The Prevalence of Hearing Loss Among Babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in a Tertiary Hospital in Malaysia.

Objective: To study the prevalence of hearing loss (HL) and to identify the possible risk factors causing HL.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted from January 2014-December 2016 at a tertiary hospital in Malaysia. All neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) were screened with a two-step protocol using an automated auditory brain response (AABR) and/or Otoacoustic Emission and auditory brain response (ABR).

Sudden infant death syndrome: Knowledge and practise in parents of preterm infants.

Background: Preterm infants are at higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) compared with term born infants and the risk is inversely proportional to the gestational age and birthweight. Parents of these infants should have adequate knowledge and practise the recommended SIDS risk reduction measures.

Methods: A survey was conducted between December 2016 and August 2017 at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

Polyethylene versus cotton cap as an adjunct to body wrap in preterm infants.

Background: Occlusive body wrap using polyethylene plastic applied immediately after birth had been shown to reduce hypothermia among preterm infants. Various adjunct methods have been studied in an attempt to further reduce the incidence of hypothermia. This study was conducted to determine whether polyethylene cap is more effective than cotton cap as an adjunct to polyethylene occlusive body wrap in reducing hypothermia in preterm infants.

Frequent nasopharyngeal suctioning as a risk factor associated with neonatal coagulase-negative staphylococcal colonisation and sepsis.

Introduction: This case-control study aimed to determine whether catheter use was significantly associated with coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) colonisation and/or sepsis in neonates.

Methods: Weekly swabs of the nose, umbilicus, rectum, wounds, eye discharge and intravenous catheter tips (after removal) of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Malaysia, were cultured. CoNS sepsis was diagnosed if pure growth of CoNS was cultured from the peripheral blood specimen of symptomatic infants.

Herbal Ingestion During Pregnancy and Post-Partum Period is A Cause For Concern.

The potential harms of herbs to the pregnant mothers and their foetuses as well as the effect of herbs taken by nursing mothers on their babies remain largely unknown. Common perception is that herbal medicines ingestion during pregnancy and confinement period is a common practice among multi-racial Malaysian mothers. The purpose of this study was to explore the usage of herbal medicines during pregnancy and post-partum period among mothers who gave birth at a tertiary hospital in a metropolitan city of Malaysia.