Siti Azrin Ab Hamid

Universiti Sains Malaysia | USM · Unit Biostatistics and Research Methodology

Background: Stress often happens in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients, especially during hospitalization. Objectives: The current study intended to identify the prevalence of stress and its associated factors among ACS patients in two selected hospitals in the east coast region of Malaysia. Methods: A total of 400 ACS patients in both hospital...

Background: Emergency medical professionals are often associated with poor psychological health, which undoubtedly affects their mental health as well as their work productivity. Objectives: The study aimed to determine the predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among emergency ambulance workers in Kelantan hospitals. Methods: This...

Background Environmental factors are important for students’ learning during online classes, especially during a pandemic, such as COVID-19. This study aimed to validate the environmental factors’ questionnaire during online learning. Methods A total of 218 undergraduate medical students at the Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, participate...

Health and medical research are important parts of the curriculum of medical and health programmes in universities and play an important role in the functioning of organisations related to health care. There is a shortage of well-trained health and medical research statisticians. This article describes the courses and structure of the Master of Sci...

Objective: Intravitreal ranibizumab is one of the anti-vascular endothelial growth factors used for the treatment of diabetic macular oedema, not always sucessfully. We aimed to identify the factors affecting the changes of central macular thickness after induction treatment with intravitreal ranibizumab, to predict the treatment effect and facili...

Background: The rates of repeat cesarean section (CS) among women with previous CS are increasing worldwide. The predictors of a repeat CS can vary across different populations. Objective: To determine the predictors of repeat CS among women from Malaysia with one previous lower segment CS (LSCS) who underwent trial of labor (TOLAC). Materials...

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the enforced quarantine, universities in Malaysia were required to switch to an online class format. The resulting changes in the environmental factors of students may have had an impact on their psychological health and academic performance. This study aimed to determine the effects of environmental factors...

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common occupational health problems affecting the working adult population. The study aimed to identify the ergonomic factors associated with LBP among ambulance workers in emergency departments. This cross-sectional study of 143 ambulance workers was conducted in 10 government hospitals. An English version of...

Background Environmental factors are important for students learning during online classes, especially during COVID-19. This study aimed to validate the environmental factors’ questionnaire during online learning. Methods A total of 218 undergraduate medical students at the Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia participated in a cross-sectional...

Medical professionals are very busy, and every second is precious to them. Their role is crucial to determining the outcome of one's life. Medical professionals need the information to save people, especially on the latest advancements in their field, to make the treatment of their patients faster and better. Therefore, the methods they use to acqu...

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common head and neck cancer in Malaysia. The gold standard treatment of NPC is radiotherapy (RT), as NPC is a radiosensitive tumour. Although RT is successful in treating NPC, patients cannot avoid the resulting RT complications. Oral mucositis is the most frequently encountered debilitating c...

Introduction: Caring for children who have chronic kidney disease (CKD) is challenging. The goal of this study was to find out the prevalence of burnout and what factors contribute to it. We also want to know the correlation between caretaker’s strain and burnout. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that involved caretakers of children with C...

Objective: Mucositis is a debilitating complication of radiotherapy treatment in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Mucositis can lead to malnutrition due to poor oral intake, and the cancer treatment protocol might be postponed due to this condition. Until now, there is no specific treatment to prevent radiotherapy-induced mucositis in NPC patients....

Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer is among the leading causes of death in women and is driven by angiogenesis. Microvascular density (MVD) can be used to evaluate angiogenesis in carcinomas and thus it can be used as a potential biomarker for ovarian cancer. This study is aimed to establish the association between endocan-MVD with clinicopatho...

Objective: To compare tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) and interleukin (IL)-6 levels in saliva between different stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2018 and November 2020. This study included diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with no DR, non-proliferative DR (NPDR), a...

Introduction: Overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and p53 are the postulated aetiopathogenesis in pterygium. VEGF is responsible for the induction of COX-2 expression, whereas p53 plays an important role in the regulation of VEGF. This study aimed to evaluate the immunohistochemistry of COX-2 and p...

The effect of cyberbullying among adolescents in Malaysia is not much studied. The Cyberbullying Scale (CBS) has been validated to be used among English speaking adolescents to measure cyberbullying but not in Malay language. Therefore, its validity should be established before use in the Malaysian context. Thus, the study aimed to evaluate the val...

Background Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) using saline was studied to detect supradiaphragmatic central venous catheter malposition. Commonly used echocardiographic views are apical 4-chamber (A4c) and subcostal views. However, this standard method is not feasible in certain situations. We explored the feasibility of the right ventricle i...

Background Progression of diabetic retinopathy post cataract surgery is related to the increased level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ocular fluid post operatively. The aim of this study was to compare the VEGF level in tears post phacoemulsification between non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and non-diabetic patients.Me...

Objectives: We sought to determine the immunohistochemistry expression of mismatch repair (MMR) and BRAF V600E proteins in sporadic young-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) and their association with clinicopathological features in the Kelantan population. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of sporadic young-onset CRC over 11 years from 1 Janu...

