Knowledge, attitude, and practice of white coat use among medical students during clinical practice (LAUNDERKAP): A cross-sectional study.

Background: Recent studies found white coats to be reservoirs for bacteria and medical students did not conform to proper hygiene measures when using these white coats. We investigated the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of medical students toward white coat use in clinical settings (LAUNDERKAP).

Methods: A validated, online-based survey was disseminated to 670 students from four Malaysian medical schools via random sampling.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of beta-lactam antibiotics in critically ill patients.

Optimal antibiotic therapy for critically ill patients can be complicated bythe altered physiology associated with critical illness. Antibiotic pharmacokineticsand exposures can be altered driven by the underlying critical illnessand medical interventions that critically ill patients receive in the intensivecare unit. Furthermore, pathogens that are usually isolated in the intensivecare unit are commonly less susceptible and "resistant" to common antibiotics.

Development and validation of the knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire (LAUNDERKAP) regarding white coat use among medical students during clinical practice.

Background: Medical students' white coats were found to harbor harmful organisms. This could be due to non-compliance to white coat hygiene measures. Therefore, we aim to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess the of knowledge, attitude, and practice (LAUNDERKAP) of white coat use among medical students in Malaysia.

Knowledge, Perception, and Antibiotic Prescribing Practice in the Intensive Care Unit: Findings from the Malaysian Public Setting.

Introduction: Approach to managing infection in the intensive care unit (ICU) often varies between institutions and not many readily adapt to available local guidelines despite it was constructed to suite local clinical scenario. Malaysia already has two published guidelines on managing infection in the ICU but data on its compliance are largely unknown.

Objectives: A cross-sectional survey was carried out and sent to a total of 868 specialists working primarily in the ICU.

Assessment of sarcopenia in virally suppressed HIV-infected Asians receiving treatment.

Objectives: In a clinic-based, treated HIV-infected cohort, we identified individuals with sarcopenia and compared with age, sex and ethnically matched controls; and investigated associated risk factors and health outcomes.

Design: Sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) causes significant morbidity to the elderly, leading to frequent hospitalizations, disability and death. Few have characterized sarcopenia in the HIV-infected who experience accelerated aging.

Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamics-Optimized Antimicrobial Therapy in Patients with Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia/Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality. With increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance, the importance of optimizing antibiotic treatment is key to maximize treatment outcomes. This is especially important in critically ill patients in intensive care units, in whom the infection is usually caused by less susceptible organisms.

Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection and the molecular characteristics of MRSA bacteraemia over a two-year period in a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an established pathogen that causes hospital- and community-acquired infections worldwide. The prevalence rate of MRSA infections were reported to be the highest in Asia. As there is limited epidemiological study being done in Malaysia, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of MRSA infection and the molecular characteristics of MRSA bacteraemia.

Beta-Lactam Infusion in Severe Sepsis (BLISS): a prospective, two-centre, open-labelled randomised controlled trial of continuous versus intermittent beta-lactam infusion in critically ill patients with severe sepsis.

Purpose: This study aims to determine if continuous infusion (CI) is associated with better clinical and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) outcomes compared to intermittent bolus (IB) dosing in critically ill patients with severe sepsis.

Methods: This was a two-centre randomised controlled trial of CI versus IB dosing of beta-lactam antibiotics, which enrolled critically ill participants with severe sepsis who were not on renal replacement therapy (RRT). The primary outcome was clinical cure at 14 days after antibiotic cessation.

Population Pharmacokinetics of Doripenem in Critically Ill Patients with Sepsis in a Malaysian Intensive Care Unit.

Doripenem has been recently introduced in Malaysia and is used for severe infections in the intensive care unit. However, limited data currently exist to guide optimal dosing in this scenario. We aimed to describe the population pharmacokinetics of doripenem in Malaysian critically ill patients with sepsis and use Monte Carlo dosing simulations to develop clinically relevant dosing guidelines for these patients.

First report of cervicofacial lymphadenitis due to Mycobacterium haemophilum in an immunocompromised adult patient.

We report the first case of an immunocompromised adult patient presenting with cervicofacial lymphadenitis due to Mycobacterium haemophilum, confirmed using hsp65 gene sequencing and line-probe assays. In resource-limited settings, especially in developing countries, appropriate culture methods and rapid molecular diagnostic tools such as hsp65 gene sequencing for identification of this organism may not be readily available. This may cause M.

Severe Plasmodium falciparum infection mimicking acute myocardial infarction.

This case report describes a case of presumed acute myocardial infarction in a returned traveler who was later diagnosed to have severe malaria. Emergency coronary angiography was normal and subsequent peripheral blood film was positive for Plasmodium falciparum.

Cervical abscesses due to co-infection with Burkholderia pseudomallei, Salmonella enterica serovar Stanley and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a patient with diabetes mellitus.

Background: Infections due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei and non-typhoidal Salmonella cause significant morbidity and mortality throughout the world. These intracellular pathogens share some common predisposing factors and clinical features. Co-infection with two of these organisms has been reported previously but, to our knowledge, this is the first time that infection with all three has been reported in one person.