Cost-Effectiveness of Warfarin Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic versus Usual Medical Clinic at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

Background: Systematic anticoagulation management clinic is recommended to manage patients on chronic warfarin therapy. In Malaysia, the service was introduced as warfarin medication therapy adherence clinic (WMTAC), which is managed by pharmacists with a physician advisory.

Objectives: To assess the cost-effectiveness of WMTAC in comparison with usual medical clinic (UMC), which is managed by medical officers in Kuala Lumpur Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital in Malaysia.

Treating pulmonary embolism in Pacific Asia with direct oral anticoagulants.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the principal preventable cause of in-hospital deaths. Prevalence of PE in Asians is uncertain but undoubtedly underestimated. Asians and Caucasians have similar non-genetic risk factors for PE, and there is mounting evidence that PE affects Asians much more commonly than previously supposed; incidence, especially among high-risk patients, may approach that in Caucasians.

Clinical diagnosis of early dengue infection by novel one-step multiplex real-time RT-PCR targeting NS1 gene.

Background: Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease that causes a public health problem in tropical and subtropical countries. Current immunological diagnostics based on IgM and/or nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) antigen are limited for acute dengue infection due to low sensitivity and accuracy.

Objectives: This study aimed to develop a one-step multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay showing higher sensitivity and accuracy than previous approaches.

Comparing effectiveness of two anticoagulation management models in a Malaysian tertiary hospital.

Backgrounds: Limited evidence is available regarding pharmacist managed anticoagulation clinic in the Southeast Asian region where there is marked difference in terms of care model, genetic composition and patient demographics.

Objectives: This study aimed at comparing the anticoagulation clinic managed by the pharmacist with physician advisory and the usual medical care provided in Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) in terms of anticoagulation control and adverse outcomes.

Setting: A 2,302 bedded government tertiary referral hospital in Malaysia.

Managing venous thromboembolism in Asia: winds of change in the era of new oral anticoagulants.

Despite advances in the management of venous thromboembolism (VTE), treatment of many patients worldwide, especially in Asia, remains inadequate and/or discordant with prevailing guidelines. Although epidemiological studies consistently report lower incidences of VTE in Asians than Caucasians, VTE rates in Asia have probably been gravely underestimated, partly due to comparatively lesser ascertainment. It is becoming evident that Asians are at much higher risk of VTE than was hitherto supposed.

Acute coronary syndrome in women of reproductive age.

Background: There is scarce or no data on prevalence and presentation of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) among women of reproductive age. Furthermore, whether women of reproductive age presenting with ACS have the same risk factors as men and older women is not known.

Objective: To analyze factors associated with ACS in women of reproductive age in comparison with older women and men of a similar age group.