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed the management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and significantly improved survival rates, but there is lack of such survival data from Malaysia. Objective: The objective was to determine the survival rates and prognostic factors of survival in HIV-infected adults treated with...

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed the management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and significantly improved survival rates, but there is lack of such survival data from Malaysia. Objective: The objective was to determine the survival rates and prognostic factors of survival in HIV-infected adults treated with...

Introduction: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure is linked to a series of serious health problems. Children may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of SHS exposure at home. This study aimed to determine the association between SHS exposure at home and cognitive performance in school children. Methods: A multistage sampling was performed acros...

Background: Maintaining good quality CPR while transporting out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients is very challenging. We aim to determine how different ambulance speed can affect the quality of chest compression performed either manually or mechanically. Methods: This was an observational manikin-based study. A total of 96 participants as wel...

Introduction: Hypertension complication during the pregnancy will lead to morbidity and fatality in pregnancy. Objective: The study was done to identify the differences of calculated creatinine clearance level between two groups of pregnant patients which were gestational and chronic hypertension patients from pregnancy to the postpartum period. Me...

Introduction: Plasma leakage is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in dengue fever. Few studies have shown the sensitivity of thoracoabdominal ultrasound in detecting plasma leakage in severe dengue, however its sensitivity in the early presentation of dengue fever without warning signs remains unknown. This study is aimed to determine the r...

Preeclampsia patients have frequently been found to experience hyperuricaemia and this may result in poor outcomes compared to those with normal uric acid levels. This study aimed to determine the relationship of hyperuricaemia in pre-eclampsia patients with foetal and maternal outcomes. This prospective cohort study involved 79 patients in a terti...

Background and purpose: Linked with high mortality rate, depression is common among acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. The current study sought to identify the factors associated with depression among ACS patients in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 ACS patients in two Malaysian hospitals: Hospital...

Introduction: Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is an ocular degenerative disorder that associated with impairment of central vision. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ARMD. The aim of this study was to determine the level of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase) in tears among Malay ARMD pati...

The body’s central nervous system plays an essential role in preventing fatigue and enhance exercise tolerance. The non-invasive technique of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can provide insight into the relationship between brain function and exercise performance. The objective of this study was to examine the difference in skill-rel...

Introduction Xmn1 -Gγ polymorphism has been significantly associated with disease severity in HbE/β-thalassemia patients. The aim of this study is to determine the factors affecting health related quality of life (HRQoL) and its association with Xmn1 -Gγ polymorphism among transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia and HbE/β-thalassemia adolescents. Mate...

Information technology (IT) is an integral element in the process of information-seeking behaviour to fulfil research and clinical information needs due to pervasive access to information sources as well as facilities provided by libraries. The study aims to determine the frequency and level of importance of IT-based sources and facilities used amo...

Vitrectomy surgery in proliferative diabetic retinopathy improves the vision-related quality of life. However, there is lack of data on the duration of maintenance of visual gains post vitrectomy. This study thus aimed to determine the survival time of visual gains and the prognostic factors of vision loss after vitrectomy surgery for complications...

Background: It is well established that antiretroviral therapy (ART) is beneficial in reducing the mortality among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In Malaysia, there is lack of study and information regarding the overall survival rates and prognostic factors for survival in HIV-infected adults treated with ART. Therefore, this stu...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common problem in hospitals and many end up requiring dialysis. The aim was to identify the associated factors of dialysis-dependent of AKI patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs). A retrospective cohort study was conducted where a list of 121 AKI patients admitted to ICU in Hospital Universiti Sains Mala...

Introduction: A low iodine diet (LID) is recommended prior to the Radioactive Iodine-131 (RAI) treatment or scanning in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) post total thyroidectomy. However, recommended strictness of LID is varying among major guidelines. This study was aim to investigate the patient's compliance to LID by measuring the urinary...

Objective: Detection of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in ocular tissue may perhaps provide insight into the role of VEGF in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR). The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of VEGF in tears and serum amongst type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. Methods: A compar...

Objective To determine the association between physical activity and severity of primary angle closure glaucoma in Malay patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 150 primary angle closure glaucoma patients between April 2014 and August 2016. Using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the physical activity sta...

Library as a hub and service provider for information resources in learning institutions and research organizations should maintain their services and facilities to meet their members’ needs. This study measures the levels of satisfaction among medical professionals in searching for information resources provided by the library services. The study...

Background Neurovascular changes occur during the migraine is believed to cause alteration in cerebral and retinal circulation that possible result in damage to the brain and even retina or optic nerve. Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurement can be used as an index to assess ganglion cell and retinal nerve fiber damages. The aim of...

The library is one of the supporting departments of an institution in providing various information resources and services to their users. Since users are the key person to the library, therefore, it is important to make them satisfied with the library services. The study aimed to determine the satisfaction level towards the searching information a...

