1.Review of cases of hyponatraemia in the Port Moresby General Hospital between August 1993 and June 1995
M. Kende ; U. Ray ; B. Hanhupa
Papua New Guinea medical journal 1999;42(3-4):84-89
Hyponatraemia (serum sodium level below 130 mmol/l) is a common electrolyte abnormality in a hospital population. It can be associated with dehydration, overhydration or normal hydration. Clinically, it is important to recognize the common diseases associated with hyponatraemia since correct treatment in terms of fluid replacement is essential in preventing complications of low serum sodium. We have reviewed results of serum sodium tested from patients admitted to the Port Moresby General Hospital between 1993 and 1995. This was aimed at identifying the most common features associated with low sodium. Clinical information and diagnosis were obtained by looking through a series of request forms. Of the approximately 30,000 blood samples taken over 23 months, the percentage of samples with hyponatraemia was about 1%. Hyponatraemia was more common in medical (38%) and paediatric (35%) cases and at the extremes of ages, ie, under the age of 6 years and above 40 years. Over a quarter of the hyponatraemic patients had severe hyponatraemia (serum sodium below 120 mmol/l). Clinical conditions commonly associated with hyponatraemia, in descending order of importance, were diarrhoea and vomiting, renal failure, central nervous system infections and trauma, pulmonary infections, oedematous states (eg, nephrotic syndrome) and diabetes mellitus.
Adolescent
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Child
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Humans
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Hyponatremia - epidemiology
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Infant
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Male
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Papua New Guinea - epidemiology
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Retrospective Studies
2.Reference ranges for serum creatinine and urea in elderly coastal Melanesians
R. T. Erasmus ; U. Ray ; K. Nathaniel ; G. Dowse
Papua New Guinea medical journal 1997;40(2):89-91
Mean values and reference ranges are presented for serum creatinine and serum urea in Melanesian men and women aged over 50 years from coastal Papua. The values are presented separately for three age groups, 51-60, 61-70 and 71-85 years, but there was no significant difference between them. The values for women were lower than for men in all age groups.
Aged
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Aged, 80 and over
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Creatinine - blood
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Female
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Middle Aged
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Papua New Guinea
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Reference Values
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Urea - blood
3.A study of the correlation of prostatic pathology and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels: a perspective from Papua New Guinea
D. P. Murthy ; U. Ray ; J. Morewaya ; S. K. SenGupta
Papua New Guinea medical journal 1998;41(2):59-64
A review of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values from January 1994 to May 1997 and their correlation with the histopathology of prostate specimens was carried out in the Department of Pathology, Port Moresby General Hospital. The study has shown that this biochemical investigation has not been properly used for the maximum benefit of the patient population. Remedial measures are suggested to improve the sensitivity and specificity of PSA in a setting with limited resources.
Aged
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Humans
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Male
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Middle Aged
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Papua New Guinea
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Prostate-Specific Antigen - blood
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Prostatic Hyperplasia - blood
4.KILUSAN LIGTAS MALARIA: Advancing Social Mobilization towards Sustainable Malaria Control in the Province of Palawan, the Philippines
Ray U. Angluben ; Marvi R. Trudeau ; Shigeyuki Kano ; Pilarita Tongol-Rivera
Tropical Medicine and Health 2008;36(1):45-49
As malaria continues to be a public health problem in the Philippines, its control is now the responsibility of the Local Government Unit (LGU). In this set-up, social mobilization is believed to be the key strategy in effective and sustainable implementation of malaria prevention and control activities. Palawan has always been the most malarious province in the country. Despite untiring malaria control efforts and huge funds spent to curb this malady for which Palawan has become known, this province remains the largest contributor of malaria cases and deaths. Thus, Kilusan Ligtas Malaria (KLM: meaning Movement Against Malaria) has focused on social mobilization in the implementation of malaria prevention and control. Microscopic confirmation of malaria is done by trained village microscopists, while health education-promotion activities, advocacy and linkage building are carried out by trained village community organizers. The noticeable outcomes are the increase in malaria case finding as reflected in the total number of malaria smears done, the increase in microscopic confirmation of malaria, and the decline in clinical diagnoses. Other outcomes include policy development and implementation in the form of executive orders and community ordinances to support the village microscopists and community organizers. Now, the biggest challenge of KLM is maintaining the momentum and sustaining gains.
