1.Doses to Organs at Risk Calculated Using Plato and Oncentra Softwares in Intracavitary Brachytherapy Dos kepada Organ Berisiko yang Dikirakan Menggunakan Perisian Plato dan Oncentra bagi Brakiterapi Intrakaviti
NOR HAFIZAH ABDULLAH ; REDUAN ABDULLAH ; MAZURAWATI MOHAMAD ; AHMAD ZAKARIA ; SUK CHIANG CHEN
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2021;19(No.1):117-126
This is a retrospective study, the organ doses of the bladder and the rectum were compared between routine PLATO
V14.2.3 (Nucletron B.V., Veenendaal, The Netherlands) and newer version software Oncentra MasterPlan (OMP) V4.3
(Nucletron B.V., Veenendaal, The Netherlands) treatment planning systems (TPS). The treatment data of 32 intracavitary
brachytherapy patients at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia from January 2010 to June 2015 were used. These data
sets were used for catheter reconstruction for both PLATO and OMP TPS followed by independent verification using
Excel. There was no significant difference in mean doses to organs at risk (OARs) that calculated by both TPS (p>0.05).
The mean percentage of doses calculated by PLATO TPS for bladder and rectum were 66.58 ± 27.42% and 46.27 ±
14.47%, respectively. While, the mean percentage of doses for bladder and rectum calculated by OMP TPS were 65.68
± 24.24% and 46.46 ± 16.66%, respectively. The mean percentage difference in doses comparison between independent
verification calculation and PLATO TPS was 1.96 ± 6.00% and then became 6.37 ± 5.17% when it was compared with
OMP TPS. Overall, the dose calculation differences for both versions of TPS were within the range recommended by
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The dose calculations of the two treatment planning systems showed good
agreement and both could be used in planning intracavitary brachytherapy for cervical cancer. Whereas, Excel based
independent verification is suitable to be implemented as routine dose verification programme prior to treatment
delivery.
2.CONTAINING AN ISLAND: CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) OUTBREAK IN PERHENTIAN ISLANDS, TERENGGANU STATE OF MALAYSIA, IN 2021
Amer Taufek Abd Wahab ; Siti Fatimah Samsury ; Hafizuddin Awang ; Effah Leiylena Yaacob ; Arfizah Ahmad Daud ; Muhammad Solehuddin Ishak ; Nur Almas Alias ; Nor Hafizah Ghazali ; Ahmad Hanif Abdullah ; Mohd Anuar Abd Rahman ; Kasemani Embong
Journal of University of Malaya Medical Centre 2023;26(1):64-69
Background:
The spread of COVID-19 was inevitable and has not spared small and isolated communities, including the community of Perhentian Island in Besut District, Terengganu. Managing clusters in small islands can be difficult, given the limited resources. This study explores the characteristics of COVID-19 cases and the experience of outbreak containment at Perhentian Island.
Methodology:
A retrospective study involving record review of COVID-19 cases and at-risk individuals registered under Perhentian Cluster were retrieved from the Besut District Health Office COVID-19 online registry from the 16thAugust2021 until 6thOctober 2021. All notified cases and close contacts who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were extracted and analysed using descriptive statistics.
Results:
A total of 1,093 community members of Perhentian Island were screened of which 170 (15.5%) tested positive for COVID-19, while 923 (84.5%) tested negative. Among individuals who tested positive, the majority were adults (52.4%), male (51.8%), Malays (98.8%), and villagers (96.5%). Clinical characteristics were categorized into: asymptomatic (55.9%), had no known medical comorbidities (90.6%), low-risk groups (87.1%), vaccinated (57.6%), and admitted to PKRC (97.1%) for treatment. Multiple agencies were involved in the outbreak containment of the Perhentian Cluster, working collectively and in good coordination.
Conclusion
The outbreak was attributed to community gatherings and close interactions among villagers. Prompt actions, targeted planning, and inter-agency collaboration were the key factors in successful containment of further spread of COVID-19 in Perhentian Island.
COVID-19