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Objective: This short study describes the occurrence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in two major wet markets in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia., Materials and Methods: 30 rodents (20 rats and 10 shrews) were caught in 2 wet markets, and a postmortem was performed to extract both kidneys. Molecular diagnosis via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted to detect leptospiral DNA using universal and pathogenic Leptospira primers, respectively., Results: The results showed that 20/28 (72%) rat samples were detected positive for Leptospira spp, and all shrews were negative. Further sequencing analysis identified L. interrogans and L. borgpetersenii as the most frequently Leptospirosis species from kidney samples., Conclusions: The presented study here sheds light on the presence of pathogenic leptospires harboring the rat population in both wet markets in Kelantan, which presents a great public health risk to wet market workers and visitors., Competing Interests: None declared., (Copyright: © Journal of Advanced Veterinary and Animal Research.)

Purpose: 'Low back pain' (LBP) is a prevalent condition with a majority showing no specific organic pathology. Distinguishing 'secondary gain motives (SGM)' from organic causes is imperative in clinical practice. We describe here, three new tests-resistive straight leg raise test (rSLRT), resistive forward bend test (rFBT) and heel compression test (HCT) to help differentiate patients with 'SGM' from those without. We conducted a prospective study to validate the above tests in predicting non-organic causes as a reason for LBP., Methods: 200 patients presenting with low back pain at the senior author's outpatient orthopaedic clinic from Jan 2009 to Nov 2010 were studied. Patients were separated into two groups-'SGM group' (n = 100) and 'non-SGM group' (n = 100). 'SGM group' patients had a history of work-related accidents, road traffic accidents or assault, with a background of ongoing litigation issues or compensation benefits. rSLRT, rFBT, HCT, Schober's test and Waddell's five signs were performed on them. Statistical analysis was done to identify correlations between test results, MRI findings and 'SGM' status., Results: Statistically significant differences were observed between the SGM and non-SGM group (p < 0.0005) for all tests studied. In predicting SGM status, rSLRT showed highest specificity (0.94) and highest positive predictive value (0.925) while HCT showed the highest negative predictive value (0.859). Positive rSLRT was found to be strongly correlated with ≥3 positive Waddell's signs. SGM patients with positive rSLRT tended to show resistance ≤45°., Conclusions: rSLRT, rFBT and HCT (NK triad) are highly practical tests which strongly predict SGM status in patients.

Aim of Study: To determine the rate of patients not collecting their medication despite being given a prescription (primary non-compliance) in a Singapore polyclinic; to compare the results with similar studies done abroad and to identify the characteristics of patients most likely to be non-compliant., Methods: Out of 500 prescriptions issued consecutively by the author, those that were not presented to the pharmacy for collection of medication were identified. The case sheets of these patients were then retrieved for further analysis., Findings: The primary non-compliance rate in this study was 4.0%. Patients who were less than 30 years old or who consulted for an acute complaint were significantly more likely to be non-compliant. While the overall non-compliance rate was similar to that of studies done in the UK, the number of non-compliant patients with chronic illnesses was markedly lower in the local population.

Eighty-four consecutive cases of ankle arthroscopy performed between 1985 and 1990 were reviewed. These patients had all undergone conservative treatment for at least six months for chronic ankle pain. This consisted of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, physiotherapy and/or immobilisation. Arthroscopy was performed when there was no response to conservative treatment. Eighty-one percent (68) of the patients were between the ages 20 and 29 years. Eighty-nine percent (75) were male. The most common lesions identified were transchondral fractures, localised synovitis, osteoarthritis and loose bodies. These were treated by arthroscopic surgery which included debridement, removal of loose bodies and abrasive chondroplasty. All the patients were followed up for at least one year or until they were asymptomatic. Excellent results were observed in transchondral fracture, localised synovitis associated with chronic lateral ligament instability, loose bodies, anterior impingement syndrome, osteochondritis dissecans and meniscoid syndrome. Good to fair results were obtained in osteoarthritis and fibroarthrosis. There were no intra-operative or postoperative complications.