Search

Objective: In Malaysia, there is now a dearth of recommendations pertaining to the priority of biologic treatments for the effective management of psoriasis, given the multitude of available therapeutic alternatives. Present analysis reports results of a cost-effectiveness model that determines the most optimal arrangement of biologic treatments, with a particular focus of adding biosimilars to the existing treatment pathway for psoriasis in Malaysia. Methods: A Markov model was developed to compare the cost effectiveness of various biologic sequential treatments in a hypothetical cohort of moderate to severe psoriasis patient in Malaysia over a lifetime horizon. The model simulated the progression of patients through three lines of active biologic therapy, before transitioning to best supportive care. Costs and effects were discounted annually at a rate of 3%. Results: First line secukinumab has produced lowest incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) when compared to first line systemic [ICERs value; US$152,474 (first set analysis) and US$110,572 (second set analysis)] and first line phototherapy [ICERs value; US$147,057 (first set analysis) and US$107,616 (second set analysis)]. However, these values were slightly higher than the Malaysian based threshold of three times gross domestic product per capita, US$104,337. A 40% reduction in the unit costs of reference biologics renders most of the evaluated treatment sequences cost-effective. Conclusion: Adding biosimilar to the current treatment sequence could achieve cost savings ranging from 4.3% to 10.8% without significant loss of effectiveness. Given the significant impact of comorbidities and the resulting decline in quality of life among individuals with psoriasis, it may be justifiable to establish a threshold of up to US$184,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) for the provision of therapies in the context of Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A growing proportion of people experience incomplete recovery months after contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These COVID-19 survivors develop a condition known as post-COVID syndrome (PCS), where COVID-19 symptoms persist for > 12 weeks after acute infection. Limited studies have investigated PCS risk factors that notably include pre-existing cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which should be examined considering the most recent PCS data. This review aims to identify CVD as a risk factor for PCS development in COVID-19 survivors. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist, systematic literature searches were performed in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from the earliest date available to June 2023. Data from observational studies in English that described the association between CVD and PCS in adults (≥ 18 years old) were included. A minimum of two authors independently performed the screening, study selection, data extraction, data synthesis, and quality assessment (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale). The protocol of this review was registered under PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023440834). Results: In total, 594 studies were screened after duplicates and non-original articles had been removed. Of the 11 included studies, CVD including hypertension (six studies), heart failure (three studies), and others (two studies) were significantly associated with PCS development with different factors considered. The included studies were of moderate to high methodological quality. Conclusion: Our review highlighted that COVID-19 survivors with pre-existing CVD have a significantly greater risk of developing PCS symptomology than survivors without pre-existing CVD. As heart failure, hypertension and other CVD are associated with a higher risk of developing PCS, comprehensive screening and thorough examinations are essential to minimise the impact of PCS and improve patients' disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The rapid adoption of telehealth services due to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the necessity for effective tools to evaluate patient experiences. This study developed and validated the Telehealth Usability, Acceptability, and Satisfaction Questionnaire (TUASQ) for virtual COVID-19 Assessment Centres (CACs) in Malaysia, aiming to comprehensively measure usability, acceptability, and satisfaction. Methodology The TUASQ was developed in two phases. Initially, the questionnaire development phase included item generation guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Health Belief Model (HBM), with feedback from a panel of six experts. Items were refined through Content Validity Index (CVI) - Item-Level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) ≥ 0.82, Scale-Level Content Validity Index (S-CVI) ≥ 0.82, and Content Validity Ratio (CVR ≥ 0.78); and Face Validity Index (FVI) by 10 respondents - Item-Level Face Validity Index (I-FVI) ≥ 0.82 and Scale-Level Face Validity Index (S-FVI ≥ 0.82). The psychometric validation phase involved a cross-sectional study of 705 respondents, recruited through convenience sampling from March to July 2024, to perform Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), followed by reliability testing using Cronbach's alpha, Composite Reliability (CR), and Average Variance Extracted (AVE). Results Content validation showed that most items' I-CVI exceeded 0.82, indicating significant expert consensus on relevance and clarity. The CVR also surpassed the 0.78 threshold, affirming their essential role. Face validation indices generally exceeded 0.80, confirming the questionnaire's clarity and comprehensiveness from the users' perspective. EFA with 250 participants indicated a high Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) of 0.933 and significant Bartlett's test (χ² (136) = 3752.698, p < 0.001), supporting the factorability of the data and extracting three distinct factors. CFA with 455 participants initially showed a poor fit, prompting model adjustments that subsequently improved the fit indices (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.076, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.045, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) = 0.94, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.96, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.97). Reliability testing revealed a high internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha of 0.975. CR for each factor exceeded the 0.70 threshold, and the AVE for each factor was above 0.50, indicating good convergent validity. Conclusion The validated TUASQ is a reliable and effective instrument for assessing the experiences of Malaysian patients using virtual CAC. Demonstrating robust psychometric properties through comprehensive validation processes, the TUASQ accurately measures usability, acceptability, and satisfaction, identifying strengths and areas for improvement in telehealth services. This contributes to enhanced care quality and patient satisfaction in the evolving healthcare landscape., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Ethical Committee of Malaysian Research Ethical Committee (MREC) of the Ministry of Health issued approval NMRR ID-22-01180-LQL. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Kannadasan et al.)

