1.Emergence Of Dengue Virus Type 4 During COVID-19 Pandemic In Patients Admitted to a Teaching Hospital In Malaysia (Peningkatan virus denggi serotip keempat semasa pandemik COVID-19 pada pesakit yang dimasukkan ke hospital pengajar di Malaysia)
Mahrunissa Mahadi ; Siti Norlia Othman ; Najma Kori ; Sharifah Azura Salleh ; Zetti Zainol Rashid ; Petrick Periyasamy ; Nor Azila Muhammad Azami ; Noraidatulakma Abdullah ; Hui-min Neoh
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2023;21(No.1):115-125
Prior to COVID-19, dengue was an important public health problem in Malaysia. Due to the movement control order
imposed by the Malaysian government to curb the COVID-19 transmission, a study predicted that mosquito-borne
diseases would increase during lockdown and partial lockdown seasons. Thus, this study aims to determine the current
situation of dengue incidence during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic (2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020
and 2021). We compared the number of laboratory-confirmed cases in the pre-COVID19 year (2019) and during the
COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021). In addition to that, we characterized the clinical manifestation, dengue serotype
and viremia levels of dengue patients that were admitted to the Hospital Cancelor Tuanku Muhriz. We found a significant
decrease in the number of laboratory-confirmed cases between COVID-19 pandemic and the pre-covid period
(p2020=0.064; p2021<0.001). In this study, we found DENV 4 serotype was the most common serotype in dengue
patients admitted to our hospital. There was no significant correlation between DENV serotype/viremia level with
clinical manifestation of dengue fever and dengue with warning signs. However, patients infected with DENV4 had the
highest viral load compared to patients infected with other serotypes. We also found high viremia levels were significantly
associated with the febrile phase.
2.A validation study of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale
Najma Kori ; Wan Asyraf Wan Zaidi ; Rabani Remli ; Azman Ali Raymond ; Norlinah Mohamed Ibrahim ; Hui Jan Tan ; Syed Zulkifli Syed Zakaria ; Zhe Kang Law ; Kartini Ahmad ; Wan Nafisah Wan Yahya ; Ramesh Sahathevan
Neurology Asia 2018;23(3):225-232
Background & Objectives: The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) provides a valid
and quick assessment of stroke severity in hyperacute stroke management. Stroke patients who are
eligible for reperfusion therapy require prompt assessment. There is no validated Bahasa Malaysia
(BM) version of the NIHSS that allows easier assessment by BM-speaking health professionals.
This study aimed to translate and validate a BM version of the NIHSS. Methods: The English NIHSS
was translated to BM, then back translated to ensure linguistic accuracy. We also adapted the language
assessment of the NIHSS to be more culturally appropriate. Training and certification videos were
downloaded from the NIH website and dubbed into BM. We determined intra-class correlation and
unweighted kappa as the best measure of reliability. Median scores were used in the analysis for
language items. Results: One hundred and one raters participated in the test-retest reliability study.
Agreement between the original NIHSS and our translated version of the BM-NIHSS was good (ICC
= 0.738, 95% CI: 0.611 to 0.823). Fair to moderate agreement was found on item-by-item analysis
(unweighted κ=0.20-0.50) despite high observed agreement. Fifty patients participated in the language
assessment arm. Scores were better in BM for reading, naming objects and repetition (Mdn = 100, p
< 0.001). There was no difference in the median scores for the description component.
Conclusions: The BM-NIHSS is a valid translation of the NIHSS, and may be used in clinical practice
by BM-speaking healthcare professionals.
3.A descriptive study of the psychological experience of health care workers in close contact with a person with COVID-19
Boon Hau Ng ; Nik Nuratiqah Nik Abeed ; Mohamed Faisal Abdul Hamid ; Chun Ian Soo ; Hsueh Jing Low ; Najma Kori ; Petrick Periyasamy ; Norlaila Mustafa ; Andrea Ban Yu-Lin
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(5):485-489
Background: COVID-19 has the potential to affect the mental
health of health care workers (HCWs). It is known that HCWs
who serve as front-liners during the COVID-19 pandemic
experience stress and have the fear of contracting the
infection. Little is known of how being a positive contact
affects HCWs. Objective: We examined the experience of
HCWs who were quarantined following a close unprotected
contact with a COVID-19 positive colleague and explore the
psychological impact especially as the timing of the
quarantine coincided with the Eid (annual Muslim festival)
celebration in Malaysia.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional on-line questionnaire
study, involving HCWs exposed to a COVID-19 positive
colleague in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical
Centre, a teaching hospital. Data on demographics, levels of
depression, anxiety and stress using a validated
depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21)
questionnaire, aspects of quarantine, wearing of masks,
hand hygiene practice and swab experience were collected.
Results: Twenty-two HCWs participated. Eighteen (81.8%)
were between 30-39 years and 17 (77.3%) were women.
Majority 19 (86.3%) were Malays. There were twelve (54.5%)
medical officers, 5 (22.7%) specialists and 5(22.7%) allied
health staff. Eighteen out of 22 (81.8%) felt they were able to
do home quarantine adequately. All tested negative with a
mean (Standard Deviation) hour of contact of 2.56±2.38
hours. Eighteen reported their biggest concern was
infecting their families.
Conclusion: HCWs undergoing contact swabbing and
quarantine are vulnerable to depression, anxiety and stress.
The ability of the HCW to adequately home quarantine
should not be taken for granted. Psychological support
should be offered to HCWs who are positive contacts.
4.COVID-19 detected from targeted contact tracing, attempting to see the pattern in random happenings: early lessons in Malaysia
Boon Hau Ng ; Andrea Ban Yu-Lin ; Nik Nuratiqah Nik Abeed ; Mohamed Faisal Abdul Hamid, ; Chun Ian Soo ; Najma Kori ; Petrick Periyasamy,
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(5):582-584
The world feels strange as we face what is for most of us ourfirst ever pandemic. The number of newly diagnosed casesrises daily in many parts of the world, and we are faced withthe reality that there are still many things to learn about thisnew disease. We share here our experience of treating ourfirst 199 COVID-19 patients in the Hospital Canselor TuankuMuhriz, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia(PPUKM).