Introduction: Despite rising healthcare needs, Malaysia faces a concerning stagnant growth in the number of paediatricians, which has raised apprehension about meeting the nation’s future healthcare demands. The study aims to determine the factors influencing the final year medical students at public universities in their decision to pursue a career in paediatrics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed between October 2024 and April 2025, targeting final-year medical students from various public universities in Malaysia. Recruitment was facilitated through convenience sampling by university representatives. Data were gathered via an online self-administered questionnaire from the validated ‘Motivators for Medical Specialist Career Choice’ Questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised three parts: sociodemographic characteristics, speciality preferences, and 33 sub-constructs under seven main factors influencing speciality choice, assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. Results: A total of 420 students participated, with 164 students (39%) choosing Paediatrics as one of their first five choices of subspecialty. Upon analysis, only the personal factor was statistically significant (p-value=0.041, OR 1.943, CI 1.02,3.68) from simple logistic regression. This factor, along with patient care characteristics (p-value=0.155), was subjected to multiple logistic regression analysis. Only personal factor has shown a trend towards statistical significance (p-value=0.051, adjusted OR 1.80, CI 0.99,3.24). Conclusion: Personal factors are the single factor approaching significance that affects the career choice of paediatricians among current medical students in Malaysian public universities. Other factors were less significant due to the possibility of generational gaps with different paradigms of career perspectives.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the proportion, clinical characteristics, hormonal status, median time for normalization of serum thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and factors affecting time to thyroid function test (TFT) normalization of neonates born to mothers with maternal hyperthyroidism admitted in our institution. Methodology: This was a retrospective cohort study that included 170 newborns admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) with a history of maternal hyperthyroidism from January 2013 until December 2018. We analyzed their baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, maternal thyroid status and antibody levels. Finally, we analyzed newborn thyroid function and thyroid antibodies. Results: The proportion of neonates born to mothers with maternal hyperthyroidism was 0.8% (170 of 20,198 neonates within the study period). Seven (4.1%) developed overt hyperthyroidism, while four (2.4%) had thyroid storm. The median time for thyroid function test normalization was 30 days (95% CI: 27.1 to 32.8). The median time for TFT normalization was longer among neonates of mothers with positive thyroid antibodies [46.6 days (95% CI, 20.6 to 39.4)] and of mothers who received anti-thyroid treatment [31.7 days (95% CI, 23.5 to 39.9)]. Conclusion Neonates born to mothers with hyperthyroidism is uncommon. These babies were observed to have a longer time for normalization of thyroid function tests if their mothers had thyroid antibodies or received anti-thyroid treatment.

Background: Delays in transporting blood samples may cause inaccurate results. Samples may be exposed to light or heat during delays, resulting in the degradation of analytes, for example, bilirubin. This study was done to determine the effect of delays in the transportation of blood samples on serum bilirubin test results. Methods: Samples taken from neonates admitted to a tertiary hospital with jaundice were included in the study. The samples were collected through venipuncture in 3 labelled containers. The first container was sent immediately to the laboratory, while the second and third containers were sent after being kept in the ward for 1 and 3 hours, respectively. Bilirubin values were measured colourimetrically at a wavelength of 578 nm using a Roche Hitachi 912 Chemistry Analyser upon arrival in the laboratory. Results: A total of 36 serum samples were studied. The mean of the indirect bilirubin measurements for 0-, 1-, and 3-hour samples were 174 (SD 68.65), 186.97 (SD 60.47), and 184.56 (SD 66.93), respectively. There was a significant difference in the mean indirect bilirubin measurement of 1-hour samples (P = 0.047, 95% CI -24.66 to -1.18) and 3-hour samples (P = 0.045, 95% CI -19.77 to -0.23) compared with 0-hour samples. There were no significant differences observed in either the mean total bilirubin or the mean direct bilirubin measurements of different time intervals. Conclusion: This study confirms that delays in the transportation of blood samples influence the bilirubin test results.