-post-test interventional
study design was used. Patient education package was provided to 32 respondents who fulfilled the inclusion criteria.
A 13-item Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) questionnaire was used to assess Rumination, Magnification and
Helplessness. Subjective pain intensity was measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). These questionnaires were
given before and after the dry needling intervention. The findings reported that respondents scored high in pre-test
total PCS score (27.41±13.652). Post-test result revealed a significant improvement in total PCS score
(23.06±13.938) (p = 0.000). Post-test VAS score (4.78±1.237) was also significantly better than pre-test
(6.47±1.414) (p = 0.000). There was no significant difference in pre-test PCS in terms of marital status (p > 0.05)
whereas there was significant difference between marital status and rumination in post-test (Z = -2.303, p = 0.021).
There was significant difference between pre-test magnification in terms of respondents’ occupation (p = 0.008) and
race (p = 0.035) but no significant difference in post-test. Respondents’ age group showed no significant differences
between pre-test and post-test PCS and VAS (p > 0.05). In conclusion, patients who received dry needling showed
improvement in pain intensity and catastrophizing towards neck pain.
Neck Pain
6.Robotic-Assisted Thyroidectomy: A New Experience in Anaesthesia
Mardhiah Sarah HM ; Adlin Dasima AK ; Nadia Hanom I ; Siti Aznida AK ; Rusnaini MK ; Mohd Fahmi Z ; Mohd Nazir MS ; Izwah Azyyati A ; Mohd Firdaus S ; Karis M
Journal of Surgical Academia 2017;7(1):51-54
This is our first experience in providing general anaesthesia for robotic-assisted thyroidectomy (RAT). It is rather a
new experience for our anaesthetic team and few issues should be addressed. The conduct of RAT must be fully
understood and familiarized as it may present with few challenges for the anaesthesiologists. The key point of
success during this learning curve period is the importance of teamwork between the anaesthesiologists and the
operating surgeons. The specific anaesthetic challenges include limited access to the patient post-docking of the
robot, the need of extra precautions of the anaesthetic circuit and IV line connections, a vigilant anaesthesiologists
and options for postoperative pain relief.
Thyroidectomy
8.A comparison of different types of ovitraps for outdoor monitoring of Aedes mosquitoes in Kuala Lumpur
Ahmad-Azri, M. ; Syamsa, R.A. ; Ahmad-Firdaus, M.S. ; Aishah-Hani, A.
Tropical Biomedicine 2019;36(2):335-347
Dengue is a significant public health problem in Malaysia and vector surveillance
is one of the important components in a vector control program. Routinely vector
surveillance in Malaysia is performed through larval surveys. However, larval surveys
have several limitations. Thus ovitraps are used as an alternative method for monitoring
dengue vectors. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Standard
Ovitrap (SO), Mosquito larvae Trapping Device (MLTD), Double Sticky Ovitrap (DST) and
NPK Fertiliser Trap to monitor the abundance of Aedes mosquitoes. Each ovitrap was
placed at four different sampling points and rotated to the next position every one week.
Larvae and adult mosquitoes were collected and identified in the laboratory. All four
trapping methods successfully collected larvae of Aedes mosquitoes. The mean number of
larvae per ovitrap in DST was significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared to SO and MLTD.
DST and NPK Fertiliser Trap were capable of capturing adult mosquitoes. Ovitrap Index
and the mean number of adults per ovitrap in NPK Fertiliser trap were significantly higher
(p < 0.05) as compared to DST. Another set of experiments were conducted to compare
NPK Fertiliser traps containing fresh NPK fertiliser solution with those containing stock
NPK Fertiliser solution. The fresh solution was prepared fresh while the stock solution was
stored for a month before being used in the field. Result shows no significant differences
(p > 0.05) between these solutions. Findings from this study conclude that DST is the most
effective ovitrap to monitor Aedes larvae, while NPK Fertiliser trap is the most effective
ovitrap to trap Aedes adult mosquitoes in the study area.
