Hepatitis C infection is a major public health problem that can be dealt with urgent and timely attention. Recently, WHO Global Hepatitis Report showed that 71 million people, equivalent to approximately 1% of the world population, are infected with hepatitis C. The disease incidence, mortality rate and risk factors vary across geographical regions. The virus is transmitted primarily through drug injection and exposure to infected blood products in healthcare and community settings. The common causes of death related to virus infections are decompensated liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis C infection is mainly prevented by identifying and controlling any possible risk factors for virus transmission because treatment is costly and limited in availability. In this review, articles discussing the natural history, epidemiology and risk factors for hepatitis C infection are reviewed.
Background:The rise in global popularity of triathlon competition requires the medicalteam to be familiar with variousendurance sport related injuries that may sustain throughout the race period. However, there have been very few published studies on the injury profiles of triathlon events heldlocally.
Objective: To describethe injury rate, the pattern of injuries, andtime of presentation for medical treatment among injured athletes at theultra-distancetriathlonevent held in Malaysiain year 2014.
Methodology:This cross-sectional studyanalyseddata from allathletes who sustained the injury that required treatment or assessment by the medical personnelduring or immediately after the triathlon race. Data on injured athletes were retrieved from Medical Encounter Form used during the race. All physical injurieswere documented based on body part affected, type of injury sustained and time of medical treatment sought.
Results: Approximately 30.7% (329/1073) of the athletes in our study population presented to the medical team for treatment during or immediately after the event, with 539 injuriesidentified among them. Injuries were more commonly seen among male, age group of 30–39 years old, and Asian athletes. The injuries more commonly sustained during the running discipline. Muscle cramps, sprains, and nausea and/or vomiting were the most common type of injury across all race disciplines. There was an apparent increasedin athlete presentation from 15:00 hours, and it remained high until 23:00 hours.
Conclusion: There was a wide range of injuries encountered by the competitors. Our resultswill add to the growing body of knowledge on local triathlon injuriesand helps the medicalteampreparation for future triathlon events.