METHODS: Parents whose children aged below 12 years and were scheduled for elective surgery in a teaching hospital, were approached to participate in this survey. The reliability of the modified version of revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha test, while the construct validity was assessed with a principal component analysis using a varimax rotation. The parental satisfaction with pain treatment received was measured.
RESULTS: A total of 108 parents completed the questionnaire. The internal consistency of the questionnaire shows a Cronbach's alpha of 0.798. Principal component analysis revealed a four-factor structure of the 12 items which explained 69.7% of the total variance. The factors are "Interference of sleep and activity," "Pain severity and drowsiness," "Perception of care," and "Adverse effects," respectively. Our study showed that this questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure for "Interference of sleep and activity" and "Pain severity and drowsiness" factors, but not for "Perception of care" and "Adverse effects." The results for "Perception of care" and "Adverse effects," therefore, should be reported as individual items instead of total score. The parental satisfaction with pain treatment given was good (median 8.0; IQR 3.0).
CONCLUSION: The modified version of revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire is a feasible and easy instrument to administer. The questionnaire can be used to obtain feedback from parents about the outcomes and experiences of pain management and is helpful in continuous quality evaluation and improvement in the postoperative care in a pediatric setting.
METHODS: A retrospective case-note analysis was conducted on a cohort of 3935 patients attending primary care at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia from February 2012 till May 2014 with URTI symptoms. Demographics, clinical characteristics, medical and vaccination history were obtained from electronic medical records, and mortality data from the National Registration Department. Comparisons were made between those aged <25, ≥25 to <65 and ≥65 years.
RESULTS: 470 (11.9%) had PCR-confirmed influenza virus infection. Six (1.3%) received prior influenza vaccination. Those aged ≥65 years were more likely to have ≥2 comorbidities (P
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three hundred and four isolates of E. coli and Klebsiella sp. had been selected via convenient sampling. These isolates were identified using conventional laboratory methods and their antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined using disc diffusion method. Those isolates were then proceeded with ESBL confirmatory test, cloxacillin-containing Muller Hinton confirmatory test, modified double disk synergy test and AmpC disk test.
RESULTS: Out of 304 isolates, 159 isolates were E. coli and 145 were Klebsiella sp. The prevalence of organisms which co-produced AmpC β-lactamase and ESBL enzymes were 3.0%. Besides that, 39 cefoxitin resistant and three cefoxitin susceptible isolates (13.8%) were proven to produce AmpC β-lactamase through AmpC disk test. Through the CLSI confirmatory test, 252 (82.9%) isolates were identified as ESBLs producers and the prevalence increased slightly when cloxacillin-containing Muller Hinton were used. Only three ESBLs positive organisms were positive for modified double disk synergy test.
CONCLUSION: Distinguishing between AmpC β-lactamase and ESBL-producing organisms has epidemiological significance as well as therapeutic importance. Moreover, AmpC β-lactamase and ESBLs co-producing organisms can lead to false negative ESBL confirmatory test. Therefore, knowing the local prevalence can guide the clinician in navigating the treatment.
METHODOLOGY: This study was conducted at medical college hospitals in Bangladesh during the period from 1998 through 2000. The pre-intervention survey of antimicrobial use was conducted during 1998 in five hospitals. The post-intervention survey was conducted after the interactive training during the succeeding year in three of the original five hospitals, of which one was the intervention hospital and two control hospitals. A total of 3,466 admitted paediatric patients' treatment charts (2,171 in the pre-intervention and 1,295 in the post-intervention surveys) were reviewed.
RESULTS: The most commonly used antimicrobials were ampicillin, gentamicin, amoxicillin, cloxacillin and ceftriaxone. Appropriate antimicrobial therapy for the most common infectious diseases, pneumonia and diarrhoea, increased by 16.4% and 56.8% respectively in the intervention hospital compared with the two control hospitals and these improvements were significant (p = < 0.001 and p = 0.002, for pneumonia and diarrhoea respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: An interactive, focussed educational intervention, targeted at physicians, appears to have been effective in improving appropriate antimicrobial prescribing for the most common paediatric infectious diseases in a medical college hospital in Bangladesh.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine perceived involvement and role preferences of patients with hypertension in treatment decision-making.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 210 patients with hypertension in a teaching hospital in Malaysia.
RESULTS: The majority of respondents agreed that their doctor recognized that a decision needs to be made (89.5%) and informed them that different options are available (77.1%). However, respondents' perceived level of involvement in other aspects of treatment decision-making process was low, including in the selection of treatment and in reaching an agreement with their doctor on how to proceed with treatment. In terms of preferred decision-making roles, 51.4% of respondents preferred a collaborative role with their physicians, 44.8% preferred a passive role while only 1.9% preferred an active role. Age and educational level were found to be significantly related to patient preferences for involvement in SDM. Younger patients (<60 years) and those with higher educational level preferred SDM over passive decision-making (ρ < 0.01). Encouragement from health care providers was perceived as a major motivating factor for SDM among patients with hypertension, with 91% of respondents agreeing that this would motivate their participation in SDM.
CONCLUSION: Preferences for involvement in decision-making among patients with hypertension are varied, and influenced by age and educational level. Physicians have a key role in encouraging patients to participate in SDM.