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Fulltext Impact of printed antimicrobial stewardship recommendations on early intravenous to oral antibiotics switch practice in district hospitals

Sze WT, Kong MC

Pharm Pract (Granada), 2018 06 17;16(2):855.
PMID: 30023021 DOI: 10.18549/PharmPract.2018.02.855

Background: Early intravenous to oral (IV-PO) antibiotics switch, which is one of the important elements in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is not well implemented in Malaysian district hospitals. A systematic interventional strategy is required to facilitate IV-PO antibiotic switch.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of printed AMS recommendations on early IV-PO antibiotics switch practice in district hospitals.
Methods: This study was an interventional study conducted in medical wards of eight Sarawak district hospitals from May to August 2015. In pre-intervention phase, pharmacists performed the conventional practice of reviewing medication charts and verbally informed the prescribers on eligible IV-PO switches. In post-intervention phase, pharmacists attached printed checklist which contained IV-PO switch criteria to patients' medical notes on the day patients were eligible for the switch. Stickers of IV-PO switch were applied to the antibiotic prescription to serve as reminders.
Results: 79 and 77 courses of antibiotics were studied in the pre-intervention phase and post-intervention phase respectively. Timeliness of switch was improved by 1.63 days in the post-intervention phase (95%CI 1.26:2.00 days, p<0.001). Mean duration of IV antibiotics in the post-intervention phase was shorter than pre-intervention phase (2.81 days (SD=1.77) vs 4.05 days (SD=2.81), p<0.001). The proportion of IV-PO switches that were only performed upon discharge reduced significantly in the post-intervention phase (31.2% vs 82.3%, p<0.001). Length of hospital stay in the post-intervention phase was shortened by 1.44 days (p<0.001). Median antibiotic cost savings increased significantly in the post-intervention phase compared to the pre-intervention phase [MYR21.96 (IQR=23.23) vs MYR13.10 (IQR=53.76); p=0.025)].
Conclusions: Pharmacist initiated printed AMS recommendations are successful in improving the timeliness of IV-PO switch, reducing the duration of IV, reducing the length of hospitalisation, and increasing antibiotic cost savings.
Asthma prevalence and the relationship between level of knowledge and quality of life among asthmatic schoolchildren in Malaysia

Dinglasan JL, Tang LY, Chong MC, Al Raimi AM

Saudi Med J, 2022 Jan;43(1):113-116.
PMID: 35022293 DOI: 10.15537/smj.2022.43.1.20210211

OBJECTIVES: To examine asthma prevalence and the relationship between the level of knowledge and quality of life (QoL) among asthmatic secondary school children aged 13-14 years old in Malaysia.
METHODS: A cross-sectional design was employed. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire containing demographic characteristics, asthma symptoms, knowledge on asthma, and QoL.
RESULTS: Data from 2891 asthmatic schoolchildren aged 13-14 years old from secondary schools in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, were analyzed. According to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) scoring for asthma prevalence, the number of children who exhibited signs and symptoms of asthma was 9% (n=260). The mean score for total knowledge indicated a low knowledge level (82.7%). No significant relationship was found between knowledge level and QoL. Only the race factor was associated with asthma knowledge.
CONCLUSION: This study has provided valuable information on asthma prevalence among Malaysian adolescents and their knowledge on asthma condition. Further research should explore the correlation factors of asthma knowledge and QoL.
The application of surfactant colloidal gas aphrons to remediate contaminated soil: A review

Tao W, Mei C, Hamzah N

J Contam Hydrol, 2020 May;231:103620.
PMID: 32126294 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2020.103620

Surfactant solutions have been frequently studied for soil remediation. However, since they are expensive, massive consumption of surfactant solution can constrain their application. Surfactant microbubbles, or colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs), can serve as cost effective alternatives of surfactant solution because the use of CGAs reduce the amount of surfactant consumption. Moreover, CGAs can also improve the contact with the contaminated environment due to their unique surface properties, e.g. containing 40-70% of gas, small size, large interfacial areas, water-like flow properties and buoyant rise velocities. In this review paper, the properties and flow character of CGAs in soil matrix reviewed due to their relevance to soil remediation process. A comprehensive overview of the application of CGAs in flushing off organic pollutants and heavy metals, and carrying oxygen, bacteria and dissolved materials for soil remediation were provided. This paper also highlighted the limitation of CGAs application and important future research scopes.
The psychometric properties test of the Malay version of the endometriosis health profile-30

