Publications by authors named "H M Neoh"

Introduction: Since the dawn of the new millennium, Candida species have been increasingly implicated as a cause of both healthcare-associated as well as opportunistic yeast infections, due to the widespread use of indwelling medical devices, total parenteral nutrition, systemic corticosteroids, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and broad-spectrum antibiotics. Candida tropicalis is a pathogenic Candida species associated with considerable morbidity, mortality, and drug resistance issues on a global scale.

Methodology: We report a case of a 43-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital for further management of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia.

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Article Synopsis
  • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses serious health risks, particularly in bacteria carrying Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases (ESBL), which can lead to ineffective treatments and increased spread of resistance.
  • A study analyzing 137 blood cultures from patients in a Malaysian hospital found that while many bacteria had genotypes linked to ESBL, over half remained susceptible to certain antibiotics, indicating complexities in treating infections.
  • Results showed that even though the prediction for ESBL phenotypes was reasonably accurate, there were no significant differences in clinical outcomes, such as severity of infection or mortality, between patients with ESBL-positive and those without.
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Molecular surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), a Malaysian teaching hospital revealed clonal replacement events of SCCmec type III-SCCmercury to SCCmec type IV strains before the year 2017; however, the reasons behind this phenomenon are still unclear. This study aimed to identify factors associated with the clonal replacement using genomic sequencing and phenotypic investigations (antibiogram profiling, growth rate and desiccation tolerance determination, survival in vancomycin sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination) of representative HCTM MRSA strains isolated in four-year intervals from 2005 - 2017 (n = 16). HCTM Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) policies were also reviewed.

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to global public health, with the potential to cause millions of deaths annually by 2050. Effective surveillance of AMR pathogens is crucial for monitoring and predicting their behaviour in response to antibiotics. However, many public health professionals lack the necessary bioinformatics skills and resources to analyse pathogen genomes effectively.

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Hospital environmental surfaces are potential reservoirs for transmitting hospital-associated pathogens. This study aimed to profile microbiomes and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from hospital environmental surfaces using 16S rRNA amplicon and metagenomic sequencing at a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia. Samples were collected from patient sinks and healthcare staff counters at surgery and orthopaedic wards.

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