5.Evaluation of blood preservation methods in the performance of the WHO in vitro micro-test for Plasmodium falciparum in the field
Moritoshi Iwagami ; Nao Taguchi ; Ray U. Angluben ; Aleyla S. Escueta ; Elena A. Villacorte ; Pilarita T. Rivera ; Shigeyuki Kano ; Shin-ichiro Kawazu
Tropical Medicine and Health 2007;35(4):337-341
In vitro drug susceptibility testing of Plasmodium falciparum must be conducted immediately after collecting a sample of the patient‘s blood; otherwise the parasites may weaken and the culture fail. Collecting blood samples from individuals in areas far from the field station or clinic where in vitro testing is conducted requires a reliable method of sample preservation during transportation. We examined and compared three different methods used to preserve blood samples in endemic areas in the Philippines. The three methods are as follows: the on-site method (test is conducted soon after blood sampling), flask culture method (sample is taken to the laboratory in a culture flask with medium) and EDTA tube method (sample is taken to the laboratory in a blood collection tube). The WHO in vitro micro-test for susceptibility of P. falciparum to chloroquine was performed using an AnaeroPack® system and a portable thermostat incubator. Evaluation of the three methods was based on schizont maturation, ease of handling, and risk of contamination during the test. The on-site and flask culture methods, but not the EDTA tube method, were effective for keeping the parasites viable. Furthermore, schizont maturation appeared better with the flask method than with the on-site method, especially in the control wells (drug-free wells). In addition, it was easier to perform the flask method than the on-site method. No contamination was observed using any of the methods. The results of the study suggest that the flask culture method is the most effective and useful way to preserve blood samples for the in vitro test and, moreover, that it aids in providing detailed field evidence of drug-resistant malaria.
6.Vocal acoustic measures of asymptomatic Filipino young adults at a private tertiary hospital in Quezon City - A pilot study.
Kirt Areis E. Delovino ; Ray U. Casile ; Frederick Y. Hawson
Philippine Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery 2012;27(2):7-11
Objective:
To describe the vocal acoustic measures of nonsmoking Filipino young adults without voice complaints at a private tertiary hospital in Quezon City; to determine if our baseline values are distributed normally and comparable to data in similar studies done abroad; and to recommend normative voice parameters which may be used as baseline data in our institution and for comparison in future studies.
Methods:
Design: Cross-sectional study
Setting: Private tertiary hospital
Participants: A total of 70 subjects were recruited at random.
Results:
Values extracted for f0, Jitter %, Jitter dB, Shimmer %, Shimmer dB and NHR showed normal distribution of results. The average vocal acoustic values found in the present study for male voices producing the vowel /a/ were fo = 130.6 ± 13.65Hz, jitter = 0.0.46 % ± 0.184, jitter dB: 37.62dB ± 16.664, shimmer %= 0.23%, shimmer dB=0.23 ± 0.67 and NHR = 0.13 ± 0.010. The average values found for female voices, producing the vowel /a/ were fo = 218.38 ± 26.192Hz, jitter = 0.87% ± 0.61, jitter dB: 34.82 ± 22.5, shimmer %= 2.72 ± 1.07 shimmer dB=0.23db ± 0.67 and NHR = 0.12dB ± 0.016. Values retrieved from this study show similar trends with other papers abroad.
Conclusions
Voice acoustic systems are composed of different recording criteria, recording instrumentations and algorithms which primarily cause the differences in the results obtained in various studies, thus precluding a single normalization. Following international recommendations for individual normalization per institution, we have obtained our own values. Our data was comparable to the results of other international studies. However further investigation is recommended in areas where possibilities of interdialectic variation may produce an effect on the outcome of the study.