Mansor M, Chong MC, Chui PL, Hamdan M, Basha MAMK

Saudi Med J, 2023 Sep;44(9):933-939.
PMID: 37717967 DOI: 10.15537/smj.2023.44.9.20230228

OBJECTIVES: To validate and determine the psychometric properties of the Malay version of the endometriosis health profile-30 (EHP-30) by confirmatory factor analysis.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the main city of Malaysia at a tertiary teaching hospital between January to April 2021. A total of 218 women diagnosed with endometriosis symptoms were recruited using the universal sampling method to answer the questionnaire.
RESULTS: The revised Malay version of the EHP-30 with 28 items demonstrated that the factor loading of the 28 items had an acceptable value range between 0.60-0.90. The model fit was acceptable after the inclusion of 28 items correlated errors of the root mean square of error approximation: 0.072, 90% confidence interval: [0.065-0.080], comparative fit index (0.939), Tucker-Lewis index (0.932), and Chi-square/degrees of Freedom (2.135). The Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.89-0.97. Concurrent validity for the composite reliability was between 0.88-0.96, while the average variance extracted was between 0.65-0.74.
CONCLUSION: This revised Malay version of the EHP-30 is a reliable and valid tool that can be used for the next study.
Fulltext Determinants of 3Rs behaviour in plastic usage: A study among Malaysians

Chun T'ing L, Moorthy K, Yoon Mei C, Pik Yin F, Zhi Ying W, Wei Khong C, et al.

Heliyon, 2020 Dec;6(12):e05805.
PMID: 33409389 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05805

This research was conducted to explore the factors affecting Malaysians' application of reduce, reuse and recycle (3Rs) concept in plastic usage. This study adopted variables from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), namely, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control and added on two more variables, habit and facilitating conditions to study the plastic usage. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data and analysis done. The results showed that all variables influence the plastic usage behaviour. This research contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between the determinants of behavioural intention of 3Rs application on plastic usage. Through the suggestions of suitable strategies, this research would contribute to reducing environment pollution caused by plastic waste.
Advanced nanocellulose-based gas barrier materials: Present status and prospects

Wu Y, Liang Y, Mei C, Cai L, Nadda A, Le QV, et al.

Chemosphere, 2022 Jan;286(Pt 3):131891.
PMID: 34416587 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131891

Nanocellulose based gas barrier materials have become an increasingly important subject, since it is a widespread environmentally friendly natural polymer. Previous studies have shown that super-high gas barrier can be achieved with pure and hierarchical nanocellulose films fabricated through simple suspension or layer-by-layer technique either by itself or incorporating with other polymers or nanoparticles. Improved gas barrier properties were observed for nanocellulose-reinforced composites, where nanocellulose partially impermeable nanoparticles decreased gas permeability effectively. However, for nanocellulose-based materials, the higher gas barrier performance is jeopardized by water absorption and shape deformation under high humidity conditions which is a challenge for maintaining properties in material applications. Thus, numerous investigations have been done to solve the problem of water absorption in nanocellulose-based materials. In this literature review, gas barrier properties of pure, layer-by-layer and composite nanocellulose films are investigated. The possible theoretical gas barrier mechanisms are described, and the prospects for nanocellulose-based materials are discussed.
Using low carbon footprint high-pressure carbon dioxide in bioconversion of aspen branch waste for sustainable bioethanol production

Wu Y, Ge S, Xia C, Cai L, Mei C, Sonne C, et al.

Bioresour Technol, 2020 Oct;313:123675.
PMID: 32563796 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123675

An innovative approach was developed by incorporating high-pressure CO2 into the separate hydrolysis-fermentation of aspen leftover branches, aiming to enhance the bioethanol production efficiency. The high-pressure CO2 significantly increased the 72-h enzymatic hydrolysis yield of converting aspen into glucose from 53.8% to 82.9%. The hydrolysis process was performed with low enzyme loading (10 FPU g-1 glucan) with the aim of reducing the cost of fuel bioethanol production. The ethanol yield from fermentation of the hydrolyzed glucose using yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) was 8.7 g L-1, showing increment of 10% compared with the glucose control. Techno-economic analysis indicated that the energy consumption of fuel bioethanol production from aspen branch chips was reduced by 35% and the production cost was cut 44% to 0.615 USD L-1, when 68 atm CO2 was introduced into the process. These results furtherly emphasized the low carbon footprint of this sustainable energy production approach.