The paucity of published literature on periodontal treatment needs and services in developing countries has undermined the significance of periodontal disease burden on healthcare systems. This study analyses periodontal status and population treatment needs of Malaysians, and patterns of periodontal services provided at public sector dental clinics. A retrospective approach to secondary data analysis was employed. Data for population treatment needs were extracted from three decennial national oral health surveys for adults (1990, 2000 and 2010). Annual reports from the dental subsystem of the government Health Information Management System (HIMS) provided information on oral health care delivery for years 2006-2010. They were based on summaries of aggregated data; analyses were limited to reporting absolute numbers and frequency distributions. Periodontal disease prevalence declined between 1990 (92.8%) to 2000 (87.2%) but a sharp rise was observed in the 2010 survey (94.0%). The proportion of participants demonstrating periodontal pockets of 6 mm and more increased in 2010 survey after showing improvements in 2000. Individuals not requiring periodontal treatment (TN0) increased in proportion from 1990 to 2000, only to drop in 2010. An increase in utilisation was observed alongside a growing uptake of periodontal procedures (62.2% in 2006 to 73.6% in 2010). Only about 10% of treatment was surgeries. While the clinical burden of periodontal disease is observed to be substantial, the types of treatment provided did not reflect the increasing needs for complex periodontal treatment. Emphasis on downstream and multi-collaborative efforts of oral health care is deemed fit to contain the burden of periodontal disease.

Introduction: Nurses play a vital role in the care and prevention of ulcers in patients with diabetic foot. Patient education, prevention of ulcers and rehabilitation are some of the vital aspects that nurses provide on a daily basis. Thus, good knowledge and attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot ulcers and its care will ensure better patient care. Objectives: The aim is to study the level of knowledge and attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot ulcers and its care in Hospital Segamat, Malaysia. Methods: A validated questionnaire was used between February 2019 to May 2019 covering area such as demography, predisposing factors of ulcer formation, characteristics of ulcers, complications of ulcers, and attitude towards diabetic foot care. Results: A total of 101 nurses took part and 57% of the participants scored poorly in the knowledge section of the questionnaire. In all 72% had scored poorly when asked regarding complications of diabetic foot ulcers; 49.5% of the nurses had positive attitude towards diabetic foot care; and 79.3% thought that care for diabetic foot ulcer is timeconsuming. Majority of them think that their colleagues are the main source of information. All demographic variables were deemed to be confounders with the knowledge and attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot ulcers and its care. Conclusions: Nurses in this centre had poor knowledge towards diabetic foot ulcers and its care. None of the variable studied were correlated with the level know knowledge. Good or poor knowledge of nurses does not correspond equally to good or poor attitude towards diabetic foot ulcers care. More frequent formal training of diabetic foot care would be needed to ensure better knowledge.

Introduction: Diabetic foot infection is often associated with high morbidity, disability and poor quality of life. This study focuses on the demography, the number of repetitive surgery and length of stay in hospital of patients with diabetic foot infection. Method: This is a retrospective observational study. Patients who were admitted to the Orthopaedic ward of Hospital Segamat (HS), Johor, Malaysia from January 2016 to December 2018 and required surgical intervention were included in the study. Data was collected from the computer system of HS and medical notes of patients. Results: 35.6% of the total orthopaedic emergency surgeries performed were for patients with diabetic foot infection, 25% of the surgical procedures performed were major amputations of lower limb and 40% of the patients with diabetic foot infection required more than one surgical operation. Discussion: The demographics of the patients is consistent with the demographics of Malaysia where majority of them are Malays followed by Chinese, Indians and others. Despite being only 10% of total admission to the department, this group of patients contributed to 35.6% of the total emergency surgeries performed. The amputation rate in the centre is comparable to the other local studies. The average length of stay in hospital was found to be shorter compared to overseas due to different rehabilitation protocols.