Introduction: Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1 (IGFBP-rP1) is an important component of the IGF system that regulates insulin resistance-related to tumour development. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of IGFBP-rP1 among female cancer patients who are known or not known to have Type 2 Diabetes Melli...

Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern, and contributes significantly to mortality and morbidity in paediatric patients. Objective The study is aimed to identify the factors predictive of TBI in paediatric patients with a minor blunt head injury. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study conducted on 274 pa...

Introduction: The detrimental effects of cigarette smoking include impairment of optic nerve head perfusion and elevation of oxidative stress levels, which are believed to be part of the pathogenesis of glaucoma. However, there is no evidence on the effect of cigarette smoking as a risk for primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). Purpose: To determi...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between cigarette smoking and the severity of primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) in Malay patients residing in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 150 Malay PACG patients between April 2014 and August 2016. Ocular examination was performed inclu...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) was frequently encountered complication among intensive care unit (ICU) patients and recognized as a major public health problem. The present study aimed to determine the basic features of AKI patients admitted to ICU. A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 106 AKI patients admitted to ICU, Hospital Universiti Sa...

Background: Body self-image questionnaire-short form (BSIQ-SF) is developed to measure body image perceptions. Due to the cultural, language and environmental differences between western and eastern population, the validity and reliability need to be established. The aim of this study was to determine validity and reliability of Malay version BSIQ-...

Staphylococcus aureus is an important microorganism which is associated with infections in the hospital setting. It is spread mainly through contaminated hands of the healthcare worker or through the underlying colonization of this microorganism in the nasal cavity of the healthcare worker. Apart from the healthcare worker, medical and dental stude...

Background Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) exhibits a distinctive racial and geographic distribution. Many studies have reported varied significant prognostic factors affect the survival of NPC patients. Hence, this current study aimed to identify the prognostic factors of NPC patients registered in a tertiary referral hospital. Methods The records...

Thalassaemia is a hereditary blood disorder that is becoming a major health problem all over the world. This chronic illness harms the quality of life of the sufferers by interrupting their physical activities, school performance and social life. Hence, this review takes aim to assess the factors affecting the quality of life of thalassaemia among...

Surgical site infections (SSI) are among the most commonly encountered healthcare associated infections (HCAI). Identification of the risk factors and its causative agents may inform prevention and management strategies. The objective of this study was to determine risk factors and etiological agents of SSI and their sensitivities. We conducted a p...

Background and purpose: Anxiety is a common condition among acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. This syndrome often goes unrecognised and can persist for months to years, while impacting substantially the quality of life. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the associated factor of anxiety among ACS patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Mal...

This study is to determine the prevalence and the associated factors of low-back pain (LBP), which has multifactorial causes, among ambulance workers in Kelantan, Malaysia. The cross-sectional study involved ambulance workers in the emergency department in all government hospitals in Kelantan. Those who did not consent, complete or return the quest...

Ovarian cancer is one of the highest causes of death among female population in Malaysia. A retrospective cohort study among 127 ovarian cancer patients registered in one of the teaching hospital in Malaysia was conducted from 1st January 2002 until 31st December 2011. The objective of this study was to determine the median survival time, five year...

Background: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecologic malignancy among females worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine the median survival time of endometrial cancer patients at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Methods: A list of 121 endometrial cancer cases registered at Hospital USM between 2000 until 2011 w...

Esophageal cancer is one of the top leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Malaysia. To date, neither the prevalence nor incidence of esophageal cancer nationally have been recorded. Esophageal cancer remains a major and lethal health problem even if it is not common in Malaysia. The late presentation of esophageal cancer makes it a difficult a...

Background: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy among females worldwide, approximately 320,000 women being diagnosed with the disease each year and 76,000 dying. To date, there is limited knowledge of endometrial cancer in Malaysia. Objectives: To identify the epidemiological profile and prognostic factors of survival....

Patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) has high risk of mortality despite the advancement in technology and treatment options. This study was conducted to identify the prognostic factors of patients with UGIB. This retrospective (record review) study involved patients diagnosed with UGIB between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2013...

Background: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding UGIB) has high risk of mortality despite advancement in technology and treatment option. Therefore this study was conducted to identify prognostic factors of patients with UGIB. Methods: This retrospective (record review) study involved patients with diagnosed of UGIB between 1st January 2011 and 31st De...

Hands of Health Care Personnel (HCP) are one of the most common vehicles for the transmission of infection. Microorganisms can survive well on the hands of HCP for a certain duration. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to bring awareness to HCP that their hands can actually be contaminated with many microorganisms. These microbes on the hands...

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the fourth most common cancer in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to determine the five-year survival rate and median survival time of NPC patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Methods: One hundred and thirty four NPC cases confirmed by histopathology in Hospital USM between...

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the fourth most common cancer in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to determine the five-year survival rate and median survival time of NPC patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Methods: One hundred and thirty four NPC cases confirmed by histopathology in Hospital USM between 1st...