Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with metal stent placement has become a well-developed treatment modality for coronary stenotic lesions. Although infection involving implanted stents is rare, it can, however, occur with high morbidity and mortality. We describe herein a case of an inserted coronary stent that was infected and complicated with recurrent stent thrombosis, pseudoaneurysm formation and severe sepsis. Despite repeated intervention and bypass surgery, the patient died from severe sepsis.
Aneurysm, False ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Humans ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction ; Sepsis ; Stents* ; Thrombosis*

Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) is defined as the comprehension, use and the management of one’s emotions in a positive manner to reduce stress, communicate efficiently, empathise with others, overcome challenges, and resolve conflicts. EI is important among nurses as it influences their decision making abilities, clinical judgment, and well-being that directly affect the quality of patient care and outcome. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the EI level and its association with demographic variables among nurses in a private hospital in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study involving 130 nurses at one of the private hospitals in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, through simple random sampling. Questionnaire consists of Part A (demographic data) and Part B (Wong and Law’s Emotional Intelligence scale (WLEIS), self-assessment tool that consists of 16 items on four components inclusive of self-emotions appraisal (SEA), regulation of emotion (ROE), use of emotion (UOE), and other’s emotion appraisal (OEA) on a set of 7-Likert scale). Results: Findings showed that 63.1% (n = 82) scored high EI. Nurses’ age and years of nursing experience are significantly associated with their level of EI. No association is found on the nurses’ level of EI with their gender, ethnicity, highest nursing education level, marital status, and current work setting. The null hypothesis was rejected. Conclusion Findings showed that most of the nurses have high EI. There is a significant association between the level of EI and demographic variables such as age and years of nursing experience.
Emotional Intelligence ; Nurses ; Emotions ; Emotional Regulation

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of combining red yeast rice and Lactobacillus casei (L. casei) in lowering cholesterol in patients with primary hyperlipidemia, the later has also been shown to remove cholesterol in in vitro studies.

METHODSA double-blind clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the cholesterol-lowering effect of the combination of red yeast rice and L. casei. Sixty patients with primary hyperlipidemia were recruited and randomized equally to either the treatment group (red yeast rice + L. casei) or the control group (red yeast rice + placebo). One red yeast rice capsule and two L. casei capsules were taken twice a day. The treatment lasted for 8 weeks, with an extended follow-up period of 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was a difference of serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level at week 8.

RESULTSAt week 8, the LDL-C serum level in both groups was lower than that at baseline, with a decrease of 33.85±26.66 mg/dL in the treatment group and 38.11±30.90 mg/dL in the control group; however, there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The total cholesterol was also lower than the baseline in both groups, yet without a statistical difference between the two groups. The only statistically signifificant difference between the two groups was the average diastolic pressure at week 12, which dropped by 2.67 mm Hg in the treatment group and increased by 4.43 mm Hg in the placebo group (P<0.05). The antihypertensive activity may be associated with L. casei. Red yeast rice can signifificantly reduce LDL-C, total cholesterol and triglyceride.

CONCLUSIONThe combination of red yeast rice and L. casei did not have an additional effect on lipid profifiles.