Author: Pei Kuan Lai
Abs_PS01-10
Gathering Momentum
Local Repeatedly-Used Deep Frying Oils Are Generally Safe
Author: Tony Ng Kock Wai
ABSTRACT
A review of the literature indicates that food scientists and health authorities in several countries, especially member countries of the European Union, are still very concerned about the potential health hazards of oxidized products and lipid polymers formed in repeatedly-used deep frying oils. During the frying process at temperatures of 170° – 200°C, steam formed from moisture in the food being fried help volatile products rise to the surface of the frying medium and into the kitchen atmosphere, imparting a mixture of fried-flavours and off-flavours. The non-volatile compounds formed, however, gradually build up in the oil as it is being repeatedly-used for food frying operations. These non-volatiles, primarily “polar compounds” (PC) and to a lesser extent lipid polymers, get absorbed into fried foods and eventually end up in our body system. Available local data suggests that deep-frying oil samples obtained from food hawkers and those produced under simulated deep-frying conditions in the laboratory, are generally safe as they contain PC within safe limits and rarely exceed the upper limit (UL) of 25%. This contrasts with the situation in some European countries where a very high proportion of frying oil samples collected from fast-food restaurants were reported to contain PC exceeding this UL. Appropriately, promotion of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification and gazetting of food regulations to limit the PC content in frying oils have been introduced in these countries to protect the health of consumers. Meanwhile, simple gadgets/test kits are available commercially to monitor the quality of the frying oil. This would greatly assist kitchen supervisors at restaurants and franchised fried-food outlets to know when best to change a batch of frying oil before the ULs of frying oil quality are breached.
Keywords: Frying oils, Polar compounds, Safety.
Citation: IeJSME 2007: 1 (2): 55-60
Understanding the Decision-Delivery Interval in Cesarean Births
Authors: Naseem Rashid, Sivalingam Nalliah.
ABSTRACT
Avoiding the adverse neonatal effects of perinatal asphyxia has been one of the common indications for cesarean deliveries in current obstetric practice. Expeditious delivery is dependent on decision to perform cesarean delivery and time lines achieved. A decision-delivery interval of 30 minutes, a concept initiated by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has open to debate as controversy reins about neonatal outcome when this time interval is considered in isolation. Time lines alone are probably not the only criteria to be employed, and may contribute to errors in interpretation by professional regulatory bodies and the society at large. Procedures prior to decision making like trial of labour, fetal scalp sampling and readily available resources for instituting emergent cesarean delivery invariably need to be considered. Though decision to delivery time is an integral component of critical conduct intervals in the acutely compromised fetus, a more pragmatic approach needs to be taken considering potential and known logistical and obstetric factors in line with good obstetric practice.
Keywords: Cesarean delivery, Decision-delivery interval, Indications for emergency cesarean delivery, Perinatal asphyxia, Birth asphyxia.
Citation: IeJSME 2007: 1 (2): 61-68
Cercarial Dermatitis In Kelantan, Malaysia An Occupation Related Health Problem
Authors: Chiew Eng Wooi, Susan Lim Lee Hong, Stephen Ambu.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Kelantan, an east coast state of Peninsular Malaysia is rich in culture and supports a population that is dependent on agriculture. The crops cultivated are mainly paddy and rubber but in recent years tobacco is beginning to gain importance over paddy. We centered our study around Bachok District which is about 25 kilometers east of Kota Bharu, the state capital.
Methods: Based on case reports we focused our study on cercarial dermatitis and also recorded the socioeconomic status of the people in the four study villages.
Result: The ducks and cows were the common livestock kept by the farmers and these were found to be significantly associated (P=0.05) with the occurrence of dermatitis. Cercariae shedding by snails were found in waters used for irrigation.
Conclusion: The results indicate that cercarial dermatitis is occupation specific, and its debilitating effect was having an influence on the socioeconomic status and general wellbeing of the population in these villages. The dermatitis occurred only during the field preparation and transplanting stages of paddy and was found to be significantly associated (P=<0.05) with the source of water used for irrigation. The water sources for irrigation was mainly from the river and irrigation canal and the snail Indoplanorbis exustus infected with schistosome cercariae was found to be abundant in both these sources during these stages. The ducks and cows were the common livestock kept by the farmers and these were also found to be significantly associated (P=0.05) with the occurrence of dermatitis. Therefore we concluded that the dermatitis among paddy farmers in Bachok District was due to an animal schistosome.
Keywords: Environment, Occupational health, Disease vectors, Zoonoses.
Citation: IeJSME 2007: 1 (2): 69-73
Sputum Bacteriology And In-Vitro Antibiotic Susceptibility In Hospitalized Patients With Community Acquired Pneumonia In A State Tertiary-Referral Hospital – A Retrospective Study
Authors: Yow-Wen Chin, Li-Cher Loh, Thim-Fatt Wong, Abdul Razak Muttalif.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: To review the sputum bacteriology and its in-vitro antibiotic susceptibility in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a state tertiary-referral Hospital (Penang hospital, Malaysia) in order to determine the most appropriate empiric antibiotics.
Methods: From September 2006 to May 2007, 68 immunocompetent adult patients [mean age: 52 years (range 16-89); 69% male] admitted to respiratory wards for CAP with positive sputum isolates within 48 hours of admission were retrospectively identified and reviewed.
Results: 62 isolates were Gram(-) bacilli (91%) & 6 were Gram(+) cocci (9%). The two commonest pathogens isolated were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=20) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=19) together constituted 57% of all positive isolates. Among the Pseudomonas isolates, 84.2% were fully sensitive to cefoperazone and cefoperazon/sulbactam; 95% to ceftazidime, cefepime, piperacillin/tazobactam, ciprofloxacin and amikacin, and 100% to gentamycin, netilmycin, imipenem and meropenem. Among the Klebsiella isolates, 5.3% were fully sensitive to ampicillin; 84.2% to amoxicillin, ampicllin/sulbactam, cefuroxime and ceftriazone; 89.5% to piperacillin/tazobactam; 93.3% to cefoperazon/sulbactam and 100% sensitive to ceftazidime, cefepime, ciprofloxacin, all aminoglycosides and carbopenems.
Conclusion: In view of the high prevalence of respiratory Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ampicillin/sulbactam, currently the most prescribed antibiotic to treat CAP in our respiratory wards, may not be the most appropriate empiric choice. Higher generation cephalosporins with or without beta-lactamase inhibitors, ciprofloxacin or carbapenem may be the more appropriate choices. The lack of information on patients’ premorbidities such as recent hospitalization and prior antibiotic exposure, limits the interpretation of our findings and may have biased our results towards higher rates of Gram negative organisms.
Keywords: Antibiotic sensitivity, Community-acquired pneumonia, Penang hospital, Sputum bacteriology.
Citation: IeJSME 2007: 1 (2): 74-79
Case Report On Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome And Cardiovascular Complication
Author: Dennis Nyuk Fung Lim
ABSTRACT
A 66 year old Caucasian female presented with haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) following a prodrome of diarrhoea. During the course of her illness, she developed acute heart failure secondary to myocardial ischaemia. Cardiovascular complications associated with HUS involving children have been reported in the literature. The mortality of adult patients with acute heart failure is significantly higher even with the initiation of therapeutic plasma exchange.
Keywords: Haemolytic uraemic syndrome, Cardiovascular complication.
Citation: IeJSME 2007: 1 (2): 80-82
Efficacy Of Anti-Tuberculosis Treatment Alone On Resolution Of Tuberculosis Pleural Effusions
Authors: V S Selvarajah, S Samudram, L T Chua, D Siti Yuhana, B K Lim, S Wan Yusuf, L C Loh.
ABSTRACT
To determine the degree of resolution in pleural effusions treated with anti-tuberculosis treatment alone without thoracentesis, 62 eligible adult cases [mean age (SD), 46 (17) yrs; 77% male] of tuberculosis pleural effusions treated in two urban-based university teaching hospitals were retrospectively reviewed for changes in effusion size at 2, 6 and 12 months after initiation of treatment. The proportions of patients in whom resolution were complete, partial and unchanged were 64.5%, 27.4% and 8.1%. Effusions with size smaller than three tenth of hemithorax were at three-fold increased likelihood of complete resolution, compared with those with larger effusions [Odds ratio (95% CI): 3.295 (1.033 to 10.514); p=0.04]. Consideration for thoracentesis is therefore still important in certain patients.
Keywords: Tuberculosis, pleural effusions, chemotherapy, Malaysia.
Citation: IeJSME 2007: 1 (2): 83-86
