1.The follow-up of post-mastectomy patients: Should the ipsilateral side be assessed with both mammogram and ultrasound?
Radhika Sridharan ; Hartini Baherin ; Norlia Abdullah ; Suria-Hayati Mohd Pauzi ; Zulfiqar Mohd Annuar
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2016;71(5):282-287
Aim: This study aimed to determine findings of axillary view
mammogram (MMG) and ultrasound (USG) of the ipsilateral
side in post-mastectomy patients and to document difficulty
level in performing the axillary view and patients’ pain level
during the procedure.
Methods: Post-mastectomy patients who had MMG and USG
on follow-up during an 18-months period were included. The
MMG and USG findings of 183 patients were reviewed and
histology results were recorded when available.
Radiographers’ difficulty and patients’ pain level during the
axillary view MMG were charted.
Results: On MMG, 172 cases were normal, eight cases were
benign (Category 2) and three cases indeterminate
(Category 3). On USG, 175 cases were normal, three cases
were benign (Category 2) and five cases indeterminate
(Category 3). Malignant lesions detected in two out of 183
patients (1%) were metastatic carcinoma in bilateral axillary
lymph nodes and leiomyosarcoma at the mastectomy site.
These two cases were Category 3 on USG with negative
MMG findings. In majority of cases (79%), the radiographer
had no difficulty performing the axillary view compared with
contralateral MMG. Majority of patients (80%) experienced
similar pain during axillary view compared to contralateral
MMG.
Conclusion: Follow-up imaging of post-mastectomy patients
should include (i) USG of the mastectomy site, both axillary
regions, and the contralateral breast, and (ii) MMG of the
contralateral side. Ipsilateral axillary view MMG is not
necessary.
2.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.