9.Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Mimicking As Malignant Nerve Sheath Tumour: A Rare Case Report
GK Ooi ; S De Silva ; M Firdaus A ; Lim SW ; Z Zuki
Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal 2018;12(Supplement A):161-
10.Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and Mortality
Thanh N. NGUYEN ; Muhammad M. QURESHI ; Piers KLEIN ; Hiroshi YAMAGAMI ; Mohamad ABDALKADER ; Robert MIKULIK ; Anvitha SATHYA ; Ossama Yassin MANSOUR ; Anna CZLONKOWSKA ; Hannah LO ; Thalia S. FIELD ; Andreas CHARIDIMOU ; Soma BANERJEE ; Shadi YAGHI ; James E. SIEGLER ; Petra SEDOVA ; Joseph KWAN ; Diana Aguiar DE SOUSA ; Jelle DEMEESTERE ; Violiza INOA ; Setareh Salehi OMRAN ; Liqun ZHANG ; Patrik MICHEL ; Davide STRAMBO ; João Pedro MARTO ; Raul G. NOGUEIRA ; ; Espen Saxhaug KRISTOFFERSEN ; Georgios TSIVGOULIS ; Virginia Pujol LEREIS ; Alice MA ; Christian ENZINGER ; Thomas GATTRINGER ; Aminur RAHMAN ; Thomas BONNET ; Noémie LIGOT ; Sylvie DE RAEDT ; Robin LEMMENS ; Peter VANACKER ; Fenne VANDERVORST ; Adriana Bastos CONFORTO ; Raquel C.T. HIDALGO ; Daissy Liliana MORA CUERVO ; Luciana DE OLIVEIRA NEVES ; Isabelle LAMEIRINHAS DA SILVA ; Rodrigo Targa MARTÍNS ; Letícia C. REBELLO ; Igor Bessa SANTIAGO ; Teodora SADELAROVA ; Rosen KALPACHKI ; Filip ALEXIEV ; Elena Adela CORA ; Michael E. KELLY ; Lissa PEELING ; Aleksandra PIKULA ; Hui-Sheng CHEN ; Yimin CHEN ; Shuiquan YANG ; Marina ROJE BEDEKOVIC ; Martin ČABAL ; Dusan TENORA ; Petr FIBRICH ; Pavel DUŠEK ; Helena HLAVÁČOVÁ ; Emanuela HRABANOVSKA ; Lubomír JURÁK ; Jana KADLČÍKOVÁ ; Igor KARPOWICZ ; Lukáš KLEČKA ; Martin KOVÁŘ ; Jiří NEUMANN ; Hana PALOUŠKOVÁ ; Martin REISER ; Vladimir ROHAN ; Libor ŠIMŮNEK ; Ondreij SKODA ; Miroslav ŠKORŇA ; Martin ŠRÁMEK ; Nicolas DRENCK ; Khalid SOBH ; Emilie LESAINE ; Candice SABBEN ; Peggy REINER ; Francois ROUANET ; Daniel STRBIAN ; Stefan BOSKAMP ; Joshua MBROH ; Simon NAGEL ; Michael ROSENKRANZ ; Sven POLI ; Götz THOMALLA ; Theodoros KARAPANAYIOTIDES ; Ioanna KOUTROULOU ; Odysseas KARGIOTIS ; Lina PALAIODIMOU ; José Dominguo BARRIENTOS GUERRA ; Vikram HUDED ; Shashank NAGENDRA ; Chintan PRAJAPATI ; P.N. SYLAJA ; Achmad Firdaus SANI ; Abdoreza GHOREISHI ; Mehdi FARHOUDI ; Elyar SADEGHI HOKMABADI ; Mazyar HASHEMILAR ; Sergiu Ionut SABETAY ; Fadi RAHAL ; Maurizio ACAMPA ; Alessandro ADAMI ; Marco LONGONI ; Raffaele ORNELLO ; Leonardo RENIERI ; Michele ROMOLI ; Simona SACCO ; Andrea SALMAGGI ; Davide SANGALLI ; Andrea ZINI ; Kenichiro SAKAI ; Hiroki FUKUDA ; Kyohei FUJITA ; Hirotoshi IMAMURA ; Miyake KOSUKE ; Manabu SAKAGUCHI ; Kazutaka SONODA ; Yuji MATSUMARU ; Nobuyuki OHARA ; Seigo SHINDO ; Yohei TAKENOBU ; Takeshi YOSHIMOTO ; Kazunori TOYODA ; Takeshi UWATOKO ; Nobuyuki SAKAI ; Nobuaki YAMAMOTO ; Ryoo YAMAMOTO ; Yukako YAZAWA ; Yuri SUGIURA ; Jang-Hyun BAEK ; Si Baek LEE ; Kwon-Duk SEO ; Sung-Il SOHN ; Jin Soo LEE ; Anita Ante ARSOVSKA ; Chan Yong CHIEH ; Wan Asyraf WAN ZAIDI ; Wan Nur Nafisah WAN YAHYA ; Fernando GONGORA-RIVERA ; Manuel MARTINEZ-MARINO ; Adrian INFANTE-VALENZUELA ; Diederik DIPPEL ; Dianne H.K. VAN DAM-NOLEN ; Teddy Y. WU ; Martin PUNTER ; Tajudeen Temitayo ADEBAYO ; Abiodun H. BELLO ; Taofiki Ajao SUNMONU ; Kolawole Wasiu WAHAB ; Antje SUNDSETH ; Amal M. AL HASHMI ; Saima AHMAD ; Umair RASHID ; Liliana RODRIGUEZ-KADOTA ; Miguel Ángel VENCES ; Patrick Matic YALUNG ; Jon Stewart Hao DY ; Waldemar BROLA ; Aleksander DĘBIEC ; Malgorzata DOROBEK ; Michal Adam KARLINSKI ; Beata M. LABUZ-ROSZAK ; Anetta LASEK-BAL ; Halina SIENKIEWICZ-JAROSZ ; Jacek STASZEWSKI ; Piotr SOBOLEWSKI ; Marcin WIĄCEK ; Justyna ZIELINSKA-TUREK ; André Pinho ARAÚJO ; Mariana ROCHA ; Pedro CASTRO ; Patricia FERREIRA ; Ana Paiva NUNES ; Luísa FONSECA ; Teresa PINHO E MELO ; Miguel RODRIGUES ; M Luis SILVA ; Bogdan CIOPLEIAS ; Adela DIMITRIADE ; Cristian FALUP-PECURARIU ; May Adel HAMID ; Narayanaswamy VENKETASUBRAMANIAN ; Georgi KRASTEV ; Jozef HARING ; Oscar AYO-MARTIN ; Francisco HERNANDEZ-FERNANDEZ ; Jordi BLASCO ; Alejandro RODRÍGUEZ-VÁZQUEZ ; Antonio CRUZ-CULEBRAS ; Francisco MONICHE ; Joan MONTANER ; Soledad PEREZ-SANCHEZ ; María Jesús GARCÍA SÁNCHEZ ; Marta GUILLÁN RODRÍGUEZ ; Gianmarco BERNAVA ; Manuel BOLOGNESE ; Emmanuel CARRERA ; Anchalee CHUROJANA ; Ozlem AYKAC ; Atilla Özcan ÖZDEMIR ; Arsida BAJRAMI ; Songul SENADIM ; Syed I. HUSSAIN ; Seby JOHN ; Kailash KRISHNAN ; Robert LENTHALL ; Kaiz S. ASIF ; Kristine BELOW ; Jose BILLER ; Michael CHEN ; Alex CHEBL ; Marco COLASURDO ; Alexandra CZAP ; Adam H. DE HAVENON ; Sushrut DHARMADHIKARI ; Clifford J. ESKEY ; Mudassir FAROOQUI ; Steven K. FESKE ; Nitin GOYAL ; Kasey B. GRIMMETT ; Amy K. GUZIK ; Diogo C. HAUSSEN ; Majesta HOVINGH ; Dinesh JILLELA ; Peter T. KAN ; Rakesh KHATRI ; Naim N. KHOURY ; Nicole L. KILEY ; Murali K. KOLIKONDA ; Stephanie LARA ; Grace LI ; Italo LINFANTE ; Aaron I. LOOCHTAN ; Carlos D. LOPEZ ; Sarah LYCAN ; Shailesh S. MALE ; Fadi NAHAB ; Laith MAALI ; Hesham E. MASOUD ; Jiangyong MIN ; Santiago ORGETA-GUTIERREZ ; Ghada A. MOHAMED ; Mahmoud MOHAMMADEN ; Krishna NALLEBALLE ; Yazan RADAIDEH ; Pankajavalli RAMAKRISHNAN ; Bliss RAYO-TARANTO ; Diana M. ROJAS-SOTO ; Sean RULAND ; Alexis N. SIMPKINS ; Sunil A. SHETH ; Amy K. STAROSCIAK ; Nicholas E. TARLOV ; Robert A. TAYLOR ; Barbara VOETSCH ; Linda ZHANG ; Hai Quang DUONG ; Viet-Phuong DAO ; Huynh Vu LE ; Thong Nhu PHAM ; Mai Duy TON ; Anh Duc TRAN ; Osama O. ZAIDAT ; Paolo MACHI ; Elisabeth DIRREN ; Claudio RODRÍGUEZ FERNÁNDEZ ; Jorge ESCARTÍN LÓPEZ ; Jose Carlos FERNÁNDEZ FERRO ; Niloofar MOHAMMADZADEH ; Neil C. SURYADEVARA, MD ; Beatriz DE LA CRUZ FERNÁNDEZ ; Filipe BESSA ; Nina JANCAR ; Megan BRADY ; Dawn SCOZZARI
Journal of Stroke 2022;24(2):256-265
Background:
and Purpose Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year.
Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020).
Results:
There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P<0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P<0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths.
Conclusions
During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT.