Biomedical subjects

R Awang

Publications and source records attributed to R Awang.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Identification of psychosocial factors of noncompliance in hypertensive patients.

This cross-sectional study was aimed to identify the predictors of medication noncompliance in hypertensive patients. The study was conducted at the Family Medicine Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia, which is a university-based teaching hospital. All hypertensive patients aged 40 or over-registered from January to June 2004, who had been on treatment for at least 3 months, were screened. Previously validated self-administered questionnaires were used to assess the compliance and psychosocial factors. A total of 240 hypertensive patients were recruited in the study. Of these, 55.8% were noncompliant to medication. Logistic regression showed that age (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 0.96; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92-0.997; P: 0.035), patient satisfaction (adjusted OR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.93-0.998; P: 0.036) and medication barrier (adjusted OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.91-0.987; P: 0.009) were significant predictors of medication noncompliance. Therefore, younger age, poor patient satisfaction and medication barrier were identified as independent psychosocial predictors of medication noncompliant in hypertensive patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Community-acquired vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium: a case report from Malaysia.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are formidable organisms renowned for their ability to cause infections with limited treatment options and their potential for transferring resistance genes to other Gram-positive bacteria. Usually associated with nosocomial infections, VRE are rarely reported as a cause of community-acquired infection. Presented here is a case of community-acquired infection due to vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. The patient had been applying herbal leaves topically to his cheek to treat a buccal space abscess, resulting in a burn of the overlying skin. From pus aspirated via the skin a pure culture of E. faecium was grown that was resistant to vancomycin with a MIC of >256 microg ml-1 by the E test and resistant to teicoplanin by disc diffusion, consistent with the VanA phenotype. The organism was suspected of contaminating the leaf and infecting the patient via the burnt skin. This case highlights the need for further studies on the community prevalence of VRE among humans and animals to define unrecognized silent reservoirs for VRE, which may pose a threat to public health.

Abscess↗

PubMed2004

Lipase-catalyzed esterification of palm-based 9,10-dihydroxystearic acid and 1-octanol in hexane--a kinetic study.

The esterification of palm-based 9,10-dihydroxystearic acid (DHSA) and 1-octanol in hexane as catalyzed by lipase from Rhizomucor meihei (Lipozyme IM) followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The esterification reaction follows a Ping-Pong, Bi-Bi mechanism. The maximum rate was estimated to be 1 micromol min(-1) mg(-1) catalyst in hexane at 50 degrees C, and the Michaelis-Menten constants for DHSA and 1-octanol were 1.3 M and 0.7 M, respectively.

Catalysis↗

PubMed2003

Trends in inquiries on poisoning: a five-year report from the National Poison Centre, Malaysia.

This report describes inquiries relating to poisoning cases which were received by the National Poison Centre of Malaysia from the years 1996 to 2000. The study utilized data from the NPC report forms. Only data relating to patient contact with a poison or chemical were included in the analysis. The poison centre received an average of 186 poisoning inquiries per year. Doctors remained the highest group of caller to the poison centre throughout the five-year period. Nearly 50% of all inquiries was regarding pesticide poisoning and this trend remained constant during the five-year period. Overall, the findings showed that poisoning inquiries relating to patient care were lower than in Japan and the United States.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Altered aminoglycoside pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients with sepsis.

The pharmacokinetic disposition of aminoglycosides in critically ill patients with sepsis was studied. In an open-label study of the disposition of gentamicin and tobramycin, individualized pharmacokinetic values of 100 critically ill patients in the surgical intensive-care unit were compared with those of a concurrently monitored group of 100 surgery patients who were not critically ill. The a priori computer-predicted dosage requirements of the critically ill patients were also compared with the dosages derived from their individualized pharmacokinetic values, and intrapatient variation in the critically ill patients was studied. Serum concentration-time data were analyzed using a one-compartment model and the DataMed Clinical Support Services system to provide individualized dosage requirements. Initial dosing guidelines were also generated for the critically ill patients using the a priori model of the DataMed Clinical Support Services program and patient demographic information. The critically ill patients were significantly older, had higher serum creatinine concentrations (SCr), and had lower elimination rate constants (k) and total body clearances (CL) than the surgery patients who were not critically ill. The volume of distribution (V) was not significantly different. The a priori computer predictions for the critically ill patients were significantly lower than the individualized values for V, CL, dose, and amount of drug per 24 hours. The dosing regimen from the a priori model was the same as the individualized regimen in only 2/100 patients. In the 76 critically ill patients who had a second pharmacokinetic analysis performed, there was a significant decrease in k and CL from the first analysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