Human
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Male
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Female
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Middle Aged
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Adult
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Acoustics
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voice
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Speech Acoustics
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Weights and Measures
7.Association between family dynamics and the length of screen time of preschool children in Quezon City: A cross-sectional study
Dione Gale B. Naval ; Natalie Roxanne B. Nisce ; Pamela Grace P. Nifas ; Jerard Iane R. Monge ; Monica Marie V. Mercado ; Kyla Dawn C. Mina ; Jan Robin D. Narvaez ; Maybelle Colyn U. Najera ; Myr Patricia F. Montiveros ; Davy Martin R. Mojica ; Carlos Alberto Gerardo J. Monfort ; Ray Alfonso M. Mendoza ; Leopoldo Jr. P. Sison
Health Sciences Journal 2020;9(1):1-5
INTRODUCTION:
Excessive screen time has been found to be detrimental to a child’s development. Despite
its prevalence, there is a dearth of studies relating family dynamics and screen time. This study aimed
to determine the association between family dynamics and the length of screen time among preschool
children.
METHODS:
Participants were selected through convenience sampling and interviewed using the Family
APGAR questionnaire. Families were classified as functional or dysfunctional. The adult respondents
estimated the total screen time and this was classified as low-level or excessive. The association between screen time and APGAR classification was determined using prevalence rate ratio.
RESULTS:
Majority of 115 families had an APGAR classification of highly functional, with the children
having an average screen time of five hours. Children from dysfunctional families were 1.23 times more
likely to have an excessive amount of screen time than those with highly functional families and the
difference was significant (p = 0.041).
CONCLUSION
Majority of the families in this study were highly functional and the average screen time of the children included in the study was five hours. Children from dysfunctional families were 1.23 times more likely to have an excessive amount of screen time than those with highly functional families.
child, preschool
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child
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Child development
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screen time
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family relations
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8.Effect of a brief training program on the knowledge of Filipino primary care providers in a rural and a remote setting: A before and after study
Julianne Keane M. Pascual ; Arianna Maever Loreche ; Regine Ynez H. De Mesa ; Noleen Marie C. Fabian ; Josephine T. Sanchez ; Janelle Micaela S. Panganiban ; Mia P. Rey ; Carol Stephanie C. Tan-Lim ; Mark Anthony U. Javelosa ; Ramon Pedro P. Paterno ; Ray U. Casile ; Leonila F. Dans ; Antonio L. Dans
Acta Medica Philippina 2024;58(Early Access 2024):1-7
Background and Objective:
Primary care providers are key players in providing quality care to patients and advancing Universal Health Care (UHC). However, effective and quality healthcare delivery may be affected by inadequate knowledge and failure to adhere to evidence-based guidelines among providers. The Philippine Primary Care Studies (PPCS) is a five-year program that pilot tested interventions aimed at strengthening the primary care system in the country. Evidence-based training modules for healthcare providers were administered in Sorsogon and Bataan from the years 2018 to 2021. Module topics were selected based on common health conditions encountered by providers in rural and remote settings. This program aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of training in increasing provider knowledge.
Methods:
A series of training workshops were conducted among 184 remote- and 210 rural-based primary care
providers [nurses, midwives, barangay or village health workers (BHWs)]. They covered four modules: essential intrapartum and newborn care (EINC), integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI), non-communicable diseases (NCD), and geriatrics. A decision support system (UpToDate) was provided as a supplementary resource for all participants. We administered pre-tests and post-tests consisting of multiple-choice questions on common health conditions. Data was analyzed using paired one-tailed t-test, with an alpha of 0.05.
Results:
The knowledge of nurses, midwives, and BHWs improved after the training workshops were conducted. The largest increase from pre-test to post-test scores were observed among the midwives, with a mean difference (MD) of 32.9% (95% CI 23.9 to 41.9) on the EINC module, MD of 25.0% (95% CI 16.6 to 33.4) in the geriatrics module, and MD of 13.5% (95% CI 6.9 to 20.1) in the NCDs module. The nurses had the greatest improvement in the IMCI module (MD 10.8%, 95% CI 2.5 to 19.1). The knowledge of BHWs improved in all participated modules, with greatest improvement in the NCD module (MD 9.0%, 95% CI 5.77 to 12.14).
Conclusions
Primary care workshops, even if conducted as single-sessions and on a short-term basis, are effective in improving short-term knowledge of providers. However, this may not translate to long-term knowledge and application in practice. Furthermore, comparisons across provider categories cannot be made
as participant composition for each training workshop varied. Ultimately, this study shows enhancing provider knowledge and competence in primary care will therefore require regular and diverse learning interventions and access to clinical decision support tools.
Capacity Building
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Health Workforce
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Philippines
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Primary Health Care