Background: Protected areas are crucial for the maintenance of human health and well-being. They aim to preserve biodiversity and natural resources to secure various ecosystem services that are beneficial to human health. Their ecological characteristics can influence local health literacy. Typically, communities surrounding protected areas have limited economic opportunities due to restriction policies to protect the ecosystem, resulting in socioeconomic disparities. The local community faces obstacles in gaining access to health care facilities and health information due to these limitations. It is difficult for them to locate, comprehend, and apply information and services to make better health-related decisions for themselves and others., Objective: This study protocol examines the impact of the ecosystem on health literacy among rural communities in protected areas., Methods: This study comprises 5 phases. In phase 1, we conduct a systematic review to identify the issue of health literacy in protected areas. In phase 2, we will collect data from stakeholders in a protected area of Pahang National Park and analyze the results using Net-Map analysis. In phase 3, we will conduct a survey among the adult community in Pahang National Park related to health literacy, socioeconomic status, health expenditure, and quality of life. In phase 4, informed by the results of the survey, we will determine suitable intervention programs to improve health literacy through a focus group discussion. Finally, in phase 5, we will conduct a costing analysis to analyze which intervention program is the most cost-effective., Results: This study was funded by Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and strategic research partnership grants, and enrollment is ongoing. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2024., Conclusions: This is one of the first studies to explore health literacy among rural communities in protected areas and will provide the first insights into the overall level of health literacy in the protected community, potential determinants, and a suitable intervention program with expected cost analysis. The results can be used to promote health literacy in other protected areas and populations., Trial Registration: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Registry ISRCTN40626062; http://tinyurl.com/4kjxuwk5., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/51851., (©Nor Aziah Abd Kadir, Amirah Azzeri, Hafiz Jaafar, Mohd Iqbal Mohd Noor, Zurina Kefeli. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 29.01.2024.)

COVID-19 infection resulted in significant economic implications to patients as well as a considerable financial burden to the general population for preventive measures. A descriptive study was conducted among staff at one of the public universities in Malaysia to estimate the monthly out-of-pocket expenditures for preventive measures used for COVID-19 infection. The study tool includes questions on household out-of-pocket expenditure and the measurements of the impact of the expenditure on household income. It was found that the average cumulative monthly expenditures related to the preventive measures were US$ 45.90 (Ringgit Malaysia 187.77), which was 4.3% of the household income. The highest expenditures were for traditional and complementary medicine followed by nutraceutical/supplements and disposable facemask. 8% of the households in this study incurred more than ten per cents of their monthly household income for expenditures related to COVID-19 preventive measures. Several households are experiencing substantial financial implications for preventive measures related to COVID-19 infection. This study highlights the out-of-pocket expenditures incurred for preventive measures were substantial for certain households. Effective initiatives from the government on providing subsidized protective personal equipment and a cost-sharing approach could help to alleviate the household financial burden.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of death globally. In Malaysia liver cancer is the eighth most common cause of cancer for both gender and fifth most common cause of cancer for males. Liver cancer is a cause of premature death in Malaysia: The trend from 1990 to 2010 was observed upward. Since 1990, the annual years of life lost (YLLs) from liver cancer have increased by 31.5%. Older persons are at higher risk and there is male predominance observed. Curative surgical resection, liver transplantation, and supportive symptomatic care, including percutaneous ethanol injection and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and noncurative transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) are among available treatment facilities. Yet the survival rate is very poor as majority of patients present at very advanced stage. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remained the leading cause of HCC in Malaysia. Several studies showed cryptogenic causes, which are mainly nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) among the predominant causes of HCC in Malaysia than hepatitis C virus (HCV), alcohol, or any other reason. This mainly correlates with the increasing incidence of diabetes and obesity in Malaysia. How to cite this article: Raihan R, Azzeri A, Shabaruddin FH, Mohamed R. Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Malaysia and Its Changing Trend. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2018;8(1):54-56., Competing Interests: Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: None